State Finals Prospects (Part 2)
After taking a couple of days to sit and digest what I saw Saturday in the State Finals, I wanted to take the time to touch on 12 prospects in the Class 3A and Class 4A games who stood out…
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Continue ReadingAfter taking a couple of days to sit and digest what I saw Saturday in the State Finals, I wanted to take the time to touch on 12 prospects in the Class 3A and Class 4A games who stood out to me. I could probably sit here and talk about all 30+ kids who participated in these two games, but these 12 individuals stood out to me from a recruiting standpoint. They are organized in order of graduating class, then alphabetically by last name.
Ethan Brittain-Watts of Culver Academy
Ethan Brittain-Watts, 2019, 6-1 G, Culver Academy
Ethan had an outstanding game Saturday, contributing in multiple ways at both ends of the floor. He’s a tough-nosed, strong, and physical combo guard. He has good ball skills and can run offense, he showed off his ability to hit shots (and with range), and he was solid at the defensive end of the floor, plus he rebounds his position fairly well. From what I understand, he’s also young for his grade level and could very well be a member of the Class of 2020. I think the biggest thing for him will just be continued work on his handle and his lateral quickness, but I anticipate he’ll have a solid role as a Freshman next season at Boston University, where he has committed to continue his basketball career.
Zane Gross, 2019, 6-2 G, Silver Creek H.S.
Zane is another strong guard who does a lot of nice things for his Silver Creek team. When he was younger, he took on a much bigger role handling the ball and running offense, but over the past couple of seasons he has been more of a scorer on the wing. He is a nice athlete and can attack the basket off the bounce, but he’s also a capable perimeter shooter when open and in rhythm. I always thought he had great value as a Division-II or NAIA prospect, so Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology got quite a steal in him when he committed to the Fightin’ Engineers.
Jack Hawkins, 2019, 6-6 F, Silver Creek H.S.
I saw Silver Creek during the 2017-2018 season, and I’ve seen plenty of grassroots games, but Saturday was the first time I recall ever seeing Jack play. Maybe I just missed him, I don’t know, but I was really impressed with his size and upside for the small college level. Jack is a strong, physical, and assertive player on the interior for Silver Creek. He’s a nice compliment to Trey Kaufman and Kooper Jacobi (both below) on their frontline, and he brings sort of that tough-nosed, blue-collar attitude of a player willing to defend the post, grab rebounds, and score a lot of garbage buckets around the paint. At this point in time, I think any small college still needing size should look into him ASAP.
Dawand Jones, 2019, 6-8 C, Ben Davis H.S.
Dawand has been a pleasure to watch grow and develop over the years. He has a monstrous frame, and I can remember back to when he was just a Freshman, already 6-6 and 275 pounds (at least), and he was just so awkward on the basketball floor. Now he’s a legitimate prospect who drew a number of mid-major Division-I offers after his stellar play last July on the grassroots circuit. He is incredibly large, powerful, and just overwhelming for high school post players, plus he has great hands and good feet, but I think the most memorable part of his game Saturday was the 18-foot fade-away he hit from the left wing as the clock expired at the end of the 3rd quarter. Dawand is headed to Ohio State University to be an offensive lineman for the Buckeyes.
John Michael Mulloy of Carmel
John Michael Mulloy, 2019, 6-9 F/C, Carmel H.S.
John Michael is a long, wiry strong, fairly bouncy, and skillful front-liner who does so many things well. He is what I would probably call a face-up ‘5’, but he’ll likely play more of a ‘4’ role in college because of his mobility and his ability to knock down shots facing the basket. John Michael can shoot it as deep as the 3-point line, but he’s great in the mid-post and the short-corners. His post game has developed more and more with added strength, and he has a nice little lefty hook now. Defensively, he does a nice job from help-side, as he presents a shot-blocking / rim-protecting threat that deters most opponents. John Michael could see some opportunity early on at Butler University, where he’s committed, as he is just different than their current frontline players.
Andrew Owens, 2019, 6-6 F, Carmel H.S.
It seems like Andrew has always had a role in Carmel’s lineup over the years, but he has never necessarily been “the man” because of others around him or their system. However, he is a nice talent and someone who I think will actually put up better numbers at the next level. Andrew is so versatile, he can play as a power forward and use his skill and athleticism to give him an advantage against bigger, slower opponents. He has really good perimeter skill and the ability to knock down shots with range, plus he’s comfortable taking smaller defenders to the block though and scoring against them down low. Andrew is a versatile, jack-of-all-trades type, and he has committed to play at the University of Findlay next season.
Jalen Windham, 2019, 6-5 W, Ben Davis H.S.
Jalen has really transformed his game over the years, from being more of a long and skinny shooter, to now being more of a wiry strong and explosive scorer. He can absolutely put up points in bunches, whether it’s from long-range shooting it, or attacking the basket and finishing with a variety of dunks, runners, or pull-ups. The thing I noticed this year, though, is they started posting him up a lot more off of cuts, which was something he had to adapt to, but by the middle-end of the season he was terribly effective down there and it really helped his game and Ben Davis’ game. He is currently committed to play at Georgia State University, but Coach Hunter has reportedly just accepted the Tulane job, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Karsten Windlan, 2019, 5-11 G, Carmel H.S.
Karsten is one of the most energetic, fiery, but also tough-nosed and aggressive players in the 2019 class. He has good length, solid speed and athleticism, and he’s versatile skillfully. I think he understands the game well-enough and is skilled enough with the ball to eventually play more of a point guard role at the next level, but for this Carmel team he has typically been more of a scorer off the ball. He can hit shots from the perimeter when in rhythm, but he’s best attacking the basket and finishing around the rim, or finding open teammates when the defense collapses. As far as I know, he remains uncommitted at this time, but I would think most small colleges still needing a multi-dimensional combo guard would be interested in his services.
Trey Galloway of Culver Academy
Trey Galloway, 2020, 6-4 W, Culver Academy
Trey is a very intriguing wing with a lot of college interest. He reportedly has offers from Purdue, Michigan State, Butler, Notre Dame, and others. He is long, fluidly athletic, and fairly smooth. He’s a point forward for all intents and purposes, as he runs offense a lot of the time for Culver Academy. The knock on him had always been his perimeter shooting, but this year he has shot it a lot better, and he even knocked down three 3-pointers Saturday against Silver Creek. He is a playmaker who is developing into a balanced scorer at all levels, but I think where he’s least appreciated is at the defensive end of the floor. He can match up with most guards, wings, and some forwards, and that versatility makes him very valuable.
Kooper Jacobi, 2021, 6-6 W, Silver Creek H.S.
Kooper is a still-developing prospect who continues to grow and get stronger each year. If I’m not mistaken, he was about a 6-2 or 6-3 wing his Freshman year. I’m not sure how much more growth he has left in him, but he’s very long, fluid, and skilled. Kooper is much tougher and plays more physical than his slender frame might suggest, and as he’s grown and gotten stronger, he has added some bounce to his game as well. He can knock down the open 3-pointer consistently, and he’s solid attacking the basket. He always rebounds well for his size too. He’s still a wait-and-see kid because of his physical development, so I don’t want to cap his ceiling just yet, but he did reportedly pick up an offer from Indiana State University over the weekend.
Trey Kaufman, 2021, 6-7 F, Silver Creek H.S.
Trey is another young, budding star for Silver Creek. He is the nephew of former Dragon and Indiana State star Matt Renn, and Trey, like Kooper Jacobi (above), is a still-developing prospect. Trey has tremendous length, good fluidity and athleticism, and solid inside-out skill. He has drawn the interest of many mid and high-major Division-I schools in the Midwest, and I think it’s just a matter of time before his recruiting explodes. He does play with a solid motor, but I would like to see more of a sense of urgency out of him. But his combination of interior play and perimeter skill make him very attractive to college recruiters, especially if he grows another inch or two.
Peter Suder, 2022, 6-2 W, Carmel H.S.
With four Seniors in the starting lineup and three more coming off the bench for the Greyhounds this year, Peter looks like he could very well be the next go-to guy for Carmel. He was a starter all year for Carmel, and the Freshman did not disappoint, playing beyond his years in terms of basketball IQ. He is fairly skilled as well, and he just doesn’t make many mistakes at all. He can knock down an open jumper, attack the basket off the bounce, and he plays with a great motor and is always engaged at both ends of the floor. My only concern, and he’s still young, but it would be his height as a small forward. He’ll either need to develop into a pure 2-guard or hope to grow another two to three inches. But I think he is skilled, talented, and he has a bright future ahead of him.
Header photo of Zane Gross of Silver Creek High School; photo courtesy of the Silver Creek athletics website. Photo of Ethan Brittain-Watts courtesy of Ron Haramia of am1050.com. Photo of John Michael Mulloy courtesy of the Prep Hoops gallery. Photo of Trey Galloway courtesy of John Terhune of the Lafayette Journal & Courier.