Zachary Lyon:
Future150 Regional Analyst. Covering high and middle school basketball: NC, SC & VA
Houston, TX (Future150) -- The Urban Kings defeated the Tarrant County Hornets in a dog fight of a game to take home the 16U title at the Future150 Houston Battleground Tournament! The Kings featured the breakout star of the entire tournament with 2019 6'7" PF Obi Ezekwesilli. The bouncy power forward dominated on the glass and in the paint on both ends of the floor all weekend. The Tarrant County Hornets continue to showout at Future150 events as 2019 6'6" CF Bennett Brown had a breakout weekend by showing off his size, length, and versatility on both ends.
Future150 Houston Battleground 16U All-Tournament Team:
Ramell Williams, 2020 PG, ITZ Warriors
DJ Johnson 2019 G/F, Houston Showtime
Randy Woodard, 2020 SF, Team Stackz
Obi Ezekwesili, 2019 PF, Urban Kings
Trent Thompkins, 2019 PF, TBTSports Disciples
Future150 Houston Battleground 16U Honor Roll:
Bennett Brown, 2019 CF, Tarrant County Hornets (TX): Brown had some very good performances during pool play, as he was finishing in the paint and stretching the defense out to beyond the three point line and knocking down shots. Standing at 6'6", he has solid size as a wing forward and he could definitely be a good NAIA/DIII prospect with some more skill development and muscle added to his frame.
Randy Woodard, 2020 SF, Team Stackz (TX): Another impressive prospect playing up an age group, was the 6'5" bouncy wing. Woodard impressed the most on the offensive glass and in the paint when he was posting up and scoring against smaller, weaker defenders. He showed the ability to knock down the mid-range jumper either off the bounce or catch, but was at his best when attacking the rim and posting up smaller wing defenders.
Nicholas Stewart, 2019 SG, Hoop Nation Family (TX): Stewart isn't the most flashy or physically imposing player on the floor, but he does give great minutes with his smart decision making, great on-ball defense, and beautiful stroke from deep. Depending on further growth and development, Stewart definitely has a shot to extend his basketball playing days beyond high school.
Calvin Hill, 2019 PG, Boom City Hornets (TX): A standout football prospect, the 5'7" speedy guard plays a downhill game that allows him to get to the rim on command and finish through contact with ease. His jumper has steadily improved since the last time the Future150 staff saw him play, and he always seems to be a matchup problem for the opposing guards because of his unique combination of great strength and quickness. Even though his future is probably with football, Hill could probably play at some level of college basketball once he finishes up with high school.
Ben Holland, 2020 CG, TBTSports Disciples (TX): Holland's best attribute as a combo guard has to be his fantastic stroke from deep, paired with a good basketball IQ and court vision. His game is well equipped for either a half-court or transition dominant offense as he can stop on a dime and knock down a jump shot from virtually anywhere on the court. Nice little breakout weekend from the rising sophomore.
Trent Thompkins, 2019 PF, TBTSports Disciples (TX): Thompkins hard worker mentality, length, and high motor allowed him to be one of the most physcially impossing frontcourt prospects in the 16U division. At 6'6", he doesn't have elite size, but his long frame makes up for those one or two inches that he lacks. Thompkins looks to be locked in as a very solid DII prospect and could work his way into DI territory over the next year.
Yancy Calhoun, 2019 CF, Missouri City Ballers (TX): An undersized power wing, Calhoun is just 6'1", but plays like he's 6'8"+. His rebounding and paint defense was highly impressive considering he was usually matched up against a much bigger opponent every game. When he's not rebounding, and doing work in the paint he will sneak out to the three point line and knock down the trey ball when he catches the defense sleeping.
Obi Ezekwesili, 2019 PF, Urban Kings (TX): One of the most college ready prospects in the tournament, Ezekwesilli has to be identified as a no-brainer DI prospect at this point. Standing over 6'7", he has an extremely high motor that allowed him to collect blocks and grab rebounds high off the glass throughout the weekend. What puts his game into DI status, is his ability to consistently knock down the mid/long range jumper on a consistent basis. He kept the defense's guessing all weekend long and is arguably the MVP of the entire tournament.
Cartier Parnell, 2019 SG, Urban Kings (TX): Although Obi stole the show anytime the Kings hit the floor, Parnell had a very productive weekend as well. At 6'4" he has good size for the two spot, and he always has a team first mentality when on the floor. He is a selfless player, and rarely made a bad decision or turned the ball over.
DJ Johnson, 2019 G/F, Houston Showtime (TX): One of the best athletes on the weekend, Johnson put on a dunk show on Friday night to open up pool play. As athletic as he is, he had just as much success shooting the ball as he showcased multiple times that he could get hot in a hurry from beyond the arc if given any room at all. With his elite athleticism and slashing abilities many defenders laid off of him a little to try and stop him from getting into the lane, but from there he would just knock down a jumper over the top of the defender.
Nic Hunter, 2019 SF, H20 (TX): Another one of the better athletes in the tournament, Hunter threw down plenty of rim-rattling dunks in transition throughout the weekend himself. This is where most of his damage came from, scoring column-wise. On defense he showed his versatility where he was guarding multiple positions well and never let his matchup out rebound him. Very solid weekend for Hunter.
Ramell Williams, 2020 PG, ITZ Warriors (TX): Williams is a slash and dish lead guard with great finishing skills around the rim. He was very impressive considering he should of been playing 15U. He has solid size standing around 5'11", and it will be interesting how he progresses throughout these next few years. He's got some upside to his game and could definitely be playing some low-major DI basketball in a few more years.
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