Prep Hoops Mid-Atlantic Cup: 17U Standouts Who Delivered

AAU season is officially upon us, and all eyes are set on the handful of tournaments that will take place over the next couple of months on the AAU calendar this spring. Several programs have already started competing against each other in various warm up events as they prepare for the different tournaments and sessions ahead. Over this past weekend, Prep Hoops hosted one of their first events of the year— the Mid-Atlantic Cup at the Alan Horwitz "Sixth Man" Center in Philadelphia, PA. With this being the first chance to get up and down on the season, let's dive into some prospects playing 17U who stood out over the course of Friday and Saturday's action.    A legitimate plug and play fit out on the perimeter with his fundamentally sounded skillset paired with his ability to be an exceptional outside shooting threat with his dangerous shot making ability, the left handed Tommy Wolf impressed early on with his perimeter shooting prowess. Wolf possesses potent shooting intangibles that consist of a compact shooting release, a naturally soft outside touch, and versatility as a shot maker and he put much of those abilities on display over the weekend— thriving as an outside spot up shooter stepping into in rhythm looks while also excelling at beating closeout defenders and getting into space.     Moussa Sylla is a quick and herky jerky guard who has a little bit of creativity off the bounce and leverages his quickness and speed off the bounce to get by his defender and finish with craftiness from different angles around the basket. Sylla also showcased good court vision on a number of drives, keeping his head up on deep paint penetration to draw help defense and find the open dunker spot in the short corner or spray out to open shooters out on the perimeter.     With confidence and efficiency being intricate parts of his game, Kelly Griffin Jr impressed the most over the course of this weekend's action as a confident perimeter shot maker who primarily excelled as a spot up shooter as well as a movement shooter with smooth and repeatable shooting mechanics, particularly with his balanced footwork, hunting his shot to seek out open opportunities, and efficiency in his percentages. This 17U Wiz Kids group was able to very often speed up opposing ball handlers and force turnovers and Griffin Jr capitalized off a lot of those situations, getting ahead of the defense and finishing in transition and secondary break opportunities.     As extremely lethal a perimeter shooting threat as there is in the Shore Conference in the state of New Jersey, Hunter Henry reaffirmed that notion over the course of this weekend's action. A confident outside shooter who seemed to play really well within himself and truly demonstrate the gravity he attracts as a shooter, Hynes impressed with the promise he showed as a dangerous three point shooter— a compact shooting release with a deft outside touch and high follow through, aggression in hunting his shot out on the perimeter, and the confidence to get shots off against contests of the opposing defense.     Proving to be a solid connective piece for this 17U Wiz Kids group, Jalen Mehu continued to prove to be at his best when he's finishing in different ways around the rim, with nice touch too— efficient at the basket out of the dunker spot, attacking open driving lanes off the bounce, and running the floor in transition and finishing athletically above the rim. Mehu was also extremely active on the boards, crashing with effort and energy, creating second chance opportunities on the offensive glass and winning box outs on the defensive glass to secure rebounds.     An intriguing tweener wing forward who immediately pops with his lengthy frame and versatile skillset, Uriah Augare-Deal impressed with his unique guard skills and the rare fluidity he possesses at his size— comfortability handling the basketball in the open floor to start and finish the break paired with his court vision and instinctual passing feel in transition to find open teammate, spot up perimeter shooting ability. All while excelling at doing the dirty work that a prospect of his size is traditionally tasked with doing— activity in the paint as an interior finisher and effort and energy to win battles on the boards.     A tweener forward who has a unique and versatile skillset at his size and position, Eijeeke Ukaegbu put together an impressive weekend that highlighted his impact leveraging the physical tools he possesses and noticeable guard skills— attacking driving angles with quick foot speed and athleticism against slower footed defenders, shot creation to create space off the bounce and knock down shots from different areas on the floor, as well as court vision to hit open cutters and divers cutting off the ball to the basket.

AAU season is officially upon us, and all eyes are set on the handful of tournaments that will take place over the next couple of months on the AAU calendar this spring. Several programs have already started competing against each other in various warm up events as they prepare for the different tournaments and sessions ahead. Over this past weekend, Prep Hoops hosted one of their first events of the year— the Mid-Atlantic Cup at the Alan Horwitz "Sixth Man" Center in Philadelphia, PA. With this being the first chance to get up and down on the season, let's dive into some prospects playing 17U who stood out over the course of Friday and Saturday's action.