Grit Region Finals: Ramsey’s Sunday Notebook Part 2
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The calendar has officially turned from July to August and that means that AAU basketball is in the rearview mirror. While the day-to-day grind slows down between now and the start of high school basketball practices, there will still be…
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Continue ReadingThe calendar has officially turned from July to August and that means that AAU basketball is in the rearview mirror. While the day-to-day grind slows down between now and the start of high school basketball practices, there will still be plenty of coverage coming your way throughout this month as showcases and college elite camps take the stage. Before closing the chapter of AAU season we will empty out the notebook from Sunday at the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals. In case you missed it, make sure to check out part one from yesterday.
Game of the Day
The best game I saw all weekend took place between two young teams with a ton of talent, Indiana Game 2024 Premier and Team Teague 2025 Felder. Despite playing up an age group, the Team Teague 2025 squad has had a ton of success in the 15u division all summer long. On Sunday afternoon they got the best of Indiana Game hanging on for a 61-58 victory.
As soon as you sit down to watch Team Teague, Jalen Haralson catches your eye. There simply aren’t that many players his age that look like him physically. At 6’5″ and possessing a strong frame, Haralson looks like a player who is ready for the college game already despite not even having suited up for his high school team. He is a very good ball handler with point guard skill, shoots it well, and is an excellent rebounder from the wing. You can expect to see Haralson on national top-50/top-100 recruiting rankings sooner rather than later and there will be high-majors getting involved immediately.
Outside of Haralson, backcourt mates Mark Zackery IV and Deric Cannady were the two other Team Teague 2025 prospects that stood out. Zackery IV is an impressive point guard that has the ball on a string and showcases great vision for a kid who has yet to play a high school basketball game. He made getting to the basket look easy scoring 16 points in the hard-fought win. Cannady is similarly impressive off of the dribble with a bunch of athletic ability. The younger brother of NBA player Devin Cannady, Deric also scored 16 points showing off the ability to score from all three levels.
For Indiana Game, Lee Marks Lee Marks 6'6" | SF Mt. Carmel | 2024 State IL (Homewood-Flossmor H.S. 2024) is probably the most intriguing prospect at this time. The 6’4″ wing has a ton of raw talent and is very long and athletic. He handles the ball well enough to go to coast-to-coast or attack from the wings but also isn’t afraid to mix it up around the basket. 6’5″ post player Justin Sims Justin Sims 6'6" | PF Chesterton | 2024 State IN (Chesterton H.S. 2024) is another one of my favorites with his interior skill. He made a couple of finishes in side that 15-16 year olds simply don’t make on a consistent basis. You also have to mention the knockdown shooting ability of Tyler Parrish (Chesterton H.S. 2024). He lit it up Sunday afternoon on his way to scoring a game-high 20 points in the loss.
INB 2023 Elite Wins 16u Title
Nobody was going to stop Myles Colvin Myles Colvin 6'5" | SG Heritage Christian | 2023 State #51 Nation IN (Heritage Christian H.S. 2023) and his INB 2023 Elite teammates on their way to winning the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals 16u Platinum Championship on Sunday. Colvin poured in 17, 26, and 27 points in the quarters, semis, and finals respectively to lead the way. INB also got consistent contributions from big man Zane Doughty Zane Doughty 6'8" | C Ben Davis | 2023 State IN (Ben Davis H.S. 2023). The 6’9″ five-man had a big two-handed slam to tie the game with under two minutes to play and then corralled a big time rebound on the defensive end. He continues to develop into a very nice two-way prospect.
INB 2023 Elite took down Upnext Elite 64-61 to win the championship. Along with the 27 points from Colvin and 8 from Doughty, Ty Cunningham Ty Cunningham 6'2" | PG Lawrence North | 2023 State IN (Lawrence North H.S. 2023) added 8 points of his own. For Upnext, 5’9″ spark plug point guard Daisjuan Mercer (Hopkinsville H.S. 2023) contributed a team-high 18 points in the loss. He is very tough to corral with the ball in his hands.
Team Future Finishes Great Summer With a Win
They may not have the top end talent that some of the other teams have, but there may not be an Indiana AAU team that plays better together than this Team Future group. Throughout the summer they have “overachieved” to the point where you started to just expect it. That culminated on Sunday when they took home the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals 17u Championship with a 53-43 victory over IE Blaze Select.
The title game was a little ugly as you may expect with both teams playing their third game of the day to cap off an exhausting month of July, but the guard play of Team Future was too much for IE Blaze Select to handle. Carter St. John Carter St. John 5'10" | PG Bishop Chatard | 2022 IN (Bishop Chatard H.S. 2022) carried the load in the first half scoring all 10 of his points before passing the torch to Jackson Ullom Jackson Ullom 5'11" | PG Monroe Central | 2022 State IN (Monroe Central H.S. 2022) who scored all 14 of his points in the second half to secure the victory. Davis Olson Davis Olson 6'0" | SG North Central | 2022 State IN (North Central H.S. 2022) knocked in three threes on his way to 12 points as well.
For IE Blaze Select, Marco Fitch Marco Fitch 6'0" | PG Bloomington North | 2022 State IN (Bloomington H.S. North 2022) and Donovan Cunningham (Castle H.S. 2022) each scored 11 points.