Ohio State Tournament: Mike's 16 U Saturday Standouts

The Ohio State tournament brought a ton of talent to the Fieldhouse USA in Columbus, Ohio for a weekend long bracket style tournament. In this article I'll break down six 16 U players who stood out on Saturday as teams tried to advance to the final four.    A true utility guy for his team, Davis has been associated with winning at both the 15 and 16 U grassroots levels. Usually not a top scorer on his team, Davis impacts the game in other areas like rebounding, defense and physicality. On Saturday all those skills were on display as his Phenom United team rolled in the early morning session. Davis also knocked down a couple open jumpers and made the extra pass to his teammates to get the best shot possible. A multi-sport athlete at Lakota West, catch on the gridiron, hardwood and track depending on the season.     A big interior advantage in the paint for his team was largely thanks to the size of Bennett. Standing at 6'7, Bennett takes up a lot of space for contesting shots defensively and crashing the offensive glass. I thought Bennett did a nice job playing within the flow of the offense as he knocked down a couple mid-range shots and set screens to free up his teammates. A name to watch develop down in the Cincinnati area from the 2026 class.     His team struggled on Saturday with a blowout loss and then a one point defeat, but I was impressed with Brett's ability to knock down shots from the outside and create for himself. Playing with confidence on the ball, Brett hit some pull-up jumpers that were contested and got to his spots in transition to rise up and fire away. His touch also stood out as Brett got a couple friendly rolls off the rim on Saturday.     I caught Wheelersburg during the winter and left impressed with their 2026 duo of McGraw and [player_tooltip player_id='2350192' first='Braylon' last='Rucker'], we're featuring both players in this article as they stood out for Midwest-Useh on Saturday. McGraw is a physical wing who crashes the offensive glass, makes smart passes and is efficient with the shots he attempts. His team runs a lot of set plays and McGraw makes nice reads off these sets for good looks for his teammates. Combine that with his ability to knock down an open shot and make a smart cut in the half-court and McGraw can beat you in a variety of ways.     The shooting specialist on his team, Rucker was making it rain on Saturday with his quick release and confident stroke. Able to knock down shots off the bounce or the catch, Rucker was shot-ready when catching passes and doesn't need much time or space to let it fly from long distance. I also was impressed with Rucker's ability to finish with his left hand at the rim. Rucker was even a couple inches away from throwing down a left-handed dunk on a defender but ended up laying it up as he went above the rim. Really liked what I saw offensively from Rucker and in my next scout will try and focus more on what he brings to the table defensively.     NW Ohio has made it to the final four in all three age groups and Sensabaugh had a big day on Saturday to keep them moving along in the championship bracket. I was very impressed with the basketball IQ Sensabaugh showed me with his ability to play off the ball. Whether it was moving to spot up, make a backdoor cut, curl off a screen or run in transition, Sensabaugh was making scoring look simple with his teammates finding him on time and on target. I think a majority of his buckets ended up being at the rim due to cuts or screens from Sensabaugh and he finished at the rim efficiently. On Sunday in the semifinals, we'll get to see Sensabaugh's team against some even more talented opposition who should give a tougher defensive look.

The Ohio State tournament brought a ton of talent to the Fieldhouse USA in Columbus, Ohio for a weekend long bracket style tournament. In this article I'll break down six 16 U players who stood out on Saturday as teams tried to advance to the final four.