Hoop Group Jersey Jam Fest: Saturday 17U Backcourt Eye-catchers

Hoop Group continues its spring tournament slate with its Jersey Jam Fest taking place across several sites this coming weekend, featuring a selection of sneaker circuit, HGSL, and independent programs. After spending Saturday morning taking in several sets of 17U action at Hoop Group HQ in Neptune, the following backcourt prospects stood out with their respective play.    Antoniacci has already made waves with his play this spring, playing two years up for the second straight year and picking up a high-major offer from Penn State after his standout Pitt Jam Fest showing a few weeks back. Despite a hard-fought loss to WeR1, the precocious guard was the best player on the floor for extended stretches, bending defenses with his airtight skill level and lethal jump shot. Growing and developing physically at a rapid rate, Antoniacci is as refined a pullup shooter as you'll find at this age, and showed further growth on Saturday with leveraging his shooting gravity to make simple plays for teammates when he draws extra attention. It should be a fun next few months as Antoniacci continues to mature his game, with the potential to pick up further high-major attention in the process.     Returning to the [program_tooltip program_id='2849101' first='Wiz' last='Kids'] 17s after repeating his junior year at Woodmere, Popotte is reaping the benefits from the added year of experience and growth, as shown in leading a well-rounded team win early Saturday morning. Looking notably stronger and more explosive than this time last year, he was a constant threat to beat defenders off the dribble where he went on to make consistent reads from the paint for himself or teammates. The NYC native also impressed with his refined pullup mechanics from the arc, getting his feet under him comfortably for a number of jumpers off the dribble to help put the game away. One of the more dynamic dribble-drive guards in the state, it's apparent why Popotte is being tracked closely by several D1s already.     Playing against his former club and coming out with an overtime win, Yates played with the chip on his shoulder that followers of the Philly Catholic League have become accustomed to seeing from the sparkplug guard. Despite being the smallest player on the floor, Yates lived in the paint, routinely breaking his man down on the perimeter before navigating help defenders for a series of tough, contested finishes. The attention he drew would help open things up for his teammates, as he generated a series of hockey assists with his drive-and-kick ability. Yates was also effective in helping speed up the opposing K-Low guards with his hounding ball pressure. He'll have to continue to prove his ability to stretch defenses from deep at his size, but Yates has certainly put himself firmly on scholarship radars by this point with his productive play in high-level settings.     Singleton continues to look increasingly comfortable in his new AAU setting, helping steer the [program_tooltip program_id='2849101' first='Wiz' last='Kids'] to a strong team win early Saturday morning with his potent scoring ability. Known for as one of the more refined and prolific snipers in the region, Singleton displayed his pristine mechanics and unwavering confidence while canning a handful of smooth jumpers. While his bread and butter is in the halfcourt, he impressed with his ability to adapt into a more open setting while showcasing some added athleticism in transition while getting well above the rim to finish. Fit will be important for him at the next level, as he'll want to look for a program that fully weaponizes his shooting ability, but it's easy to see why mid majors have prioritized the productive wing guard already heading into the summer.     Continuing to get his feet wet with a new team, Ashley-Wright looks to be getting fully comfortable if his play on Saturday was any indication. Despite a tight overtime loss, "Munchie" was his typical dynamic self squaring off with his high school teammate in Yates, consistently working his way into the paint to kickstart the K-Low offense. If not finishing for himself, he was fairly consistent in making the proper drive-and-kick reads to lead to open looks for teammates. And with the game on the line, it was Ashley-Wright with the ball in his hands in the final minutes as K-Low pushed its way back from a deficit to force overtime. Coming off a strong season of growth, he should garner D1 attention this summer with his energizing play off the dribble.

Hoop Group continues its spring tournament slate with its Jersey Jam Fest taking place across several sites this coming weekend, featuring a selection of sneaker circuit, HGSL, and independent programs. After spending Saturday morning taking in several sets of 17U action at Hoop Group HQ in Neptune, the following backcourt prospects stood out with their respective play.