Phenom National Showcase Standouts (Part 3)
We were in attendance for the fourth annual Phenom National Showcase featuring some of the top private schools from across the country and Canada last weekend. There were numerous high major prospects and coaches in attendance, and seeing some of the top matchups will be some of the most fun we’ll see all year, and most high schools haven’t even started playing yet. Here’s part three of our standouts, featuring six of the top performers from the weekend.
- Will Dillard | 6’2” CG | Greensboro Day (NC) 2018
Dillard, who committed to Georgia Southern last night, would have made his new team very proud if they were there last weekend. In their convincing win over York Prep on Saturday, he showed a little bit of everything in his repertoire, especially his ability to guard the basketball and make contested shots. He plays both on and off the ball, and he’s able to create space off the bounce and make tough midrange jump shots in isolation situations. Defensively, he pressures the basketball the length for the floor and uses his strength to dictate where ball handlers can and can’t go. He’s a steal at that level, and if he plays that way he could be a future All Conference player.
- Kobe Brown | 6’6” WF | Lee-Huntsville (AL) 2019
The versatile forward from Alabama who holds high major offers from schools in the ACC, SEC, Big 10 and more, showed how good he can be with his ability to play multiple positions and score it in a number of ways. He’s a big and strong kid with a solid upper body frame that he needs to tone up but he uses to finish in traffic consistently. He’s athletic for his size, can score from all three levels and he’s able to play both on the perimeter and in the post. His versatility and scoring prowess makes him a big mismatch for any team, especially at the high school level.
- Mike Wynn | 6’6” WG | Liberty Heights (NC) 2018
It was another solid weekend for Wynn, who led Liberty Heights to a convincing win over Northwood Temple on Saturday. The ECU commit showed his ability to be a jack-of-all trades as he played and guarded the 1-4 throughout the day. He can bring the ball up the floor, create for himself and for others, rebounds on both ends of the floor and is a vocal leader that brings energy to his team. Another guy that’s a steal at that level, expect Wynn to have a big season and play meaningful minutes next season.
- Josh Nickelberry | 6’4” WG | Northwood Temple (NC) 2019
Nickelberry’s team wasn’t able to pull out a win, but against their tough schedule they have faced already he has shown that he can score it against the best of the best. He’s a knock down shooter with a nice and confident stroke, and while he’s streaky once he gets it going he can really knock it down. That’s the basis of his scoring, and after that he’s able to attack the paint on closeouts and get to the rim or to the free throw line. He has to score it at a high clip while his two big men, Ian Steere and Immanuel Bates (both NC State commits), are out with injury, but once they’re back he should have the help he needs.
- Zach Newkirk | 6’2” PG | Word Of God (NC) 2018
Newkirk thoroughly impressed me in Word of God’s close loss to Orangeville Prep in the opening game, and he only scored five points in the game. How’d he impress then? He was a true floor general, and he finished with 14 assists and NO turnovers. That’s right, 14 of his passes led to baskets for his team and none of them ended up in the hands of defenders. He set the tempo by getting in the paint and putting pressure on the defense, and he showed a great feel for the game knowing where his scorers were and exhibiting terrific vision and passing ability. There aren’t many teams in need of a point guard still, but one who can create the way he did and take care of the basketball are hard to come by now a day.
- Max Farthing | 6’4” WG | Word of God (NC) 2019
While Newkirk was whipping it around, a lot of his assists came to Farthing who was lighting it up from deep for the second straight weekend. In their loss to OP, he finished with 25 points, hitting seven triples and showing he’s one of the elite shooters in the Hoop State. At 6’4” he has good height as a shooter, and he’s filled out a little bit so he’s not being pushed around as much. He can and will let it fly from anywhere, and having a knock down shooter is something every team needs.