NOE Showcase: D-I 2018 Prospects
At Prep Hoops, we pride ourselves on covering prospects of every college level, including the Division I prospects. At the Northern Ohio Elite (NOE) Showcase, there were several from the 2018 class. Let’s take a quick look at how they performed on Saturday at Lima Senior.
Mark Mayle, 6’7” F, Malvern
Houston King, 6’4” G, Toledo St. John’s
King is primarily a scorer from the wing. At the Showcase, King was able to cross guys over with a quick right-to-left crossover into his pull-up. He often gets a clean look with this particular look. Mainly, that move happens in the mid-range, where King is most dangerous. However, in Lima, King was hitting a ton from beyond the arch.
For a couple of possessions in one game between King’s Team A and Team D, he went at it against his northwest Ohio counterpart, Alek West. It was a fun moment, as the two traded possessions. However, King prevailed with some nasty moves, backing up his talk.
DeVon Baker, 6’1” PG, Dayton Dunbar
Baker proved to be a consistent force at the Showcase. He’s not the flashiest player, but this was yet another time when we watched Baker and thought, “Nobody is staying in front of this kid when attacks from the wing.”
Giovanni Santiago, 6’1” PG, Cincinnati Hughes
Santiago actually didn’t shoot the ball very well on Saturday. Whether it was on step-back threes or floaters, Santiago simply couldn’t find the bottom of the net. His facial expressions showed some disappointment in that. But, Santiago still impressed us with his composure and ability to impact games with his passing and finishing skills. Santiago also proved to be an elite prospect with his ability to seamlessly blow past defenders who made steal attempts.
Justin Ahrens, 6’5” G, Versailles
Many of the Division I prospects make basketball look easy at times, Ahrens was proof of that. He glided around the gym with such fluidity and dropped in triple after triple. Ahrens is clearly ready to hoist up triples, both catch-and-shoot or pull-ups, from the college arch. The prospect from Versailles also rebounded the ball excellently, which often turned up into a deep pull-up at the other end. (See the Transition Playmakers article for more on Ahrens.)
Caleb McConnell, 6’5” G, Dayton Dunbar
McConnell is a special combo guard who attacks the basket in a down-hill, yet controlled, style. He also shot the ball extremely well in the halfcourt, including an unguardable stepback against Ahrens in the day’s first timeslot. McConnell dominated the ball more than usual on Saturday, but his team benefitted, as he still managed to score rather efficiently.
Darius Quisenberry, 6’1” PG, Dayton Wayne
Quisenberry was playing with a bit of a hiccup in his stride, because of knee troubles. While it appears to be nothing serious, he didn’t quite play at full-speed the entirety of the day. Yet, he did have the most eye-popping block of the day, on a chase down where he pinned the ball high off the glass. That feat of athleticism was something we’d never seen before yesterday from Quisenberry. Also, he compensated for any lack of his normal speed by using his strength to body people around.