MADE Hoops East Warmup: Ari's Saturday 15U Eye-catchers

MADE Hoops continued its Northeast spring event season with its East Warmup event kicking off Friday night at Spooky Nook in PA, featuring hundreds of teams from the MADE circuits, the EYBL, and beyond. See below for a handful of prospects who caught the eye on Saturday with their play in the 15U division.    While he wasn't necessarily the driving factor of Durant's emphatic win over [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final'], Acquah showed highly intriguing flashes from a prospect standpoint that pointed to a significant long-term upside. More of a natural forward, he's begun transitioning to the perimeter while stretching out and shedding baby fat, showcasing a skilled and methodical multi-level attack. The reps he got playing on-ball offered the most extensive look at what things could look like when all comes together. With D1 bloodlines (his dad is 7'1" and played at Southern Illinois), Acquah looks set to emerge as a prospect in his own right before too long.     Coming off a productive year as one of the more impactful freshman in the Philly Catholic League, Avery is showing nice progress with his play thus far on the grassroots circuit. A natural mismatch at the forward spot, he looks increasingly comfortable out to the perimeter with the potential to transition more fully to the wing over time. Avery is comfortable as a catch-and-shoot threat from the arc with increasingly soft touch, setting up a balanced and methodical dribble-drive game once defenders run out at him. With a naturally bulky frame and football bloodlines, he brings an inherent toughness to the floor near the rim as well. Look for Avery to be squarely on D1 radars heading into his sophomore year.     Dunkley-Samuels showed flashes of brilliance amid an injury-riddled freshman year at Life Center, but the Canadian swingman showed signs of starting to put it all together during his [program_tooltip program_id='2078709' first='Team' last='Final'] debut on Saturday. A pogo-stick athlete with slinky movements and enormous length, he was a persistent factor on both ends while flying around the court with an unbridled motor. On a team without an imposing interior presence, he was willing and effective showing his instincts crashing down for rebounds and blocks. He shined getting out in transition with flashes of spotup shooting and perimeter slashing in the halfcourt. He's still rough around the edges but Saturday offered a glimpse of what the high-level upside could look like for Dunkley-Samuels.     While he may not always dominate the scoring column, it's impossible to miss Smith's two-way contributions to winning over the course of a game. With two years of high-level varsity reps under his belt already, his experience pays dividends as Smith plays with a maturity and efficiency that's rare to see on the 15U level. He flies around the court on both ends with his graceful athleticism but all while staying under control and in proper position to win possessions for his team. He's still learning how to take over games, but Smith's ability to stand out on the margins while flashing evolving abilities as a primary scorer and playmaker provide the recipe for a potential national-level prospect when all is said and done.     Chwastyk commands attention as soon as he takes the floor, particularly on the 15U level, thanks to his towering size and naturally fluid perimeter skillset. After a productive freshman year spent largely finetuning his game near the rim, Chwastyk showed impressive flashes of his putting together his full inside-out skillset in a tough loss to Team Durant in Final's opening day of competition for the spring. With a stronger, like-sized matchup in front of him, he impressed with his ability to put the ball on the deck for multiple bounces from the perimeter before getting into a scoring move, while also withstanding bumps defensively to bother shots at the rim with his length. The toughness Chwastyk showed will be key as he's still growing and in the early stages of filling out his frame. The potential for the highest levels of D1 is obvious.

MADE Hoops continued its Northeast spring event season with its East Warmup event kicking off Friday night at Spooky Nook in PA, featuring hundreds of teams from the MADE circuits, the EYBL, and beyond. See below for a handful of prospects who caught the eye on Saturday with their play in the 15U division.