Pro16/NXT Richmond: VA 2028's who helped themselves

Puma's Pro16 League descended upon Richmond this past week for its penultimate session of the summer. See below for a handful of Virginia 2028 prospects who helped themselves with their play throughout the event.    The man in the middle helping to lead a talented Local Legends 16U group on Puma's NXT platform, Tahirou shows signs of real promise that could lead to an upward bump in the next update of the rankings. Standing close to 7-feet and still very new to the game (and the U.S., having recently come over from Niger), he moves with the type of pop and fluidity that point to significant upside if things continue coming together. Tahirou plays with a consistent motor while constantly staying in pursuit of rebounds and blocks. Offensively he's an active finisher around the rim but shows enticing flashes of comfort stretching the floor as a shooter and ballhandler out to the perimeter. It's still early in his development but Tahirou showed he's continuing to take sufficient steps forward to be on D1 radars by this time next year.     Sparking a high-octane core of perimeter pieces for Team Museum, Carlock stood out with his dynamic quickness on both ends. He was aggressive looking to attack in straight lines off the bounce to either side, showing the ability to finish among the trees with both hands. Carlock flashed comfortable range on his jumper while showing he could coexist naturally with others in a multiguard front. He's a bit undersized but is built like a running back with solid length for his height. Moving forward we'll look to see Carlock clean up some of his reads off the dribble to be able to more comfortably run a team from the lead guard spot.     Arguably the glue that holds together a core of guards that combine to lead Team Museum's 16U, Mansour impressed with his well-rounded and efficient scoring ability from the backcourt. He showed he could play comfortably off the catch in the halfcourt with smooth mechanics and a soft ball out of his hands as a spotup shooter. Mansour complemented his jumper with a smooth pitter-patter handle that enabled him to shift his defender and take crisp angles to the bucket for strong finishes. With moderate size and positive strength for his position, Mansour should have no problem being on scholarship radars in due time.     A natural 2027 playing 16U with apparent plans to reclass back to '28, Bell impressed in Museum's Friday evening contest with his dynamic flashes as a perimeter shotmaker and scorer. With a smooth and versatile release, Bell showed the ability to connect on shots on the move along with the footwork and ball skills to create his own space via stepbacks or sidesteps. He also flashed some complementary ability to work downhill off the bounce for slick finishes at the rim. We'll be eager to see more of Bell moving forward and will be curious to see when and where he winds up as a 2028, with his shooting versatility giving him a clear translatable skill to build with as he moves up in levels.     Helping lead a perimeter-heavy 16U group that's had a good deal of success this spring and summer, Brooks stood out with his ability to scale up and down the lineup on either end of the floor. He was consistently around the ball whether coming over to make plays in help defense, pushing in transition to speed up the tempo, or crashing the glass to create an extra possession. Brooks also showed nice functional athleticism as a finisher around the cup. We'll look to see him in a different setting to see more of how he looks at his natural position, but his ability to get in where he fit in while making an impact on winning was impressive.

Puma's Pro16 League descended upon Richmond this past week for its penultimate session of the summer. See below for a handful of Virginia 2028 prospects who helped themselves with their play throughout the event.