Run n’ Slam: Southern Ohio’s Standout Guards and Wings
There’s no way to properly recap or summarize the Bill Hensley Memorial Run n’ Slam event. You just have to be there, at least once in your life. The Spiece Fieldhouse hosts all of the top high school teams from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. Meanwhile, there’s several other pristine basketball venues with plenty quality college prospects.
We’ll do our best to capture the action, by spotlighting just over 65 Ohio prospects who exceeded expectation. We’ll call them “Standouts,” and segment them by state region throughout the early week.
Carl Blanton (2020), 6’2” G, All Ohio Red / Trotwood
We like the way Blanton handles his business out on the floor. He’s an efficient wing scorer who sees the gap in the defense and attacks quickly. Good first step. He has the ability to finish through traffic with athleticism and body control. He keeps his shoulders square to the rim on finishes. Blanton is also able to defend 1-3 and can definitely shoot the rock from outside. Stays active defensively.
Blanton came down awkwardly on his ankle and didn’t finish the weekend off. It’s not a long-term issue and he’ll be back next weekend.
Ethan Conley (2019), 6’3” W, Dayton Metro / Franklin Monroe
Conley caused D-II and NAIA coaches to line up in the bleachers like very few Ohio prospects this weekend. He even added a Tiffin offer.
Conley proved capable of creating space in the mid-range and knocking down shots on skilled moves, including a one foot fall-away. He can also attack with power and finishes through contact. Conley passes and rebounds well. In general, he’s just a very complete basketball player.
Ethan Heller (2019), 6’0”, Ohio Hoopsters / Sheridan
Heller, a muscular lead guard with good athleticism, has lengthened out a bit over the past year. In simpler words, his arms are longer. He scores the ball from all three levels of the court, including a nice pull-up in the mid-range. Heller is also a quality team defender because of quickness and willingness to slide over on help-side.
Prophet Johnson (2021), 6’4” W, C2K Elite / Wayne
Johnson has freakishly long arms, which make us wonder if he could maybe grow to 6’6” or so. At the moment, Johnson uses the length to his advantage on defense by staying active and getting deflections. The lefty is a decent shooter and ball-handler. He made an impact on the boards also.
Trey Robinson (2020), 6’5” W, Apex / Hamilton
We only really caught a snippet of Robinson, but he flashes major potential as a fluid 6’5” ball-handler on the wing. He dealt with ball pressure and was able to get into the lane. Robinson is a pretty good finisher, where he takes advantage of his size.
Chris Herbort (2020), 6’2” G, Apex / Beavercreek
Herbort’s upper body has noticeably packed on some muscle since last summer. He uses his strong build to carve space on the drive. Once inside, Herbort finishes with skill and uses the pump fake to his advantage and gets to the charity stripe. Confident secondary ball-handler and tough on-ball defender.
Kellan Bochenek (2019), 6’4” W, Apex / Fairmont
Bochenek was hot from deep when we caught Apex this weekend. The long, muscular wing was hitting consistently when his feet were set. He can also straight-line drive. Bochenek also has promising defensive versatility because of his length, power, and speed. Needs to work on his handle a little bit.
Darren Rubin (2020), 5’11” PG, All Ohio Cleveland / Oakwood
Rubin was one of AO-Cleveland’s top shot makers all day on Sunday long because of his extremely consistent 3-point shooting ability. He can hit it with range, stays active off-ball to find openings in the defense, and can pull-up with it. Rubin also makes good decisions with the ball and is unselfish as a facilitator. He can play the point or run around as an off-ball guard.