Small School Gems at the Freshman Showcase

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Prep Hoops Freshman Showcase was held on Sunday at the Beal Center in Chesterfield.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the best parts of a showcase event is that it gives an opportunity for some kids from smaller schools to be seen. Here is a look at some of those small school players who caught our attention on Sunday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3634047' first='Jayden' last='Jones'] (Hayti): A 6'1" guard from the SEMO area who will be joining a strong team that finished second in the Class 2 state tournament last season. He has the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways with his athleticism and skill level. He was consistently getting into the lane with his slashing ability. If he wasn't scoring, he was setting up his teammates with some nice passing off of his penetration. He was also swooping in for offensive rebounds and putbacks. On defense, he was using his wingspan to get deflections and steals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3759525' first='Cooper' last='Coleman'] (St Elizabeth): A 6'3" forward from Mid-Missouri who is entering the one of most consistent Class 1 programs in the state at St. Elizabeth. He is a solidly built player with athleticism and a blue-collar work ethic. He was gobbling up rebounds at both ends of the court. He is also a good finisher around the basket. He also displayed some nice athleticism by throwing down a two-handed alley-oop dunk.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2979643' first='Mason' last='Hays'] (Monroe City): A 6'1" guard who is entering a well-respected Class 3 program at Monroe City. He is a fundamentally sound guard who showed the court awareness to keep himself in the right position all the time. He is also a pretty effective slasher in the lane with a quick first step to beat his defender off the dribble. He is also a solid defender who will aggressively get into people and challenge them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='3558867' first='Kade' last='Simmons'] (LaPlata): A 6'4" forward from Class 1 LaPlata who impressed us with his athleticism and rebounding. He played with good positioning and he was also getting out of her area to corral some boards. He showed some toughness as he absorbed some contact and was able to finish inside. He has a solid build and he also runs the court well with good mobility.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jordan Mahena (Milan): A 5'11" guard who will be playing at the Class 2 level. He did a nice job of fitting into the action with his movement off the ball. He was getting himself open with some good cuts which led to some layups. When he attacked the basket, he did a good job of operating with two feet in the lane, where he used the pump fake effectively to score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->