Zero Gravity States Standouts: Part 2

This weekend, I attended the Zero Gravity Massachusetts State Championships. I spent my time at Dana Barros Basketball Club on both Saturday and Sunday and tried to catch as many games as possible. As always, it's impossible to see and get a good read on everyone, so these are just some players that initially stood out. Below is part two.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/05/zero-gravity-states-standouts-part-1/">Here is part one if you missed it.</a>    You might know Gonzalves is going to his strong hand (southpaw), but he still has a knack for finishing high off the glass in super difficult situations. The 6-foot-2 wing uses his big body to take contact in the air and finish amongst the trees, and he has really nice touch around the rim. Defensively, he slides his feet well when he's engaged and can guard bigger players as a result of his strength. If he wants to play at the college level, he'll definitely have to improve his lateral quickness and conditioning, but he has time to do so.     Baptiste plays like a man amongst boys. He's sort of a combo of a wing and an undersized big man, but his incredible strength allows him to compete with bigger forwards. He's virtually impossible to box out and when he's playing with physicality and effort, he's so difficult to keep off the boards. He also shows some flashes of solid ball handling ability for his size, though he'll definitely need to improve a lot there if he wants to play scholarship level basketball. If he can figure out the mental side of the game — playing hard consistently and taking good shots — the sky's the limit for him.     Payne has some nice wiggle to his game and shows off a lot more offensive creation and scoring ability with Team Sims than he does for his Tabor squad during the winter season. He's a three level scorer who has a nice handle, and he can elevate at the rim for finishes and dunks. Seems like he's getting some D1 and D2 looks, but I think his best fit would probably be at a super high level D3 school, where he would come in his freshman season and play a lot. It's all about opportunity, and Payne looks vastly different in different basketball circumstances, so it's important he finds a good home.     O'Neill plays with an incredible pace and patience for his age. The 6-foot-1 junior does such a good job getting defenders on his back and puncturing the paint, and he has a great knack for finding his teammates no matter what situation he's in. You just don't tend to see this kind of cerebral play from a high schooler, let alone a freshman. He can also stroke it from three and handle it very well. Sky's the limit for O'Neill, who I can't imagine with be at Swampscott High School for that much longer.     I've seen Nkugwa play many times over at Governor's Academy, but he was a lot more aggressive creating offensively for his Team Sims squad. The 6-foot combo guard is super quick and jolty with the ball in his hands, and he's able to shoot it from the midrange and three, which makes him a pretty tough cover. He's also a great athlete at the rim who can fly in transition and take contact from opposing bigs effectively. Nkugwa plays with an energy and motor that'll keep him on the court for Governor's Academy next season, and some added offensive reps there will be really good for his development.

This weekend, I attended the Zero Gravity Massachusetts State Championships. I spent my time at Dana Barros Basketball Club on both Saturday and Sunday and tried to catch as many games as possible. As always, it's impossible to see and get a good read on everyone, so these are just some players that initially stood out. Below is part two.