KC Hardwood Classic: Thursday Standouts
Prep Hoops watched talent at all three levels on Thursday at the KC Hardwood Classic and viewed Jalen Miller, Kendall Brown, and Juwan Grant make a name for themselves.
Dorrell Bratton of Mpls FAB 17u (St. Croix Lutheran). The Crusader program has higher hopes for the 17-18 winter and Bratton is one of the reasons for that excitement. Dorrell has the frame you would envision of a scholarship running back which helps make him such a versatile player. Bratton handled the ball some yesterday and then moved into the paint to finish and board. Defensively he moved his feet with a point guard and later was guarding a post.
Kendall Brown of Howard Pulley 15U (East Ridge). The 6-foot-4 East Ridge guard has the look of a prospect that instantly has college coaches looking for his information in the college packet. Brown is extremely long, agile, skilled to play three spots, and his defensive effort as the point man on the Pulley zone press was very impressive. Brown has the type of strides that glide by everyone on the floor but also the skills to handle the ball some or attack the cup for scores. He is the brother of Courtney Brown Jr and Kendall is also going to be one of the top few prospects in the 2021 class in Minnesota.
Juwan Grant of Team Get Shook 15u (Champlin Park). Juwan is the point guard for the TGS team that hammered the top Kingdom Hoops squad and Grant made every decision in a smooth way. His pace of the offense led to the high percentage opportunities for teammates like DeAndre Miller and Anthony Ukofia but Grant also attacked middle for his own finger roll and short jumpers. Steady lead guard in the Rebel program.
AJ Green of Iowa Barnstormers 17u (Cedar Falls). Looking for an example of how tough this young man is? Green dislocated his finger, had it put back in place and secured, and then came back on the floor to attack and score an EYBL opponent (MoKan). AJ defines the term combo guard as he has one of the prettiest strokes in the class of 2018. Green uses his off arm as well as anyone to create space and once in that space the stroke is pure. But Green has so much talent around him that the Barnstormers don’t always need him to score so Green is the ball handler and table setter for Iowa and he does a magnificent job of keeping all of his talented teammates fed with high percentage looks. Green had Northern Iowa, Minnesota, Gonzaga, and others watching him close.
Elijah Hazekamp of Iowa Barnstormers 17u (Bishop Keelan). Iowa got behind three scores early but a 9-0 run from Elijah himself turned the game around. Elijah’s run including foul shots, a three, and a pair of attacks touched in over the MoKan athletes. Elijah hit double figures for the game but so much talent on the Iowa team he makes his mark being a scrambling worker on both ends. Hazekamp battled over screens, he chased down loose balls, was vocal on the floor, and did the job of moving the ball and sharply cutting through the MoKan defense.
Justin Hohn of SD Storm 16u (Tea Area). Hohn threw some of the prettiest passes off pick and rolls that Prep Hoops has seen all year long. His bounce pass led through the defense in the second half was one of the plays we will remember and Hohn zipped some other assists through the defense to finish possessions. Hohn’s transition push getting middle and making the right read open the court for Karter Lein (Harrisburg 2020) to hit shots from the perimeter and Alex Tietjen (Brandon Valley) to score around the cup.
Kaleb Joffer of SD Storm 16u (Tea Area). Joffer is a thick 6-foot-3 big that has the frame of a tight end and the mentality of a fullback. He battled for position all game long and opponents could not get around him so Joffer had constant position. He used that position to turn and finish several times including the game winning And1. Joffer did a great job setting screens and rebounding as well.
Gabe Kalscheur of Howard Pulley 17s (DeLaSalle). The Islander shooter knocked out for three-pointers and scored 18 points in front of Minnesota, Indiana, Colorado, and Pittsburgh coaches in a loss to The City Rocks. Kalscheur had a stretch of three treys made in about six minutes plus defended soundly throughout the game.
Ryan Larson of Howard Pulley 17s (CDH). Larson came off the bench and went deep into the Spider Man stance to keep his New York opponents in front of him throughout the game. Larson chased down five boards, scored three times including a three, and defended very well on the ball in front of a quarter of the NSIC. St. Cloud State offered Larson last night.
Jax Madson of Howard Pulley 15s (Mankato East). Madson is the son of a high school head coach and it shows in his game. There is a poise to Madson and an understanding of timing in the halfcourt offense. Madson’s feeds, his attacks, and his ball rotations are precise plus he’s selective with his own offense. Jax made a pair of threes early and a tear drop that helped Pulley make their early run. Efficient young guard.
Jalen Miller of Mpls FAB 17s (Robbinsdale Cooper). FAB played a balanced game forcing constant turnovers and turning that into a string of high percentage two foot looks the other way. Miller had his share of scores and assists in that run but he was the guy that was also making plays in the halfcourt set. Miller dribble separated to make shots stepping back away from his man and he set his feet, put his hands up, and caught to finish at the arc. His smooth one dribble attack into the lane in the halfcourt also put points on the board.
Deszie Sims of TNL 16s (Minneapolis Roosevelt). The 2019 guard from Minneapolis has the talent to put together a huge scoring winter as a junior. Sims explosive first step resulted in an attack left or right and often times the help defenders couldn’t do anything about the Sims speed to the rim. Deszie had another 20 plus put game blowing to the rim and releasing before the help defense could move into position to event attempt make a play. Sims also made a late game three that sent the contest into the overtime blowing into space and getting a shot off to give his team a chance. Sims is surely one to watch this winter when it comes to guys that will make a scoring impact.
Kaleb Stearns of SD Storm 16s (Tea Area). There are two parts of Stearns game that is easy to love and it’s tough to choose between the two. On the one hand, Stearns has a beautiful shooting stroke at the arc that he makes at a high percentage. The touch makes a person confident that he will hit nearly every time. On the other end the Stearns defensive stance is textbook and he battles to give the same effort on his last lateral step as he does his initial step.
Jarvis Thomas of Howard Pulley 17s (Orono). There are games where guys can have huge impacts without shooting the ball and this was one of those games for Thomas. He chased down ten rebounds and dished out five assists, both stats that show the growth in his game (and remember, Thomas isn’t event 17 yet). The effort of Thomas was seen as he defended a combo guard effectively and rebounded in double figure numbers plus his passing skills continue to improve on kicks and entries.
Treyton Thompson of Team Get Shook 15s (Alexandria). The basketball factory of Alexandria has another prospect coming through its program and that is Treyton Thompson, a 6-foot-7 long 2021 big who is very thin but long and skilled. Thompson is all knees and elbows and this sharp points contacted opponents before Thompson finished five soft touching field goals in a half. Thompson is a prospect to know because the size and skill is there. How he matures physically will tell us everything about his future as a prospect.
Jalen Travis of Howard Pulley 15s (DeLaSalle). The 6-foot-5 brother of Reid and Jonah Travis is a load. He is more compact that his brothers were but stronger at this age than his brothers were. Nobody can stop Jalen from getting to position in the post and that low base caught, turned over left shoulder, and scored a right hand baby hook four times. Kids at this level simply don’t have the strength to deal with Travis around the cup.