What It Takes: '26+'27 Standouts

Our scouts pulled up to Friendship Tech Prep in DC to attend a great showcase pitting some of the top teams in DC against other talented local and out of state schools. The 4-game event featured a ton of local fan support that made it a great environment to catch some high-level HS hoops on a Saturday!!     New readers: Use code Proia30 for discount at checkout!    30p 8r 1a vs Christ School   -Shackleford proved his worthiness as a T15 prospect in the class with a standout scoring performance that got a nice boost from his work on the offensive glass. After an up and down 1H of play, Shackleford led his team back by as many as 17 down by getting paint touches and hitting the glass heavy to extend possessions for his team. He hit a swooping double clutch lay off glass, had a great rebound in traffic and quick outlet to a team at the other end, showed great footwork on a curl into a 3 off the BLOB SET, had a great sprint to catch up to the play to create a 2 on 1 in transition and lay it up for 2, and hit 3 triples to go with 2 FTs and a blow by layup in the last 3 minutes to bring the game to as close as 1. His sidestep 3 OTB after hitting a deep C+S look showed a better handle that is getting him into pull-ups much more efficiently and with range. Love his assertiveness on the offensive glass in the second half, grabbing 4 offensive rebounds in that half alone and converting two of those into putback buckets. I also liked the adjustment this season to play much more often off of two feet in the paint to take advantage of his footwork, balance, and finishing bag to score around the defense without missing any bunnies. MM coaches need to get involved with the 3-level scoring guard.       12p vs Eastern   -His energy forcing TOs and getting his team out in transition in the 2H flipped the game and led to the eventual win for his team. Steele showed off his speed in the open court and got himself going with a long rebound that he turned into a C2C extension layup with the inside hand just past the swarming defense. His change of speed and low center of gravity allowed him to beat his matchup to the spot even if he got a late start at the outset.     -Phillips was subbed into the game just before halftime and provided a steady hand to bring the ball up the floor to weave through Eastern's defensive pressure and get KIPP a good look at the basket. The handle and some nice pass off of pivot work between double teams and help defenders created the angles he needed to find his teammates around the fullcourt pressure. Had a beautiful crosscourt pass through the double team after he picked up the ball in a bad spot along the sideline, timed a late bounce pass in transition to a streaking teammate for a much-needed layup.     2p 6r 5a 3s vs Christ School   -Polk struggled to score at the offensive end today, missing a few open looks that he normally makes beyond the arc and in the paint. But he was huge for Tech Prep's run late in the 4Q to collect steals and make the right play for a teammate in transition. His energy as a disruptive gnat of a defender both on and off the ball created a ton of problems for the Christ School. I liked that regardless of how his own offensive performance was going, Polk continued to put pressure on the defense by generating paint touches and pushing his team to get easy ones in transition. He came up huge late when he rebounded his own miss then got from the lane to the opposite 3 point line before finding Shackleford on the opposite wing for an open 3 to make it a 1-possession game with under 30 seconds left in the game. His winning brand of basketball makes him a hard prospect to keep off the floor because of the way his energy can spark runs.     9p 2r 2s vs Tech Prep   -Sophomore wing came off the bench and made the most of his opportunity, knocking down a trio of 3s in the 1H to space the floor and give his team a double-digit lead going into half against the tournament's host in a hostile environment. Vickery moves to space well and stays shot ready to get off corner 3s from either side that hit nothing but net on the w ay down. Doesn't have the handle yet to serve as much more than a connector offensively but he always has his head up and is looking to make the right play in the halfcourt. Liked that he wasn't afraid to mix it up in the paint to chip in on box outs on both ends of the floor and came off the bench firing, with two 3s within his first 3 minutes of playing time. With his positional size and growing skillset, he could be a name to watch out of the 2027 NC class.     13p 5r 1s vs Douglass   -Love the way that McCallop battled from start to finish as a shifty guard off the bench that SEED deployed to give themselves a nice holt at the offensive end of the floor. McCallop checked into the game and immediately hit a pull up 2, delivered a crisp cross court dime to a shooter diagonally across the paint from him, had a nice spin into the floater in the middle of the paint that he was able to finish through the contact for the AND1 bucket. I also came away impressed with the feel and poise that he played with despite the score, his age, and how often his stretches of playing time would last each time.     2p 4r 1s vs Christ School   -Coach Shack inserted Lloyd into the game after a starter went down early in the 1H with an injury and the sophomore W/F prospect did not disappoint when called upon in this game. An athletic hustle guy that was first to the floor for several long rebounds and to corral deflections, he did a great job of throwing his body around in the paint to fight a HM commit for boards around the rim. As he develops and adds more muscle on an already-stocky frame, I expect him to play through more and more contact around the basket to be a force in the paint for Tech Prep for the next three years.

Our scouts pulled up to Friendship Tech Prep in DC to attend a great showcase pitting some of the top teams in DC against other talented local and out of state schools. The 4-game event featured a ton of local fan support that made it a great environment to catch some high-level HS hoops on a Saturday!!