BballCO Showcase: All-Showcase First Team

The BballCO Showcase gave us plenty to talk about, with talent across the gym and players taking advantage of the opportunity to compete in front of college coaches. As I mentioned with the Second Team, there wasn't a shortage of impressive performances. Guys made shots, defended, competed and found different ways to leave their mark throughout the event, which made narrowing this down far from easy. But when I looked back at the players who consistently separated themselves and delivered some of the biggest stretches of the day, these five rose to the top. Here is my BballCO All-Showcase First Team.    Demari was the top player on the day and it was undeniable. There's not many showcases and events that I've ever been to when a guy just separates himself this much. He was ultra aggressive, he got to all of his spots and scored with ease in each game. Demari is one of the few prospects in the state who relentlessly hits mid range jumpers and understands how that can open up the rest of his game. He's smooth, he finishes well around the rim and truly stood out as an alpha. The ball found him. Defensively, he also plays with a chip. Demari picked up high, switched onto whoever was the hot man, denied and showed he's a two-way standout. This was the best that we've seen him and if this is who we're getting this year then just pencil in Eaglecrest as a favorite.     Montoya was damn good last year at this same showcase and this year he elevated his game even more. His team was my favorite watch as they shared the ball, found the open man and got so many open looks and he was a big reason as to why. Evo is maybe my favorite passer in the state when he's in a zone and dealing how he was at the showcase. He was getting into the teeth of the defense and kicking it to open teammates, he handled defenders trying to knock him off his path, he was one of the top scorers on the day as he got hot from deep and not many guards in the state handles the ball like he does. He doesn't turn it over, he takes chances and at no point was Evo sped up and even with him having so many shots, not many were forced at all. Evo was one of the best players at the event and that's why he's on the 1st Team All Event squad.     I knew that Bodhi was good but I don't know if I personally believed he was THIS good. He's a player who benefitted most in my opinion from the showcase as he showed that he's more than just a knockdown shooter. But don't get me wrong, he also was on fire from deep as well and could very. Bodhi hit multiple 3-pointers in a row, he's constantly moving and relocates and stays shot ready. But he also put the ball on the floor a bit when defenders tried to take away the 3-ball. Bodhi showed that you can run the offense through him a bit, he battled for boards and used his size and also defended guards, wings and bigs. The hype is real with Bodhi and for a large portion of the day he was the best player out there. Big year upcoming for him if this is how he's looking heading into it.     Ulmer continues to shine as he had a year that landed him in the top-5 and he could've easily avoided an event like this to “preserve his spot” as he was clearly a target for other players but he seems to understand it all and he wants to compete. Nobody can say that Jordan doesn't love hoop and he clearly wants to battle with the top players so he made another trip down to further separate himself. I would've liked it if he mixed it up a bit more like we saw in his last outing for us where he was getting inside and finishing at the rim, hitting his mid range shot and getting smaller defenders on the block but when his shot is falling, his shot is falling. Jordan had step back 3's, he brought the ball up the floor despite playing with two other guards, the offense centered around him and he scored with ease. He's very confident in his game and that goes a long way. Ulmer has to be one of the better shooters in this class who is getting better each time that we see him and this was him proving why he's a top-5 player in the class.     Tyson's a force right now and he's playing the best basketball that we've saw from him. The game has seemed to slow down for him, he plays with the same aggression and passion but it's so controlled right now and that's going to be something to see. If we thought he had insane numbers last year, I could only imagine what it's like this year. At the showcase he did it all. He picks up 90-feet and forces turnovers, he breaks defenders down off the dribble, attacks the paint and is actually finishing right now through traffic and is consistently hitting the 3-ball as well. He also seems to be a more willing and controlled passer as well that sees the floor well and is kicking it. Tyson is playing his brand of basketball, but it's all within a flow and there's massive progress in the way that it's translating to wins as of late. He brought it at the showcase, which he typically does, but right now it just feels different. Tyson was undeniably one of the top prospects on the day and rounded out the 1st team.

The BballCO Showcase gave us plenty to talk about, with talent across the gym and players taking advantage of the opportunity to compete in front of college coaches. As I mentioned with the Second Team, there wasn't a shortage of impressive performances. Guys made shots, defended, competed and found different ways to leave their mark throughout the event, which made narrowing this down far from easy. But when I looked back at the players who consistently separated themselves and delivered some of the biggest stretches of the day, these five rose to the top. Here is my BballCO All-Showcase First Team.