Another standout from Team USA minicamp, Opoku-Agyeman had a big opening day of the weekend before having to sit the rest. Luckily, I had already seen Opoku-Agyeman with both Rockford and Grand Rapids Storm in the summer, seeing how he looks with both his high school and grassroots program. A winning basketball player, Opoku-Agyeman helped Rockford win the big school state title in Michigan as a freshman as he can play on or off the basketball, plays tough defense, is unselfish and plays with a high motor. These qualities don’t always show up on the box score but whenever you watch him play you always notice his impact on the game. I’d imagine we’ll see Opoku-Agyeman in other rankings during the next updates.

One of the weekend’s elite performers in the 16U field came from a kid who could still be playing against 15U competition; and he’s a rising star in the national player rankings.

Jace Opoku-Agyeman Jace Opoku-Agyeman 6'2" | PG Rockford | 2029 State #35 Nation MI entered the weekend ranked 27th in the nation, according to futureprospectsd1.com. And some list him as a top-3 recruit in Michigan for the 2029 recruiting class.

In his Storm team’s win over WM Premier, Jace showed why he’s catching a lot of nationwide buzz. He handles the ball well in transition; showcasing excellent court vision and an uncanny ability to find an open teammate. He’s extremely explosive when he attacks the lane; just puts his head down and goes straight at his defender.

On defense he locks up the opposing team’s guards, and battles for rebounds against players who are often 3-4 inches taller than him.

Jace is young, but you can tell that he already has the trust of his teammates; they let him take the ball up court, and rely on him to bring them through tricky game-situations.

After the game, Jace said that he doesn’t mind playing against kids who are older than him, because he’s been doing it most of his life. He prides himself on causing a lot of turnovers and being able to score past his defender.

Jace still has 3 years of high school remaining, and has lots of time to continue his rise up the national rankings.

I’ve seen the highlights, full games on stream, and was at the Breslin for the state title, but I haven’t been fortunate enough to watch perhaps the best on-ball perimeter defender in Michigan’s 2029 class work up-close. In my time here in Michigan, I haven’t watched someone use angles to beat ball-handlers to the spot quite like Jace. Here’s the kicker, it’s not for a viral clip or just a few possessions, the Rockford guard plays like that the entire game.

This young man is flat out 1 of the top freshman in the state and can simply hoop. In the instant classic win against Brother Rice, he was able to score in a variety of ways. Jace created mid range space off the bounce and connected. He also showed, not just that he could shoot off the catch from beyond the arc, but that he could hit BIG shots.

This one seems obvious and this will be a name you see and hear a lot from in the coming years. Jace just has a different level of ‘feel for the game’ than most freshman. He understands runs and flow and plays the game accordingly. All that said, let’s not forget that Jace can be a highlight reel as well.