Players who changed my perspective at the Expo

One of the best parts of getting prospects together in a setting like the Expo is being able to challenge your own evaluations on a player. There were several players I had seen or knew about coming into the day, but I walked away with a different appreciation for what they bring to the floor and they took advantage of the showcase. These prospects made me take another look at where I have them and will likely be moving up in our ranking based on what we saw.    I've been a big advocate of Thalacker of a player as it's always fun to see a player come into that matchup and think they're going to get the best of him and he lights them up for a full day. He really does play well at our showcase and every time that we see him and the only reason that he's not higher is because we don't see him enough during the season. This is a next-level player, and this event we got to see more than just shooting. He was finding points on scoop finishes, had a couple of cleanup baskets, and I even saw a few pull-ups in the mid-range. His IQ continues to stand out because the game seems to come naturally to him and he rarely forces bad shots. Then, when defenses did leave him open beyond the arc, he made them pay with multiple threes. He's a sneaky-good scorer with more variety than I initially gave him credit for and he took advantage of being in this event.     Palmer was probably the biggest beneficiary for me of getting out to the event as he completely changed my perspective with how well-rounded his offensive game is. He's smooth and efficient and the game seems to slow down for him as well. He was one of the best shooters in the gym, drilling back-to-back threes, pulling up in transition and flying off screens ready to fire and people talk about the type of shooter he is but I just had not seen it. He also played PG at the event and I really enjoyed that and feel that Overland should experiment with that a ton. He broke defenders down, finished through contact, pushed coast-to-coast and made next-levelreads as a passer. He communicated and competed defensively too. He played under control, scored efficiently and was one of my MVPs from the entire event.     In the building, it looked like Horacio had a good day with his interior presence but when I rewatched the event, he was dominant. To begin the event, looked like he needed some time to adjust to the speed but once he got going in 5s he really came alive. Opposing bigs didn't have many answers for him. He sealed deep, finished through contact, had some over the shoulder hooks, used his body to clear out room and grabbed boards and went right up with it. He scored a ton of points by just being active on the glass and using his size. He ran the floor well, set screens and rolled and even popped for a couple of 3-pointers as well. He was very productive and he's due for a big year for Smoky Hill where I think we see his stock grow even more. Big time day for him where I believe there's more to his game than what others believe.     Palomino was the under the radar breakout performer of the day. He's surely a stock booster from the event and it wasn't just flashes, he lit it up for the entire day. He stayed shot-ready, came flying off screens and repeatedly knocked down threes with a smooth, confident stroke. He also was creating for himself off the dribble and shooting and went on a few 3-point runs where he hit 4 or 5 shots in a row. I liked how smooth it came for him and how he ran the offense. Despite being hot in games, he wasn't just gunning. He wanted the ball but still made the extra pass and read what the defense gave him. Palomino mixed in a contested mid-range pull-up and defensive stops as well. He popped on the day and while I did not know a ton about him prior to the event, I can put him in one of the top shooting performances I've seen in a bit. Solid day for him.     Lozano wow'd me over the Summer and at the showcase he solidified himself as a player that I just truly believe is a college player. If he was at a bigger school and putting up these kind of performances there would just be a bigger buzz. He was very good at the showcase and a lot of what he does goes under the radar because he's such a quiet player. He's filling it up, rebounds well for his size, passes it to open guys, and pushes the pace but the real thing is he scores at a high clip. He's comfortable as a scorer as he gets to his mid range spots, he spaces the floor with the 3-ball, shifty and finishes well and can create on the move for himself and teammates. He was hitting shots on the move and got hot from deep and if you just go back and watch his performance, he was one of the better scorers who checks off plenty of boxes.     Walden is one of the players who confuses me most. If you go off of the eye test, he passes easily. He has a college-ready body as he has good size and strength and his shot is pure. Walden also plays well every time that I see him and this time was no different. He has a handle that allows him to get off clean looks, he hits multiple shots in a row and you can put him both on and off-ball. At the showcase he was creating seperation on his shot, he rose over contests and also got inside and finished as well which showed him as a natural scorer who can pile up points. Now the challenge is carrying these summer and showcase performances directly into the high school season because if so, he could be a secret weapon.

One of the best parts of getting prospects together in a setting like the Expo is being able to challenge your own evaluations on a player. There were several players I had seen or knew about coming into the day, but I walked away with a different appreciation for what they bring to the floor and they took advantage of the showcase. These prospects made me take another look at where I have them and will likely be moving up in our ranking based on what we saw.