Derby City Duel: Friday Night’s 17u Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Hoops Circuit made it's annual appearance in Kentucky this weekend with a stop in Louisville for the Derby City Duel. I was able to catch 3 different 17u games. Here's a look at some of the top performers from Friday night's 17u games. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Southern Illinois Raptors Led By Talented Guard Duo</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southern Illinois Raptors put a beating on the Show Me Elite squad on Friday night. 2027 Lane Ellerman was my first eye catcher of the evening. He poured in 19 points to lead his Raptors squad. A long wing or SG at 6'3", Lane showed a good jumper and scored off the bounced multiple times as well. Fellow SI Raptors Wing/Forward [player_tooltip player_id='2383975' first='Lucas' last='Bowers'] added 14 points for the winning team. Bowers did a lot of his damage around the rim. Both Ellerman and Bowers look like potential D3/NAIA prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">Show Me Elite has a Nice Guard Prospect</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Show Me Elite struggled on Friday night but 2027 guard Josh Bankston led his team with 19 points. He showed the ability to knock down open threes but Josh was most impressive in the open floor. Bankston may have been the best athlete I saw on Friday night and was lightning fast with the ball in his hands. Several of Bankston's buckets were scored in transition, where he was a blur.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='3554202' first='Scott' last='Gordon'] is a Difference Maker for Hoop Smart 17u</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hoop Smart 17u and [program_tooltip program_id='2210626' first='Mavericks' last='Basketball Center'] had an exciting battle that ended up in overtime. While MBC had the biggest player on the floor (roster not provided but he was 6'10"), Hoop Smart's [player_tooltip player_id='3554202' first='Scott' last='Gordon'] went to work and dominated his bigger foe. Armed with an arsenal of post moves and counters, Gordon was nearly automatic around the bucket. Hoop Smart pulled out the 58-55 win in OT and Gordon showed he can be an impact player.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">[player_tooltip player_id='2862032' first='Derrick' last='Melton'] has Scholarship Level Potential:</span></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Melton did everything he could to get [program_tooltip program_id='2210626' first='Mavericks' last='Basketball Center'] into the win column on Friday night. Derrick is both quick and fast and showed the ability to knock down perimeter shots. He also was tenacious with his on the ball defense, causing havoc on that end of the floor. MBC lost a tough game in overtime but it wasn't for lack of effort on [player_tooltip player_id='2862032' first='Derrick' last='Melton']'s part.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->