OTR Thanksgiving Classic Monday Stock Risers

The afternoon/evening of Monday during Thanksgiving week was the start of some high-level basketball going on during the November holidays. We took our "scouting eyes" to the campus of Houston Christian High School to visit the OTR Thanksgiving Classic put on by Marcus Sloan. There were some high-level games where athletes used it as a proving ground to raise their stock. Let's take a look at some prospects who made their names known and went ON THE RADAR!    Zion was the main scorer for his BTPA team in their win over PSAT on Monday afternoon. Ibekwe showed great versatility going to the basket and finishing through contact, as well as hitting several jumpers in the face of the defender. His perimeter defense was clutch in key situations as he was able to stop opponents from getting easy buckets against the BTPA defense. He was probably the biggest, if not one of the biggest, stock risers present at the Thanksgiving Classic on Monday.     [player_tooltip player_id='2251881' first='Royce' last='Shelton'] was the primary ballhandler and scorer for the Cypress Park Tigers in their win over Marian HS in the OTR Thanksgiving Classic. Royce had a game high 21 points and about 8-9 assists to go in the stats column. He facilitated and spread the floor well for the Tigers as well as having the awareness to create his own shot and consistently get to the free throw line. Shelton cashed in from the charity stripe and was a great motivational leader for his team. I was able to see why people are raving about him being one of the top 2027s in greater Houston.     Chris was a force to be reckoned with in the post for EOP during their prime-time game of the tournament against Houston Christian. Chambers 21 points and 18 rebounds were a game changer for the Kings to take home the win in enemy territory. Christian is tenacious when fighting on the glass and makes hustle plays to get the loose balls for extra second chance points. I am a big fan of the energy that Chambers plays with, and he is always uplifting towards teammates and one of the biggest key defensive stoppers on the floor for Coach Willis and EOP.     Jalen was the main facilitator/playmaker for Good Vision in their huge win over Spire Academy to open up the OTR festivities. GVA took home the victory 104-53 and Carswell added 19 points and 7 assists to contribute a key stat line en route to a statement win. Jalen has good court vision and knows when to change the pace of the game to give GVA momentum as well as taking only smart shots and knowing where teammates are on the floor at all times so he can drop dimes, hitting them in stride to the basket for easy points. His speed is also deceptive at times as he displayed multiple times on the fastbreak opportunities.     Michael was a huge momentum changer for EOP off the bench during the 2nd half of their game against the Mustangs on Monday night. His energy was contagious, and he came into the game ready to hoop and make a difference. Uwalaka had 12 points at the end of the contest and helped the Kings stay on top the entire duration of the second half with his hustle, effort, and overall physicality. He found ways to get to the basket and finish through defense netting several free throws and his perimeter on ball defense was important to help keep the leading scorers for Houston Christian in check.

The afternoon/evening of Monday during Thanksgiving week was the start of some high-level basketball going on during the November holidays. We took our "scouting eyes" to the campus of Houston Christian High School to visit the OTR Thanksgiving Classic put on by Marcus Sloan. There were some high-level games where athletes used it as a proving ground to raise their stock. Let's take a look at some prospects who made their names known and went ON THE RADAR!