Hoop Group Summer Finale: 16U Standouts

The final week of the live period just ended, and one of the best events took place in Virginia Beach with the Hoop Group/Hoop Seen Summer Finale. The 12 court facility was packed with teams ranging from Florida to New York, with a large portion of those teams coming locally from VA.   Here's a look at someof the 16U standouts from the event.   [player_tooltip player_id='1782689' first='Faron' last='Friend'] | 6'5” WG | [program_tooltip program_id='2248971' first='River' last='City Reign'] 16U   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/tempImageCmqZ4v.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/tempImageCmqZ4v.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2437049" /></a></figure>   Friend ended his hot summer with a bang and continues to show he's one of the top prospects in the Richmond area in the 2026 class, as he had some big outings including a 30 point game. His tools are extremely intriguing as he stands 6'5” with long arms as a true shooting guard, he made tough shots off the bounce from the midrange, he can knocked down shots from deep off the catch, he's an athletic and ambidextrous finisher around the rim and showed flashes of upside on the defensive end too.   [player_tooltip player_id='2459383' first='Mchale' last='Lancaster'] | 5'11” PG | [program_tooltip program_id='2248971' first='River' last='City Reign'] 16U   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImageDrfbqK.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImageDrfbqK.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2502954" /></a></figure>   Lancaster is part of a talented backcourt duo with Mayo (below) who will also run it this high school season with Henrico, and he was their primary ball handler and perhaps their most consistent playmaker throughout the weekend. The 5'11” lefty probed the defense at will and played off two staying under control and making great reads, he finished well in traffic and drew contact to get to the line and he was efficient as a scorer and a distributor who didn't make many mistakes at all.   [player_tooltip player_id='2459370' first='Kevin' last='Mayo'] | 6'3” WG | [program_tooltip program_id='2248971' first='River' last='City Reign'] 16U   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImageiNI3ob.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImageiNI3ob.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2502956" /></a></figure>   Mayo has quietly had a breakout summer, and ended it with a big showing at the Finale as he had some big scoring games and hit big shots including the game winner in one of their games. The 6'3” off guard continues to grow both physically and within his game, he has great footwork working off the ball to get set, he drilled it from deep consistently and he got to spots in the midrange off the bounce to make tough shots too.   [player_tooltip player_id='1630997' first='Elijah' last='Brandon'] | 5'10” PG | Team [program_tooltip program_id='2416185' first='Loaded' last='804'] 16U   There are a lot of good shooters in the state, particularly in the 2026 class, but I'd put Brandon up against any of them after watching him play this past weekend where he was lighting it up effortlessly from deep, including a game with 8 three's made. While he isn't the biggest guy he's strong off the bounce to play through contact, he has a lightning quick release and effortless range off the catch and he can create his own shot off the bounce as well.   [player_tooltip player_id='2459244' first='Amare' last='Cooper'] | 6'3” CG | Team Richmond 16U   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/tempImagetNEyU6.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/tempImagetNEyU6.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2448643" /></a></figure>   Cooper is one of the up and coming guards in the Richmond area who has had a great summer splitting time with Team Richmond's 17 and 16U teams, and he had a great showing in the Finale as well. He's a slippery scoring guard who showed his ability to get in the paint and finish at the rim off the bounce, he created space and made shots from deep and in the midrange and he showed an unselfish playmaking ability too.   [player_tooltip player_id='2618872' first='Christian' last='Myers'] | 5'10” PG | Unity Sports 16U   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImagewHTQij.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/tempImagewHTQij.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2502957" /></a></figure>   Myers is a name to get familiar with in the Fredericksburg area, as he had a huge game in their win over Team [program_tooltip program_id='2416185' first='Loaded' last='804'] on a short handed team where he played most of the game. He isn't the biggest guy but he got wherever he wanted to off the bounce, he made shots from all over the floor, he finished over bigger defenders and he absolutely took the game over down the stretch willing his team to victory.

The final week of the live period just ended, and one of the best events took place in Virginia Beach with the Hoop Group/Hoop Seen Summer Finale. The 12 court facility was packed with teams ranging from Florida to New York, with a large portion of those teams coming locally from VA.