Big 64: Five Takeaways from Friday Night

<p>The Big 64 tipped off on the campus of West Chester University on Friday evening as 120 teams will make their way to campus over the course of the weekend. The opening night slate was no joke and while there were a few big time matchups that I wasn't able to see, I came away with five main takeaways from the contest I took in splitting time between the main court and the rec center.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Hiller and his newly added teammate shine in two wins</strong></h2>   <p>Coatesville got started with a commanding win over Timbercreek, but then immediately found themselves in a battle against Executive Charter. 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2485359' first='Colton' last='Hiller'] would end up taking the game over the game in crunch time to lead his group to a win bullying his way to the rim and finishing through contact. On multiple occasions, he maneuvered his way to the paint, bumped his man off balance or stepped through double teams before rising up and punching home finishes above the rim. </p>   <p>While Hiller's ability is well documented no matter where you get your high school hoops content fix, Coatesville was in desperate need of another dynamic on-ball presence on their roster heading into the season-and they found it. Less than 24 hours ago it was announced that 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2194361' first='Yasir' last='Turner'] would be making the switch from Archbishop Carroll (PA) and join Hiller. A top-30 prospect a pretty loaded PA 2028 class, Turner is 6-foot-3 and boasts a 6-foot-6 wingspan that he uses to slither his way to the rim for creative finishes. He showed his high-level processing off the bounce and found cutters at just the right time, delivering the ball in the smallest of windows for scores. In my opinion, this addition shouldn't be taken lightly and even with last night being his first run with his new squad, Turner settled in quick and took command of the offense, which allowed Hiller to thrive setting up in his spots around the wing and mid-range before going to work.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Malvern gets excellent play from two guards</strong></h2>   <p>It doesn't take long to see the value that 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2194375' first='Nick' last='Harken'] brings to both sides of the floor. Standing around 6'4"-6'5", the Cornell commit uses every bit of his 205-pound frame to establish himself as a physical presence on drives, seals in the post against smaller matchups or when he's in the mix battling for rebounding position amongst the trees. He brings IQ as a cutter, made quick decisions on his catches and the fact that he's a threat from three who needs little space to get his shot off forces his defender to be paranoid at all times. He was the catalyst for Malvern's strong wins over DeMatha (MD) and St. Joe's Prep (PA) on Friday night.</p>   <p>While there were plenty of ranked and highly sought after prospects from a national perspective in this event last night, 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2851254' first='Ryan' last='Melniczak'] made arguably the biggest impression on me. Not only can the lead guard command the floor with the best of them, he's also a sniper from deep. Standing around 5'10"-5'11", there wasn't another guard in the gym that I saw who effectively changed pace/gear quite like Melniczak and anytime he utilized this skill in transition, it resulted in an advantage and an eventual bucket for his team. His processing off the live bounce and ability to deliver laser passes with either hand is what every coach longs for in their point guard. His IQ looked to be as high as anyone's. I don't usually make statements like this often, but at worst, Melniczak tracks to be a DIII All-American if a DII or Patriot League program doesn't take a chance on him out of high school.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2802627' first='Jared' last='Jeffers'] was the bright spot for DeMatha</strong></h2>   <p>The Stags suffered two tough losses on the night, but the promise that 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2802627' first='Jared' last='Jeffers'] shows as a play finishing center who runs the floor consistently, prides himself in controlling the glass and alters countless shots around the cup was evident. DeMatha's frontline is strong spearheaded by their two seniors in Jeffers and Danny Abass, so it'll be the guard play that ultimately determines their fate. But watching Jeffers' effort and willingness to embrace some tough individual matchups last night against Malvern Prep and Westtown was encouraging.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Westtown flexed its muscles in two wins</strong></h2>   <p>This Westtown team is headlined by 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2452096' first='Ajani' last='Stewart'] (FGCU) and 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2427312' first='Wilson' last='Udo'] (Brown), but it was two of their juniors who caught my eye in their wins against DeMatha and St. Joe's Prep last night. </p>   <p>It really seems like 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2743616' first='Peace' last='Brand'] is putting it together steadily since the beginning of the spring. You always knew he had the talent and potential, but the production is starting to surface with confidence. He's attacking the rim with purpose on straight-line drives and finishing with power above the rim. He made timely cuts as actions took place on the weak side of the floor. When his man helped was in help, Brand found the right spot on the wing to spot up for catch-and-shoot three's, which he converted at a nice clip. His effort and buy-in defensively was evident as he made weak side rotations to block opposing bigs' dunk attempts. He rebounded well in his area and when he wasn't the once collecting misses, put his head down and sprinted the lanes.</p>   <p>2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2846292' first='Victor' last='Lagerkvist'] intrigues me more with each viewing as a 6-foot-6 southpaw playmaker. He can grab-and-go to start the fast break as he scans the floor and darts passes to streaking teammates. There are some times where he can get into bad spots by over dribbling, but if he's able to adapt dribbling for profit consistently moving forward, the rest of his game will shine brighter. He's a capable shooter with space, timely cutter off the ball and brings a unique feel spending most of his life playing in his native country of Sweden.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2563335' first='Justin' last='McKie'] stands out for St. Joe's</strong></h2>   <p>Despite coming up short in their matchups against Westtown and Malvern Prep respectively, I liked what I saw from 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2563335' first='Justin' last='McKie'] as a lead guard. He played with a pep in his step and showed plenty of certainty getting to spots inside the arc before rising over his defender and cashing in on smooth, fluid jumpers. If he was hovering around the perimeter as the ball went inside, he posed as a reliable threat from deep, knocking down a few triples from the top of the key reinforcing to his defender that he couldn't dig down in the post. Justin's brother, Julian, sat out most of the game against Malvern after tweaking his leg and was without the services of 2028 [player_tooltip player_id='2450772' first='Pryce' last='Alston'] to provide a further inside presence. When the squad is fully healthy, they'll be an interesting team when rolling on all cylinders.</p>

The Big 64 tipped off on the campus of West Chester University on Friday evening as 120 teams will make their way to campus over the course of the weekend. The opening night slate was no joke and while there were a few big time matchups that I wasn't able to see, I came away with five main takeaways from the contest I took in splitting time between the main court and the rec center.