5 Takeaways From a Busy Weekend of Holiday Tournaments

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Indiana had boots on the ground coverage from the Noblesville Holiday Tournament, Paul Loggan Memorial Invitational, Phil Cox Memorial Tournament, and Hall of Fame Classic. In total, we watched 11 games at four different venues on Friday and Saturday. We provided game recaps from each contest as the contests ended. Now, we will take a look back, and expand our view across the state, to highlight five big picture takeaways from the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fishers' Backcourt is One of the Best in the Country</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This isn't just true in the state of Indiana. This isn't just true among public schools. I would put the Fishers' backcourt up against any in the entire country. Prep schools, powerhouse private schools, you name it. [player_tooltip player_id='2140345' first='Cooper' last='Zachary'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2267046' first='Jason' last='Gardner Jr.'], despite being just sophomores, are as good of passers as you'll find in the country. When you combine Zachary's elite shooting ability and Gardner Jr.'s elite explosiveness you can make a legitimate argument they can compete with anyone in the country. Then, you add in Miami (OH) signee [player_tooltip player_id='1297069' first='Justin' last='Kirby'] who connected on five three-point shots on Saturday night in the Hall of Fame Classic championship game. Kirby adds additional shooting and more elite athleticism. Stanford football commit [player_tooltip player_id='1525664' first='JonAnthony' last='Hall'] and unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id='1525682' first='Millen' last='McCartney'] factor into this equation as well. It is not hyperbole to say that this backcourt is one of the best in the country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='2466205' first='Lavell' last='Tinsley'] is a Star in the Making</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I generally stay away from making these sort of "personal" claims about specific players here at Prep Hoops Indiana. Those sort of evaluations are more for the private scouting service side of things. However, after watching [player_tooltip player_id='2466205' first='Lavell' last='Tinsley'] lead Evansville Reitz to a win in double overtime against Pike on Friday it seemed necessary to make this decree publicly. At some point, Tinsley is going to play Division I basketball. It might not happen right away, but after a couple of more years of development, whether that be at a junior college or another small college, he will be a Division I level. His rapid improvement over the last few months alone has been staggering. We always knew he had the elite athleticism, but the way he scored his 24 points against Pike looked like a future Division I kid. There are parts of his game that remind me of Chris Darrington (a kid from Toledo that I recruited when I was coaching Defiance College) that played at Vincennes and then ended up at Tennessee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Indiana's Class of 2027 is Special</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We've already mentioned [player_tooltip player_id='2140345' first='Cooper' last='Zachary'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2267046' first='Jason' last='Gardner Jr.'], but they aren't the only sophomore duo in the state making noise. Pike High School features [player_tooltip player_id='2194328' first='Jahari' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2266896' first='Isaiah' last='Hill'] who are both future high-major players. Miller played his freshman season at Overtime Elite before coming home to Pike and has immediately made a major impact. He is a pure scoring with big time shooting ability. As for Hill, the 6'11" center just keeps getting better and better. He can stretch the floor, has rapidly improving hands, finishes above the rim, and provides elite rim protection. When it is all said and done he will likely be the #1 prospect in Indiana's Class of 2027. Yes, he is that good. Obviously, [player_tooltip player_id='2195051' first='Jaylan' last='Mitchell'] at Evansville Reitz is a special prospect in his own right and is already considered a Top 10 prospect nationally in the class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1297011' first='Damon' last='Howard']'s Injury + Recruitment</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had already planned to write this segment on [player_tooltip player_id='1297011' first='Damon' last='Howard'] before his scary injury that took place on Saturday. Unfortunately, that will likely impact his ability to play for quite a while, but everything I am about to say remains true. Again, this isn't something I do here on the public forum very often, but Howard deserves the shoutout. I've seen this dynamic playmaker play a lot over the last few years between high school ball and in the summer with Progeny. He is a Division I level creator. If you are a school in the MAAC, OVC, MEAC, NEC, or SWAC you should be recruiting him. Even if he doesn't player another high school game this season you should watch the tape and offer him. That obviously is especially true for many Division II and NAIA programs in the Midwest as well. The fact that he only holds one offer right now, from Black Hawk College (a DII JUCO) is a failure on the part of programs throughout the area and country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Small School Star</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It doesn't get much smaller than New Washington High School. They have an under-the-radar star right now though in senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1539498' first='Mason' last='Arthur']. In the Crothersville Holiday Tournament over the weekend, Arthur poured in 47 points against Waldron to go along with 16 rebounds and 5 steals. Then, he backed it up with 36 points and 7 rebounds in a championship game win over Southwestern (Shelbyville). Arthur is one of the top scorers in the state with high-level shot-making ability. Definitely one for college coaches to get eyes on here as the New Year begins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->