Tip Off: Prephoops Freshman Showcase

Saturday in Edmond was an intro to a group of freshmen eager to make an impact at the high school level. Here's an opener with a top performer, outstanding guards and a group of prospects catching the eye with an intangible trait.     <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Check back throughout the week for more coverage of the Showcase!</h2>     The Headliner    The tallest player at the camp, it was no surprise to see the Hornet among the standouts. He drew "oohs and ahhs" with a handful of rim rattling slams. While also taking advantage of the free flowing nature of camp basketball to display his improving perimeter skills. Robinson will likely cut his teeth this year as a rim presence for a Booker T team returning one of the best backcourts in Oklahoma. But don't sleep on his ability to stretch the floor by hitting spotting up threes. Or attacking fellow forwards off the dribble.    Ready to Impact Guards    Johnson is a skilled and confident guard, who doesn't carry himself like a freshman. Was scoring all over the court, complete with a silky perimeter jumper. And with outstanding body control on drives to the rim. His shooting is an early ticket to earning minutes for a good Carl Albert squad. But don't sleep on him being a playmaking and all around contributor as the season progresses.     LuGrand first stood out as nearly unstoppable in 3 on 3 play. He has a tight handle, which combined with his quickness and wiry strength, made him a force as a slasher. But it wasn't just attacking the rim, he flung passes all over the court with good accuracy and velocity. And also hitting jumpers off the dribble. Due to also being a football player, he might have a slower start to his freshman basketball season. But could be an important piece to help the Wolves later in the year.     The shifty guard was cooking in 5 on 5 play. While he hit some jumpers off the dribble. It was very apparent with how skillful and quick Kabba is as a dynamic driver. He also has outstanding touch around the rim. He already has a good mix of smoothness to go with his electric ability to get paint touches. A year of practice battling with Millwood's outstanding senior guards will be a great opportunity for a freshman, to grow. And he also does appear to have the talent to potentially carve out some varsity minutes, as long as he hooks it up on the defensive end.    Communication is Key   One of the biggest areas where younger prospect can grow is communicating on the court. There's the basic enthusiasm to encourage and celebrate teammates. Which provides an energetic lift. And the vital communication on the defensive end. While it was hard to catch every second of 3 on 3 and 5 on 5, there were four prospects who stood out as communicators. Eli Morgansen, [player_tooltip player_id='2733020' first='Fabio' last='Pantoja'], [player_tooltip player_id='2830518' first='Daniel' last='Harris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2562056' first='Ka'Dyn' last='Winston']. Winston in particular is a livewire player, who is filled with energy. Even when subbed out of games, he was still calling out to his teammates, trying to coach them on screens, which way the opposition wanted to drive, and more. Little things like the communication those four showed, will help them adjust to high school.

Saturday in Edmond was an intro to a group of freshmen eager to make an impact at the high school level. Here's an opener with a top performer, outstanding guards and a group of prospects catching the eye with an intangible trait.