Final 17U Notebook from Sooner State Special

Sam Duren April 14, 2026 @ 02:49 PM

One last check of the notes on prospects from the Sooner State Special that kicked off April.     Aj Flores, 5'10 Guard, Yukon and RSE, Class of 2027   Gritty guard, who brings the effort on the defensive end. Picking up and pressuring with quick feet. Caused havoc with quick hands too, with a willingness to get on the floor for loose balls too. Fairly quick off the bounce, with a nifty spin move. In the first contest watched, he had a poor shooting performance. Including missing at the charity stripe. The second game saw Flores shoot it better, even hitting off the dribble threes with confidence. A strong spring and summer should set the table for an improved senior year for the Yukon Miller.   [player_tooltip player_id='2818544' first='Adam' last='Dodd']6'6 Forward, Broken Arrow and T2W Elite, Class of 2028   Dodd impressed in a Saturday morning contest as a productive grinder. Was locked in on defense by keeping his hands active, while also attacking the glass for boards. Ran the floor hard in transition, with either her teammates feeding him. Or producing with follow up putbacks. Had good moments in the halfcourt, with scoring off of post ups. Also had some moments where he needed to be stronger and more deliberate with his post ups and face up attempts.   [player_tooltip player_id='2869314' first='Toryon' last='Smith'], 6'3 Guard, Putnam City North and Disciples Athletics, Class of 2026   Volume scorer in a Saturday morning contest. Good handles and above average quickness. Likes to play in iso situations, getting to the rim or hitting pull up jumpers. Shot selection could be better but there are true bucket getting traits. Complete with a tough And 1 finished that happened late in the game watched.   Myron Smith, 6'3 Guard, Putnam City and RSE, Class of 2027   Smith got buckets in spurts for RSE. In the second game in particular he went off in a short sequence. It started with knocking down threes and staying in attack mode. Displayed good handles and nimble footwork a couples times when pushing in transition. Driving through defenders and even getting to the rim. Can hit spin moves or even use a baby hook around the basket. Promising scoring showing in the up tempo, free flowing nature of grassroots basketball. Could set the stage to make a step forward for his senior season.     Kavion Moss, 6'3 Wing-Forward, Moore and Disciples Athletics, Class of 2027   Has a grown man type game around the rim. Broad shoulders for a powerful finishes. But also has some finesse. With pump fakes to draws fouls against taller foes. And spin moves when attacking off of face up moves. Most of his production came as a grinder around the rim but also did look good when stepping out to drain a catch and shoot triple.   [player_tooltip player_id='2854291' first='Zion' last='Castaneda'], 6'1 Guard, Western Heights, Class of 2027   Not the best perimeter shooting weekend for Castaneda in the games watched, but he still showed promise with his ability to get downhill. Light on his feet movement, had moments of looking graceful and smooth on drives. One instance of this was when he took a bump, and had the body control to still hit a 8 footer. Had an old fashion three point play when fouled on a 15 footer as well. One area of improvement came when he tried to be too fancy in transition with a behind pass that led to a turnover.

One last check of the notes on prospects from the Sooner State Special that kicked off April.