Brian Flinn:
Future150 National Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
Philadelphia, PA (Future150) -- On the first day of the Reebok Showdown there were plenty of teams that thought they had a legitimate chance to bring home a championship to close out the first live period. Unfortunately a couple of top teams in the tournament were upset in the early rounds. Perhaps the most impressive part about Saturday is that there were a number of players who had already played in the Reebok Breakout Camp and turned around to play three games on Saturday. Here’s who stood out:
Johnnie Schuler, 2014 PG, D.C. Warriors: Schuler got to the rim early and often in the Warriors first game. No one from Move Your Feet was able to stay in front of him, including Hakim Santil, who Schuler outplayed. Schuler has to score more with this squad but can also be a pass first point guard. He will be a valuable player at the mid-major level
Asante Gist, 2016 PG, NJ Roadrunners: Gist might be little in size (he stands at just 5-foot-9) but the guard is a major player for the Roadrunners. Gist has a great looking shot that was on display on Saturday morning. Gist also got into the lane and created for both himself and others.
Kyle Willams, 2014 C, Team Underrated: Williams was instrumental in his team’s upset of Sports U in the first round of the tournament. With 17 seconds left, Williams missed a foul shot, grabbed the rebound and scored to put his team ahead for good. The big man is massive and is a serious space eater who can score around the basket.
Kyle Clarke, 2015 CG, Showtime Ballers: Clarke often gets a bit overlooked playing in between high profile teammates Dwayne Bacon and Corey Sanders. On Saturday morning Clarke took over though, scoring at will and setting up his teammates for easy buckets. He has the look of a high-major guard and his game is coming along well. Pretty soon he will join his teammates as a well-known name in the class of 2015.
Jaylen Barford, 2014 CG, D13: Barford was another player who stepped up and carry his team due to the fact that some of his teammates where playing games for their third straight day. Barford did a majority of his scoring by attacking the rim and finishing through contact, but hit a couple of threes as well. Keep an eye on Barford, he could turn into a great mid-major scorer once he hits college.
Traci Carter, 2015 PG, We-R-1: Carter was on his fourth straight day of playing three games but it didn’t matter, he helped carry his team to the win over Team Final. Not only did Carter make great passes throughout the contest, but finished as the leading scorer as well. When it’s all said and done, the entire northeast will be after him.
Markis McDuffie, 2015 SG, Sports U: McDuffie has tremendous size for his position at such a young age. He uses it to get his shot over smaller defenders as well as attack the glass. He is also an above average athlete who plays above the rim. Simply put, McDuffie has a bright future ahead of him.
Myles Stephens, 2015 SG, NJ Roadrunners: Stephens is already a great shooter who has fantastic size for the two guard spot as well. He is also an explosive athlete that can put the ball on the floor and finish around the cup.
Sean Lloyd, 2015 CG, Philly Pride: Lloyd is a big guard who is still working on his perimeter abilities. When he was younger, he was bigger than everyone else, so his transition to the back court has been fairly recent. Still, it’s hard not to see the upside in Lloyd, who looks like he could into a Dion Waiters type of player. He has the body for it and has shown a knack for getting to the rim.
Emmanuel Omogbo, 2014 CF, Mid-Atlantic Select: No one had a better day than the Kiski Prep (PA) bound forward. Omogbo scored the ball on all three levels, hitting threes and taking his smaller defenders in the post. He has the speed to blow past bigger defenders as well. He is currently committed to Robert Morris and if it stays that way he will be a steal. Omogbo has a chance to develop into a high major player.
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