Top 250 Expo Senior Preview
We’re creeping closer and closer towards Sunday’s Top 250 Expo at Pickerington North.
As of Thursday morning, Asbury, Ashland, Baldwin Wallace, Charleston, Denison, Hillsdale, Hiram, IU East, John Carroll, Lake Erie, Marian, Marietta, Mount St. Joseph, Ohio Dominican, Ohio Northern, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Paul Quinn, Siena Heights, Waynesburg, Wittenberg, and Wooster comprised the list of colleges set to attend.
There’s only one reason they’re coming: the prospects. As far as the 2019s are concerned, it’s time for them to make another impression on those coaches, as we presume colleges are mostly focused on the seniors.
At the end of August, we looked at the Early Entry Guards and Forwards (click the links to read about those). Now, we’re looking at the other known commodities who are bringing their talent to Pickerington North from noon to 5PM Sunday.
Ben Fort, 6’4” G/W, Reynoldsburg
Fort is the only 2019 prospect on-hand with a D-I offer under his belt, as IUPUI offered August 8. We haven’t seen him play in a quite a while as he competed with EG-10, an adidas affiliated program based in Indiana, for grassroots ball. The second component of his intrigue is seeing where Fort is at given our anticipation of his role at Reynoldsburg next year. They lost a ton of seniors in the 2018 class and they’ll need Fort to handle the lion’s share of scoring next season. So, will he flash an unusual streak of aggressiveness at the Expo or not? The wiry wing certainly has the capability to get to the basket all day.
Brice Hill, 6’5” G/W, Seven Hills
Hill is an outstanding shooter with size and a poised game. Playing with balance at all times, Hill scores creatively with the use of one-dribble. He can pull-up or hit unexpected one-foot floaters whenever the space is there. The no. 92 prospect in 2019 always plays a very controlled game. Although his frame is slight, Hill’s ability to defend multiple position is blossoming at the right time — his true position is as a skilled small forward.
Tehree Horn, 6’3” G, Southview
Horn is an interesting combo guard who seems to still be hiding in plain sight after a good season with All Ohio Gold. He plays with rhythm as a primary ball-handler, mostly pushing the pace and putting pressure on his defender as a drive-and-kick guy. He sees the floor and passing lanes are facilitated by the threat of his pull-up jumper. With the help of a college weight room, we believe Horn will be remembered as a small college steal in the years to come.
Jack Kolar, 6’2” G, CHCA
Our evaluation time of Kolar has been limited up to this point, so we hope he’s ready for the magnifying glass come Sunday. He shoots it at a high level on spot-up 3-pointers, hitting on 47 percent on 118 attempts last year. Kolar has good enough size for in-state Division III programs on hand. To make an impression, Kolar will need to convert from outside and show comfort as a ball-handler.
Anton Webb, 6’7” W/F, Dayton Christian
Webb has all the physical tools: bounce, height, length, feet, and an athletic frame. He can defend the 3, 4, or 5 while providing an athleticism or size mismatch on the other end. The combination of being one of the oldest and tallest participants at the Top 250 means that Webb should dominate the painted area as a scorer and rebounder. Consistent flashes of ball skills on the perimeter could push him to MVP status.
Sahmi Willoughby, 6’4” F, Reynoldsburg
Willoughby followed up a junior year JV season with a breakout grassroots summer for Ohio Hoopsters -LBC. So, we’ve been watching him for only four months or so. But it doesn’t take long to know what to expect: lot of effort, rebounding, and put-backs. Willoughby is the king of second efforts. He also has great length and a developing jumper that could become a real threat with another 12 months or so. Exciting participant for D-III programs.