Texas Top 250 Expo Best Overall Players (Part 2/4)

<p>There was plenty of talent in attendance at the Prep Hoops Texas Top 250 Expo in Dallas. This is my take on the top twenty players that should be on every college coach’s radar going into this season. Be on the lookout for the rest of my top player’s list and my coverage of all the athletes.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1126057" first="Colby" last="Springs"] 2024 Forward 6’5 Lewisville High School</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/167-Colby-Springs.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1294784" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/167-Colby-Springs-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p>Colby truly displayed a DeMarcus Cousins/ Nikola Jokic type game. His team ran their entire offense through him, and he made the right reads and passes to set up teammates and punished defenders in the post with his strength. He is built like a linebacker, and you could tell kids were having second thoughts about rotating into the paint to get in front of him. He got into the paint with ease any time he wanted to. I was impressed with his ability to move and his overall aggressiveness on both ends of the floor. He stayed engaged and wanted to put his foot on the other team’s throat every time he stepped on the floor. I would like to see him continue to work on his ability to hit shots off the dribble and work on incorporating and adding more post moves to his bag.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1295884" first="Jahid" last="Karim"] 2023 6’3 Venus High School</p> <p>Jahid is an explosive athlete who provides energy on both ends of the floor. He is a high-level player who provides energy and tenacity to his team. He is an elite on-ball defender but is also a great back-side defender. He is a loud player who likes to call out switches and incoming screens.  Karim is the definition of the ideal team defender. On offense, he has a reliable jump shot, especially from the corners and wings. He can handle the ball well and put the ball on the floor to get to the paint. I would like to see continued development with his shot off the dribble behind the arc.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1217934" first="Anthony" last="Bates Jr"] 2024 6’2 Katy Seven Lakes</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/62-Anthony-Bates-Jr..jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1294739" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/09/62-Anthony-Bates-Jr.-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a></p> <p>Anthony is a very fluid athlete who has great body control. He is a high-level finisher in the paint due to his ability to get around defenders with quick moves such as euro steps and double clutches. He has a great handle and ability to put the ball on the floor and get to his spots. He displayed a plethora of high-level moves such as floaters and creative stepbacks. He is a very skilled shooter off the bounce. Bates is also a very aware player who knows how to attack the weak spots in the defense. This is one athlete that I am going to keep my eye on during this upcoming high school season.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1295877" first="Nicholas" last="Shogbonyo"] 2022 6’0 Summit High School</p> <p>Nicholas was a standout point guard; I was very impressed with his all-around game. He is a patient and skilled finisher in the paint. He was great at getting to the rim after beating defenders off the dribble. He has a reliable handle and a solid pull-up in the midrange. He is good and quick at getting to his spots all around the floor. On defense, he is a great help defender, who has a knack for getting his hands in and tying up ball handlers.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1295898" first="Michael" last="Roberts"] 2022 6’5 Leadership Prep of Frisco</p> <p>Michael is an explosive athlete who displayed a real ability to jump off one leg and jump multiple times. He had an impressive windmill dunk on the fast break as well that turned some heads. He knows how to use his talent; he is great at hanging in the air and going after tip-ins and tip-outs to open teammates. He showed a real ability to guard positions one through four with ease and slide over to protect the rim. He loves going after chase-down blocks as well.</p>