Grassroots Preview: The Ville 17u
With the end of the high school season, we began our AAU previews in the middle of March. Rosters and teams are starting to take shape and we are getting more and more information from programs everyday. The Ville has risen from the ashes after a sabbatical from summer 2014 to now. The first year back, they are on the Adidas Silver Gauntlet as well as playing the Gatorade circuit in their non-certified weekends.
Roster:
David Johnson, Trinity
David Johnson. Photo Courtesy USA BasketballCameron Wilson, Valley
Darius Osborne, PRP
Ethan Coury, Eastern
Jamil Hardaway, Trinity
Sean East, New Albany (2018)
Alex Holley, Ballard
Leon Moshefy, Wesley Christian
Miki Tadic, Wesley Christian
Jacob Robinson, Eastern
Walter Johnson, Trinity
Guy You Have To Watch: David Johnson. This is an easy one. Johnson is an elite high major talent who has been invited to Team USA Minicamp and is ranked among the top 50-80 players in the country in every major ranking service. Johnson is a big time talent whose best basketball is ahead of him.
Best Bet To End Up Breaking Out: Sean East. While it remains to be seen if East plays with the Ville (he has lots of college interest and visits scheduled) East could emerge from the Spring certified periods as a low D1 or mid major prospect and late signee. East had a huge senior year playing alongside Romeo Langford in New Albany and has a lot of momentum. It’s easy to see a coach falling in love with him game in April and signing him before the spring ends.
Who Should Be Watching: High majors (for Johnson) Low D1 and below for the rest. After Johnson, the roster is less talented and more likely to find themselves at the D2/NAIA level a year from now. Osborne, Hardaway and Holley all have good size for their positions and the Wesley Christian kids are wildcards. Cameron Wilson could end up a low D1 player as well. Johnson will draw a lot of eyes to The Ville’s games and the rest could certainly benefit from the added exposure.