Take 5: Big Shots Myrtle Session 2 Day 1
There’s a ton of talent every year at the Big Shots Myrtle Beach Live Period events from all over the country, and it’s one of the more popular spots for Virginia programs to attend. With over 100 college coaches in attendance, along with teams from across the United States, there were plenty of standouts so far. Here’s five of the top performers that we saw on day one of the second session. Stay tuned for an in depth breakdown and more following the final day tomorrow.
- Tyson Hancock | 6’2” G | VA Bullets 17U
Hancock was huge as he led the Bullets to a win in their only game of the day, a game they were trailing 15-1 to start. A smooth combo guard who took over when needed, he scored 15 of his game high 22 points in the second half, showing the ability to create shots with the ball in his hands and move well when he was off the ball. He has good size and body control when finishing through traffic, showed a nose for the ball and his ability to play both guard positions and create for himself and others bolds well for him moving forward. He’s still under the radar, but he coaches should start to look for him moving forward.
- Terrence Whitfield | 6’5” WF | River City Reign 17U
Whitfield, who’s taking a post grad year at Massanutten next season, was all over the court for Reign in their win over WCBA. He’s really improved his offensive game, showing that he could hit the midrange pull up, but it’s the other things that he does that impresses. With good size and freakish athletic ability, Whitfield was all over the glass on both ends, showed his athleticism with a couple big time dunks and guarded the best player on the other team regardless of what position they played. He finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and three steals in the game.
- Chris Ford | 6’8” PF | River City Reign 17U
We listed him on our sleepers watch list, and he’s come ready to play. We said he’s still a project, but he’s starting to put the pieces together as he’s becoming more assertive and productive on both ends of the floor. He’s an all out type of kid who competes on every play and just finds a way to be an impact on the game. He altered numerous shots in the paint, was physical inside and he was huge down the stretch making free throws and some clutch baskets to help them pull away in their win. He finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Rahki Person | 6’1” WG | Squires Richmond 17U
Person, who’s going to take a post grad year after being named Conference 11 Player of the Year at Hermitage this past season, was lights out in Squires loss to Garner Road in their first game. A natural shooter that can play either guard position, Person was firing on all cylinders showing a quick release, effortless range and no fear as he took and made shots when they needed it most. I didn’t get a chance to check the final stat sheet, but he had to have hung at least 20, maybe closer to 30 points.
- DeAndre Thomas | 6’4” WG | Team Richmond Garner Road 17U
Thomas didn’t put up huge numbers in the games I watched, but he did show leadership, toughness and was clutch as he hit a game winner in a tightly contested matchup against JB Hoops out of Pennsylvania. The athletic combo guard did a little bit of everything, strapping up multiple positions, rebounding well, finding teammates and taking over when his team needed him to the most. He’s currently sitting at ten offers, but the number of coaches that were at all of the TRGR games and saw how he played means that he could have more coming shortly.