Kyle brings a “chop wood, carry water” approach to the game, consistently taking care of business efficiently on the offensive end. Himes turns around and applies the same steady effort on defense, possession after possession, impacting the game with consistency and reliability on both ends of the floor.

Kyle didn’t get the chance to play the full slate of games at Rumble in the Rapids: he had his high school prom to get to on Saturday night! But in only 3 games, he left an impact on those who got the chance to see him play.

For the entire weekend’s slate of games among 27 teams, I’m not sure I saw a better ball-handler than Kyle. For his age, he already could remind fans of a young Caitlin Clark. He toys with the defense when he’s got the ball in his hands, he has exceptional court vision to find an open teammate, and he makes ridiculous passes from seemingly impossible angles.

Kyle also plays well against contact: in a win over D1 SBGFUNDAMENTALS , he scored an impressive early and-1 bucket. Then later in the half he buried a 3-pointer, and just seconds later secured a steal, which resulted in a fast break layup.

It’s Kyle’s first season with OTD, but he’s also turning into a fabulous defender. He gets his hands on a lot of passes, forcing turnovers or disrupting the offense.

OTD opened the weekend with a loss to The Academy , but Kyle was the one player on his team who managed to still look impressive, dropping 18 points. And in his final game of the weekend, scored another 13, while dishing out close to double-digit assists.

Kyle’s OTD team came up on the wrong end of a matchup against The Academy on day one of the tournament. But his second day at the Rumble gave him a chance to truly stand out.

Kyle possesses a really smooth jump shot, helping him pour in 13 points in his second game of the afternoon. But that’s only the start of what makes him such a complete player. He’s a tenacious defender-forcing a lot of deflections while on defense. And maybe his strongest attribute is his ball-handling skills. Kyle may just be the best ball-handler of any 16U player at this year’s Rumble in the Rapids. He toys with the defense, has great court vision, and has an elite ability to distribute the ball.

The manner in which he makes passes could remind a spectator of a young Caitlin Clark. He makes a full-court pass look elementary, and he has a great knock for making a pass mid-air: right when the defense thinks he’s going up for a shot.

Himes piles up plenty of assists, and a lot of could-be-assists on passes that are exceptional… but just don’t wind up falling through the basket.

It’s Kyle’s first year playing with OTD, and spectators were fortunate to see him play on Saturday afternoon… he nearly had to skip out on that game because he had his high school prom to attend!

Kyle is still developing as a player, but has the talent to become one of the state’s best passers over his final two years of high school.