Brian Flinn:
Future150 National Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
Ft. Myers, FL (Future150) -- The City of Palms has long been one of the best Holiday tournaments in the entire country. This year has a loaded field yet again and it would appear that things aren't any different. Wednesday was the first of five days of action and it didn’t disappoint, including an overtime thriller and an upset to close the night out.
John Ogwuche, 2016 SG, Greenforest Academy: In what was an exciting first game, it was Ogwuche that carried the scoring load for his team. He got to the rim and hit a few threes as well. At 6-foot-3, he has good size for a sophomore and rarely got sped up in the contest. He is definitely one to keep an eye on as the week goes on.
Antonio Blankeney, 2015 SG, Oak Ridge: Long known as a big time scorer, Blakeney did just that before Oak Ridge ultimately fell to GFA. He scored it from deep as well of the bounce. It is clear that he is a natural born scorer who can score at all three levels and has a chance to be one of the top guards in his class.
Dom Collier, 2014 PG, Denver East: The Colorado commit was one of the few bright spots for Denver East in a loss to Neumann-Goretti. He is cat quick and has a good handle, making it very hard for defenders to stay in front of him. He must work on expanding his range in order to keep defenders from sagging on him.
JaQuan Newton, 2014 CG, Neumann-Goretti: Newton looks to be a perfect fit for Miami’s system. He thrives in up-tempo offenses and it is nearly impossible to keep him out of the paint. Like Collier, he needs to develop his long range game and be more consistent from behind the arc. Once he does he will be an absolute force.
Prince Ali, 2015 SG, Sagemont: A jumping jack of an athlete, Ali had a couple of highlight reel dunks in traffic vs. IMG. He is great when going to the rim and the rest of his game is developing nicely as well. UConn should be excited about getting an early commit from him.
Dwayne Bacon, 2015 SG, IMG Academy: Bacon put together a solid night despite looking frustrated at the extra attention shown to him by Sagemont. He is such a versatile player that does a bit of everything that it’s hard not to appreciate his game. He used his size well when going to the rim and showed off his fantastic play making abilities.
Mo Lewis, 2014 SF, Milton: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the shooting performance that Lewis put on, going 5-of-8 from three. The Navy commit also got to the rim and either finished or got fouled. Right now it appears that he is an absolute steal for the Midshipmen.
Ricky Doyle, 2014 PF, Bishop Verot: The Michigan commit struggled a bit in the beginning but showed that he can score it on the block as well as shoot it from the short corner. He plays hard and works to get position on the block. He needs to get stronger in order for his game to translate well at the high-major level, but the Wolverines have done well with under-the-radar recruits like this in recent years.
Billy Preston, 2017 PF, St. John Bosco: The freshman was arguably the best player on the floor for Bosco last night. He scored it in the post as well as stepped out and hit a couple of threes. He has good size already and appears poised to grow further. Make no mistake, Preston should be considered one of the better players in his class out west.
Grayson Allen, 2014 SG, Providence: Allen put on a show in the first half, pouring in 19. He didn’t let up in the 2nd either, scoring another 14. Allen has a reputation as a shooter but showed that he is capable of much more than that. He set his teammates up, ran the point, and even had a couple of monster finishes at the rim. He should be a nice 4 year player for the Blue Devils.
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