Manual Extravaganza – Underclass Prospects
This Saturday, December 22nd, Emmerich Manual High School hosted their annual boys’ extravaganza, featuring nine games and 18 different teams from Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee. In this follow-up article, I’ll take a look at seven underclassmen who intrigued me throughout…
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Continue ReadingThis Saturday, December 22nd, Emmerich Manual High School hosted their annual boys’ extravaganza, featuring nine games and 18 different teams from Indiana, Illinois, and Tennessee. In this follow-up article, I’ll take a look at seven underclassmen who intrigued me throughout the day. The initial article, posted earlier today, featured 15 prospects from the Class of 2019 who I thought stood out as well.
Michael Redding, 2020, 5-10 G, FW Wayne H.S.
Michael has gone from a deep bench guy last season as a Sophomore to a starter and one of the Generals’ key players this season as a Junior. He looks stronger, he’s playing much more physical, and he’s one of their most poised kids. He is a very good perimeter shooter who elevates well on his jump-shots. He is a capable straight-line driver, and he’s an aware and willing passer. Right now, he’s more of a combo guard, but if he can develop into more of a traditional point guard, I think he’ll draw a great deal of college interest this coming Spring and Summer.
Charlie Peterson, 2020, 6-8 F, North Central H.S.
Charlie is an incredibly intriguing front-liner who has continued to develop and grow year after year. He is extremely long, bouncy, and fairly fluid athletically. He has a soft touch and can knock down 18-foot jumpers, plus he can productively put the ball on the floor two to three dribbles and get to the rim. He will need to beef up and add muscle-weight once he finishes growing vertically, but he is all upside at this point in his career. I see him as a prospect whose recruiting will grow rapidly this coming Spring, once he shows college coaches that he’s a capable power forward who can play inside-out.
Kyle Ross, 2021, 6-6 F, Andrean H.S.
Saturday was the most impressed I’ve been after watching Kyle play. He has grown an inch or two, he’s actually leaner and seems more explosive, plus he shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter throughout this game. A year ago, I would have called him a pure power forward, but now he’s looking like a much more active mid-post forward who can also score around the perimeter or take smaller defenders down to the post. Defensively, he’ll still need to show the ability to guard the ball a little better away from the basket, but he’s a solid rebounder and rim protector.
Zane Burke, 2021, 6-2 G, FW Blackhawk Christian H.S.
Zane began his high school career at Churubusco, but he transferred to Blackhawk Christian this Fall. He has a long, wiry strong frame, good skill, and a solid understanding of the game. He’s been known mostly as a perimeter shooter growing up, but he’s showing a more aggressive mentality attacking the basket, and he’s a solid athlete in all directions. I think he could even take on more ball handling responsibilities if that was asked of him. He should see a lot of 1-on-1s or wide-open shots playing alongside Frank Davidson (2019) and Caleb Furst (2021).
Malik Stanley, 2021, 5-10 PG, Warren Central H.S.
Malik is in the starting lineup for Warren Central this year, he looks stronger, and he’s playing more confidently. He’s a quick / fast athlete who is primarily more of a setup man right now. He does a nice job breaking down defenses and finding the open teammate, but he can also finish through contact. Defensively, he’s active and aggressive on the ball, and I think by the time he graduates he’ll be a lock-down defender. As soon as he finds consistency from the perimeter, he’ll be just one more threat the Warriors can turn to offensively.
Tayshawn Comer, 2022, 5-11 G, Cathedral H.S.
Tayshawn is an impressive young guard and someone who will draw a lot of college interest moving forward. He’s strong for his age, explosive off the bounce, and he can finish around the rim. He’s definitely not afraid of taking the big shot, but he’s also a willing and capable distributor. As he ages, he’ll need to make his perimeter jumper a bit more consistent, and he could very easily go from being a good on-ball defender to being a great one. I don’t know that he’ll grow much more, but he does have a strong frame to build upon.
Leland Walker, 2022, 5-11 G, North Central H.S.
Leland is another nice, young guard in Indianapolis. He is wiry, athletic, and explosive to the basket. He is programmed as more of a scorer right now, so if he doesn’t grow much, it would benefit him to continue developing his point guard skill and awareness. I do think he could get to maybe 6-2 or 6-3 at some point, and I like his physical talent, plus he can create his own shot off the bounce. As his perimeter stroke becomes more consistent, I think he could eventually become a 20 point per game scorer in the next year or two.
Header photo of Blackhawk Christian vs. Emmerich Manual. Photo of Michael Redding courtesy of his own Twitter account. Photo of Malik Stanley courtesy of athletics.warren.k12.in.us.