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<p>Big Shots came to Richmond with Paul Biancardi at the Henrico Sports Complex, bringing with them some of the top teams from across VA and the entire east coast. With so much talent in the building, we'll take a look over the next few days of some of the best players from the event. Here's a look at some of the top standouts from NC.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1900239' first='Justin' last='Caldwell'] | 6'8” PF | Washington Warriors</strong></p>
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<p>Caldwell has been a breakout player over the past few years, earning himself national recognition at Berean Baptist in NC, and he chose to come to the DMV for AAU and should continue to breakout on the 3SSB Circuit with a talented Warriors team. The 6'8” forward has all the tools of a new age four man, as he is strong enough to out muscle guys in the paint, athletic enough to play above the rim and run the floor, and skilled enough to play on the perimeter and make shots. He shot the ball well from deep with little to no space, he showed his explosive finishing ability with multiple highlight reel finishes, he used his size to crash the glass and was versatile defensively too.</p>
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<p><strong>Cade Murphy | 6'5” WG | [program_tooltip program_id='2227286' first='Team' last='Loaded South']</strong></p>
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<p>Murphy has been a staple for the Loaded South (formerly NC) team over the past three years, and the Knoxville, TN native was fantastic for them on their run to the championship, even hitting the game winner against a very good Loaded VA team. The 6'5” wing is an absolute sniper from deep, as he showed effortless range and the ability to make tough shots on the move and make defenders pay for over helping. He shot it at a very high clip from deep, showed his ability to be a secondary ball handler and distributor and he showed leadership qualities as he was vocal and encouraged his teammates on both ends of the floor.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1280933' first='Kobe' last='Edwards'] | 6'3” PG | [program_tooltip program_id='2226307' first='Team' last='Loaded VA']</strong></p>
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<p>Edwards has recently announced he will head back to [program_tooltip program_id='2226248' first='Boo' last='Williams'] where he played 16U last year, but in this event he was fantastic for Loaded showing his ability to run the show and make plays across the board for his team. He was fantastic setting the tempo, pushing it in transition and using his speed to put pressure on the defense and get to the rim. He finished well with both hands when he got downhill, he made plays for others, showed great handle and shiftiness in isolation and was a great on ball defender as well.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1280878' first='Antonio' last='McKoy'] | 6'5” WG | [program_tooltip program_id='2226307' first='Team' last='Loaded VA']</strong></p>
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<p>The 6'5” wing from Harrells Christian is in a great position with this Loaded team, who has both dominant and playmaking guards that can create for McKoy's his shooting and scoring ability. At 6'5” with a big frame, McKoy showed the ability to stretch the floor on kick-outs and he doesn't need a lot of time to get his shot off. He showed his ability to handle in transition and attack closeouts to get to the rim and finish, and he was solid defensively as he challenged shots and jumped passing lanes as well.</p>
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<p><strong>Louis O'Keefe | 6'3” CG | [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road']</strong></p>
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<p>O'Keefe is from Nashville and plays his high school ball in Boston at Newman Academy, but during the summer he's going to be a key contributor for this [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road'] team on the 3SSB Circuit. I got to see O'Keefe quite a bit on the National Prep Circuit in a very structured system with Newman, and watching him the up-and-down style of grassroots I got to see him play more with the ball and a little more freely which showed me more to his game than I knew he had. He showed a swagger to him with the ability to create in isolation or pick and-rolls with great footwork to create space and knock down shots, he moved well off the ball and made shots on the move, he showed toughness on the defensive end and he was great getting downhill and playing through contact.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2043250' first='Jyi' last='Dawkins'] | 6'2” PG | [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road']</strong></p>
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<p>Dawkins was a player I was very high on four years ago when I watched him in The Platform Middle School Circuit, and while I haven't seen the Charlotte native much since then I remember saying “his game will translate” and it sure seems like it has as he played very well at the event. The 6'2” lefty is set to have a breakout summer, as he showed he can score it in a lot of ways both on and off the ball, as well as the ability to make plays for others. He showed good change of pace and a quick first step to get to the rim, he finished with athleticism and craftiness in traffic, he scored it from all three levels and constantly put pressure on the defense.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2292410' first='Jordan' last='Page'] | 6'6"WF | [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road'] 16U</strong></p>
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<p>It was my first time getting to watch Page who many of you in the Hoop State have said is one of the best sophomores in the state, and as usual you all were right as it took all of about three minutes to realize he has sky high potential. The 6'6” lefty just moves like a ball player, with effortless strides to run in transition and explosive leaping ability with long arms to allow him to rebound and challenge shots. He showed good potential on the perimeter as he handled it and created shots off the bounce, he made shots off the catch from deep, he got to the line often and he seems like he still has a lot of room to grow moving forward.</p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2149164' first='RJ' last='Moore'] | 6'2” CG | [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road'] 16U</strong></p>
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<p>I have to commend the great Hoop State again on their ravins of this young man, as Moore was absolutely dynamic for [program_tooltip program_id='2078500' first='Garner' last='Road'], particularly down the stretch when they needed someone to make a big shot. The 6'2” combo was elite creating for himself off the bounce, showing great balance and footwork when creating space, as well as the IQ and ability to punish defenders on size ups when they were on their heels. He made tough shots in the midrange with pull-ups and fall aways, he got to the rim where he finished well and drew contact often, and he was at his brightest when his team needed him the most.</p>
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Big Shots came to Richmond with Paul Biancardi at the Henrico Sports Complex, bringing with them some of the top teams from across VA and the entire east coast. With so much talent in the building, we'll take a look over the next few days of some of the best players from the event. Here's a look at some of the top standouts from NC.
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