Breaking down some of the guard play at NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic
There was plenty of talent on display at the NEO Youth Elite Christmas Tournament in Garfield Heights. The three-day boys’ tournament ran from Dec. 27-29 featured 18 games in total and some of the top teams and players in the NEO.
The pool of guards was was particularly deep amongst the teams I watched which included Garfield Heights, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Richmond Heights, and Mentor. Note: I did not see the first day of the tournament so I left DJ Dial of Brush and Garvin Clarke of Euclid off the list as well as others.
Meechie Jr (2021), and Sonny Johnson Jr (2022),Garfield
The cousins start for coach Sonny Johnson and are a bright spot in what’s been a rough year to date for the Bulldogs who have lost more than they’ve won.
Meechie scored 20 points to lead all scorers in the Bulldogs 35 point-loss to St. V. He displayed an ability to get hot from long range and can get to the rack on the dribble. He is also a strong ball handler and can be an effective on-ball defender. Getting bigger and stronger. He’s the No.-1 ranked player in Ohio in the Class of 2021 according to prephoops.com
Sonny Jr., just 5-9, plays with a chip on his shoulder and plays with little fear; He finished with 17 points but many of those came after the game was decided as St. V blew out Garfield early and never was threatened.
Showed his impressive quickness when he left every player flat-footed on a long rebound and was able to track down the ball. The smallest player on the court, he finished through contact and showed off a nice stroke.
Seth Wilson (2021), St. V
He scored 17 in the win over the Bulldog and had seven rebounds and six assists. Displayed an ability to take his opponent down low on the dribble and score; great passer. Mid-Major and possible Big Ten-level player. At 6-3 he’s a big physical defender, too. All the college coaches I talked to said they love this guy.
Luke Frazier (2020), Lake Catholic
6-2 ½ guard scored 26 points as Lake Catholic knocked off St. Ignatius. Can create off the dribble and get to the basket and uses his body control to finish at the hoop. Very quick on the dribble but favors left hand. He played very well against Ignatius. Is also a good shooter. A slew of mid-major D-I schools are in on him.
E.J. Farmer (2021) Lutheran East
I loved this kid when I saw him in the summer before his freshman year. Scored 19 points and had two dunks as Lutheran East bested Shaker Heights. Needs to get more aggressive and attack basket more.
Gbolahan Adio, (2020), Richmond Heights
A long guard at 6-3 who showed good aggressiveness going to the hoop and knocking down jump shots. Had two dunks in transition. Disruptive on defense.
Luke Chicone (2021), Mentor
The 5-8 put on a show in the final game of the tournament as Mentor outlast Benedictine.
Chicone knocked down clutch free throws to his team seal the win. Showed ability to score through contact, run an offense and bring energy to his teammates. Several times he broke down defense on the dribble in the half-court and found teammates cutting to basket for hoops.
CJ Charleston (2019), Gilmour
An electrifying player at 5-10. Scored 26 points and can get to the rack off the dribble and hit pull-ups. Freakish athlete who can dunk in transition with no problem. Will play college football at Youngstown State…definitely a hoop prospect at some level.
Honorable mention: Connor O’Toole (2020) Gilmour, Danny Young Jr. (2022) Shaker Heights, Shammah Scott (2020) Shaker.