The Stage: Hoosier State Standouts 15U Division

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opening stop of the Midwest Prep Hoops Circuit took place outside of Indianapolis this past weekend. After giving a pretty diverse geographic covering of the field. I'll turn my attention the the home team with standouts from the Hoosier state. <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2382150' first='Brody' last='Hiester'] 6-2 Evansville Mater Dei (pictured) </strong>Caught my eye early with outstanding game on Friday night against Kentucky's Shelby County Stars. Wasn't scared of the moment and wanted the ball late in what became a close loss. Made some big shots. Including a super clutch text book pick and pop three. Battled hard down low against an opponent he was giving up some serious size too. While he played in the post during this contest. Clearly has the ball skills and ability to extend his game. Put up 25 points in that game and continued to have a good overall weekend for Indiana's Finest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2823963' first='Kyron' last='Johnson'] 5-9 New Albany </strong>Era Elite had a dominant and undefeated weekend. Johnson was essentially the trigger man and had a big hand in that. Was a huge factor defensively with his next level quickness. However it was more than just athleticism. Also showed good instincts and had a few tricks up his sleeve. In the closing contest. Ran somewhat even with a ball handler appearing to be focused on something else down the court. Before suddenly changing course and getting an easy steal from an unsuspecting player. I've been around a long time. That was something new. Not very big, but has sturdy frame that absorbed contact on drives. With the speed and intangibles, definitely a prospect to monitor in Indiana's 2028 class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2560359' first='David' last='Smith'] 6-1 North Central </strong>Where Johnson is stout and strong. Smith fit the ethos of the [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] backcourt with a more lanky frame. Is a quick and shifty ball handler. Changes directions suddenly and in control. Drives hard to the basket. Will need to add weight to his frame to become a better finisher. However that is a bit of a knit pick as he had plenty of time to do so. Standout contest was his opening effort. Gave Nova Village their toughest contest of the weekend. The Ohio club featured an extremely good backcourt. Smith played them virtually even. Putting up 11 points in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2382147' first='Markell' last='Cayce'] 6-1 Evansville Harrison </strong>Cayce was a “jack of all trades” type player for Indiana's Finest. Showed the strength to play and bang down low. But also the versatility to stretch his game out to the wing. Standout contest was Saturday morning victory against Mississippi's Run As One squad. Against one the bigger frontlines in the field, Cayce found seams and accumulated easy baskets. Good athlete who also garnered plenty of second chance opportunities on the offensive glass. Scored 16 points in the victory. I'm an out of state scout. I suspect there more of a wing skillset to his game than what I was able to see this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2382155' first='Jerrick' last='Finn'] 5-9 Evansville North </strong>While Hiester and Cayce were doing the dirty work down low. Finn was the steady point guard hand for Indiana's Finest. Has a lanky frame that made him seem bigger than his listed height. Showed toughness by battling heavy contact against some big frontlines. Has a solid handle and is hard to turnover. Plenty of quickness and got to his spots easily. Was able to get the ball where it needed in a nip and tuck opening loss. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2830455' first='Jake' last='Willing'] 6-8 Guerin Catholic </strong>I can't let the guards have all the ink. Willing is more of a project at this point. However you can't teach size. Willing certainly has it. Beyond just the height, has a thick and sturdy frame with good mobility as well. Battled hard against a Chicago squad that featured a 6-10 prospect. Will need to get quicker, as he wasn't as effective against teams with smaller frontlines. This was apparent in a closing outing against Michigan's The Academy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->