Five off the Beaten Path

Under the radar is a term that gets tossed around often. I’m going for a slightly different angle here. For a variety of reason these players are off the beaten path. With the conclusion of a most unusual grassroots season and the uncertainty of the regular season looming, these five players might require a little extra effort to see this year. That being said, this would be time well spent as these players also hold an abundance of small college potential. Clayton Roberts 6-4 2021 Home School I first saw this player last fall in a showcase event. I was initially impressed with athleticism and competitiveness on the defensive end. Flash forward to this summer to find a player with a little more physical definition and an expanding offensive game. If a coach was to harbor a bias towards a home school league (which would be a mistake) Roberts has some solid public school credentials as well. Averaged a double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in his sophomore year at Wyoming Lee. Moved onto the Grand Rapids Angels, the same home school program that produced Luke Maranka (Toledo) Would be a second generation college athlete as his father played college football at Alma. Continued improvement of perimeter would cement him at the 3 position, but is strong enough to mix it up down low if he needs to. Also able to play and finish above the rim. A big season should put this versatile prospect on small college coaches radar. [player_tooltip player_id="814663" first="Jared" last="Endsley"] 6-4 2021 Home School Roberts AAU and regular season teammate; there a lot to like in this prospect. Bigger and more filled out physically than the last time I saw him. Known more as a pass first guard up until this point, but showed extended range on his perimeter shot throughout the summer. Played on a good MBA National squad. Competed hard on the defensive end and has the length and foot speed to defend multiple positions. Averaged 15.7 points per game to along with 7.1 rebounds in the regular season. Like Roberts, coaches should have no qualms about the level of competition. As the grassroots participation shows this is a young player who has played a lot of basketball and has not been afraid to test himself. Peyton Bush 6-2 2021 Forest Hills Central Not necessarily a prospect that is difficult to find, but due to the reasons listed below I had not seen much of this prospect. A tall, skilled lead guard at Forest Hills Central. If this sounds familiar it should. The Rangers featured such a prospect last year in Ferris St bound [player_tooltip player_id="531740" first="Jimmy" last="Scholler"]. Bush looked very much like Scholler playing in Fort Wayne with the West Michigan Crush. Standout contest was against Michigan based Hoop Mentality which featured Taylor Trillium standouts Eli Fishbun and Ronald Rayburn. Handled everything this deep and long team threw at him in the 46-38 victory. Bush dictated the pace throughout the game with his steady ball handling while also scoring at and even above the rim. With his size also showed the ability to play off the ball. This ability should come in handy as the Rangers also feature 2021 point guard prospect [player_tooltip player_id="814627" first="George" last="Hatchett"]. Hatchett had an excellent summer playing with the aforementioned MBA National. Good bloodlines as sister played both basketball and soccer at Ferris St. Might not be off the beaten path long. After a good summer already drawing small college interest. Tristan McElhinney 6-3 2021 McBain Doing a deep dive here on a player who has not garnered much attention up to this point. This long athletic prospect has some serious upside for a coach willing to take a chance. Let’s get the downside out of the way. Is probably fourth option on his own high school team. You wouldn’t know that watching him compete with his downstate CGR squad the past few weekends in Fort Wayne. Next level athleticism was readily apparent playing next to guys like [player_tooltip player_id="814670" first="Corey" last="Grant"] (Grandville) and Santana Phillips (GR Ottawa Hills) Willing and well schooled defender with long arms. Now about that “fourth option” thing. Will be a key contributor on a McBain squad that should be one of the top teams regardless of class in Northern Michigan. If you know anything about this historical program—you don’t play if you don’t defend. A few other quirks that could make this a unique recruit. He is young for his grade, soon to turn 17. He is also a skilled soccer player at a small school that does not field a soccer team. So to add it all up. A young multi sport athlete who knows how to defend who is already comfortable being a role player could be music to small college coaches ears. Highland conference foe Jacob Haun (Manton) was a prospect primarily known for baseball. One big senior season later and he will be heading to Trine to play basketball. I could see McElhinney possibly following a similar trajectory. Mugabe Menani 6-1 2022 Andrews Academy (Berrien Springs) Played with UTS Elite 2022 this past weekend in Wisconsin. This squad features explosive playmaker [player_tooltip player_id="863922" first="Brady" last="Titus"]. I was disappointed when he went down with an injury Saturday afternoon against a good Gallo Sports team from Wisconsin. Menani came off the bench and made some plays that helped UTS pull out the 60-56 victory. Showed playmaking ability and was not shy going to the basket. Hit a timely deep three and also grabbed big rebound among the trees in crunch time. In this setting did not appear to be a true point guard. Might need grow a bit vertically for the two, or improve ball handling to play the one at the next level. Andrews Academy is a private boarding academy affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They do not participate in MHSAA activities. Like numbers 1 and 2 on he will take a little extra effort to see. However unlike those guys Menani is a year younger and has a little more time to grow and establish himself on the recruiting scene. His grassroots participation this summer is a good first step.