King of Prussia: High-Upside Prospects

New readers: Use code Proia30     I drove up to King of Prussia, PA to check out a regional session for the New Balance circuit featuring both P32 and E32 teams. There were only a few game slots to open up the event on Friday, so I focused primarily on the younger groups before 17u kicks off pool play tomorrow afternoon. 15u is probably my favorite HS age group to scout with a fun blend of high-energy basketball with players oozing with long-term potential. Let's check out a few of my Day 1 standouts!      29p 7r 1a 5s vs XL   -The top overall performance of Day One, Ross will certainly debut well in our next set of updated rankings in July if he continues to build on this momentum. Ross had 25 points at half and narrowly missed reaching 30 when he fouled out midway through the 3Q. Ross has a natural scoring feel with a great change of pace on his downhill drives and scored at will from all 3 levels without needing a ball screen. Ross used double crossover and in n out moves to break down his matchup before he finished at the rim with ease with either hand (and often through contact). Loved the sharp angles he takes on his downhill drives to get his defender out of position to contest his shot without fouling him. He scored off of floaters, caught transition passes to finish in tight windows around the rim, moved well off the ball to create easy layups for himself, and applied stifling POA defense while also pressuring bigs from behind to force TOs. Natural scorer, should enjoy a breakout performance during the scholastic live periods.     8p 7a 6r 5s vs Team XL   -Continue to come away impressed each time I see Smith play because of the versatility that he brings to the court for his team. Smith showed great vision in the halfcourt to draw two wherever he went before he made a play for a teammate, came up with some tough rebounds in traffic, showed some nice touch around the basket, and is a dangerous dual threat to pass or score in the paint. He plays with a herky jerky pace with the ball in his hands and the wonky timing of his crossovers and changes of direction makes him difficult to track in the halfcourt. Love the fluidity and unselfish nature of his playmaking as a secondary or primary ballhandler for his team--depending on rotations.     22p 3r 1a 1s 4b vs Takoma Select   -Hepner started things off with a bang by reeling off four straight 3s and didn't show any signs of slowing down the rest of the way. He hit corner 3s, knocked down a 3 from the top of the key in the secondary break, ducked under hard closeouts to knock down 18 footers in the 2H, and rotated well on the back side of the defense to protect the rim. His timing and athleticism to erase shots both on the ball and as a helper in transition helped stoke a late XL run that almost led to a comeback victory. I liked that he was confident in shooting 3s off the catch but balanced that by making sharp passes with either hand to open teammates under the rim or on the opposite wings.     13p 3r 3a 4s vs Team XL   -Loved the way that Williams leveraged his speed and quickness to attack vulnerable positions in the defense to make plays for his teammates. Williams timed his digs down to the post well to force dribble pick-ups or swipe away steals, pushed the pace in transition to deliver timely assists to teammates, and hit a few tough shots to bring his team back within one basket. The chemistry with his HS teammate (Ross) continuously shown through, especially in advantage runouts in transition where the guards ping-balled passes around defenders to lead to a high-percentage look.     21p 9r 5a 3s vs Mumba   -The full 3-level scoring chops were apparent for Williams as he led his team to a nice win over Mumba. Williams scored off of a smooth euro step in transition, relocated to the corner for a tough movement 3, knocked down a baseline 1-dribble pull, caught the ball on the wing and quickly got into a 1-dribble floater from just outside the paint that hit nothing but net, knocked down elbow pull-ups in transition, and showed a nice bag of finishing moves around the rim. The combination of pace in transition or coming off of ball screens and the balance on his jumper off the bounce make him a difficult prospect to defend in the halfcourt. And his bag of pivot moves off of dribble pick-ups usually lead to high percentage looks for his team-- that ability will make him a valuable commodity as he continues to grow into a nice frame.     3p 9r 3a 4s vs Takoma Select   -Came away impressed with the motor and unselfish play from Fosso as a G/W tweener that makes plays for his team at both ends of the floor. The first trait that stood out for Fosso was the passing--the ball-handling isn't all the way there yet to take advantage of his foot speed and vision-- but the live dribble and standstill passing were great with either hand as a prospect that passes his teammates open quite frequently. Fosso drove baseline and hit open teammates on the opposite block with smooth wrap-around passes, timed his drop-offs to teammates in transition well to wait until the opponent jumped to block his shot to deliver the read, and always kept his head up on drives to dart a pass to open shooters on the opposite quadrant of the floor. His willingness to battle with posts in the key or slide with guards on the perimeter makes him an extremely valuable piece for an XL group that is really starting to come together on the floor.

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