John Wall Holiday Invitational Day Two Standouts (Part One)

The John Wall Holiday Invitational is rolling and underway with an unbelievable amount of talent on display through the first few days of games. With teams from all over the country and the best environment you can think of, this event has become such a must stop for hoop heads across the region. Let's take a look at our first addition of the Day Two Standouts.    In a hard fought loss to Reidsville, [player_tooltip player_id='2953068' first='Travis' last='Cooper'] was the best player for his team with an efficient 21 Points on only 9 field goal attempts. Cooper has really good positional size and a great foundational skillset to build upon. Cooper's size and skillset allow him to exploit mismatches on a regular basis. Cooper is at his best when he's an aggressive slasher, he gets to the free throw line at a great rate, going 9-10 from the stripe in this one. He also pitched in on the glass with six rebounds. Cooper is still coming into his own as a player, performances like this show the progress he's made in his overall game. As he continues to improve, expect these kinds of games to become a real normality for him.     We try to spread the love here at Prep Hoops NC, we highlight the top performers but want to make sure we don't get redundant in our coverage by writing about the same player over and over. I have to abandon that for [player_tooltip player_id='1716474' first='Dionte' last='Neal'] because he is simply too dominant of a player to not write about. He had his 2nd straight 42 point performance and this time in a tight win over Southeast Raleigh. He scored 42 of his team's 71 while going 15-22 from the floor in the process. It's almost impossible to truly disrupt this kid from doing what he wants, he gets where he needs at all times. Defensively, he has an absurdly high feel for timing when getting steals. One of the best basketball minds you'll see, truly on a different wavelength than everyone else out there.     Jeffries had a really quality performance in Southern's win over Petersburg on day two. He finished with 12 points, 3 Rebounds, and 3 Assists while knocking in three from beyond the arc. He makes timely plays, he's a mismatch with his size, and his mobility allows him to take advantage of that with the defensive versatility. Jeffries made the transfer to Southern and has fit in like a glove with this group. He has also adjusted to the level of competition quite well, providing an immediate impact with his shooting. Expect Jeffries to make a nice little splash in the rankings when we update them next week. He should find himself starting to pick up some recruiting traction as well with how attractive his size and shooting is at the next level.     Givan recently announced that he will be re-opening his recruitment from Mississippi State and there were a ton of schools in the building watching him on day two at The John Wall. Despite a tough loss vs Southern Durham, Givan was a true two way presence while showing the steady improvements he's made in his game over the last year. Givan finished with 18 Points and 10 Rebounds in Petersburg's 2nd game of the weekend. He showcased his low post game, mid-range touch, and touch from the line as he went 4-5 in this one. He also was a huge contributor on the offensive glass with 7 of his 10 rebounds coming at that end of the floor. Givan knows how to play the hi-low game with [player_tooltip player_id='1782682' first='Latrell' last='Allmond'] as well, making this Petersburg front-court incredibly difficult to stop.     [player_tooltip player_id='2623267' first='AJ' last='Morman'] continues to check all of the boxes as we see him elevate his game in his Sophomore season. Morman possesses the ability to completely control a game from start to finish while manipulating both his own team and the opposition into getting exactly what he needs. His timing as a passer is his greatest trait, add in the moxy as a scorer and AJ immediately makes himself one of the best backcourt weapons in the State regardless of class. Morman played every single second of this contest and his team needed him to. He was able to get a switch onto a big and drill a step-back three with 1.3 seconds to play giving his team the lead and eventually the win. It capped off a 22 Point performance where Morman finished 6-11 from the floor including 3-4 from beyond the arc. The book of Morman continues to be written, and it's becoming a can't miss story every single time out.

The John Wall Holiday Invitational is rolling and underway with an unbelievable amount of talent on display through the first few days of games. With teams from all over the country and the best environment you can think of, this event has become such a must stop for hoop heads across the region. Let's take a look at our first addition of the Day Two Standouts.