EYBL Las Vegas: 2027 Standout Wings

Las Vegas - Last week/weekend, Nike EYBL held its 4th Session at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which featured 20 hardwood courts and was the final stop before the illustrious Peach Jam this week in South Carolina. The event started on Wednesday, July 7th and ended Sunday, July 12th. I was in attendance from the 7th through the 9th to catch 3 days of action, and did my best to cover the 17u, 16u, and 15u divisions, so I may have not caught every player that stood out over the event. This article takes a look at 6 standout wings from the 2027 class (rising seniors). This will be followed by a look at standout players by position per class.In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, stats from the event, and a breakdown of their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Brennan Blackett.   Brennan Blackett (6'8 | WF | 2027) - Pleasant Grove/Utah Prospects    Blackett is a lengthy and athletic wing/slasher that is active on the boards, excels the floor in the open court, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Blackett had a strong showing in the win over AZ Unity on Day 3 of the event, finishing with 15 points and connecting on a pair of threes, as well as a monster dunk off the lob to showcase his elite bounce. Blackett uses his wingspan and timing to block/alter shots in the paint, with the agility to step out and contest perimeter shots, crashes the boards to get points off the put-back, limits opponents to single shot possessions, has the handle to push the ball up the court or outlet the ball to get up the court for passes ahead in transition, with active hands, instincts, and timing to jump passing lanes or deflect passes to turn defense to offense. Blackett moves fluid off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and is effective with the 3-ball off the catch, cuts nicely off the ball to get open around the basket for the finish off the lob, with the hesitation move and handles to attack off the wing, getting to the basket for the finish through contact.     Ian Condon (6'8 | WF) - Sidwell Friends/Team Melo    Condon is a sharp shooting wing/forward that is active on the boards, gets to his spots in transition and the half-court, and can light it up from beyond the arc. Condon had his best showing of Session 4 against the Nightrydas, putting up a monster double-double of 26 points, connecting on 5 threes, and 11 rebounds and was pivotal in helping his team build a lead that held throughout. Condon is an elite shooter with great size and off-ball movement, gets to his spots, and can fill it up from the 3-point line off the catch in volume, opening up the court and driving lanes for him to attack or for teammates to find openings in the defense, and is where he leaves his most prevalent mark on the game. Although he is most effective firing from deep, he has the handles and moves to create off the wing, uses the crossover, the hesitation, and the between-cross to get by his defender, is effective with the mid-range off the bounce, and is crafty at scoring around the basket, using the reverse and up-and-under lay-ups to evade shot blockers.    Demarcus Henry (6'8 | WF) - AZ Compass/Vegas Elite   Henry is an athletic and skilled wing/slasher that can score from 3-levels, is an elite defender capable of guarding the 1 through 5 positions, and is active on the glass to control the ball. Henry came into Session 4 after a dominant showing at NBPA Top 100 and he kept that high-level of play going, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Florida Rebels, followed by 24 points and 9 rebounds, of which I was court-side for both. Defensively, Henry has a massive wingspan, lateral movement to stay in front of his opponent, has the height and length to hold up against taller players, as well as the quickness and agility to defend perimeter players, has the timing and quick leaping ability to block/alter shots in the paint, as well as on close outs on the wing, the court awareness to jump passing lanes, deflect passes, or poke the ball out, and turn defense to offense routinely. Offensively, Henry has solid handles, the moves to create off the bounce, using the crossover, hesitation, spin-move, the step-back, fade-away, one-footer, and between-cross to generate space from his defender, is effective with the jumper off the bounce from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a creative scorer around the basket, using the euro-step and reverse lay-ups, as well as absorbing contact on the finish at the basket. Henry was the best two-way player I saw all week/weekend and one of the best long-term prospects for the 2027 class.     Moussa Kamissoko (6'8 | WF) - Long Island Lutheran/PSA Cardinals    Kamissoko is a lengthy and rangy wing/slasher that controls the glass, controls the place of play in the open court with the ball in his hands, and can space the floor from beyond the arc. Kamissoko had a strong showing at Session 4 in Las Vegas, going for 15 points, connecting on a pair of threes, en route to a win over AB Elite to kick off play for the week/weekend. Kamissoko has solid handles, keeps it on a string to survey the defense, has the moves to create off the bounce, using the crossover, spin-move, hesitation, the rip-through, and between-cross to get by his initial defender, is effective with the pull-up middy off the dribble with the height to shoot over most defenders, and keeps constant pressure on the defense looking to attack the basket and get into the paint, using the reverse, euro-step, and up-and-under lay-ups to score among height in the paint. Kamissoko moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can score in volume with the 3-ball off the catch, the court vision to make the rights reads off the drive and kick pass, up the court off the glass, cross court to open shooters in the wing, and to the diver out of the pick and roll action. His build and skill set are hard not to notice as soon as you start watching him play.    Kager Knueppel (6'10 | WF) - Wisconsin Lutheran/Team Herro    Knueppel is a skilled stretch-four that can light it up from beyond the arc, has the handles to create his own shots, and is an underrated defender when it comes to altering shots. Knueppel had a strong showing shooting the ball in a win over Expressions Elite, where he would finish with 14 points, connecting on 4 threes, and pulling down 7 rebounds. Knueppel moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, has great size to shoot over any perimeter defender, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch with range beyond the arc. Knueppel is much more than a 3-point threat, with the handles and moves to create off the dribble when defenders over-pursue on the wing, using the crossover, the spin-move, and the hesitation to get to the mid-range jumper that he connects on with regularity, and has nice touch on finishes around the basket, using the reverse and up-and-under lay-ups to separate from his defender in the paint. Knueppel has solid court vision, makes quality reads off the drive and kick pass, the cross court pass, or up the court off the glass to advance the ball in transition.    [player_tooltip player_id='1612509' first='Jalen' last='White'] (6'7 | WG) - CIA Bella Vista Prep/AZ Unity    White is an athletic, bouncy, and versatile wing/slasher that can take flight, spaces the floor with the 3-ball, and is a high-level perimeter defender. White had one of his best games of Session 4 against the Utah Prospects, as he would finish with 13 points. White leaves his imprint on the defensive end with the wingspan, timing, and bounce to block/alter shots in the post, with the agility to close out and alter perimeter shots, has the foot-speed to stay in front of his defender, with active hands, instincts, and timing to jump passing lanes or deflect passes to get out in the open court where he can throw down some dazzling dunks. White has solid handles, the moves to create space from his defender, using the crossover, hesitation, between-cross, and wrap-behind to get his defender off balance, gets great lift with body control on the jumper, with accuracy from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble, and is a crafty scorer around the basket to evade shot blockers. White moves well off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can heat up from beyond the arc off the catch to pull his defender out of the paint and open up the floor.

Las Vegas - Last week/weekend, Nike EYBL held its 4th Session at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which featured 20 hardwood courts and was the final stop before the illustrious Peach Jam this week in South Carolina. The event started on Wednesday, July 7th and ended Sunday, July 12th. I was in attendance from the 7th through the 9th to catch 3 days of action, and did my best to cover the 17u, 16u, and 15u divisions, so I may have not caught every player that stood out over the event. This article takes a look at 6 standout wings from the 2027 class (rising seniors). This will be followed by a look at standout players by position per class.In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, stats from the event, and a breakdown of their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with Brennan Blackett.