Prep Hoops Maryland Expo: Team 3 Notables

The content from this weekend's Expo continues as we break into individual team evaluations. <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/09/the-expo-maryland-team-1-notables/">Team 1's evaluations </a>went live yesterday, <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/09/the-expo-team-2-notables/">Team 2 earlier this morning</a> and now, we move onto Team 3.    Collins Jr. is someone we were early on in terms of getting him into our rankings and highlighting his game. On Sunday, he provided more evidence that not only were we correct in doing so, but also that plenty of layers of his game left to be developed.   The son of former Maryland/Loyola (MD) guard, Collins Jr. is starting to see the game more as a lead guard who brings balance as a scorer and distributor. For his local teams, he needs to take on more of the scoring role but at The Expo, he showed what he can do with other capable scorers around him.   More in-depth breakdown of why he got the nod for Third Team <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/09/the-expo-third-team/">here.</a>     Another member of the Third Team was Moody, a 6-foot-3 guard with a plus wingspan and a frame that could fill out over time. He's a smooth shot maker off the catch from three, but also knows how to get to spots with good pace and balance before rising over defenders with his length and high release to sink mid-range jumpers. Moody was effective filling the lanes, made the extra pass to turn a good shot into a great one and did a nice job utilizing his length defensively on contests.   Like Collins Jr., be sure to visit the write-up on the Third Team <a href="https://prephoops.com/2026/09/the-expo-third-team/">for more in-dept breakdowns</a>.     First thing that stands out with Ballard is his strong frame. Once you see that he can move pretty fluidly for his size and that the motor is consistent, you start thinking about the other aspects he can develop. For the time being, he knows how to use his physical frame to establish position on the block for post touches. He's strong enough to maintain his leverage on seals to fight off his defender and on the catch, he's able to spin off either foot as he attacks the rim. Ballard showed touch on over the shoulder hooks, good concentration on drives through contact and dependable hands as he rolled to the rim following ball screens.     Lewis acted as a valuable connective piece for this team as a two-way presence. He's not afraid to heat the ball up in space defensively and showed nice lateral quickness in doing so. He's a competitor and that was on display as he went down amongst the trees inside to battle for boards. Offensively he's a catch-and-shoot threat with confidence to see back-to-back triples fall when his feet are set. Off the dribble, he was most effective in straight-line drives and in transition, Lewis was always looking to make the simple advance pass to apply further pressure on the defense and generate easy looks.     Coming into the event, I was aware of Ross' shooting ability, but what he showcased was comfort and creativity off the dribble. He still made defenders pay for lackluster closeouts, but if he had to call his own number on the wing while isolated, he gained an edge on his man and was able to keep his dribble alive through traffic before making passes with zip on them for scores. If he slithered his way to the rim, Ross finished layups on either side and on difficult angles. Another aspect that stood out about him was his willingness to communicate.     Lewis was another guard on this squad who could knock down deep shots when he had the ideal time and space. The 5-foot-10 southpaw likes to step into his jumper in a 1-2 fashion and gets a high arc following the release. Because it takes him a second to get into his mechanics, it actually baits defenders into thinking if they sprint hard enough on the closeout, they'll get a finger on the shot. Instead, Williams would time his attack perfectly towards their top foot so he could gain momentum toward the paint and finish the job with floaters or no-look dimes to bigs along the baseline.     Daw made the most of his time in District Heights as the effort was high from start-to-finish. Heading into his senior year at Hereford, he'll look to take on more of a leadership role for the underclassmen and the way he was going about his business on the floor with body language, multiple efforts and doing the small things should bode well for the increased role. The All-County guard can get it going from three and when he sees the first one drop, he doesn't need much of a window to get another one up. He's capable off the bounce and does a nice job of reading and reacting as he gets into gaps. Little things like shot fakes, making the extra pass and talking while on the weak side defensively were things that stood out to me with Daw.     Brown impressed with his impact from the point of attack. He relentlessly attacked his defender while using good change-of-pace dribbles, quick counters if they anticipated his first move and good patience on step-throughs for scoop finishes. He's crafty around the rim and despite being a southpaw, used either hand on reverse finishes as opposing bigs tried to swat it into the baseline.   Jackson canned his share of triples on the afternoon both off the catch and when his man thought they were safe to go under high ball screen actions. It didn't take him long to quickly identify the strengths of his teammates and use his wiggle along with his floor vision to make life easier for them.

The content from this weekend's Expo continues as we break into individual team evaluations. Team 1's evaluations went live yesterday, Team 2 earlier this morning and now, we move onto Team 3.