New Names who caught our attention at Mile High Madness

Every event seems to produce a few players you leave wanting to watch again, and Mile High Madness was no different. These prospects finished the travel season on a high note, showing flashes of what's to come while earning their way onto the radar.   It's also showcase season, and this is the perfect time to lock in and get signed up for our events to get further evaluation as you're now on our radar! Some of the biggest risers in our rankings started by showing up & showing out at a showcase & they're approaching quickly!   Your showcase evaluation could be the one that changes everything.   Freshman & Sophomore Showcase - August 8th (Rankings Immediately following)    Use Colorado26PH25OFF at checkout for 25% OFF & receive a custom registered graphic that comes with it! Lock in now!    Taylor was one of my favorite discoveries of the weekend. He never looked rushed and just kept making plays happen. The ball moved better when it found him. He cut and kept the offense flowing, made simple reads, stayed shot ready when it found him, and attacked in iso situations as well. What really stood out was his timing. Every time that teams went on a run against Plut,o he would hit a big-time shot to change the momentum. He got hot from deep in a few games. Taylor didn't force too much, but just did the little things. He's definitely a name I walked away wanting to see more of, but he's certainly on my radar now.     O'Byrne is a player who certainly caught my eye over the weekend as he's a connector on the floor. You don't have to be the leading scorer to make an impact, and he seemed to understand that. In multiple games, I gravitated towards his play as he fills many boxes. He's using his length for rebounds, boxing out and grabbing the boards, starting the break himself, putting the ball on the floor, and operating in the half-court set as well. He made the extra pass, they ran the offense through him a bit, and he got to his spots. His game is mature as he understands spacing and processes quickly. The final day was probably his strongest, and it was the right time as his team was in the championship, but his feel for the game showed up all weekend. Really intrigued by where this one is headed, and one I hope we get to watch a bit more.     Hamilton's size at the 15U level is just so overwhelming, and he's a workhorse. He was dominant on the glass all weekend, and that was the biggest difference for Top Flight as they got plenty of second-chance opportunities. He grabbed tons of rebounds, he ran the floor well, and did the dirty work. I also enjoyed how he was sealing defenders and not just waiting for touches, but pinning guys and creating deep touches. There's constant movement, hard screens, and strong finishes where he's trying to power through smaller guys. This was my first time watching him, but I really feel as if he separated himself with his ability to communicate what he was doing defensively, open up for guards to get through on screens and such, and being the defensive anchor. Liked what I saw out of Hamilton, and he's certainly a player that's on my radar.     Pierce is a guard I was unfamiliar with heading into the event but I saw him get more and more comfortable as the weekend went along. His second half against [program_tooltip program_id='2100026' first='7070' last='Athletics'] was impressive as the opposing team had a difficult time staying in front of him, and he kept his foot on the gas finishing with about 17 points in that half alone. When he was aggressive, he couldn't be contained as he used the screen from bigs to break the defense down, get to his spots, and either finish downhill with solid footwork, creative layups or he'd be able to get some iso work and get a shot off for himself. Pierce pushed the tempo in games and found a rhythm, and the game seemed to slow down for him at times. I liked how he handled pressure, was a guard who actually feeds the post, and the team seems to go as he allowed them. It seems that Pierce came into the weekend looking to prove a point, and now that the weekend has concluded, point taken. He definitely earned another evaluation, and I hope we see him at our upcoming showcase to get another look.     We saw Berry a year ago, and it was great to see that there's growth to his game. You can tell that he's been constantly working on his craft, and this was a reminder of why he stood out then. Berry kept making plays throughout the weekend. He was physical, played hard, and continued popping in games. We saw him have a few moments where he was finishing through contact and hitting and 1's, grabbing rebounds out of his area as well as making high IQ reads to make the game easier for teammates. He also knocked down 3s to space the floor, fed the post, and had a few steals where he turned defense into instant offense. He's a glue guy you feel comfortable building around, and he was why 7070 was such a tough team to go up against.

Every event seems to produce a few players you leave wanting to watch again, and Mile High Madness was no different. These prospects finished the travel season on a high note, showing flashes of what's to come while earning their way onto the radar.