Myrtle Chaffin: PA Standouts

'25 Prospects    26p 3r 1s vs Highland, 29p 11r 3a 2s vs TSF   -Enjoyed a productive weekend by simply making the right play. Cochran isn't overly athletic but has improved his burst and uses a pretty strong frame to bully his way to the rim. He's more decisive in his reads on baseline drives and when navigating screens, passing well off the live dribble with either hand to create easy finishing opportunities for his teammates. A good not great athlete, he times his first and second jumps well for rebound around the basket. Cochran showed good feel for how to score on the putback with a midair putback, land on two and reverse lay, double clutch lay, turn around short jumper, etc. He plays great through contact and had some well-timed and well-executed backdoor cuts for easy deuces. The pivot footwork in the paint allowed him to score around defenders and the perimeter jumpshot opened up his driving lanes to the rim. Santa Clara got a steal.     12p 7r 1b 1s vs Highland   -Filled his role really well in a win over Highland as a strong lead guard that can make plays on the ball for himself and others but also flourish off the ball. Sadler's best sequence started with a spin move pull-up in the paint off of an offensive rebound, a sidestep pull-up from 8 feet after snagging the long rebound, and draining a corner 3 after fading in from the wing. Defensively he did a good job of staying in front but I would like to see him press the action a bit more, using his quickness and strength to get underneath ballhandlers to create havoc and force turnovers to disrupt the offense.     12p 8r 5a 2b vs Shabach   -Pound for pound one of the stronger PGs that I saw this weekend, really physical at the POA. Vaughn makes the simple read and located his shooters well in the halfcourt to cut back into the Shabach lead. The bouncy lefty can knock down open jumpers, get to the free throw line, and get the ball up the floor quickly in transition to get defenders on their back heels.     13p 9r 3a vs TSF, 13p 5r 3a 1s 1b vs Highland   -Strong 3/4 tweener that carves out space in the paint but can also take most 4s off the bounce from the perimeter. The lefty wing is also a capable C+S marksman from all 3 levels, making good reads to get a shot off before the defense arrives or move the ball to an open teammate. His motor, ability to guard 3-5     18p 6r 4a 4b vs TSF, 7p 8a 3r 1s 1 charge drawn vs Highland   -Florida Gulf Coast commit showed different sides to his game in the two that I saw this weekend. Against TSF you saw the dynamic athleticism on dunks and blocks, saw the perimeter shooting, the help-side and on-ball shot-blocking, the pull-up midrange shots after ducking under closeouts. Against Highland I saw him in more of a play-maker roll, whipping passes with either hand (sometimes across his body) off a live dribble to shooters in the corners and wings. Against Highland he also took a key charge late in the game, picked a pocket before finishing with a 2-handed dunk at the other end, and showed the value of his vocal leadership at both ends.     22p 8r 1a 5s 2b vs GSP   -I really respect how hard Trueheart continued to play throughout some tough losses at both ends of the floor to show his value. Trueheart moves well off the ball to get easy bunnies from the short corner or in the middle of the key. His offensive bag has a nice combination of fluid midrange pull-ups, extension finishes, floaters, and simple C+S looks. Don't love how often his momentum is taking him away from the basket on acrobatic layup attempts given a thinner frame, but they go in enough to overlook the area for improvement.     9p (3/5 3P) vs Shabach   -Developing young shooter with great positional size that came in cold off the bench to lace three 3s in short order. Niu moves to space well and is shot ready, down in a stance when the ball arrives for him to get off a clean look before the defense can rotate. Niu made the right read to keep the ball moving and usually found an open teammate on the opposite side of the floor to shift the defense. Defensively he's usually in the right spot but will need to put on more weight and improve the lateral quickness to become a more versatile defender that can guard multiple spots. Intriguing name to track in 2027.

'25 Prospects