Jack’s 16U Southern Standouts (Part 2)
The Hoop Group Southern JamFest was this past weekend, and being a guy who covers Virginia high school and AAU basketball it is one of the biggest and best tournaments of the year that I cover. With shoe company team and other great programs coming from all over the east coast to compete with teams in our backyard, it is always one of the most entertaining weekends of the summer for us.
We had all five of our Prep Hoops contributors from Virginia and Maryland in attendance, so we’ll have all sorts of coverage from the event this week. With that being said, I will be breaking down some of my standouts from not just Virginia, but all teams. Here’s a look at part two of the 16U standouts I saw.
Jarius Ashlock | 6’3” WG | Team Loaded VA 16U
One of the surprises of the summer so far, Ashlock has become one of the go-to options for Loaded 16s and continues to impress with his all around scoring ability. A big and strong wing that can play on and off the ball, he’s shown shot making ability and surprising athleticism when finishing around the basket. He has a high IQ as a scorer and he can rebound the ball from the guard position as well.
Jaden House | 6’3” WG | River City Reign 16U
With one of the best performances of the night, House helped will RCR to a close win over Higher Level, and in the process showed that he’s primed to be a breakout candidate next year in the Richmond area. The Henrico wing showed that he can score the ball from all over the floor, as he hit from deep and in the midrange, finished at and above the rim and got to the free throw line regularly. He showed leadership as well as he made big plays down the stretch for them.
Jonas Sanker | 6’0” PG | Team Loaded 434 16U
Another breakout freshman to keep an eye on in the Charlottesville area, Sanker played really well in spurts playing up on 16U against a very good 6th Man Warriors team. The Covenant guard showed that he can shoot the ball from deep with two from downtown, got the rack by showing a tight handle and found contact to get to the line.
Jaden Seymour | 6’5” WF | Team Wall 16U
Seymour was one of the most gifted prospects that I saw in the first day of play, as his Team Wall team beat Ballers U handedly. In the blowout, Seymour showed the ability to make shots, finish well above the rim and defended multiple positions. He finished with an impressive 24 points in the win.
Jamie Bergens | 6’3” WG | Team BBC 16U
Bergens was impressive, as the native from the Netherlands shot the basketball extremely well throughout the tournament, especially in the biggest moments of the event. Team BBC came up just short of the championship losing at the buzzer to Boo Williams, but they wouldn’t have been there without Bergens who hit big shots in both the Final Four and in the championship. He’ll be one in the Maryland area who’s set to breakout moving forward.
Ronnie Ellis | 6’3” CG | We R 1 16U
Ellis was very impressive and should have many mid major and up schools looking at him over the next couple of years. At 6’3”, he can play on and off the ball, has a great frame and makes plays in a number of ways that helps his team. He brings great energy to the floor, is a three level scorer and he’s a good rebounder for a guard who doesn’t mind going in and helping out his big men.