Week 2: 2025 Standouts

In between the first tournament of the local HS season and with 3 other tournaments starting today, I wanted to reflect back on some standouts from regular season games this week. It's always important to show love to the seniors, so we will start with the 2025 prospects that impressed us the most this week. Let's get it going!    34p 7r 2b 1s 1a vs MSJ   -Ellison had a statement game in a big OT win for a Loyola team looking to separate themselves from the pack in the competitive Baltimore Catholic League. Ellison operates efficiently from either elbow, facing up or backing down to hit fall-away jumpers over the defense. Ellison's ability to draw contact in the paint earns him a ton of easy opportunities to get or stay in a rhythm throughout the game. He showed the full offensive arsenal against the Gaels: hitting the bump and lay in transition, created the contact before finishing with a floater off glass, read the passer's eyes for a steal and spike at the other end, scored around the defense using a great pivot from the midpost to lay it off glass, hit a midpost fade-away, drilled a corner 3, and hit several face-up jumpers from the top of the key. An absolute steal for Delaware as one of the youngest prospects in his grade.     14p 7r 4a 2s 1b vs Loyola   -Always come away impressed by how many areas Green impacts the game for the Gaels. Green got going early with a defensive rebound that turned into a C2C bump and short jumper off the spin move in transition. His shooting touch has improved around the basket as has the arc on his shots, showing the ability to hit the pull up middy the very next possession in the paint. Green gets to the line often and gets opponents in foul trouble by drawing contact in the paint, is an incredibly pesky on-ball defender that forces his matchup to take some tough shots, and wins every 50-50 ball. If the outside jumper begins to fall at a consistent rate and his handle can smooth out to navigate tight gaps, I expect his recruitment to pick up quite a bit.     10p 6r 8b 1a 1s vs Riverdale   -Adams was everywhere defensively for a CG that struggled to score throughout the night and really needed his shot-blocking (8!!!) to stay in the game. Strong with a good frame, Adams is a consistent shot-blocker both on and off the ball. I wouldn't say he's comfortable guarding on the perimeter but he can move well enough to stay with wings and chests up well on drives to avoid a whistle. His motor also runs hot on the backboards as a tenacious rebounder, outworking double teams on the block to corral misses and kick out to his shooters. If he can finish around the basket with either hand and speeds up his shooting mechanics to become a consistent C+S midrange guy-- he would be a consistently-potent offensive option.     14p 5r vs Clinton Grace   -Caught Greene on a rare off shooting night but the senior wing still found ways to impact the game on the glass and by taking his matchup off the bounce. 6'4 with a sturdy frame, his footwork has really improved to pivot around defenders on the low block and the touch around the basket allows his to score it much easier in traffic. With 3 different And-1 lays off of short rolls to the rim and backdoor cuts, he proved that he can finish through contact as well. Greene's blend of ball skills and size point make him a name to track in 2025     16p 5r 2a vs Spalding   -One of my favorite pure PGs to watch in the area, Scott made chicken salad out of a rough shooting day for the Cougars. The senior floor general bailed his team out with two C+S threes at the end of shot clocks and sliced to the rim for easy twos or drop-offs to a teammate throughout the game. The touch in and around the paint has improved, as he finished with a floater off glass from the side of the basket and had a extension finish drop through the night after hitting high off the glass on the way up. How well he is able to find teammates off of broken plays at the end of shot clocks and get his shooters going will likely play a big role in his team's performance in close games.     6p 4r 1a vs MSJ   -Palmer's physical play from the wings and in the paint defensively played a big role in disrupting MSJ's offensive flow throughout the contest. 6'5 with a wiry strength, Palmer slides well defensively and was active as a helper on rotations from the weakside corner shooter to rollers/slashers at the rim. Palmer's spacing to the corners after sprinting in transition led to open passing and driving lanes for his teammates, love his situational awareness and positioning at both ends of the floor. This was my first time seeing him in extended minutes and I came away intrigued with his long term potential as a wing prospect.

In between the first tournament of the local HS season and with 3 other tournaments starting today, I wanted to reflect back on some standouts from regular season games this week. It's always important to show love to the seniors, so we will start with the 2025 prospects that impressed us the most this week. Let's get it going!