Another wing who made his presence felt defensively is Simpson. You will never have to question the defensive effort, impact, and athleticism when you watch Zakarion. He is a versatile defender at the high school level because of length and energy, and the Raiders will often throw different schemes around to make him more effective. That’s exactly what they did against Blue Ridge, as Simpson tallied 6 blocks, showing up all over the floor to make life difficult for shooters. Whether he’s defending the ball, rotating to protect the rim, or covering ground in a zone, Zakarion is clearly one of the best wing defenders in South Carolina.

Laurens was one of the only schools that had two players named to an All-State team, and Zakarion Simpson Zakarion Simpson 6'5" | SF Laurens County | 2027 State SC is one of them. His 3.8 blocks per game was one of the wildest individual stats this year, and it’s even more impressive when you see he’s only listed at 6’5″, 185 lbs. A lot of his game is built around his pure athleticism, so once he fully develops as a player, it could be a scary prospect.

Rounding out the list of impactful defenders on day two of the Impact Sports Invitational is Zakarion Simpson Zakarion Simpson 6'5" | SF Laurens County | 2027 State SC . Zakarion matched up with the aforementioned Sanders in Tuesday’s opener, and he showcased some elite athleticism on the defensive end while racking up five blocks. Simpson has an explosive first and second jump, both of which are crucial because he lacks a little bit of size down low. Zakarion had multiple flashes of his exciting potential, including a perfect verticality block of a taller big, and a coast-to-coast transition dunk that got some early momentum for his team.