Cayce Roundball Classic: American Bracket Friday Standouts

The 2024 Cayce Roundball Classic took place this week at Brookland-Cayce High School in Cayce, South Carolina. I was in attendance on Friday, December 27th evaluating Day 1 of the American Bracket which featured Lexington, CA Johnson, South Pointe, Lower Richland, Byrnes, Chapin, Hammond, and Brookland-Cayce. Check out the eight prospects who stood out from Friday at the Cayce Roundball Classic:   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />    First up on the American Bracket Friday Standouts is [player_tooltip player_id='2405569' first='Sam' last='Mills']. He looked as good as I have seen him in their matchup with CA Johnson, starting off strong and aggressive in the opening quarter and sustaining for the rest of the game despite missing almost a quarter with a bloody nose. Sam displayed good post moves, soft touch on the rim, and great instincts on the offensive glass. He was at his best when he got the ball in the paint and worked quickly, preventing double teams and negating some footwork deficiencies. In Friday's loss, Mills racked up 14 Points and 6 Rebounds.     McCray had a terrific shooting game for CA Johnson in their first-round game. He opened up the game by knocking down his first two attempts from three, then was fouled on a third. He finished with 5 3PM, but also displayed athleticism, creativity, and playmaking. Milton's shooting and driving play off each other, keeping defenders off-balanced whenever he has the ball. He made several nice plays off the bounce and was good in the paint with crafty finishes and unselfish passes. McCray also made a very impressive play chasing down a guy in transition with an emphatic block. He put up 30 Points, 5 Assists, and 3 Blocks in the win.     Another big guy who stood in Columbia is [player_tooltip player_id='2430896' first='RJ' last='Hill']. He was extremely persistent on the offensive glass, even cleaning up a few of his own misses with second and third opportunities. Hill was active on both ends of the floor throughout the game, but stepped up late with back-to-back buckets in the paint midway through the fourth quarter to help his team in a win. RJ is capable of creating with his back to the basket, but excels when catching the ball facing up where he can finish strong through contact or above defenders with length and athleticism. In South Pointe's win over Lower Richland, he finished with a dominant 21 Points and 13 Rebounds.     Mario had a strong showing for Lower Richland despite the first-round loss. James is a calming force with the ball in his hands for the offense, rarely sitting for long stretches and always initiating sets when on the floor. Mario displayed a nice balance of scoring and facilitating, putting up 6 Points and 9 Assists while also adding 4 Steals. On the offensive end, his vision stood out as he threw some great passes in tight windows and found open guys when in the lane. On the defensive end, he picked up with good ball pressure and had active hands to force turnovers.     Enos is a standout from the eventual American Bracket Champions, Byrnes. Evan is one of the best shooters in South Carolina's 2025 Class and he started out with back-to-back made threes in Friday's game. The Rebels play the game at a very fast pace, never missing an opportunity to get out in transition and Evan gets a lot of good looks from three because of this style of play. Although he did have a solid shooting game and got to the free-throw line a couple of times, I was most impressed by Enos's effort on the defensive end. He hauled in 14 Rebounds and blocked 3 shots to go with his 14 Points, intimidating shots in the paint and looking strong on the glass in the win.     Tyson was a bright spot for Chapin in their loss to Byrnes. He had a game-high 20 Points and was efficient from all three levels. Ray plays off the ball mostly but he does run the offense well when given the opportunity. Tyson has a good handle and can read the floor well when attacking the basket. He also has good length to shoot over contests and finish over bigger players at the basket.     Hammond has several two-sport athletes on their roster and Haltiwanger was one of them who stood out on the basketball court at the Cayce Roundball Classic. Although he is a very good athlete, Jaiden is a polished basketball player. He is a knockdown perimeter shooter, a good ball-handler, an active defender, and a strong finisher. The Skyhawks matchup with the Bearcats was played at a very physical pace, so Haltiwanger excelled in battling through contact on both ends of the floor. He put up 16 Points in Hammond's first-round loss.     Rounding off Friday's American Bracket Standouts is [player_tooltip player_id='2469374' first='AJ' last='Edwards'] from the hosts Brookland-Cayce. He was crucial to the Bearcats' win over Hammond including having 8 Points of a 15-0 run to start the third quarter and finishing with 24 Points in the game. Edwards had 5 3PM, 4 of them were spot-up threes in the corner. At 6'4", AJ has the length to shoot over contests but he can also make plays off closeouts and finish at the rim. Edwards helped on the defensive glass too, hauling in 6 Rebounds including a couple of key ones down the stretch.

The 2024 Cayce Roundball Classic took place this week at Brookland-Cayce High School in Cayce, South Carolina. I was in attendance on Friday, December 27th evaluating Day 1 of the American Bracket which featured Lexington, CA Johnson, South Pointe, Lower Richland, Byrnes, Chapin, Hammond, and Brookland-Cayce. Check out the eight prospects who stood out from Friday at the Cayce Roundball Classic: