Berkmar Summer Scrimmages Observations

<p>Saw the slate for last Sunday’s scrimmages at Berkmar and needed to get down there, first of course to see headliners host Berkmar, Norcross and North Gwinnett, but certainly tiny Wilson Academy out of Conyers surprised me and a lot of folks there with their play.</p> <p>Some players and notes from the day:</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870148" first="Malique" last="Ewin"], 6-10, PF, 2022, Berkmar</strong></em></p> <p>It has taken me perhaps a little longer to fully appreciate the gifts and some of that was lack of reps watching him, but after seeing the motor run hot against more top-flight competition since the state playoffs and beyond all he can do on the floor becomes an obvious fact, star players particularly on the HS level can find it difficult to keep the energy when playing a series of inferior teams or players so I get it when it "appears" lackluster and that can be unfair, add to that the fouling and constant barrage of contact a player like Ewin has to endure nearly every time down the floor, but strictly talking basketball it’s a full range of multi-level scoring out to 3 steps beyond the arc, inside the painted area there are the sweet feet and array of baby hooks, short J’s and dunks at his disposal, also an excellent passer and rim protector it doesn’t take an experienced eye to see the enormous possibilities for this sure-fire Power 5 prospect, he combines with a senior laden lineup headlined by top PG [player_tooltip player_id="598778" first="Jameel" last="Rideout"] (poised, efficient, smart, deadly as a scorer), athletic and versatile wings Destin Logan (has big-shot confidence and great fire) and [player_tooltip player_id="725164" first="Jermahri" last="Hill"] (explosive slasher and leaper but can’t sleep on his perimeter shooting), and I’ve got high expectations for guard [player_tooltip player_id="1050046" first="Ahmed" last="Soumahoro"] as he gives them flexibility at both ends with his exceptional athleticism and multi-faceted defensive abilities.</p> <p><em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1049219" first="London" last="Johnson"], 6-3, PG, 2023, Norcross</strong></em></p> <p>Understandably so Johnson, arriving as a transfer last summer, was eased into the Norcross family in ’20-21 with [player_tooltip player_id="869593" first="Jaden" last="Harris"] and Lennox Spann still on the roster and [player_tooltip player_id="787622" first="Kok" last="Yat"] also around as a ball-dominant backcourt presence, but coming this fall it’ll be Johnson’s team and you can see in his game the confidence that comes with his obvious high D1 level talent combined with the knowledge the shackles are off and it’s his show, great size and fluid movement provide him an edge and he’s as good a pure jump shooter as any PG in the class, composed and humble he checks all the boxes at both ends for the next level as a lead guard, the rest of the stunning young talent Norcross has available under superb coach Jesse McMillan will be an intriguing storyline as they can look like the state #1 in spurts but need to - as one qualified fan in attendance told me Sunday - "play like they know they’re good", fellow 2023’s [player_tooltip player_id="1045087" first="Mier" last="Panoam"] and Samarion Bond stand out and make for something special particularly when on the floor all 3 together with Johnson, both superb athletes can be devastating wing attackers with Johnson at the controls and possess good size and strong frames  at 6-3 and 6-4 to score in traffic, 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="1049113" first="Jerry" last="Deng"] has wide-ranging offensive skills at 6-7 as with a deadly shooting touch and quick moves using the bounce, three highly regarded 2024’s round out this almost embarrassment of riches as 6-5 forward [player_tooltip player_id="1054787" first="Jahki" last="Howard"] tops most lists as best in the class with his startling lift and growing arsenal of options using the dribble, he’s unlikely to drop far if at all from prospect lists as the ceiling is so very high and he hasn’t come close to reaching it yet, 6-3 wing [player_tooltip player_id="1054786" first="Justin" last="Mitchell"] (not playing Sunday) and 6-8 post [player_tooltip player_id="1054790" first="Aiden" last="Sherrell"] bring advanced skillsets of their own with Mitchell an exceptional athletic specimen capable of a serious head of steam from the wing or on the break and Sherrell liking it from 15 feet in with super soft hands and an elbow or short corner jumper that has made big strides.</p> <p><em><strong>Jha’Quez Wright, 6-4, PF, Wilson Academy, 2022</strong></em></p> <p>Saw this Wilson team at ISA earlier in the week before getting them again at Berkmar, impressive group with tons of fight who are clearly getting high-level coaching from 2nd-year HC Corey Cameron, took it right at Norcross and all that size and skill mentioned above with Wright being the catalyst and lone inside presence, his motor and willingness to do whatever it took stood out be it scoring through bigger players, going after 2nd and 3rd-chance rebounds, rejecting shots with his good leaping ability, it was a treat to watch a kid work so hard against what seemed on paper to be an insurmountable task as they came up a little short on the game but brought only 6 guys to Lilburn, the program has something going as they feature a pair of 2024’s who will surely force themselves onto  ATL-Metro radars in coming seasons, 6-3 wing Terryon Stebbins is a smooth scorer who slices his way to the basket with his lean and long frame but is polished, loves getting out in the running game as well where he has some flair, PG Joseph Sonson has nice composure for a young lead man and displays a ton of confidence on the attack and a good understanding of running the show, he can score in bunches as well and will get to the rim at around 6-0, look for Wilson to be a definite factor in 1A-Private this coming season as all the components from the roster weren’t even on hand last week.</p> <p><strong>NORTH GWINNETT STANDOUTS: [player_tooltip player_id="1215451" first="Dylan" last="Gary"] (F, 2022), [player_tooltip player_id="1045096" first="Amaru" last="Grosvenor"] (G, 2022), [player_tooltip player_id="1011351" first="Thomas" last="Allard"] (G, 2022), BLAKE SEITZ (F, 2023), will be covered in Kennesaw St Team Camp roundup</strong></p>