Total Athlete Tip Off: Stock Risers

The Total Athlete Tip Off gave me the opportunity to see five prep teams from Ohio as well as a couple of teams from outside the region, in this article I'll break down some players who stood out and raised their stock this weekend.    I thought that McCruter taking a post-grad year was an excellent decision for a late blooming prospect who showed flashes but still needed time before he could contribute at the college level. McCruter's flashes are becoming more consistent and his body is starting to fill out. Add in the fact he's shooting 3-pointers with more confidence and mixing it up in the paint as shown by a putback slam dunk on the first possession of the game and McCruter is trending upwards at the right time. I expect to see a sharp increase in recruitment for McCruter as he's a no-brainer full scholarship target either at the Division II/NAIA level and worth a look for low major Division I programs as well.     Another late blooming Ohio prospect taking a post graduate year, Whorton has continued to improve his offensive skill with AIA Prep. The lefty is tough to stop going up over his right shoulder and Whorton did a nice job finishing in the paint when he caught it in traffic. Whorton's offensive skill improvement has been impressive since his junior year as he's much more confident being a play finisher, scorer, perimeter shooter and starting to make better passing decisions as well. Another scholarship target, Whorton should see his stock rise later in the year because college programs are always looking for bigs late.     An energy big, Walsh came off the bench and provided a big spark in the second half where Walsh had multiple putback layups, created extra possessions with offensive rebounds and bringing physicality to his team. Nice to see a forward come in off the bench, compete and be the difference for his team in a tight game. Walsh is a small college target who can play a similar role at the next level.     Flyght Academy made the short trip to Xenia and they had multiple impressive athletes with size. Phipps is a local product who played at Lakota West high school and is looking to polish his skills at prep school before going to the college level. Phipps is a talented vertical athlete who had a couple dunks where he showed off his vertical explosiveness. When Flyght Academy used their height advantage to grab offensive rebounds and extend their defense they had some success on Saturday despite coming up short in the end.     Jones played smart basketball as the primary ball handler and decision maker for AIA regional. Jones has excellent intangibles and his coach raved about his basketball IQ and leadership. Those skills were on display as it felt like his team got great shots when Jones was on the court. A player who can play at the next level, Jones made shots on the perimeter in the instances where he looked to score instead of set a teammate up.     Another AIA regional standout, Zacharias-Streib made shots from well behind the 3-point line and has excellent rotation on his shots. After making one deep on the wing, Zacharias-Streib got a friendly roll on a top of the key 3-pointer and then made a corner 3-pointer late in the game. Zacharias-Streib also made a really nice pocket pass through traffic for an assist and overall was one of the more productive players on the court.

The Total Athlete Tip Off gave me the opportunity to see five prep teams from Ohio as well as a couple of teams from outside the region, in this article I'll break down some players who stood out and raised their stock this weekend.