Oregon Open Run Spring Showcase: Friday Performances
The Oregon Open Run Spring Showcase kicked off on Friday night and there was plenty of good action to get the event off to a fast start. We got a chance to take in a couple of games at the…
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Continue ReadingThe Oregon Open Run Spring Showcase kicked off on Friday night and there was plenty of good action to get the event off to a fast start. We got a chance to take in a couple of games at the 16U/15U and 17U levels and here are some of the top performers we noticed.
Kaden Horn (2021 Union/Northwest Prospects 16U) – Horn may look slight of build at 6-foot, but he’s as tough as nails and is absolutely fearless on the basketball court. All night long if he wasn’t draining threes, Horn was taking it hard to the hole against bigger players. That was certainly the case on the last possession of the game where Horn took it in and converted a tough basket that gave the Prospects the lead for good in a thrilling 95-94 win over Hoop Salem Eric 16U.
Jace Chatman (2021 Skyview/Northwest Prospects 16U) – Chatman is an all-around player who essentially played all five positions for the Prospects. He brought the ball up the floor, scored from the wing either hitting the three or taking it hard to the hole, and was the key guy grabbing defensive rebounds inside. The 6-foot-4 sophomore is a versatile player who displays a good feel for the game, which isn’t surprising since his father is the head coach of the team.
Izaiah Vongnath (2021 Union/Northwest Prospects 16U) – Vongnath is obviously a little guy at 5-foot-5. But the sophomore compensates for his size with jitterbug quickness and a motor that never seemingly stops on both ends. He also is a very good shooter and he hit at least five threes in the game – some of them well beyond the three-point line – but he also used his quickness to take it to the basket and score over bigger defenders.
Ariya Briscoe (2021 Union/Northwest Prospects 16U) – Briscoe is a 6-foot-1 combo guard who came off the bench to provide some instant offense for the Prospects. Whether it was hitting open threes or taking it strong to the basket where the lefty could use his length and athleticism to finish in a variety of ways, Briscoe was very aggressive offensively.
Jalen Grable (2021 Westview/Hoop Salem Eric 16U) – Grable is a 6-foot-4 wing who largely played inside and was a supporting cast member at Westview his sophomore season. For this Hoop Salem team, he’s more of a featured guy and he was awfully hard to stop going to and around the hoop as he used his length to finish a number of plays inside. As he did with Westview, Grable used his athleticism to grab rebounds and was very underrated as a passer, often finding guys from the top of the key cutting to the hoop for easy buckets.
Carson Molan (2021 Cascade/Hoop Salem Eric 16U) – Molan was the discovery of the day as we had not seen him in action previously. The 6-foot-3 sophomore is a wing with good size and a very good touch from the perimeter – in the team’s loss to Northwest Prospects, Molan sank a number of threes, but also took it strong to the basket for some finishes. He also helped out on the defensive glass and was confident handling the basketball. Definitely a player to watch moving forward.
Kell Estep (2021 Sunset/Hoop Salem Eric 16U) – Estep is a 6-foot-3 wing who can score in a variety of ways. He hit a couple of threes but also took his defender off the bounce to finish some plays, using some different flips and floaters to mix things up. While he was a little dribble happy at times, Estep took care of the ball fairly well and did not play selfishly.
Brady Grier (2021 Westview/Hoop Salem Eric 16U) – Grier is a 6-foot-4 shooter but on this night his shot wasn’t really falling from beyond the arc. So the sophomore took the ball strong to the basket and hit a number of off-balance mid-range shots to compensate. He was strong on the boards on both ends and while he lacks some footspeed, worked hard to stay with his assignment on defense.
Nate Rawlins-Kibonge (2021 Jefferson/Hoop Salem Varsity) – To be honest we aren’t completely sure if it was Hoop Salem Varsity or Mountain West Prospects that Rawlins-Kibonge was playing with, but in any case he and several other former members of Team P.U.S.H. helped for this new team that was playing at the 17U level in this tournament. One thing we can be sure of is how dominant a force Rawlins-Kibonge continues to be at these types of events. The 6-foot-7 post was taking no prisoners on offense and defense, posting up strong, finishing with dunks, and rejecting about every shot attempt within five feet of him. He very well could have tallied a triple-double of points, rebounds, and blocked shots had we been keeping track. He is supposed to be transitioning to the Hoop Salem Eric 16U squad in the future so it will be interesting to see how that all works out going forward.
Elijah Munyan (2021 Columbia Christian/Hoop Salem Varsity) – Munyan is a 6-foot-1 athlete and honestly he makes plays that are difficult for others look easy because of his raw athleticism. He was electric in transition finishing plays at the rim with slams, or coming back on defense and blocking shots from behind. Offensively he nailed a couple of threes and also hit a few pull-up jumpers.
Jalen Adams (2021 Jefferson/Hoop Salem Varsity) – Adams is a 6-foot-1 point guard who we’ve seen plenty of in the past but he definitely looked different on Friday night. In the past he seemed rather content with spotting up and launching threes, and while he did sink a number of bombs in this game, Adams did look to penetrate and either finish the basket himself or kick it to a teammate for a score.