Prep Hoops Mid-Atlantic Cup: 16U Standouts Who Delivered

AAU season has officially arrived, with attention turning to the key tournaments scheduled over the next few months on the spring calendar. Many programs have already begun facing off in early tune up events as they gear up for upcoming sessions and tournaments. This past weekend, Prep Hoops held one of its first showcases of the year— the Mid-Atlantic Cup at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia, PA. As programs got their first real run of the season, here's a look at some 16U prospects who stood out during Friday and Saturday's action.    Abdullah Parramore is a quick facilitating floor general who possesses the advanced court vision, team oriented unselfishness, and instinctive passing feel to control the tempo and pace of any offense he's tasked with running. With his fingerprints all over a lot the success this Pro Dev group endured, Parramore's impact was particularly evident in different PnR actions with a tight and confident handle— getting deep in the paint to spray out to open shooters and convert on runners and floaters in the lane. Still remaining a threat to score and letting his playmaking open up offense for himself, Parramore also showcased some of his shot making ability from the perimeter and in the mid range area.     A physically built guard/ wing who possesses a really strong frame and noticeably broad shoulders and quick twitch athleticism that's evident, Asaad McLean showed the necessary continued development in better countering the typical rim pressure he creates, with his shot making as a perimeter shooter. McLean excelled as a legitimate spot up shooter early on— displaying a smooth, fluid and high follow through, a strong balance and potent footwork from his base, along with a soft outside shooting touch.     Providing legitimate floor spacing ability, Ashton Pierre-Charles impressed the most as a confident and versatile outside shot maker. Shooting the three ball at a rather efficient clip from the perimeter, Pierre-Charles showcased some strong intangibles that highlight the extent of his dangerous shot making ability— hunting his shot aggressively and actively looking for outside scoring opportunities, extended deep range accuracy, and the versatility as a shooter to be effective as a spot up shooter as well as create slight separation off the bounce and knock down outside shots off the dribble.     Maurice Costley is a pass first table setting point guard who constantly looks to get his teammates involved and get them the ball in the right spots on the court and showcased much of that throughout this weekend's action, making it an emphasis to control the offense and find guys open. However his effectiveness and impact extends beyond his facilitation, where Costley remains a more than capable scoring threat— confident and deft touch from the perimeter as an outside shot maker while countering that shooting ability as a physical downhill slasher attacking driving angles and finishing at the basket, proving to be a dynamic overall playmaker.     A self assured and rather versatile scorer comfortable at getting to certain spots on the floor, Nate Sloane showed, in a variety of ways, his impact as an overall offensive threat— crashing the boards with purpose and creating second chance opportunities on the offensive glass, scoring the basketball with pace off the bounce in different PnR actions, as well as showcasing his perimeter shot making ability as a spot up shooter to be effective off the ball.     A productive and reliable combo guard who immediately stands out with his eye popping athleticism and stable guard play, Jamel Jordan's performance this weekend showcased his impact as an overall offensive threat— constantly putting pressure on the rim in the open floor and attacking driving angles in the half court for athletic finishes at the rim, perimeter spot up shooting off the ball, soft touch in the in between area for smooth mid range pull ups, turn around fadeaways, and floaters in the lane. All while leveraging his lengthy frame and anticipation skills to be disruptive in the passing lanes and showcase more of his athleticism in transition getting on the rim a number of times. Jordan is definitely a prospect to track who projects to trend upward this spring and summer.     Zorian Matthews proved to be a lengthy left handed wing who showed a natural ability to generate a ton of offense in transition while also at the same time showing promise as a perimeter spot up shooter. Matthews was most effective in "grab and go" situations— securing rebounds on the glass and pushing the tempo in transition to finish in traffic in the lane on the other end of the floor. Matthews also showed further intrigue, particularly as a perimeter shooter— knocking down a number of in rhythm outside looks off the catch, both off the ball in the half court and sprinting to the corner in transition.     Possessing a glaring strong and bruising athletic frame, Noah Cowan impressed in the way he was able to leverage those physical tools to be at his best in the paint, absorbing contact from defenders and finishing with efficiency around the basket when getting downhill and attacking driving angles. Cowan further showcased a more diverse scoring attack as the action wained, mixing in some mid range area shot making off the bounce, showing a sample size of his smooth in between area pull up game.

AAU season has officially arrived, with attention turning to the key tournaments scheduled over the next few months on the spring calendar. Many programs have already begun facing off in early tune up events as they gear up for upcoming sessions and tournaments. This past weekend, Prep Hoops held one of its first showcases of the year— the Mid-Atlantic Cup at the Alan Horwitz “Sixth Man” Center in Philadelphia, PA. As programs got their first real run of the season, here's a look at some 16U prospects who stood out during Friday and Saturday's action.