Sleepy Thompson '27 + '28 Standouts

The 68th Annual Sleepy Thompson tournament at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes Upper School was a great place to get an early season look at some local DMV teams as well as a few teams from the 757. We watched games from both the winners' and consolation brackets and came away with several new standouts as well as players that we are already familiar with performing at a high level. Let's take a more in-depth look at our standouts from the freshman and sophomore classes!      15p 6a 2r vs St. Andrew's   -Impactful play out of the Episcopal floor general to win this matchup with St. Andrew's. Edmonds got it going early with two floaters through contact, hit a snatch back pull up middy from the left wing, and completed a great drive straight down the middle of the lane to engage the helper and drop it off to a big for an easy bucket. Edmonds showed a nice spring in his step on drives to the rim, doing a great job of seeking out and playing through contact at both ends of the floor throughout the night. He got activated defensively towards the end of the 1H after a rough start to the game, forcing a jump-ball on the sidelines by fighting through a pindown and doing a much better job in the 2H of staying in front. Edmonds got away with one but drew a foul with 1.6 left on the clock down 1 and sunk the game-winning FTs, sealing the win for his team on Day 2 of the Sleepy Thompson     13p 8r 4b 1a vs St. Michael   -Came away impressed with the patience and execution on the low block out of Gregory as he came two rebounds short of a triple double while shooting 56% from the floor. Gregory got it going early with a catch in the middle of the zone before he hit the midrange J, and proceeded to score effectively within the flow of the game. The touch is pretty automatic from the low block and the jumper and FT form look fluid. I wouldn't say that Gregory is a physical specimen yet, but he plays with some moxie and isn't afraid to mix it up in the paint fighting for rebounds. I was impressed by how well he communicates on the back line of the defense, executing a drop coverage pretty effectively but closing space with drivers if they turned the corner coming off a ball screen and contested their shots around the basket. I also liked his defensive awareness to recover from the opposite side to block shots if the opponent grabbed an offensive board-- the awareness and communication is always great to see in a young prospect. Gregory was efficient with his movement and dribbles, looking comfortable bringing the ball up the floor and creating for others in the halfcourt. There's a lot of upside here as a skilled big that can stretch the floor and serve as an effective connector.     7p 12r 3a 4b 1s vs Pallotti   -Love the motor that Sako plays with at both ends of the floor as an energetic, physical W/F prospect that makes up for his relative lack of feel with energy and athleticism. Sako is beginning to understand rotations and help responsibilities much better to be in the right spot for his team. He's also doing a better job catching the ball in traffic and scoring off a pivot to finish more efficiently around the basket without turning the ball over. The speed and leaping ability make him a valuable target in transition, interested to see how his development plays out over the next three years.     4a 1b vs St. Michael   -Came off the bench and moved the ball effectively in the halfcourt to stretch out the Trinity lead and get some of his weapons going. A quick ballhandler that weaves pretty effortlessly through traffic and isn't bothered by double teams, Branch gave Trinity good minutes as he executed on one-handed whip passes to perimeter shooters and rollers alike throughout the 1H. Punctuated his 1H opportunities with a chasedown block from behind in transition, sprinting back and timing it just right. Interested to see how his development progresses with more opportunity in a good Trinity system.     14p 6r 3a 1s   -Nelson really lit it up offensively in the 1H, hitting 3s OTB and off of movement and sparking transition opportunities with defensive rebounds and coast to coast drives. The handle and passing ability are starting to show more frequently in flashes but I need to see him use his quickness to get past his matchup to distribute and not just score. Nelson hit a spin move and altered a pull-up jumper into a dump to the big for an easy two midway through the 1Q, but we need to see more of that consistently mixed in with the perimeter scoring for him to reach his ceiling as a prospect. With three years in a good system and a nice skillbase to draw from, he'll eventually figure it out.     14p 3r 1s vs St. Andrew's   -Had an explosive shooting run early in the 2Q to build up a good lead for the Titans, hitting 4/5 from distance off of movement and C+S opportunities to space the floor effectively for his team. Miles competed defensively and executed long closeouts after tagging the roller in the paint, keeping his head up to avoid over-balancing and stay in front. With good positional size and the confidence to step into tough jumpers all over the floor- I feel good about his long term upside as a prospect.

The 68th Annual Sleepy Thompson tournament at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes Upper School was a great place to get an early season look at some local DMV teams as well as a few teams from the 757. We watched games from both the winners' and consolation brackets and came away with several new standouts as well as players that we are already familiar with performing at a high level. Let's take a more in-depth look at our standouts from the freshman and sophomore classes!