All In HoopFest: 2020 Standouts

Throughout most of the weekend, the class of 2020 wasn't totally on our radar. We'd seen most of the 16U teams just a week prior in Indianapolis. But, on Sunday and late afternoon Saturday, we had the opportunity to check on some familiar faces.

Jordan Garland, 6'5” W/F, SMAC Primetime / North Royalton

Garland got a surprisingly small amount of playing time for SMAC but impressed with his opportunities. He's a speedy 6'5” combo forward who plays with good energy on the defensive end. Besides rebounding and staying active, Garland can also put it on the floor for drive-and-kicks and can finish through traffic with his strong upper body. He was absent Sunday.

Kelen Dietrich, 6'1” G, Shining Star Red / Oak Hills

Dietrich is shooting the ball at a very high level in July. For the second weekend in a row, Dietrich found and capitalized on scoring opportunities by staying active off-ball and quickly releasing his jumper. Also a capable ball-handler and defender. Limited athletically.

Curtis Harrison IV, 6'5” W/ F, The Ville / Seven Hills

Finally got a chance to check-out Harrison, and whoa! We only caught him for a glimpse, because he's hardly seeing the floor with this new team. However, Harrison was rather unguardable around the basket for The Ville. He has excellent bounce, despite dealing with growing pains over the last year. Harrison also showed a nice shooting touch in traffic, where he had no problem getting his shot off because of the verticality and length. Excellent rebounder. Ambidextrous finisher.

If he can stay healthy, next summer is going to be big for Harrison. Seven Hills head coach Willie Hill tells us that Harrison is also their third ball-handler, which is a part of his game he wasn't able to show this weekend.

Grant Whisman, 6'7” W/F, Mid Ohio Pumas Elite / Middletown Madison

Whisman turned it on in their opening game on Sunday and he's pretty hard to stop from scoring when he's playing like that. With his shoulders squared, he can handle contact around the rim and finish and-one opportunities. The stretch forward also played with energy on the glass and pushed pace via the outlet pass immediately. We'd like to see the aggressive mentality he brings to scoring the basketball trickle down to other parts of the game.

Jake Younkin, 6'2” G, Mid Ohio Pumas Elite / Moeller

We viewed Younkin as the best spot-up shooter in Ohio this time last year. He still might be. But he's no longer a specialist.

Younkin knocked down shots whenever he had enough space. But he's also handling the ball at a high level against pressure and is adamant at entering it into their talented post-up players. Even though he threw a couple errant passes into the interior, Younkin remained poised and moves onto the next play. He also uses a high-motor and good frame to rebound the ball in traffic. He's improving as a finisher on baseline drives. Younkin really competes on the defensive end.

Branson Taylor, 6'7” C, SMAC Primetime / Elyria Catholic

Taylor is a super wide big man with tremendous feet and scoring touch. The big man from NEO surprised us with his ability to run the floor, catch, and finish with an elusive quick move. He's definitely faster than you think and is a reliable scoring option in the halfcourt with his back to the basket. There's a chance Taylor will struggle to score or get offensive boards against tall bigs at the next level, as he's not a vertical athlete.

Quentin Richardson, 6'0” PG, SMAC Primetime / Holy Name

SMAC was at their best when Richardson was the primary ball-handler and they were pushing pace. He kicks it into gear at the drop of the hat and zooms by defenders on the break. Richardson is comfortable at full-speed and made the right pass to his teammates who got out on the break with him. The capable shooter can also deliver assists on the drive-and-kick to shooters. Finally, Richardson came up with a couple sneaky help-side steals on the blind side. The pass-first point guard has a slight frame.