Ohio Prep Conference: 2025 Standouts

The Ohio Prep Conference had their first session this weekend hosted at Spire. In this article I'll break down the 2025 standouts I caught on Sunday during the event.    Truax had a nice game doing a lot of little things for Spire today. He was active on the offensive glass, crashing the boards off misses and getting extra possessions for his team. With a bigger frame, Truax can be a bit of a mismatch as a wing forward with his strength, rebounding ability and athleticism. Also able to put it on the deck, Truax had a couple closeout attacks where he made a quick move to get to the rim. Truax also made some hustle plays with a block from behind and activity without the ball. Truax has established himself as a key glue piece for Spire.     Register has continued to be productive during this post-grad year for Spire as his scoring and rebounding production has translated from the high school level. A majority of Register's points today came off second chance points as he outmuscled opposing forwards numerous times in the paint. In the second half Register started getting some isolation opportunities where he took forwards off the dribble from the top of the key and Spire spaced the defense out to give him open lanes to attack and finish. Register has taken this post grad year to improve his body and continue to show his production Vs tougher competition.     Finau is a big who you can throw the ball into on the block and watch him go to work. With soft touch on post hooks over his left shoulder, Finau is tough to stop when he gets position on the block. A massive frame, Finau is a load to deal with in the paint but struggles a little to move his feet on the perimeter defensively. The best play Finau made all game was when he demanded the ball in the paint against a guard, he made a contested catch before dunking all over a defender. I was really intrigued by the offensive skill Finau showed for a player his size.     Shaw might've been the most enjoyable player to watch all day, a guard who never stopped talking on either end, Shaw was very active. Defensively, Shaw did a lot of stunts and made the offense monitor where he was at all times. When he had the ball, Shaw used his quick first step to get to the paint consistently off the bounce. Shaw had mixed results finishing at the rim but his ability to get to the paint whenever he wanted to helped create a lot of offense. While Shaw has a slow release on 3-pointers, he made I believe five 3-pointers in this game. One sequence helped his team get back in the game as Shaw knocked down a transition 3-pointer, helped get a steal on the full court press and hit a corner 3 immediately following the steal. Count myself as a fan of Shaw after today.     Stinson Jr was absolutely dominant in Western Reserve Academy's win over AOA Prep. I was really impressed with his ability to get to the rim off the dribble and finish off two feet. With a strong base and his solid athleticism, Stinson is able to power through rim protectors and is tough to stop without helpside defense coming over to contest his shot. I also liked his efficiency from the mid-range area, getting some in rhythm shot attempts off DHO and PNR actions. Near the end of the game Stinson Jr knocked down a wing 3-pointer and had a putback layup after a free throw miss. A complete performance by Stinson Jr, who is a clear Division I target and one of the top unsigned prospects in Ohio's 2025 class.

The Ohio Prep Conference had their first session this weekend hosted at Spire. In this article I'll break down the 2025 standouts I caught on Sunday during the event.