Midwest Mania: 17 U Saturday Evening Standouts

I attended Made Hoops Midwest Mania this weekend and in this article I'll break down my standouts from Saturday evening's action.    WV Gold had an excellent weekend with a strong presence of 2026 prospects leading the charge. Pratt is one of the top guards from Pittsburgh and is already committed to Columbia. Pratt is shifty on the ball and uses the step through move to his advantage. I also am consistently impressed with Pratt's poise on the ball, making no-look passes across the court to throw off the defense. Defensively, Pratt provided tough on-ball pressure and had a pickpocket steal and score just before halftime to extend WV Gold's lead. Pratt will have a chance to see the floor early in his college career due to his well-rounded game.     Jones knocked down a couple of spot-up 3-pointers and blocked a dunk attempt at the rim. The athletic wing is at his best in transition and when WV Gold can get a stop with a forced turnover or defensive rebound, they push the pace quickly. After a strong end to his senior season with Euclid, Jones has continued his impressive play and is outplaying his final 2026 ranking on our website.     After a quiet first half where [program_tooltip program_id='2135129' first='Griffin' last='Elite'] was trailing at the break, Roberts came out and dominated in the second half to lead them to a 2-0 Saturday with two competitive victories. Roberts did a nice job getting to the rim and scoring, finishing a few times in transition and also using floaters to score in the half-court. Late in the game, Roberts knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers on the wing, the first to tie the game and the second to take the lead. Impressive takeover performance by Roberts who should be all over scholarship radars this summer with [program_tooltip program_id='2135129' first='Griffin' last='Elite'].     On Saturday I thought Kolar played the best game I've seen him play in his career. Kolar had multiple strong finishes in the paint off two feet attacking with his dominant left hand and finishing with it. Most importantly, Kolar forced a couple turnovers with his length and blocked a couple shots. If Kolar continues to play with toughness, he'll have no trouble attracting scholarship interest with Midwest Basketball Club MHC. The key for Kolar will be building on this performance and doing it consistently the rest of the summer.     BTG got a nice win in a Cleveland Vs Cincinnati battle against CBE. I was impressed with Duncan's decision making and timing with his passes, setting his teammates up in positions to score even when they were only open for a split second. Duncan also showed soft touch on floaters and used his wider frame to play physically at both ends. Look for Cleveland Central Catholic to be a contender again this season after making the regional final last year with a junior led core.     A player I was never able to see during his high school career, Crutchfield showed potential with his tremendous size and length. With a skinny frame, Crutchfield will need to put on some weight and strength to play at the college level but has the tools to be an impact player down the road. Crutchfield scored a few times in transition and scored as a roll man in the half-court. After putting up crazy scoring, rebounding and shot blocking numbers at the high school level, Crutchfield is a name that JUCO and post graduate programs should be targeting.     North College Hill was one of the most improved teams in Ohio and Lipscomb led them in scoring last season as a junior. A shifty guard, Lipscomb had real juice and wiggle on the ball, changing directions efficiently and getting by the defense with ease. Tough to stay in front of Lipscomb at the point of attack, it's no surprise he had such a productive junior season for North College Hill as guards who can get into the paint without a ball screen are tough to stop at the high school level. Look for Lipscomb to make his debut in our 2027 rankings during the next update.     A small-town prospect I've heard about for a few years, Vincent showed that he can hang with the studs from bigger schools this weekend. Vincent can knock down shots off the catch on the perimeter, as he is already above the 1,000-point mark for Bridgeport. I also appreciated Vincent's high motor, competing for loose balls and making the opposition work when he was guarding on the ball. Vincent also made a drift pass when driving baseline to a shooter on the opposite side of the court that really caught my eye. A small-town gem who should be recruited by regional small college programs!     To put it simply, Bruns is a flat-out bucket on the court. Able to shoot over defenders, get to his spots and knock down pull-ups, hit spot-up looks around the arc or drive to the rim and score, Bruns can dish out buckets in a variety of ways. That level of scoring and diverse skillset will make him popular among regional college programs. Bruns even had a blocked shot from behind a driver on Saturday, as defensive impact is something I want to see from him more often this summer. Talented player who should see his recruitment really start to take shape from now through July.     I was a fan of the Midwest Flyers CC team that has a handful of small college targets on it. Wicker stood out the most in the game I was able to catch, knocking down some deep 3-pointers off DHO actions. I had always been impressed by Wicker from the mid-range and his basketball IQ but he was making shots from behind the college line on Saturday evening which is not something I'd previously seen him be able to do. Always nice to see players expand on their game after I hadn't seen him since the Midwest Fall League in Cincinnati back in October. I'd recommend regional small college programs to check out this Midwest Flyers CC team because they have a type of prospect for any small college program.

I attended Made Hoops Midwest Mania this weekend and in this article I'll break down my standouts from Saturday evening's action.