CoBL Interstate Shootout: More Greats From The Garden State

With a large chunk of September now in the rearview, fall basketball is officially in full swing. As the start of the high school season draws closer, weekends across the area have become increasingly crowded with showcases, giving players valuable opportunities to put their skill sets on display while beginning to carve out the roles they'll assume once the winter season arrives. Last weekend, several New Jersey programs made the trip to The Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia, PA, for the City of Basketball Love Interstate Shootout— an annual two day fall showcase regularly draws some of the most competitive programs from across the tristate area, offering an early look at the roles prospects are preparing to embrace this season while also featuring several intriguing matchups between some of New Jersey's top programs. With plenty of talent taking the floor throughout the weekend, let's take another look at some of the prospects who stood out and made strong impressions during last weekend's action.    Following an impressive summer that saw his recruitment take on a legitimate jumpstart and a decision to reclassify down, [player_tooltip player_id='2628235' first='King' last='Josiah Hamilton']'s intriguing combination of physical tools, relentless motor, and developing skill set continued to translate into tangible production to kick off fall preseason play. What remains glaring is the growing versatility of his offensive game and the number of ways he can force defenses to account for him— establishing himself as a threat on the interior across both matchups, finding gaps in the defense attacking closeouts and getting downhill, attacking straight line driving angles off the bounce out of designed Iverson cuts in half court actions, while also excelling as a cutter in designed sets intended to capitalize off backdoor cuts as well as an explosive vertical lob threat in transition.     A seasoned floor general that facilitates the offense and helps drive the team's attack, [player_tooltip player_id='1454276' first='Blake' last='Hargrove'] demonstrated an attacking mentality and consistently looked to push the pace, using his quickness to put pressure on opposing defenses. Hargrove's a bursty mover with glaring open floor speed and that was evident in his aggression in looking to score early in possessions, catching opposing defenders on their heels in transition. Hargrove's aggression didn't slow down when defenses were able to recover and get back in the halfcourt— getting in the lane out of different ball screen actions for tough angled finishes around the basket, absorbing contact on dribble penetration to unlock scoring chances at the free throw line, and even demonstrating his soft touch shot making ability over lengthy contests.     [player_tooltip player_id='2683646' first='Aaron' last='Feath']'s combination of size and feel gives him an intriguing foundation as a versatile offensive piece. That proficient feel for the game continues to remain evident through the fall, particularly in his decision making— where his commitment to keeping possessions organized while making high level reads was impressive, passing out of the low post when defenses sent doubles, creating drive and kick threes for shooters out on the perimeter, and even drawing two defenders in the paint and hitting short corner dump offs. Feath further impressed in the ways he was able to keep a lot of that opposing defensive pressure honest, in creating for himself— attacking driving angles off the bounce in isolation situations and in different PnR actions while also exploiting closeouts when the defense was forced into rotations.     [player_tooltip player_id='3523011' first='Alex' last='Whitworth'] has quietly built up a strong reputation in South Jersey as a dangerous perimeter shooter, and he backed up those strong shooting percentages with yet another impressive showing to start the fall. Beyond the percentages, Whitworth demonstrated several intangibles that make him even more dangerous than his efficiency numbers suggest— confidence to let it fly from virtually anywhere on the floor and maintaining an aggressive mindset regardless of whether the previous shot goes in or out, filling into open perimeter spots on the court and sliding to vacant wing spots to replace driving guards, stretching defenses with deep range accuracy, and even showcasing his ability to create slight separation off the dribble and convert on off the bounce looks.     A physically built guard/wing with a strong frame, glaringly broad shoulders, and noticeable quick twitch athleticism, [player_tooltip player_id='2763190' first='Asaad' last='McLean'] demonstrated much more of the necessary strides in pairing his natural rim pressure with improved perimeter shot making, an encouraging development that became increasingly evident toward the end of his freshman season, and he appears to be continuing along that same upward trajectory. In this early fall ball action, McLean showed an early aptitude as a spot up shooter, displaying smooth and fluid mechanics, a high finish on his release, strong balance, and precise footwork from his base. While also at the same time generating an immense amount of rim pressure, particularly in the open floor as result of his ball pressure translating into defensive stops.     One of the rarer prospects to have played up an age group for multiple years both on the high school and on the AAU side, [player_tooltip player_id='2868182' first='Jackson' last='Boyd'] is a young, talented guard with legitimate ball skills and a natural feel for the game. In this early fall ball action, Boyd proved to be a seamless fit while demonstrating an advanced ability to play within the confines of the flow of the offense— making the right decisions with the ball in his hands particularly in advancing the ball up the floor in transition and drawing two off dribble penetration and spraying the ball out to open shooters. In the midst of all that, Boyd still maintained his natural scoring aggression, highlighted by hints of his creativity off the bounce to get in the lane and finish with soft touch.     Despite not shooting the three ball at his usual efficiency, [player_tooltip player_id='2504902' first='Jamieson' last='Young'] still did enough to keep closeouts honest and consistently put pressure on the defense, shooting it at a respectable enough percentage coupled with a willingness to attack gaps off the bounce. Young leveraged his shooting gravity into offense off the bounce— complementing his perimeter shot making by attacking closeouts and exploiting driving angles aggressively, getting into the lane and finishing from tough angles around the basket while also mixing in some soft touch runners in the painted area.

With a large chunk of September now in the rearview, fall basketball is officially in full swing. As the start of the high school season draws closer, weekends across the area have become increasingly crowded with showcases, giving players valuable opportunities to put their skill sets on display while beginning to carve out the roles they'll assume once the winter season arrives. Last weekend, several New Jersey programs made the trip to The Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia, PA, for the City of Basketball Love Interstate Shootout— an annual two day fall showcase regularly draws some of the most competitive programs from across the tristate area, offering an early look at the roles prospects are preparing to embrace this season while also featuring several intriguing matchups between some of New Jersey's top programs. With plenty of talent taking the floor throughout the weekend, let's take another look at some of the prospects who stood out and made strong impressions during last weekend's action.