Vantage Hoops Top 250 Expo: 2018 Breakouts
The 2018 Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo at Randolph Macon College last Saturday was a huge success, bringing over 120 high school players from the Virginia area and beyond to compete in front of scouts and college coaches. The atmosphere was great with skill development drills and intensely competitive games as kids pushed each other during the final exposure event before the high school season began.
Throughout the next week or so, we will be breaking down some of the best performers of the event in a number of ways. We will be doing class breakdowns of top performers and top breakout performers, along with specialized lists that include top shooters, top defenders and others across the board.
We continue with a look at some of the seniors who made a name for themselves at the event with our 2018 breakout performers.
Austin Beaghan | 6’4” WG | East Rockingham
If we’re going to mention breakout performers, Beaghan has to be the first mentioned because no one had ever heard of the kid and both his coach and college coaches walked away thoroughly impressed. The 6’4” two guard has only been playing basketball competitively for three years now, but his all out style of play and confidence would fool anyone. He has great size on the wing, was really good out of the triple threat and was one of the hardest workers both in drill settings and in live game play. He showed aggression on both ends, he scored it from all over the floor, was unselfish and brought energy to his team throughout the event. The fact that he’s only been playing for a limited amount of time and he has a tremendous work ethic bolds really well for him moving forward.
Sidney Kennedy IV | 5’8” PG | Princess Anne
Small guards have to be able to shoot it, and Kennedy was lights out when he was left open from deep. The Virginia Beach guard played both on and off the ball, and he showed great understanding of the game in both scenarios. He was great in transition either finding teammates when pushing with the ball or getting to his spots when running the wing to knock down open threes in transition. He had good footwork and great form in catch and shoot situations, and he showed he’s a consistent threat that will kill you from the outside.
Zavien Pressley | 6’2” G | Brooke Point
A combo guard with quick feet and a knack for making plays, Pressley stood out to both scouts and coaches with his intensity on both ends of the floor. He’s a terrific on ball defender that sat down and forced ball handlers to turn and pick up their dribble throughout the event. In transition he has great end-to-end speed, he saw the floor well and he continually took what the defense gave him without forcing anything. He has good body control around the basket and showed the ability to make the 15 footer. While he was unknown to us before the event, he made a good impression with his ability to play uptempo and make an impact on both ends of the floor.
Luke Jones | 6’1” PG | Hayfield Secondary
Talk about a true point guard, Jones showed he was one of the best in the whole event Saturday as he made everyone around him better. He showed a tight handle when pressured and played at his own pace which was very beneficial to him and kept defenders off balance. He got into the lane at will, showed the ability to finish in the midrange with either the pull up or floater and when he broke down the defense he made great decisions to make others better. He was also one of the better on ball defenders at the event, setting the tone on both ends of the floor.
Kyle Symonds | 6’2” WG | Henrico
Symonds will step into a much bigger role at Henrico as a senior, and he showed that he’s ready to make an impact in a number of ways. He’s a very long wing with good athleticism and he uses it on both ends of the floor. He rebounds well on both ends, plays in transition and is unselfish with the ball in his hands. From a scoring standpoint, Symonds showed the ability to make contested shots from the midrange and around the basket. When he took good shots, he showed that he could be a two way impact player this season.
Antonio Stovall Jr. | 5’11” PG | Warhill
Stovall is an athletic guard that can play on and off the ball and can be a dual threat player on the offensive end. He can score it off the bounce from all three levels, showed good vision when setting up teammates and wasn’t afraid to have the ball in his hands late in close games. He creates good separation off the bounce, had a good feel for the game and played with pace both in transition and in the half court.
Chris Oglesby | 5’8” PG | Jefferson Forest
Oglesby may not be the biggest guy, but he was a terrific playmaker at the point guard spot on a talented team. With two athletic and talented wings with him, he was able to push in transition and play fast and got them the ball in great opportunities to score. He showed a tight handle, a good pull-up game and showed poise when being pressured by bigger and more athletic guards. He’s the perfect high school point guard and his savvy and high IQ makes him worth a look for sure from college coaches.
Trequan Williams | 6’3” F | William Campbell
Williams is built like a linebacker, meaning that he looks like your typical undersized, bully kind of power forward, but his game is much more than that. He’s more perimeter oriented than anything, as he’s a good on ball screener and a knock down shooter from deep, making him a great pick-and-pop option and trail four option. He’s a good rebounder, especially on the defensive end, and he has good lateral quickness for his size allowing him to switch screen-and-rolls as well.