Pro16/NXTPro Bryan Saturday: Winners Bracket Standouts

The second to last stop for the Pro16/NXTPro league took place in Bryan at the Legends Event Center and had all the big names of high school basketball in attendance. Over 430 collegiate coaches attended the tournament over the four-day span and Saturday had the competition starting to heat up on the way to the finals. I was able to watch several prospects I have never gotten the chance to evaluate, so let's dive deeper into examining six of the top Saturday performers.    Ernas Valauskas was a sharpshooting machine for Sipp United 17u in their morning Pro16 victory over 1 Family 17u. Ernas knows how to pick his spots to knock down jumpers from long range on offense and is an underrated fastbreak and perimeter defender. He never stopped moving off the ball and made the defense think twice about leaving him open from anywhere beyond the arc. To add to his highlights, Ernas also hit the last second halfcourt heave for Sipp United to take home the win and advance in bracket play.     Zion Green was a force in the paint for Team ASP in their win over Louisiana Elite Pro16 to take home the victory. He used his towering height to finish over opponents easily in the post and even slammed home a few alley-oops. Zion is fundamental when it comes to his paint defense, not biting on pump fakes and rejecting several shots at the basket. Green knows how to fill lanes on fastbreaks and cut to the basket when open for an easy two points.     Kaelen was a great pacemaker for Castle Athletics 17u in their mid-afternoon win over Tennessee Travelers 17u. Destin knows how to control the ball even under pressure and is very unselfish when running the point guard slot. He is an aggressive on ball defender and notched several steals because of constant pressure on opposing ballhandlers. Look for Kaelen to greatly improve his stock heading into this fall season.     Isaiah Carroll used his size and frame to score well in the post to help BTI capture a primetime win over [program_tooltip program_id='2078780' first='3D' last='Empire'] Pro16. Carroll is effective off the pick and roll and can finish through tough contact and cash in at the charity stripe. Isaiah has a good quick first step off the dribble and knows how to work his way to the basket effectively from the perimeter, consistently finishing at the rim and in the midrange.     Amir was the main driving force behind the offense for the BTI Pro16 17u as they took home a clutch victory on Saturday afternoon to move forward in bracket play. Jones is a good 3 level scorer and can knock down shots from anywhere on the court, as well as throwing some "drop of a dime" passes to teammates cutting to the rim or open on the perimeter. Amir also has good defense when it comes to predicting the opposing offense's gameplan as he is always in the passing lanes and is a good break starter.     Howard Williams showcased himself as the main scorer for Team Haliburton Pro16 16u in their game against Southern Ties. Williams can score from anywhere on the perimeter and started this game 5/5 on jumpers as he was dialed in from long range. Howard uses his size to his advantage well as a ballhandler to get past smaller defenders to the rim and shoot at an effective clip for his team to get the W. This was my second time getting to watch Howard since last summer and he already has greatly improved his IQ and decision making on both ends of the floor.

The second to last stop for the Pro16/NXTPro league took place in Bryan at the Legends Event Center and had all the big names of high school basketball in attendance. Over 430 collegiate coaches attended the tournament over the four-day span and Saturday had the competition starting to heat up on the way to the finals. I was able to watch several prospects I have never gotten the chance to evaluate, so let's dive deeper into examining six of the top Saturday performers.