Viking Shootout: New Names

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Owning to decreased gym space due to ongoing school construction. The annual Viking Shootout put on by the recently successful basketball Cadillac was slightly pared down this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite the smaller field. Several knew names developed. Many of them younger players that I was catching for the first time. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2140498' first='Gibson' last='Rondy'] 6-2 2027 Ithaca (pictured) </strong>After a breakout freshman year leading the Yellowjackets to a district title. Rondy is coming off a nice spring with the School Days AAU organization. This was my first time catching him in person. He is a physically advanced and mature backcourt prospect. Plays with sense of balance, strength, and off of two feet. Also shot the ball smoothly and with confidence from beyond the arc, That is a really nice combination of skills to have already as an underclassmen. Had a good outing against a McBain team that was one of the top teams in the field. Got to the rim with ease showing a variety of euro steps and finishing angles. Definitely a prospect to watch in Michigan's still developing 2027 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Eli Smith 6-2 2027 Ithaca </strong>Rondy won't have to lead an Ithaca resurgence on his own. He should be joined by this versatile and athletic lefty. Having played mostly JV last season. Smith isn't as refined of a prospect as his backcourt partner. However he has plenty of athletic upside that could allow him to catch up at some point. Outside of the obvious athleticism. Displayed a good shooting touch from three on both days of participation. Is an explosive and dynamic penetrator to the left side. While not necessarily finishing above rim at the moment. With the way he was getting off the ground this past week. It probably isn't far off. Will need to work on counter moves to the right side to take the next step in his development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2758267' first='Dominic' last='Wing'] 2028 Cadillac </strong>As good as the future Ithaca backcourt was. The breakout long term performer for me came from the host squad. Despite returning much of their squad. The Vikings lose some scoring punch with the graduation of <strong>Charlie Howell</strong> <strong>(Hope)</strong>After watching this talented prospect over two days (three if you count Ferris St last weekend) It is not far fetched that the scoring void could be filled by a freshman. Wing is a pure scoring…..wing (I couldn't resist) with excellent size already for the position. He also plays straight up and uses size effectively. Doesn't play down to the size of his opponents and shoots easily over most varsity level defenders already. Is left handed and displays a smooth and effortless release from the perimeter. Is a good enough ball handler to run the point in a pinch. Like most players this young. Will need to work on assertiveness and picking his spots correctly. It is telling how comfortable he appears already. Not only is he new to varsity basketball. He is completely new to the area and program. Having recently transferred from Morley-Stanwood. There is a lot of long term potential here. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sean Foley 5-11 2026 Saginaw Nouvel Catholic </strong>With the Yeager twins moving onto to a California prep school. There is a gigantic four year hole to fill at the point guard position for Nouvel. Foley has more than enough athleticism to get the job done. However it was readily apparent he hasn't had the in game reps. Dribbled into trouble at times. You could tell he was still trying to figure out the nuances of the position. Now that the negative is out the way. Foley obviously has some serious athletic potential. From an athletic family (brother runs track at Michigan St) Foley has the speed to stay in front of anyone defensively. If he can tighten up the handle. He shouldn't have any problem getting to the basket at the Division IV level. If he can top it all off with a solid outside shot. There is a chance this could be a late developing point guard prospect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tristin Griffin 5-11 2025 Frankfort </strong>I briefly caught Griffin last year with the Panthers. In his first year in the program he looked uncertain in the short spurts that I viewed. Understandable as he was transferring from a home school league. After a full year of participation and running with [program_tooltip program_id='2077029' first='Parallel' last='45'] in the spring. Griffin is lookimg much more comfortable in his role. Not very big but attacked the basket aggressively at times on Thursday. Appears to be much more confident as a playmaker and ball handler. Along with both travel and regular season teammate [player_tooltip player_id='2058635' first='Carter' last='Kerby']. Could form one of the top Division IV backcourts in the entire state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->