Hoop Review Scrimmage Session I, Oct 17

On Saturday I was at the Slam Academy in Hayward, CA for a Hoop Review Scrimmage, evaluating some of NorCal’s talented prospects . It was a 2 session event with four teams in each session going up against each other. Session I had a good group of players who will undoubtedly be considered as top performers in the NorCal Area. Here’s my list of players who stood out at this session. Team Superstar Robel Zemmo 6’2 Combo Guard 2022 Zemmo an athletic guard showed off his versatility. He’s calm and confident, has superb handling skills to go along with his speed and quickness. He showed good court vision, and was an excellent passer keeping teammates involved. He can run the point guard spot with no issues. Zemmo showed his ability to score points from all angles, breaking down defenders to get into the paint, hitting the mid range jumper, and knocking down open 3’s. Tejuan Hale 6’4 Combo Guard 2021 Hale like his teammate Zemmo showed his versatility. He started the games I watched as the primary ball handler, capable handler in the full court, good patience facilitating in the half court, at 6’4 he handles the pressure and sees the floor. A strong bodied player who can get to the rim off the dribble, and has a strong presence when he’s in the paint on offense. He was effective inside and out, good rebounding guard. Ron Jones Jr 6’7 Wing 2022 Jones Jr, plays with a chip on his shoulder, and he’s finding ways to make his presence known on the court when he’s not scoring. His length and wingspan enables him to be an effective scorer on the inside. He can hit the elbow jumper, run the floor in transition, and can effectively defend bigger players in the post. He’s on the rise. Malik Kaba 6’4 Wing 2021 Kaba had a good performance, another long armed player, he’s a bit on the thin side, but showed great effort in the paint on defense, he tried to block everything! With good instincts, he’s a quick leaper. He’ll gets hustle points, rebounds for put backs, runs the floor in transition. One of the better defenders in Session I. Vanden [player_tooltip player_id="775801" first="Agjanti" last="Miller"] 6’3 Point Guard 2021 Miller looks like a player who could be on the verge of a breakout season this year. He’s brought his Combo skills up. He showed good patience running the offense, improved ball handling, and passing. He’s always been a threat to knock down jumpers, mid range and 3’s. Showing more leadership with verbal communication could see his game rise. [player_tooltip player_id="775776" first="Omari" last="Davis"] 6’2 Guard 2021 Davis has added some muscle, and grown a couple inches since I last saw him. He has one of the best shooting forms I’ve seen in NorCal. He hit 3’s on the catch and shoot, had a couple of nice pull up jumpers. He has good quickness and lateral movement to be a quality defender. Consistency is key for him. Isaiah Moore 6’5 Guard 2021 Moore is an intriguing prospect I’m seeing for the first time. I was impressed with his demeanor on the court. He just goes about his business, showing an all around game. A lengthy athlete who moves well on the court, he defended in the paint, on the perimeter, and got a good number of rebounds on both ends, a couple of put backs for baskets. At 6’5 he showed good handles and decision making when leading the break. I’ll see more of him. 3 D Ballers [player_tooltip player_id="953989" first="Jordan" last="Aquino"] 5’9 Guard 2022 My first time seeing Aquino with his new team, he didn’t disappoint. The stocky scoring guard plays with an abundance of confidence and energy, sometimes it gets him into trouble. Nevertheless he’s a threat to score with the ball including long range 3’s. He has no problem bumping and banging his way to the basket, while finishing with touches off the glass, left/right, reverse layups, floaters. By the way when he doesn’t have the ball he’s a tenacious defender. He looks like a good fit for his new team. I’ll keep an eye on him. Kyle Crawford 6’2 Guard 2021 Crawford standing 6’2 did an excellent job hitting the boards at this event. He’s gotten a little wider and showed good strength hitting the boards at both ends, he had a couple of nice put backs amongst the taller players. He attacked well from the baseline using the reverse layup for nice finishes. Ray John Spears 6’2 Guard 2022 Spears got off to a slow start, nonetheless he’s one of NorCal’s better 2022’s when he’s locked in. He did assert himself as play continued. The lift he gets on his mid range jumper is impressive. He has deep 3pt range and is hard to guard when he makes up his mind on the drive. He’s loaded with confidence . Spears and [player_tooltip player_id="953989" first="Jordan" last="Aquino"] make a dynamic duo. Modesto Christian [player_tooltip player_id="706321" first="Myles" last="Clayton"] 6’7 2021 After sitting out last year Clayton seems like he’s trying to make up for lost time. He’s a good player, that brings a versatile skill set to his team. He’s a bit on the thin side but has good length, and mobility at 6’7. He was active on the boards, ran the floor pretty well and scored some buckets around the basket. He showed his rebounding and push skills in transition. Everett Hunter 6’4 2022 Hunter was one of the better players for his team at this event. He was very active rebounding on both ends of the floor, he had several putbacks for buckets. A 6’4 wide body with good strength he’s still learning how to use it. He rebounded and defended the taller players with some success. He has an improving skill set, he hit the elbow jumper, set decent screens, and found open teammates. [player_tooltip player_id="950936" first="Darius" last="Smith"] 6’3 2023 Smith was active around the basket with good finishes around the rim. He was on the scoring end of several transition baskets with his hustle up the court. He had good finishing moves along the baseline including the short jumper. He’s a fairly solid athlete that will defend on the perimeter and mix it up up the boards. Don’t Forget About [player_tooltip player_id="947862" first="Rahsaan" last="Young"]-Jones 6’6 Wing 2021 A long wingspan was steady on the defense and contributed on the boards, he had a couple of put backs for points.. He has a good shot from the elbow and can stroke it from 3. Dean Saleh 6’0 Combo Guard 2021 Saleh might be a bit underrated, he makes good decisions with the ball, shoots it well from 3pt land, and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and is always in the flow of the game. Omari Staples 6’3 2023 Combo Guard. Staples was a solid performer coming off the bench. Fast with the ball in transition, he delivered good passes, took good care of the ball when playing the point guard position, he played tenacious defense in the full court and on the perimeter. I’saac Montgomery 6’0 Guard 2021 Montgomery has gotten bigger and stronger, but that hasn’t changed his game too much, he can still power his way to the basket and punish anybody who dares to get in his way. He has good control and knows how to use his body. He’ll be hard to guard for most guards. Always in attack mode. Darnay McPherson 5’9 Guard 2021 This team is loaded with guards that can penetrate, score or dish it just depends on the situation. McPherson a thick body fits the mode strong hard to guard on the drive, decent pull up. Along with [player_tooltip player_id="953989" first="Jordan" last="Aquino"] opponents will also have to deal with the Aquino twins, Justin and Jeremiah 5’6 Point Guards 2023, both play in attack mode constantly going up and down the court and a fast pace. Justin seems to be more on the attack right now, he made his way into the paint for buckets, while Jeremiah was content to be a more pass first type point guard, he showed an ability to run a half court offense, he did penetrate and kick out as well, both are solid players who’ll contribute right away. New Comer Jamari Phillips 6’3 Guard 2024 Phillips one of NorCal’s newcomers in the 2024 class. He plays team ball, worked hard on both ends, and shows good patience on offense, solid passing skills and is capable of hitting shots. He’ll have to keep working on the defensive end, he was in good position, and had good week side help. 2024’s will have their ups and downs, but he’s a promising young prospect and he competes.