CBG Winter Series II: 2022 Standouts (Part 1)

Sunday marked the second session of the CBG Winter Series, a club team event that was started by the Commonwealth Basketball Group to give kids and teams that don’t have a chance to play high school ball this year a chance to compete in front of a live stream for college coaches and other media. The event featured 12 teams from across the state of VA, and each team played two games with 20 minute running clock halves. There was tons of talent in the building with some teams returning from session one and some new ones as well. We will take a look at the standouts and need to break them up due to the amount of talent in the building. We continue by taking a look at part one of the top juniors in attendance, and there is tons of 2022 talent in VA! Anyone wishing to watch the replays of the game can check it out on the CBG Live Network at <a href="https://cbglivenetwork.com">https://cbglivenetwork.com</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="787667" first="Jayden" last="Epps"] | 6’1” PG | Peanut City 460 [caption id="attachment_1122090" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Epps-Jayden-PC-crop-3018x1982-1611675953.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1122090" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Epps-Jayden-PC-crop-3018x1982-1611675953-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: Lancaptures[/caption] One of the top guards in the country, Epps was coming off of an impressive performance against national level competition at the NIBC and continued to show his ability to score the ball at a high rate at Session 2 of the CBG Winter Series. The 6’1” guard just simply has a knack for scoring the basketball, and the face that your best scorer has the ball in his hands the most makes him even more of a threat and he showed that as he scored it consistently from multiple levels throughout the event. He has deep range and a quick release off the bounce, he’s always on balance when he gets into the paint with his ability to score it from the midrange and at the cup and he has supreme confidence and a toughness to him so even when things aren’t going too well he’s still able to get it going. He finished the event averaging 19.5 points per game. [player_tooltip player_id="815587" first="George" last="Beal"] | 6’4” SF | Peanut City 460 [caption id="attachment_1122092" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Beal-George-PC-crop-3456x2270-1611676082.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1122092" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Beal-George-PC-crop-3456x2270-1611676082-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Photo: Lancaptures[/caption] Beal missed out on the Fall Series due to injury and has battled some over his career, but he showed why he’s considered one of the best young wings in the 757 and should start to see his recruitment pick up as he continues to improve. After a rough first game in a loss to CBG East, Beal was phenomenal in their win over 522 Warriors as he did a little bit of everything going for 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field and chipped in 8 rebounds and 5 assists as well. A long and athletic wing that plays with a good motor, he’s a guy who can get to the rim and finish above it with authority, is unselfish and does the dirty work and he still has a lot of room to grow on both ends of the floor. [player_tooltip player_id="962785" first="Justin" last="Taylor"] | 6’5” SF | CBG 434 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Taylor-Justin-CBG.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1063288" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/10/Taylor-Justin-CBG-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Taylor, who came in at #3 in our updated class of 2022 rankings behind two out of state transfers at Oak Hill, showed why he’s one of the most sought after wings in the country as he came out firing for 434 in their first game against VA Academy and continues to show improvement in his overall game. The smooth wing showed the ability to create his own shot and scored it from multiple levels, he has filled out nicely and played well through contact and he’s a very underrated defender as well that typically guards the other team’s best scoring threat. He’s also a heady playmaker with a high IQ and his size and his ability to knock down shots, along with his underrated athleticism, he could fit into almost any system at the next level. He finished the event averaging 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, and went for 20 points on 50% shooting from the field and 7 assists with 0 turnovers in their win over VA Academy. [player_tooltip player_id="815590" first="Kenyon" last="Giles"] | 5’10” PG | CBG Select <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Giles-Kenyon-CBG.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1112508" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Giles-Kenyon-CBG-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Giles got the event going in a big way as he came out in the first game of the day at 8 AM and didn’t look tired one bit as he hit his first 7 shots of the game against Circle Sports before missing and had 17 points before the break. A supremely confident scoring guard, Giles is able to make shots from anywhere on the floor with the ball in his hands, and he has good quickness and the ability to stop on a dime to pull up or change directions, and once he gets it going he can make very tough shots from all over the floor. He’s an explosive athlete with a good first step and he’s a capable and willing playmaker as well, and his fundamentals and skill set on the offensive end are next to none. He finished the day averaging 23.5 points per game and was a pest defensively as well. [player_tooltip player_id="1107824" first="James" last="Patterson"] | 6’5” SF | CBG Select [caption id="attachment_1122096" align="alignnone" width="200"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Patterson-Biggie.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1122096" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Patterson-Biggie-200x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a> Photo: Lancaptures[/caption] Patterson continues to show that he should see recruitment coming his way soon, as the 6’5” do it all wing didn’t score as much as Giles but was a very solid second option and showed his next level ability at his size. A good athlete who plays with a good motor, Patterson is a guy who can pick up guards full court and can even pluck them in the open floor, he has above the rim finishing ability both in transition and in the half court and he can score the ball from multiple levels both on and off the basketball. He finished the event averaging an efficient 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Gray Proffitt | 6’5” G | Team 22 [caption id="attachment_1122097" align="alignnone" width="200"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Proffitt-Gray.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1122097" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Proffitt-Gray-200x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a> Photo: Lancaptures[/caption] Proffitt has been one of the biggest breakout guys in the entire Winter Series after having a good showing in the first session, and while he doesn’t put up gaudy scoring numbers he just knows how to play the game and is effective in so many different ways. At 6’5” the Douglas Freeman guard he isn’t the quickest guy and I wouldn’t call him a point guard, but he has a sturdy frame and great vision and playmaking ability at his size and he’s an explosive finisher around the rim as well. He was huge in them going 2-0, and in their win over a very talented CBG Select group he finished the game with 8 points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field, 8 assists to just one turnover and 7 rebounds. Rueben McEachern | 5’10” PG | Team 22 McEachern is another guard for M22 that is showing that if Henrico County had played basketball this year he would have had a chance to be a breakout guy in the area for Henrico High School. He played sparingly off the bench last year for a talented and senior ladened group, and while he isn’t the biggest or most athletic guy he’s always finding ways to get in the lane and finish among the trees, he can stick it from deep when he’s left open and he’s a pest defensively as well. He averaged 8 points per game in just 15 minutes per game and is a guy who makes plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet as well. [player_tooltip player_id="962789" first="Davin" last="Cosby"] | 6’4” SG | Blue Magic [caption id="attachment_1122102" align="alignnone" width="200"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Cosby-Davin.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1122102" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/01/Cosby-Davin-200x300.jpeg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a> Photo: Lancaptures[/caption] Blue Magic is a group that is beat up as they’ve lost a lot of key players to injury since the fall began including Louisville commit [player_tooltip player_id="543842" first="Roosevelt" last="Wheeler"], Richmond commit [player_tooltip player_id="798691" first="Jason" last="Nelson"] and nationally ranked 2023 wing [player_tooltip player_id="992528" first="Dennis" last="Parker"] Jr. However, this has given them a chance to let some of their other guys rock out, and Cosby took full advantage Sunday as he showed why he’s one of the top shooters in the Richmond area. In a close loss to VA Academy, Cosby got hot early as he made multiple long range shots, and as he made shots you saw his confidence rise and the rest of his game improved as well. He finished the game 14 points and hit 4 three-pointers, and he chipped in 8 rebounds and 3 assists as well.