Hoopfest Exposure Showcase Early Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hoopfest, under The Tour Basketball umbrella, has held showcases this month to help preps in Louisiana enhance their basketball profile. This weekend, Mal Mundy has brought the exposure camp to Shreveport, Louisiana. Almost 90 preps from north Louisiana and surrounding states are here to showcase their talents and skills in front of coaches and scouts. During the early game play sessions, there were some standouts. In this review of the morning action, we will take a look at who performed well on the hardwood. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679403' first='Kevin' last='White'] </strong>- The guard from Airline displayed his smooth moves in his initial game at the showcase. His ability to handle and get into the lane was very apparent during game play. He either finished or got fouled on various occasions. White also showed off his athleticism in a dunk attempt that he had. His point guard skills and athleticism were eye openers in the morning session. They helped display why he is a top ten player in his class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132729' first='Austin' last='Turner'] -</strong> Turner is a wing that Huntington expects big things of this season. His early performance showed that he is very capable as a two-way player. Turner tipped several passes and stole others using very active hands early on. When these plays caused transition situations, he made solid passes or finished the play himself. Austin also displayed corner three spot up ability as well. Turner was definitely one of the better early performers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2612136' first='Kevin' last='Burks'] - </strong>Huntington High had a fair number of players representing at the Hoopfest Exposure showcase. One of them was junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2612136' first='Kevin' last='Burks']. His willingness to pick up man-to-man all over the floor was refreshing to see. He also pushed the ball after makes and misses scoring on layups in transition. Burks displayed qualities passing skills finding players on cuts and running their transition lanes. He was a bright spot before the break. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679405' first='Javonte' last='Ford'] - </strong>Ford is not seen much outside of Pleasant Hill. So seeing him play at the showcase was a plus. During his early performance, he got a chance to display his guard qualities. Ford proved he could handle the ball like a point guard and find players in scoring positions. His shooting from deep was also good to see. Ford has a smooth stroke and connected from deep twice. His guard skills made him a player to see in the early session. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1967571' first='Gmarrion' last='Scott'] - </strong>The 6'5" forward from Calvary Baptist was a highlight reel of activity during the early sessions. Scott made up for defensive breakdowns swatting floater and layup attempts in the paint. Offensively, when guards found him in transition, he finished alley-oops and acrobatic layups. Scott is a high flyer and when he catches the ball cleanly, finishing is not a problem. His early morning was very impressive. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carter Cook -</strong> A 6'2" eighth grader is an anomaly in north Louisiana. So, when one plays as smoothly as Carter does, it really sparks interest. Cook, an Evangel wing, displayed why he will be a high level middle school talent. He can shoot the ball from deep and showed a consistent one dribble pull-up. Cook can handle the ball in traffic and is strong when attempting to score in the paint. His play definitely opened some eyes early on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colton Spence - </strong>The seven footer out of Texas displayed two things during his time on the floor. Spence was able to alter shots in the paint and he can make open threes. Colton was very good spotting up as a pick and pop player. His ability to shoot without a hand in his face helped a ton. Defensively, Spence and his long arms altered several layup attempts by the smaller guards. He is a difference maker as rim protector and pick and pop player. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We will look at the afternoon session of The Hoopfest Exposure Showcase. There should be several standouts in the afternoon session as well. We look forward to highlighting them here in the pages of Prep Hoops Louisiana. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->