All Ohio Nike Cup Recap: Southwest Ohio Prospects
There’s a few glaring takeaways from our weekend at the All Ohio Nike Cup.
First of all, Ohio is talented, but these grassroots teams still need time to gel. Naturally, with this being the first or second weekend that these talented groups have played together, this wasn’t any team’s best weekend.
Second, there’s a lot of All Ohio teams.
Third, each section of the state (Northwest, Northeast, Central, Southwest, and Southeast) brings a lot to the table. Therefore, we will break-up our Nike Cup recaps accordingly. For Southeast, we didn’t see enough players to compile a list. We expect that most of those players were involved in other tournaments across the Midwest.
Fourth and finally, on Sunday we watched exclusively 2020 players. Going into the weekend, it was the class we were most unfamiliar with. Probably still is, considering some of these players didn’t compete at the varsity level last season. There’s a lot still yet to be seen. But from what we gathered on Saturday and Sunday, this class has a ton of upside.
With that being said, these recaps will be heavy on 2020 prospects. In turn, there will be some oversights of upperclassmen who had good weekends.
Now, let’s explore some of those players who competed this weekend.
Abba Lawal (2019), 6’11 C, All Ohio Red/Walnut Hills
Lawal came in as the #5 prospect in 2019 for our updated Prospect Rankings; more importantly, he’s a candidate to climb that list over the next few seasons. He’s very fluid for being 6’11”, very. Once Lawal is able to read the defense with his back to the basket, and make the simple scoring play, he could become borderline unstoppable at this level. He already excels as a rebounder. It’s just a question of awareness going forward.
Darrion Henry (2020), 6’4 F, All Ohio Red/Cincinnati Princeton
Henry is unique in the post, as he shifts side-to-side against less mobile post players in the paint. You have to see it to understand, but it’s super effective in beating guys to the spot. He draws a lot of contact because of it, and definitely has the strength to find the bottom of the rim despite it. He’s extremely powerful for a 2020 prospect.
Henry tweeted out that he received an offer from Davenport in November.
Aaron West (2020), 6’6 F, All Ohio Elite/Cincinnati Princeton
West and Henry are going to be a problem in the paint for Cincinnati Princeton going forward. West is more of a four, as he occasionally likes to attack off the dribble and barrel into the lane for tough finishes. His length and timing allow for him to reject a ton of lay-up attempts. It will be interesting to see if his jumper develops, which would compliment his driving ability.
Andre Gordon (2019), 6’1 G, All Ohio Red/Sidney
If Gordon weren’t likely to play football instead of basketball in college, he’d be a top five guy in the 2019 class. He’s very fundamentally sound, as he uses jab steps and ball fakes to make quick moves. He sort of picks his spots with this team, but when it’s time to takeover he definitely has that in him. The pull-up is silky. He’s also a very good athlete, which is evident when he attacks the rim and plays defense.
Carl Blanton (2020), 6’2 G, All Ohio Red/Trotwood Madison
Blanton was a huge surprise, given the fact that he played a limited role when we saw Trotwood this past season. Turns out, Blanton can really score the basketball. He is not only strong at finishing in transition, but he can spot up and hit the three extremely well. In fact, he may have been Red’s best three-point shooter this weekend. Then, obviously, his on-ball defense is good. Blanton has long arms, quick feet, and the mindset to lock-down ball-handlers.
Sammy Anderson (2020), 6’0 G, All Ohio Red/Trotwood Madison
Anderson took the angle in transition, caught, and finished high off the glass. He played his role to a tee. Anderson also frustrates ball-handlers when he’s around. Anderson was never afraid of the moment, and in fact, he welcomed challenges all weekend.
Carrington Valentine (2020), G, All Ohio Elite/Moeller
Valentine is the premier guard on this All Ohio Elite 15u team. He controls the tempo, which is ideally a very fast one. He excels at getting to the basket currently, but the floater was also rather effective. Valentine’s best trait during the Gold championship, which they won over Red, was his stealing ability. Valentine used quick and strong hands to swat away weak dribbles. He quickly was able to turn these steals into buckets at the other end.
Chris Herbort (2020), 6’1 G, All Ohio Elite/Beavercreek
Herbot won’t be under-the-radar by the end of this summer. He has a mature game for being a freshman. Herbot hustles for everything, which led to a couple tussles between him and frustrated opponents. Skill wise, Herbot is a strong shooter and ball-handler. Around the basket, he was able to get easy lay-ups byway of the pump fake. He’s going to be a stud for Beavercreek as soon as next season, as he started varsity as a freshman.
Ethan Heller (2019), 6’0 G, OH NOVA/Sheridan
Heller looks like more of a football player, as he has a very nice build at the point guard position. He uses that to out-body other guards when they drive the basket. But he’s more than an athlete. Heller has a very smooth jump-shot, which commands attention from the defense as his wings create. He’ll continue to get a lot of looks playing alongside Cade Stover and Terin Kinsway, meaning he could have some huge scoring outbursts this summer.