Midwest Mania: 16 U Standouts

I attended Made Hoops Midwest Mania this weekend and while I focused mostly on 17 U action, I caught a handful of 16 U games as well over the weekend and in this article I'll break down my standout performers from those games.    It always means a little more when a player plays against his old program and Smith dominated against [program_tooltip program_id='2076317' first='Midwest' last='Basketball Club 3SSB'] to win a marquee game of the weekend. Smith started the game with eight points off steals and knocked down two first half 3-pointers, a key swing skill for his development. One of the most dominant athletes in the midwest from the class of 2028, Smith is a special defender and transition player. If the half-court offense ever becomes consistent, Smith will be one of the most talked about players in the region for his class.     Another explosive athlete, Jackson had a ton of dunks this weekend as a monster threat around the rim. Able to throw down alley-oops, putback dunks or from the dunker spot, Jackson has as quick of an explosion as anybody. Despite getting a couple goaltends in the game I watched, Jackson's rim protection makes an impact in deterring guards from driving to the rim against him and his energy has been consistent for both Louisville St Xavier as well as [program_tooltip program_id='2320052' first='All' last='Ohio Red'] this year. Jackson also has started to improve as a passer out of the post, defeating double-teams by finding shooters on the perimeter. Expect Jackson to be on your Instagram page most weekends for his dunks but the continued rounding out of his game will be what college coaches are looking for this summer.     With [program_tooltip program_id='2076317' first='Midwest' last='Basketball Club 3SSB'] I always feel like I see the best out of Cunagin as his ability to score as a roll man and create extra possessions as an offensive rebounder. With numerous and-1 finishes at the rim, Cunagin showed the ability to finish through contact and play with toughness. North Laurel loses [player_tooltip player_id='1558733' first='Reece' last='Davidson'] to graduation but with a majority of the rest of their core projected to return, if Cunagin takes a step offensively, I could see the Jags getting back to Rupp Arena next season.     A big game for Bowman, knocking down shots from all over the court against [program_tooltip program_id='2320052' first='All' last='Ohio Red'], Bowman made some key plays to help his team get back into the game. Bowman knocked down a 25 footer, a 3-pointer off a pin-down action and a time and space 3-pointer. When Bowman is able to get to the paint, he is exceptional at making skip passes across the court to teammates, making heads up plays like that on both ends of the court. Bowman will be a key piece for Midwest Basketball Club's defense of the 2028 3SSB title.     Indiana Elite 16 U had some tight games this weekend where they needed Joiner to be exceptional on both ends of the court. During some games, it felt like Joiner couldn't leave the floor for his team as they relied on him to make toughness plays on both ends of the court. When Joiner decides to take over defensively and as a rebounder, it seems like nobody else on the court comes up with a loose ball. Also making strides as a dunker at the rim, Joiner has been turning layups into dunks and using his impressive explosiveness to play above the rim. I absolutely loved how Joiner impacted the game as a rebounder, finisher and defender this weekend, willing his team to some tight victories.     This was a statement weekend for Vaughn Jr and Grind Until, hanging around with an extremely talented Indiana Elite 16 U squad for the full 32 minutes. Vaughn Jr started the game with a loud pull-up 3-pointer and then got going downhill as a slasher to the rim. I thought Grind Until ran some nice sets to isolate Vaughn Jr on one side of the court and Vaughn Jr had a couple deceleration moves to the rim that led to free throws. While I was impressed with Vaughn Jr with his first year on varsity for Saint Ignatius this winter, he's clearly taken a larger step with the ball in his hands and needs to be bumped back comfortably into the top 10 during the next rankings update.     The second part of the impressive Saint Ignatius plus Grind Until duo, Melton had a monster performance against Indiana Elite 16 U. Unable to stay in front of him from the point of attack, Melton was getting wherever he wanted off the dribble and collapsing the defense almost every trip. Melton can get from point A to point B in an instant and had a handful of drive and kick assists. Despite being undersized from a height perspective, Melton's explosiveness as an athlete really stands out even on a court against a top shoe circuit team. If you are going to be recruited heavily as an undersized guard, having special burst like Melton has is a great way to separate yourself.     Ohio Champion 16 U got a nice win in my last game of the weekend with strong performances from their three headed monster of Ackerman, [player_tooltip player_id='2532128' first='Dez' last='Taylor'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2934563' first='Gavin' last='Hoffman']. Ackerman did a nice job scoring in the paint and keeping the game simple. Ackerman scored almost all of his points off assists from his guards or putback layups. To me Ackerman was the most productive player on the court and he didn't do anything fancy, he just finished layups with either hand, rolled hard to the rim and crashed the offensive glass. Younger bigs should watch how Ackerman plays with this Ohio Champion team as everything he does is something other bigs can attempt to replicate themselves.

I attended Made Hoops Midwest Mania this weekend and while I focused mostly on 17 U action, I caught a handful of 16 U games as well over the weekend and in this article I'll break down my standout performers from those games.