Circle City Shootout: Saturday Notes
INDIANAPOLIS, IN | The second day at the Circle City Shootout gave us a focus on the class of 2019 and 2020 as we spent most of our time at North Central and Noblesville High Schools. We found some new, out-of-state prospects as well as some solid in-state ones. Here is what we saw on Saturday.
NW Ohio Duo In 2019 Provides Size
The NW Ohio Basketball Club is pretty well known around the Midwest as a really skilled programs with good size and this 2019 group continues that tradition. Their tall duo of Nathan Bruns and Jarod Schulze is really talented and should draw a ton of interest this time next season. Bruns is a long, lean shooter at 6’5 who looks like he can fill it up really well. He scored 26 points against IE Ice 2019 in the morning and did a lot of his work on drives and at the rim. However, he’s a really capable shooter. The frame looks great and could offer tons of versatility moving forward.
Schulze is a big, bruising 6’8 center who is light on his feet and really mobile for a guy of his size. He can impact down low with a soft touch and tons of strength. Pretty solid rebounder and a lot more athletic than he would appear. This program is really solid and Schulze and Bruns will be of interest for a lot of NAIA and DII programs. They have produced quite a few good players already and that seems to continue to be the case.
Indiana Elite Metro 2019 Can Shoot It
The first year for this team run by Indiana Wesleyan standout Johnny Marlin has really impressed in their first weekend of play. In the first game we watched against OHLBC Black, they wont 67-50 and while they didn’t hit a ton of threes, they made a lot of jump shots led by Nate Childress who scored 18 points. In the next game, they went off hitting 8 threes and beating Dayton Metro 64-54. Center Grove guard Spencer Piercefield scored 25 points and hit 5 threes by himself.
Grand Park Premier 2019-Pace Has Many Improved Players
One of the better groups of most improved players had to be this Grand Park team. Across the board they had guys that looked really improved. Jake Ritter of Zionsville was really solid on the ball. He is a little tougher and more creative in the open floor. Max Newman of Monrovia is a little taller but more mobile and strong. He was really good playing inside but still showed a willingness to get out on the perimeter and try to make plays.
The most improved player was Zionsville’s Mark Smith. The 6’4 guard has come from a fairly passive forward to a guy that can handle the ball and make plays. He’s still got to add a little strength and toughness to finish at the rim but he’s now getting there. He’s also shooting it a lot better and has that ability to create. Big boost of confidence has really sparked his development.