Tipoff Classic: Friday Night Notes

Dropped in on The Tipoff Classic at SSA last Friday night, here’s a few things that came out of the evening viewing: 2024 Guards On Display <blockquote> Team Huncho’s three-man combo of [player_tooltip player_id="1131772" first="CJ" last="Hyland"] of Lanier, Micah Tucker of Mount Pisgah and Anthony Alston of Dacula was as good as any group all weekend at any age group, the 5-10 Hyland can play either guard spot but appears destined to be a classic scoring point, he’s got tremendous range, deceptively good speed with the ball and has a great understanding of the game, Tucker really impressed with his all-around package, he too has the look of a scoring PG on the rise and like older brother and former Pisgah guard Chase has great range well past the arc, he’s a little more dynamic on the drive than his older brother and a little more physical at around 6-0 at this stage than Hyland, Alston is a great complement to the above two but is no 3rd wheel as he can create his own scoring chances well at 6-2 and also likes to lurk around the arc for open looks to pull his pretty stroke, he’ll see a lot of minutes and likely make waves with what should be an athletic and exciting Dacula bunch this fall and winter, all three are potentially huge risers and must-see stuff with Huncho the rest of the month. In that same game matching with Huncho was Game Elite 360 and their own dynamic trio of [player_tooltip player_id="1215446" first="Jaylen" last="Colon"] (pictured above), Nehemiah Stowers and Keenan Gray, the 6-0 Colon is coming off a strong performance handling the rock for Kell at KSU’s Team Camp, as the top gun Friday he looked all the part Friday of a poised and confident lead man for Game Elite as he showed off scoring from all 3 levels with speed and precision driving added in as well, he’s a smart distributor and instinctive defender and is just what a Scoot-less but still-veteran and talented Kell group needs to make another playoff run next winter, Stowers of Milton was feisty and hard-nosed all game against a big Huncho team and never backed down as he took the ball into traffic and showed a nice physical package, he seems a good fit to step in and help keep Milton’s run going after the likes of 2022 guard [player_tooltip player_id="870146" first="Bruce" last="Thornton"] and several other seniors-to be move on, McDonough’s Gray was a really pleasant surprise as yet another South-side of ATL product showed off an intriguing skill package as a wing scorer, he goes about 6-2 with a solid frame for an incoming soph, he too went hard into the paint against size when he had to but was slithery at other times when needed with an extra dribble or two, McDonough has had several guys look good in Showcases this spring so Gray and company will surely be worth a look down in Henry County.. A 17U Shoe vs Independent Gem, Game Elite 3SSB vs Atlanta Wolfpack Saw this one on the schedule and knew I wanted to look in on it, the Wolfpack hung tough for 3/4 of the game before things opened up a bit behind the seemingly endless athletic talents of Game Elite’s roster, still the development of many of the Wolfpack players is noteworthy as they enter the ’21-22 campaign with many stepping into feature roles, the 6-3 Kemp brothers, Jackson and Mason, of Roswell look better and better every time out, they both combine precise shooting from range with some sneaky athletic skill off the bounce, playing as major contributors in a backcourt with 2023 star [player_tooltip player_id="873086" first="Jase" last="McCullough"] for the Hornets should be fascinating and fun to watch starting in November, the bigs combo of Calhoun’s [player_tooltip player_id="1199631" first="Peyton" last="Law"] and West Forsyth’s Grant Moore has been making a lot of waves since March themselves, both are tremendous 6-6 athletes who can high-fly from the open floor or get in close and do dirty work against contact, Moore will combine with [player_tooltip player_id="1201469" first="Jake" last="Mooney"] at West for a top flight frotncourt while Law has really been one of the AAU season’s real breakouts at the forward position, he’s been an elite rebounding force and shown off a ton of skill both facing the basket or catching on the block, I expect his recrutiment to ratchet up off of his work the last 4 months, additionally it was great to see River Ridge’s [player_tooltip player_id="870180" first="Grant" last="Portera"] out there as well after a spring battling injuries, at 6-4 he’s been handling the point a bit for the Pack and even though that may not be how he’s utilized for the Knights it’s this writer’s opinion that he can be a real threat from that spot on the HS-level with his elite athletic-ability and superb passing. Game Elite’s roster is no secret as a veritable who’s who of top ranked 2022 ballers from the ATL-Metro, 6-7 forward Delrecco Gillispie of East Coweta continues to be a force in near the basket and the shooting range facing up out to 15 feet makes him even more tantalizing, 6-5 [player_tooltip player_id="1043319" first="AJ" last="Barnes"] of Eagle’s Landing showed off his versatility for the Eagles in June and is the same guy at both ends for Game Elite be it guarding up opposing bigs on the block or using great foot speed to give guards big or small a problem, we talked above about 3-headed guard monsters and in the 17U ranks you’d be hard-pressed to top [player_tooltip player_id="870151" first="Chase" last="Cormier"] (Milton), [player_tooltip player_id="810375" first="Seth" last="Hubbard"] (St Francis) and [player_tooltip player_id="598767" first="Parrish" last="Johnson"] (Kell), all have good size, incredible athletic gifts to augment their basketball packages and each can play either guard spot at the next level and be more than effective as D1 players. </blockquote>