Governors Challenge: 2028-2029s Standouts Through First Two Days

We are through the first two days of the 2025 Governors Challenge. Over a monster slate of games, there have been over a handful of underclassmen that have caught my attention and will be worth monitoring closely as they continue through their freshman or sophomore campaigns.    There have been plenty of prospects within the 2028-2029 classes that have played over the last two days who will play various levels of college basketball, but Taylor has an argument as the prospect with the highest ceiling. He is a perfect connector on a Dover (DE) team that is stacked with seasoned juniors and seniors. Taylor's ability to adapt to whatever the given game calls for is what stands out to me most. His lanky frame and fluid movements are the first thing that catches your eye, but then he starts delivering high-level deliveries off the live bounce to cutting teammates or manipulates the defense with his eyes consistently and as an evaluator, your stock in this young man should skyrocket. To add, Taylor shot it with efficiency from deep and used his length to his advantage on drives where he finished strong at or above the rim. Continued progression all around for Taylor in this event as Dover walked away with their bracket championship.     Dickerson is one of the better sleeper prospects in the underclassmen pool that I've seen thus far as a dynamic combo guard who can impact the box score in many ways. Like Taylor mentioned above, Dickerson's frame with his long arms and coordination makes your mind wander to what he could be in the long run. Over his showing here at Gov. Challenge, Dickerson got to his spots off the bounce with certainty, confidence, and fluidity. He doesn't rush his shot even if the defender gets a good closeout, his long arms came into play defensively manufacturing deflections, and that length also played a role in finishing on the other end. Despite coming up short against Colonel Richardson (MD), Dickerson stood out with 16 points (7/14 FG), four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.     Byrd mans much of the on-ball duties for this Cristo Rey group and is effective at keeping pressure on the defense at all times. Whether he was pushing the tempo off misses, processing advantages in the half court for others, or calling his own number with his burst and wiggle, you feel the impact that he has on the game for his team. It ultimately helped Cristo Rey to their bracket championship victory. Byrd put up 17.5 points per game in the two showings and while he struggled to find his rhythm from deep, did an nice job of attacking the rim and visiting the charity stripe where he converted with efficiency. The command in which he controls tempo and his team overall seems to have improved since last season.     I mentioned Collins Jr. in the day one notebook, but had to include him in this article as well given that we only had the one-game sample size. The crafty lead guard left quite the impression as he led Crisfield (MD) to a win in the opening game of the event, putting up the most impressive stat line for a freshman thus far with 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Collins Jr. comes from a strong bloodline, so he will be a name we keep tabs on moving forward.     Tilghman is the backcourt mate of Dickerson for James M Bennett (MD) and with his sense of toughness and confidence, surely didn't take on the look of a freshman. Like many of these athletes on the eastern shore, Tilghman is a dual-sport standout and his physicality from the football field showed quickly in his pesky defensive approach along with his willingness to never give up on plays. He followed Dickerson with 13 points in the showing against Colonel Richardson (MD) and did a nice job of finishing at the rim through contests to keep his team in punching distance.     Really strong showing for O'Brien in yesterday's game where Whitman came up short in the bracket championship game versus a very good Downington West (PA) squad. At 6-foot-4, O'Brien poses really nice positional size to go with a flamethrower from deep. The freshman accounted for 16 points off the bench, which included four three's that all came in catch-and-shoot scenarios. He has sound, confident form and doesn't need much time to get it off. His size and high release on his jumper also are key indicators of sustained results as he may need a slight boost in the 2029 rankings update coming up in a month.

We are through the first two days of the 2025 Governors Challenge. Over a monster slate of games, there have been over a handful of underclassmen that have caught my attention and will be worth monitoring closely as they continue through their freshman or sophomore campaigns.