KYDA Invitational-2022 Prospects (Part I)

This weekend in Scranton, Pennsylvania the KYDA Invitational took place featuring teams from MD, NY and PA for a great slate of games throughout the various age groups. I was in attendance for the Saturday action and was fortunate enough to get my eyes on some prospects that I haven’t seen live before. For this series, I’ll break down some of the standouts that I witnessed starting with the 2022 class. [player_tooltip player_id="996913" first="Kyle" last="Filipowski"] | 6’10 | NY Renaissance Over the past few months, I have heard quite a bit about Filipowski and the fact that he’s blossoming into a highly sought after big man. On Saturday he made a strong point that not only is he a top-50 player in his class, but should be regarded as a top-5 prospect at his position. Filipowski is a legitimate 6-foot-10 forward who can stretch the floor with a fluid jumper from three that was on display as the Rens handled Team Final, who was regarded by many as the top AAU team in the country, by a final score of 73-58. Filipowski was brilliant as he led the way with 21 points and scored in just about every fashion. He took the challenge of going up against Jalen Duren and Dereck Lively personally, proving himself time and time again. I’d expect a slew of top power five programs to do a deep dive on Filipowski after the weekend that he had. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Dereck-Lively-1-crop-2910x1911-1619544031.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1179188" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Dereck-Lively-1-crop-2910x1911-1619544031-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Dereck Lively | 7’1 | Team Final I saw Lively for the first time in action a couple of weeks back and was impressed. He outdid himself yesterday with how active he was around the rim on both ends. I can’t remember Lively missing more than two shots in his two games against Rens and Thrill simply because he had intentions of tearing the rim off with every touch that he had. He was a monster on the backboard and his mere presence in the paint defensively forces anyone to do a double take before they attempt a layup. When you talk about a dominant big that is an anchor at both ends, Lively is your guy. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Noah-Batchelor-1.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1039757" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/08/Noah-Batchelor-1-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Noah Batchelor | 6’7 | Team Thrill I saw Batchelor in action against Final where Thrill came up short in OT, but it was Batchelor’s buzzer-beating three that helped earn his team an extra two minutes to get the win. The 6-foot-7 put forth an efficient shooting performance and was specifically effective coming off pin down screens. Batchelor displayed textbook footwork and quickly got into his shot or used his instincts to feel his defender was closely trailing him only to utilize a pump fake, watch his defender go flying by as they contested to free himself up for a clean look. I also liked the effort Batchelor showed when it came to hitting the glass defensively. He pulled down a few important boards throughout the game to limit Final to one-shot possessions. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/JJ-Starling.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1183112" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/JJ-Starling-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> J.J. Starling | 6’2 | City Rocks Starling is as smooth and natural of a bucket-getter that you’ll find on the East Coast. He can mix it up with his approach and isn’t afraid to keep the clip locked and loaded. He had a really strong performance, especially in the first half against Melo where his scoring prowess was on full display. Starling can create space off the bounce and get his shot off from all three levels. He performs exceedingly well in isolations and gives reminds me of a style comparable to a Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/Cam-Whitmore.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1134512" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/02/Cam-Whitmore-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Cam Whitmore | 6’7 | Team Melo Melo struggled as a team overall, but Whitmore was a consistent bright spot throughout and made his usual 4-5 jaw-dropping plays thanks to his athleticism. Whitmore hit a few three’s, had strong takes to the rim and multiple dunks or lobs that caught attention from onlookers. What impressed me most was the moments that Whitmore secured the defensive rebound and led the break himself. He had a few great plays in this instance, with the best coming when he threw a bounce pass between defender to a streaking [player_tooltip player_id="904628" first="Deon" last="Perry"] for a transition layup. Whitmore’s versatility is quickly being noticed and as he gains more confidence and his team starts to gel, it could get scary for his individual recruitment. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Justice-Williams.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1177609" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/04/Justice-Williams-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="991189" first="Justice" last="Williams"] | 6’3 | Team Final Williams had a rough opening game against NY Rens, but redeemed himself with a strong performance and was key in their win over Thrill in overtime. The 6-foot-3 combo guard found his mark from three, nailing three triples on his way to a team-high 17 points. He did a nice job of relocating after giving the ball up and being shot-ready on his catches. He and Duren have a good connection when Duren gets his touches on the block and Williams is on the weakside wing or corner. On a couple of occasions, Duren slung a pass across court to an open Williams and he canned a three. A big aspect with Williams is consistency and if he can remain in a shooting groove, this Final team will be tough to beat.