Andrew Force:
Future150 National Analyst. Covering High and Middle School basketball.
Houston, TX (Future150) -- The Future150 MDC Houston featured some of the top teams in the Southeast and Southwest regions. Team Thad's15U out of the Under Armour Association ran out a fantastic lineup in Houston. They brought three Class of 2019 guys, all of which secured heavy minutes. They went 5-0 winning each game by 15 or more points.
The top performers from the weekens are below.
D.J. Jeffries, Zion Joe Cooper, and Bruce Guy played above the level of their older competition. In fact, Jeffries found just one frontcourt peer in his world...teammate Rodgerick Brown. In addition to the team championship attained by Team Thad 15u several of their players earned placement amongst the top performers in their age bracket.
Michael Knapton, 2018 C, Basketball University Red: The post defense from Knapton is very good. In one half he blocked three shots against the exceptional Xpress Sports Inc. (Louisiana). Knapton projects as a zone-busting pivot like Jake Voskuhl. He has a beautiful 8’ baseline jumper in his arsenal.
Jonathan Oradiegwu, 2018 SG, Sugar Land Phenoms: Missing his twin, Oradiegwu heroically vaulted his team into 15u contention. Just like he did during the Houston Main Event Oradiegwu scored in bunches. One relatively new aspect to his game was the outside shot. He can nail the open triple. A wild attacker of the rim, Oradiegwu sustained a nasty concussion Saturday morning. Unfortunately, Oradiegwu was unable to finish the game.
Ulysses Bentley, 2019 SG, NS Vipers: Loves to play both ends of the floor and does it well. He also showed he can guard multiple positions, his ability to score the ball by shooting at a high volume and getting to the rim when he wanted showed he is a strong player and is getting even stronger.
Shenar Clark, 2018 SF, NS Vipers: A aggressive and skilled big man that can get it done in many ways. He is young but you can see he has the IQ and knows where to be to help himself and his teammates so his team can productive.The fact he makes a strong presence around the rim offensively and defensively says a lot about him at a young age.
Peter Esposito, 2018 PG, ZGTX: A complete PG that is an extension of his dad which is the teams head coach. He runs the team and puts guys where they need to be for the team to be successful. He has great change of speed when he is being guard and he displayed a nice mid-range jump shot over the weekend. At his age and knowing that he is continuing to grow he will have college coaches knocking on the door very soon.
D.J. Jeffries, 2019 SF, Team Thad: Jefferies plays with such ease that an onlooker could confuse his confidence for overly casual play. The young man rarely appears fazed even by double teams. Possibly only three players were currently better than D.J. in the gym all weekend and they are two years older.
Zion Cooper, 2019 PG, Team Thad: In the last two months Zion “Joe” Cooper has replaced some of the sizzle with Chris Paul-type pic’n’roll action. Cooper gets a little moody, but it comes from a good place. He demands a lot of himself and his team. Defense lapses appear to be mostly a thing of the past. He is leveling off his defensive possessions. Before it was gamble early and hope for the best. Now Cooper keeps his feet and waits for the offensive player to slip up. Once a terrible outside shooter, Cooper has extended his comfort level to 12’.
Rodgerick Brown, 2018 SF, Team Thad: Brown is a volume scorer with frightening strength. It seems like he recorded 22 points each time he walked on to the floor. In an exhibition game against a 17u squad, Brown even pumped in 15+ just in the opening half alone. The ceiling for Brown has not even been broached yet. Recently Brown is working on his mid-range shooting touch. It is already good, but he wants to be great.
Noah Paradis, 2018 PF, Basketball University Red: Paradis rebounds well offensively. He hunts down loose balls well and creates space on the low blocks with his hips. Paradis projects as a power forward in high school and if his game translates to the college level he will likely play in the post there too.
Diego Carrasco, 2018 SF, Basketball University Red: This is a very smart defender. On one play Carrasco picked up three different guys before his team was ready to settle into a 2-3 zone. He glided around the perimeter, forcing the opponents to swing instead of probe.
Nasir Gaskin, 2018 PG, Basketball University Red: From Missouri City, Texas comes a hard-driving guard in Nasir Gaskin. The shorter point guard flies up the floor, even under duress.
Carleon McPhail, 2019 SF, Basketball University Red: Perhaps the biggest three-pointer of Sunday morning came from the assured hands of Carleon. Narrowly leading a feisty San Antonio’s Finest squad McPhail nailed an outside shot. The shot gave BU Red a 60-54 score in the waning moments. Finest was not able to recover.
Jack Moore, 2018 PF, Houston Heat: The best defenders could do to suppress the rock solid Moore was to foul. No matter. Moore knocked down the resulting free throw attempts. He has a big time power game. Once he catches the ball he bulls his way to the rim. Moore can rebound and finish in the chest of blockers. Down the line Moore could defend 2-4 spots because he is light on the feet. If he played well the Houston Heat won.
Garrett Golday, 2018 PF, Team Thad: For a big, he is Top 25 if feet only are considered. He honestly projects to a Hakeem Olajowan type big in high school. Beyond he will probably be a PF unless he grows 3-4 more inches. He has trained well in the post and can make multiple moves in quick succession. Next level footwork. He seals his man and already gets the drop step off without any real weight on his body. He is better than Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown freshman) was at the same point in his career.
Ja'Quan Tillis, 2018 PG, Texas Showtime: With Tillis Showtime has a very dynamic dribbler. Using his speedy, strong legs Tillis bursts up the floor like a running back searching for gaps. Oddly he makes plays offensively, but gets mentally stuck defending with his arms. Reaching rarely works.
Austin Floyd, 2018 PG, Texas Showtime: Look for team defense when Floyd steps on the floor. Head Coach Rufus Floyd has instilled discipline in his son. Very few young talents share his shot selection. Floyd’s shooting touch is really dependable too.
Andrew Reed, 2018 WG, Mo Taylor Houston Heat: The Heat can count on Reed giving buckets each and every half. He is probably the third scoring option, but converts efficiently. Saturday he knocked down some outside shots. He can score from the wings or the corners.
Christopher Moore, 2018 SG, Xpress Hoops, Inc.: Facing eventual champion Team Thad, Moore came out with his typical aggression and lofted a high floater over #9 D.J. Jeffries. Moore keeps in good shape. Moore is savvy on the court. He can be a threat on both ends and rebound for the cause.
Brenden Wenzel, 2019 SG, San Antonio's Finest Blue: The 2019 Wenzel is a big game shooter. He hit a huge shot versus Hyperfuse in the semifinals. Outside shooting is already his trademark. Maybe he can work on ball-handling to absorb more duties. Wenzel will grow with Finest in the coming years and claim a larger role.
Thomas Williams, 2018 SG, Hyperfuse: Williams spend s a lot of time on his craft. When he hits the floor the work pays off. He has a beautiful touch from 13’-18’. Free throws are generally pure though he can get a little wrapped up in emotions. Once he learns to funnel that passion he will be really good. Williams nicely shows the ball each time he enters triple-threat position.
Donald Brockett, 2018 PF, CUTtheNETS: A quietly solid performance was put in by Brockett. The 6'5" forward used his strong base to score inside. The D-1 All Stars yielded 14 points to Brockett. His future position will be power forward and of course he could use another inch of growth. The fiery competitive spirit makes him an attractive option for any high school coach now and possibly college coaches later.
Kimani Anderson, 2018 SF, Hyperfuse: Anderson took on the burden of playing center in Antoine Henderson’s absence. The warrior gave Hyperfuse countless defensive rebounds and generally controlled the paint against pretty manageable post foes.
Max Bowman, 2018 SF, Hyperfuse: Sunday Bowman produced monster games. He can evade defenders from the low block or break the press. Versatility is important to earning early playing time at any school. Bowman does so many different things well.
Xavien Beasley, 2019 SG, XPress Sports Inc.: The young Beasley slithered through defenses day after day. From either the wing or the top of the key XB continuously manuevered around each defender. He doesn't shoot much from the outside, but honestly he doesn't need to. With his slashing skills he can get to the hoop anytime he touches the ball.
Micah Baskerville, 2018 PF, XPress Sports Inc.: XPress used Baskerville's rebounding to compete against a couple of taller teams. You have to search the whole gym to find a freshman with Baskerville's strength. Still the bullish big showed off a surprising shooting touch.
Christian Gonzales, 2018 SF, San Antonio’s Finest Blue: There is only one real glaring weakness to Gonzales’ game. He is too unselfish. Gonzales works so hard that he certainly has earned the open looks he passes up. Despite this deferring style of play he makes so many hustle plays. When Gonzales met with a very physical, bruising Hyperfuse squad the wing controlled tempo and found the open man. He really needs to score just to set up his passes now. Gonzales earned every one of the six fouls called on him against Hyperfuse. He will continue to get stronger and probably start for three years at the varsity level.
Trayvon Gariet, 2018 SG, BC Flight: Gariet is an exceptional on-ball defender. Facing XPress 15u he kept Xavien Beasley in front of him very, very well. Beasley was a nightmarish task for opponents all weekend, but Gariet did a pretty good job early on. Gariet plays physical yet fair defense. He does not pick up fouls because he slides his feet early.
Reggie Ephron, 2018 SG, ZGTX: This week he was probably one of the best shooters in the gym in the whole tournament. He use so many ways to sore the ball. he gets out in transition and stretches the floor and knocks down corner and wing jump shots. Not only did score the ball a lot but he also showed he can defend the ball just as well as he can score.
Kobe Craft, 2018 PF, ZGTX: Plays bigger than he is around and away from the basket. He has an understanding of the game and he knows how to put his self in the right situation because he knows his position. He has a nice soft touch around the rim and showed that he can dominate when he is on the floor.
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