Next National Championship: Automatic Bucket Getters

Here's the list of the top scorers that I saw at the Prep Hoops Next National Championship in Kansas City, MO over the weekend. Based on output, potential, off the ball production, and sure will power this group of young guys made a very strong impression throughout the tournament.    This kid has some mamba blood in him. Plays with a lot of willpower and energy that is hard to match. Brooks led his NS Ballerz AAU squad to victory over a more talented, in my opinion, squad in Team Herro. He kept getting bucket after bucket, rebound after rebound, off of sheer grit and determination. Then he capped it off with a 3 at the top of the key to seal the deal, amazing work!     Malik has uncapped offensively potential. This kid can handle the rock, play point forward if needed, and can score in the paint. He's already on my first team all defense for this tournament and his offensive potential can be just as good. A little bit more post work and this guy will be a major problem in years to come. Athletically, he has the gift and the same goes for him physically. Malik will be on everyone's radar pretty soon.     Great post-work, solid mechanics. Martavion did a great job of establishing position in the post and then getting good shots off against taller defenders. Seems to have a good base/core in which it's not easy to move him off his spot. Martavion has the best post-game that I've seen in a while. His shooting form is pretty solid, and he seems to be comfortable with his follow-through on his shots from the perimeter. He's the type of player who can get on a roll in the post, and you would need to keep feeding him because his production from there seems like easy work. Putting your average wing or guard on him, size-wise, is not advisable.     5'11 Point guard with a supreme handle and quiet confidence. His mid-range is absolutely deadly. He can maneuver and get to his middy-pull-up with ease. Eric does a great job of incorporating his teammates in the game and not taking too many shots while still being able to be aggressive in his own right in doing so. He can let the game come to him and still be extremely effective in scoring the ball. Most importantly, Eric already knows his game and knows how to attack and get to his spots quickly without draining too much shot clock. Extremely impressed with this kid.     6-foot Point Guard who can play on ball or off the ball and still effectively score. Josh is an Elite athlete, so you may have to be aware that he might dunk on you, especially if he gets ahead of steam or in the open floor. He attacks aggressively when he scores and prefers to get near the paint when doing so.     In his final game at the next nationals, Bret almost dropped a 40-burger (in less than 35 minutes of play) to lead his team Kansas Select AAU squad, to victory to win 3rd place in the 13u division. His overall game consists of doing an amazing job at pushing the pace up the floor and increasing the tempo. He is technically a wing, but he can easily play point-forward and do a great job at it. Excellent shooter from the FT line and knows how to get there often.     Solid poise as a playmaker. Vaughn has enormous potential. I saw him hit a left-handed middy on the wing near the 3-point line when under duress and drained the shot with perfect form and didn't even bat an eye. Clearly, he has a smooth or, should I say, a Suave left-handed stroke to go along with him being seemingly a natural right-hander.     High IQ point guard. Makes timely decisions and, most impressively, all of his shots are good shots and within the offense. Moves well off the ball and is an impressive passer. Brody does a great job of knowing when to go and when to run a play. When he doesn't, he does a good job of looking at the coach for communication. Plays well in the clutch and doesn't get rattled when being down on the scoreboard, despite once having a clear lead in the game. He understands the game has runs and flows with it, and still makes timely buckets. Brody is active at getting to the cup when in need of a bucket instead of just jacking up 3's. Great work! I Fink he's the one!     Does an excellent job at moving without the ball and is a solid finisher at the rim. Grayson plays even bigger than his size and has good hands in terms of catching passes and/or lobs to the rim. Grayson also seems to pick up on what plays need to be run at a given time and executes seamlessly. He does a really good job of running the floor and putting pressure on the defense.     NiJae can score in double figures without a play being run for him. He does a great job of always finding his way near or around the ball and is active with getting his hands on the ball on Offensive and Defensive rebounds. The best part is, when he gets the ball off an Offensive rebound, he seems to know how to keep the ball high to score and not bring it down low for an extra dribble to get it stripped from him. Just those fundamentals and multiple efforts around the boards alone get him easy buckets and to the FT line often.     Adonis has a well-rounded game. Can lead a fast break, can rise up over the top and shoot clean middies, and can attack the basket with force. Adonis is an offensive-minded player, and he seems to think "score" at all times. Top tier athlete, he can run the floor well, and he gets good bounce off the floor. He may still be trying to find his natural position as he grows, but one thing is for certain: whatever position he plays, the shot attempts are going up for sure. I'm not seeing any lack of confidence in his game whatsoever.

Here's the list of the top scorers that I saw at the Prep Hoops Next National Championship in Kansas City, MO over the weekend. Based on output, potential, off the ball production, and sure will power this group of young guys made a very strong impression throughout the tournament.