Elite Spring Hoops Showcase: 8 Standout Wing/Forwards (Part 1)

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 2 and takes a look at 8 standout wing/forwards from the Showcase Division, which is a 2-part series focused on the top wing/forwards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team,  how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with [player_tooltip player_id='2889922' first='Tommy' last='Ambidge'].   2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2889922' first='Tommy' last='Ambidge'] 6'7|WF (San Ramon Valley/Danville) - Peninsula Gold 17s    The 6-foot-7 wing/forward showed versatility on the offensive end, with moves to impact the post, as well as the jumper to space the floor, and excels in the open court. Ambidge has good length and agility to stay active on the boards, has touch on put-backs from the offensive rebound, has the timing to block/alter shots around the basket, as well as the strides to close out on perimeter shooters, and is a versatile defender that can hold up against bigs in the paint, as well as the lateral movement and wingspan to stay in front of smaller players on the wing. Offensively, Ambidge moves smoothly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, squares his shoulders to be ready for the incoming pass, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, with the size to shoot over most perimeter defenders. Ambidge takes advantage of his quality perimeter shooting to use the pump-fake or hesitation to get his defender to over pursue, with the handle to put the ball on the deck and attack the driving lanes, with the physical build to score through contact at the basket.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2561133' first='Caelan' last='Augustine'] 6'7|WF (Ygnacio Valley/Concord) - Just Breathe Elite 17s   The 6-foot-7 forward is active on the boards, runs the floor well in the open court, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Augustine crashes the glass on both ends, providing his team with second chance scoring opportunities, as well as limiting the opponent to single shot possessions, does a great job of finding his primary ball handlers, gets up the court and runs the lanes well in transition to get ahead of the defense, creating easy buckets in the open court. Augustine does a good job of finding openings around the basket, gets himself open for drop off passing and easy finishes at the cup, moves well off the ball to get to the open spot, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch, which helps pull taller defenders away from the basket and opens up driving lanes.    2027 Petar Batkovic 6'6|WF (College Park/Pleasant Hill) - Just Breathe Elite 17s    The 6-foot-6 wing/slasher displayed the ability to create his own scoring opportunities, is a versatile defender, and can operate in the post, as well as from the perimeter. Batkovic has solid handles, the height to see over the defense, the court vision to find teammates cutting off the ball, uses the crossover and hesitation moves to get his defender off balance, and makes great use of the Euro-step to score through traffic down the lane, evading shot blockers at the basket. Batkovic has good footwork, the physicality to back down his defender, with the body control and accuracy to connect on the spin-fade mid-range jumper off the dribble, and the use of the drop-step to get into the paint and score with touch at the basket. Batkovic uses his length and lateral agility to stay in front of perimeter players, active hands to deflect passes or poke the ball out, generating steals and buckets in transition.    2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2470696' first='Tyonne' last='Brown'] 6'6|WF (Pinnacle/AZ) - NBBA Elite NorCal UA Rise 16s    The 6-foot-6 wing/forward has the moves to create off the wing, excels in the open court, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Brown has solid handles, uses the crossover, hesitation, and behind-cross to create space and get by his initial defender, hunts the mid-range jumper off the bounce with the body control and accuracy to connect on the pull-up middy routinely, and is efficient from the 3-point line off the catch with good movement to get to the open spot. Brown is a lengthy and agile player that stays active on the glass on both ends, has the wingspan and timing to alter/block shots in the paint, as well as the strides to close out on perimeter shooters, has the lateral foot-speed to stay in front of smaller players and force poor decisions that lead to turnovers, as he earns plenty of points running the lanes and getting ahead of the defense in transition.    2029 [player_tooltip player_id='2767954' first='D'Ari' last='Bruce'] 6'6|WF (Oakland) - Team Lillard 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-6 forward was dominant at the Showcase, showing off his physical build, elite athleticism, and ability to impose his will on both ends of the court, as one of the top freshmen at the event. Bruce is a force on the boards on both ends, gets points off put-backs with the ability to throw it down off the glass, gets the ball to his guards and gets up the court with speed to get ahead of the defense, where he makes himself available to receive passes up the court, with some dazzling finishes in transition. Bruce has a moves well off the ball, using back-cuts, slashing off the wing, and getting to the dunker spot, where he is the recipient of lobs, slip passes, or finds out of the pick and roll action to score at the basket, with the strength to muscle through contact and score at the basket. Bruce has nice post footwork, uses the jump-stop and drop-step to separate from his defender, and can score off these moves with the short mid-range jumper or lay it up once the opening clears. He uses good angles off the ball to go at the rim off the lob, has the instincts and quick bounce to alter/block shots in the paint, and has active hands to generate steals to get out and run. A lot to like in the young prospect and his status should improve nationally this year, as he is playing for Lillard's 16s, who won the 16u 3SSB Championship last season.   2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2859059' first='Rhys' last='Crawford'] 6'6|WF (Davis) - Lakeshow 3SSB 16s   The 6-foot-6 wing/slasher displayed his elite bounce, ability to play above the rim when it seems out of reach, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Crawford had some impressive dunks and showed his ability to get out and excel in transition, but on Day 2 he showcased more of his scoring arsenal as a sharp shooter. Crawford uses his quick leaping ability and length to control the boards, gets plenty of put-back options off the rebound with good touch on close finishes, has the timing and instincts to deflect entry passes, jump passing lanes, alter/block shots in the paint, as well as on the perimeter when having to switch on defense, and allows his defensive prowess to lead to offensive possessions. Crawford moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, is accurate with 3-ball off the catch, in the half-court or transition settings, and with his shooting ability and enough handle, he can put the ball on the deck and attack driving lanes when his defender over pursues on the close out.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2838662' first='Brandon' last='Hahn'] 6'7|WF (Granada/Livermore) - Lakeshow 3SSB 17s    The 6-foot-7 wing/forward can light it up from beyond the arc, has the physical build to compliment his skill set, and has elite court vision to make precise reads to teammates in tight windows. Hahn has elite court vision and decision making with the ball in his hands, as he displayed the ability to make tough reads to teammates cutting off the ball from the high-post, finding teammates up the court off the glass in stride, and precision passes with back-to-the-basket from the short-post to teammates cutting down the lanes, or moving off the ball to get open on the wing. Hahn controls the glass on both ends, has good touch on shots around the basket off the put-back, uses the crossover, hesitation, and spin-move to get into the paint and score through contact at the cup, or use the Euro-step and reverse lay-ups to evade shot blockers. Although I was highly impressed with his play making, Hahn's 3-point shooting was another area he excelled at, either off the catch or off the dribble with range on the deep ball. Impressive player that can be a point-forward if needed or a floor space to open up the court.    2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2915318' first='Noah' last='Ladrech'] 6'4|WF (De La Salle/Concord) - Infinite Black 17s    The 6-foot-4 wing/forward plays with great energy on both ends, can open up the floor from beyond the arc, and is a force on the glass. Ladrech moves fluidly off the ball or slashes through the defense to find openings in the defense, is active on the boards to get put-back opportunities, as well as finding openings on the perimeter to get open for the 3-ball off the catch, which he hit with regularity, Ladrech has a physical and lengthy build deflect passes, jump passing lanes, alter/deflect shots, and turn defense to offense with the ability to get out ahead of the defense to be available for catch and score chances in transition. Tenacious rebounder and versatile defender that can stretch the floor, as a 3 and D guy for Infinite Black 17s.

Oakland, CA - This past weekend, April 11th and 12th, I attended the Elite Spring Hoops Showcase and Tournament held at various facilities in Oakland, Walnut Creek, Clayton Valley, Martinez, and other surrounding cities. I attended the Showcase portion of the event which was held at Open Gym Premier Oakland's four court facility. The Showcase division featured teams from the 3SSB Adidas Circuit, P32 New Balance, Adidas Gold Circuit, and EHA's new circuit, as well as other high level independent teams. I arrived at the gym for the second game on Day 1 and departed at 1:30 on Day 2, watching a total of 18 games over the two day span. This article is Part 2 and takes a look at 8 standout wing/forwards from the Showcase Division, which is a 2-part series focused on the top wing/forwards. I will also look at standout wings, forwards, and centers in follow-up articles. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, grad class, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Tommy Ambidge Tommy Ambidge 6'5" | SF San Ramon Valley | 2027 State CA-N .