Top 250 Expo: Class of 2020 Standouts
Continuing on with our Prep Hoops Ohio Top 250 Expo coverage, we have the standout players from the class of 2020. Many of these players still have a chance to make an impact throughout their junior season and grassroots ball. However, your junior season is usually where recruitment starts to pick up, so it was nice to see so many of these kids in attendance. Here a just a few juniors that really caught my eye at the Top 250 Expo that coaches should be playing close attention to.
Khalil Davis G Princeton High School
The six foot freshman really caught my eye as one of the top guards in his class at the event. Davis is lightning quick and an impressive leaper. His overall athletic package is quite enticing. However, being
able take all his athletic traits and apply them on the court is something many young guards struggle with. Davis is able to use his speed to get to the rim whenever he desires. Davis’ on ball defense is the best way he applies his athleticism on the basketball court. He is very quick laterally, and has strong hips that are able to move freely and handle change of direction from the opposing ball handler. Even off the ball Davis seems to have a knack for playing the passing lanes and possesses great anticipation that allows him to come up with steals.
Davis enjoyed tremendous success on a Princeton team that has lost four of their top five scorers from last season. While he has huge shoes to fill, Davis made a strong impression on Sunday. Hopefully he will have a ton of success this season which would generate a significant amount of buzz surrounding him. Davis looked like he could be a high energy terror on the defensive end at the next level, which is something every coach should be looking for in a point guard.
Micah Thomas G/W Princeton High School
Standing at 6’4″ with long arms, Micah Thomas is an extremely intriguing player. He is one of those players that is good at a lot of aspects of the game, but not great at any one thing. On the offensive side of the ball, Thomas finished well at the rim throughout the event. Especially playing with a team later in the day without a big man. He also flashed the ability to handle the ball as well. Thomas has some defensive versatility being able to likely defend 3 to all 5 positions at the next level depending on the collegiate level he starts his career at.
A teammate of Khalil Davis, Thomas should be in line for a large role this season at Princeton High School. He has the potential to be molded into anything a coach wants. Whether it is a D2 guard/wing, D3 wing/forward, or even a JUCO big if he puts on weight. There’s a lot of versatility to his game on both ends of the court.
Edward Wright G Elyria Catholic High School
At 6 feet tall Edward Wright is a shoot first, scoring lead guard that plays with tremendous pace offensively. He is not overly quick, but creates a good amount of separation for his pull up jump shot, which has great range that extends out to the 3-point line. Also Wright is very shifty with the ball in his hands and changes directions very well. This allows him to get to the rim where he finishes with finesse.
Playing with the varsity team last season at Elyria Catholic, Wright was a solid contributor to the team. Hopefully Wright will build on his performance last season and assume a bigger role moving into his final two years of high school.
Brandon Burks G Toledo Central Catholic
The 6’1″ lead guard from Toledo Central Catholic may have been one of the better playmakers at the event. His passing vision and overall level of unselfishness really stood out. When Burks was able to get into the lane with his tight handle, he had no problem converting easy looks at the rim as well.
Heading into the season at Central Catholic, Burks may lose some of his on ball value to his teammate Cameron Awl’s who attended the expo as well. Nevertheless Burks will still have plenty of chances to impress and looks like the better collegiate prospect physically.