Zero Gravity College Night: Next Best 5

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thursday night, I attended Zero Gravity's college night at Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton, MA. Team Sims UA Rise, Team Sims HGAL, Team New England, NE Elite HGAL, House We Built Select, Dana Barros Basketball Club, Team Northeast UA Rise, and XLP. Loads of coaching from D3 schools were in attendance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each team played three 20-minute games, running clock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Read: <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/04/zero-gravity-college-night-best-5/" id="https://prephoops.com/2026/04/zero-gravity-college-night-best-5/">Zero Gravity College Night: Best 5</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are the next five players that impressed me the most.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2875613"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69daba1e2f04c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Payne isn't as well known as his twin brother, Trevor, but he has some game too. The 6-foot-2 lefty won't wow you with leaping ability or crazy strength, but he's always under-control and will consistently make the simple play even if it doesn't show up in the stat sheet. He has excellent passing vision and throws on-time, on-target passes, especially in transition and when he drives baseline. He can knock down threes, too, and has good positional size. He'll find a D3 fit and will make a college coach very happy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2568458"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69daba1e2f0cb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Teixeira is super intriguing. I thought he would have trouble adjusting to the speed of Team New England after playing public school basketball, but he was extremely calm and comfortable in his first action last night. He's super strong in the lane on drives to the rim and holds his line very well, but he also makes shots from the mid range and can get hot from three quickly. He'll have a good chance to carve out a role for Team New England this season, and that should help him make the transition to Pomfret School next season, where he'll reclass to 2028.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2568447"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69daba1e2f15d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Thornton really impressed me last night as a scorer for Team Sims HGAL. He isn't super big—only 6-foot-1—but defenders seem to bounce off of him in the lane, and he has a knack for getting to his spots in the mid range and contorting his body for good looks. He has super nice touch, and he handles it well enough to create for himself and others. He didn't play a huge role on Brimmer and May's team this season, but the HGAL circuit will be a good place for him to show off what he can do offensively. D3 programs should certainly be interested in him, and perhaps he can carve out a role with Brimmer next year to make that more likely.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ethan Suhajda","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'5u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Holliston High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"NE Elite","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69daba1e2f28b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Suhajda brings excellent size and intriguing skill to the table, and he showcased that last night against a number of high level opponents. His shooting was inconsistent, but he has a really nice-looking shot and I think he'll continue to improve from there in the future. He had a number of impressive takes to the rim, too, where he used his body to bully the opponent and then looked like a guard on finishes with both hands. Defensively, his size and coordination allows him to guard multiple positions well, and he's a good rebounder. Lots of D3's will be interested in him moving forward, especially if he reclassifies.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"William Stewart","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77245","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Tabor Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"House We Built","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-69daba1e2f398"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Stewart has a super nice shot for a guy his size, and when he's hot from three, he looks lethal. He can bully in the paint and has solid touch around the rim—not to mention the fact that he moves well for his size and has good footwork—but he also has a nice release and is comfortable from the perimeter. This could be a big AAU season for Stewart on House We Built, and he could potentially earn himself some more playing time for Tabor Academy next year in the process.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->