PRO16 Richmond: Saturday's MD/VA Eye-Catchers

The PRO16 Circuit has invaded Richmond this weekend for the July Live Period and I made my way down to catch a full day's slate of action on Saturday. During my time, I caught some talent from Maryland and Virginia who left impressions with their play. I stuck to the 17U level so four of the five prospects highlighted belong to the 2027 class, while the last has intentions of reclassing to 2028.    A new name to the area, Hopkins will suit up for the Mt. Zion Prep (National) program by way of Oklahoma and while we wanted to be cautious in where we put him in the debut of our state rankings considering we only had one live viewing of him prior, it's safe to say he'll have the opportunity to make progressive jumps in the next couple updates. A 6'1" guard with supreme athleticism, Hopkins forms a dynamic duo next to top-25 combo forward Dawson Battie on Southern Ties. When the games are tight, either Hopkins or Battie can take control of the offense and while Battie has the size at 6'8", Hopkins relies on his twitch to expose driving lanes and showed yesterday that if he has a clear launching pad, any defender in the vicinity needs to be careful testing him in the air. Hopkins has been one of the risers on the PRO16 Circuit this spring/summer as he has accumulated five DI offers since early May. Hopkins' well-rounded scoring ability combined with the athleticism and twitch mentioned earlier are just a couple of the reasons he is firmly on radars.     Terrell made some waves this spring and summer as well with a combination of his play for [program_tooltip program_id='2450576' first='Team' last='Museum'] and Riverdale Baptist at DMV Live. Another twitchy lead guard that I'll highlight from yesterday, Terrell is always looking to shake his defender off their spot and use his burst to get downhill where he initiates/absorbs contact effectively. If he isn't finishing around the bucket with either hand, Terrell is drawing contact and heading to the charity stripe.   While his scoring prowess was on full display, he showed poise and unselfishness in the most important moment of their game against Magic Elite Select as Terrell knifed his way into the lane and found his shooter in the corner to can a three at the buzzer and force overtime. In the extra period, Terrell played hero once again, except he was the one that converted the game-winning bucket to fend off the near upset. Even though [program_tooltip program_id='2450576' first='Team' last='Museum'] once led in this game by 15, it was still good to see Terrell lock into his strengths when the game got tight and come through for his team in a variety of ways.     For me personally, Duncan's stock continues to rise. Not only did he play a huge role in Springdale capturing the MDPSBBT state hardware with clutch plays, busy box scores and intangibles, but he continues to refine his skillset and mold himself into a valuable role player when projecting towards the next level. Duncan brings size at 6'5" and is no strangers to guarding four different positions with competency at the HS level. Offensively, his mentality of doing the little things has steered him into a low-maintenance option who can take advantage of his opportunities efficiently.   What was best about his performance yesterday was his three-point shot and it all stems with is spatial awareness when he doesn't have the ball. He's a timely cutter when guard dart baseline, but yesterday he was acting as the lift man on drives towards the middle or flashing up from the corners when his defender turned their head in help. Both occasions resulted in kick-out three's that Duncan buried with confidence and if he can sustain those results on his free looks from beyond the arc, the stock will rise even more.     The wiggle and moxie that Iyer brings to the floor always catches folks off guard. He doesn't seem like he's the type of player that can mix you up with a combo move before making his way to the cup to finish quick scoop layups, but that's what he was doing with regularity yesterday for [program_tooltip program_id='2450576' first='Team' last='Museum']. He's an ultra-confident scoring guard who isn't afraid to let it fly from range and that confidence came through when his team needed it most as he was the one that nailed the three-pointer at the buzzer to send it to OT, where Museum would eventually win.     Another Springdale member on this list is Kabugi, who announced his transfer recently from New Jersey and his intentions to reclass to 2028. He catches your eye with his strong, filled out frame that he knows how to utilize when it comes to maintaining leverage around the rim or when he gets downhill on drives. The motor, athleticism and physicality all shined in the win over Magic Elite Select as Kabugi skied for rebounds at their peak amongst the bigs and ripped them down with authority. The plus side to Kabugi is he has the ability to start the fast break and with a head of steam, can force defenders to make business decision on whether or not to step in front and take charges. He made good decisions as a ball-mover in the half court and looks to be another guy for Springdale this winter who can contribute to the box score in a multitude of ways.

The PRO16 Circuit has invaded Richmond this weekend for the July Live Period and I made my way down to catch a full day's slate of action on Saturday. During my time, I caught some talent from Maryland and Virginia who left impressions with their play. I stuck to the 17U level so four of the five prospects highlighted belong to the 2027 class, while the last has intentions of reclassing to 2028.