#HustleSZNKickoff: Saturday Evening
The #HustkeSZN Kickoff finished pool play and moved into bracket contests last night. Evan Nelson of Tucson, Arizona and Powerhouse Hoops was the steadiest producer of the evening. Stock Raiser of the Weekend? Evan Nelson! Six-foot-2 guard Evan Nelson of…
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Continue ReadingThe #HustkeSZN Kickoff finished pool play and moved into bracket contests last night. Evan Nelson of Tucson, Arizona and Powerhouse Hoops was the steadiest producer of the evening.
Stock Raiser of the Weekend? Evan Nelson!
Six-foot-2 guard Evan Nelson of Tucson, Arizona is a double digit D1 offer talent with highlighting options from New Mexico, Grand Canyon, Duquesne, and Rice among others. We have a strong feeling that when college coaches are able to get out and see Nelson this spring and summer those options will grow in a big way.
At the time of this writing Nelson was scoring three threes in the first half of the Sunday morning quarterfinal pushing his team to a near 20 point lead at the break. This news was of little surprise as Nelson is the type of guard that took what the defense gave him all weekend and turned that space into production. At about a 60 percent completion rate.
Nelson is the type of player that forces the defender to pick some poison. They started out defending Nelson in normal position but Evan used the quick first step to get to the hole, and the result was baskets. Defenders then gave themselves a step trying to make up for the difference and Nelson used his perimeter shooting touch over the top to score. Add in the pull-up when he help over-stepped and of course finishes through contesting arms. Finally, every mistake made in terms of a long miss or turnover seemed to put the ball in Nelson’s hands for a quick transition push score.
This winter Evan led Salpointe Catholic to a 27-3 season scoring 19.3 points per game shooting 45 percent at the arc and 80 percent at the foul line. Seriously, what’s not to like?
Reese DixonTalented Truth
The game everybody at Mamba Academy was looking forward to was the Sunday morning battle between Powerhouse Hoops (AZ) 16s and The Truth EYBL 16s. As this article was written at the airport, Powerhouse had just defeated The Truth by a score. The loss will make for a rough ride home for The Truth but several of their players had great weekends. The type of performances that should lead to calls from college coaches.
Six-foot-4, 175 pound 2021 shooting guard Reese Dixon was the most consistent player when I watched the Truth compete. Dixon was good on the ball and scoring off of it. He made corner threes but also attacked when he saw the defender shift and hit his floater. There is the attack full speed gear, and the patient approach where Dixon attacks when the defense moves. Great feel, listed offers from USC and Stanford.
Two other players we thought impressed consistently was 6-foot-6 power forward Joshua Uphold (Garces Memorial HS) and Shaqir O’Neil (Crossroads HS). For O’Neil it was the jumper on the wing and the long stride attack finishes that impressed. For Uphold – who is like a young Brock Lesnar in basketball shoes – it was the effort, power, and strong two handed boards before others could react that impressed. JJ Uphold also had a two foot leap, two hand dunk mid-lane that was a ten of ten on the power meter.
The Truth is, a Blitz Hit
The Truth 17s and Gamepoint OC were in a close game for most of Saturday night and then just like that, it wasn’t. The transition game can change a scoreboard in moments and that is what happened. The explosive attack using a spread floor led to Jaren Johnson, Joshua Jones Jr, and Kalei Bishop leading a race to the backboard for finished attacks.
Jaren Johnson is coming off a 23.5 point per game junior season and didn’t let up this weekend. Jared is consistently listed as a top 200 level player nationally at 6-foot-4. We saw The Truth 17s play twice and neither team had a forward that could move their feet with Jaren. Johnson is an aggressive, attacking athlete that has the potential to be on a high major roster in 15 months. Good strength and OC had nobody that could defend him consistently.
Joshua Jones Jr is a name to watch in the future. The potential is there at 6-foot-7 as a small forward. With some seasoning in the near future he should be able to put all of his potential into something positive. Showed off a crossover as well as a quick rip-through into an attack to the bucket.
Need a Center?
A player that certainly has my curiosity of 2019 6-foot-10 Johnny King of Sage Hill (CA). This is a player that in January had a 28 point, 26 rebounds, six blocked shot performance in a championship game. He is every bit of 6-foot-10 and the thing that really stood out to us Saturday night was his hands. He had a soft touch with the spin, the reverse looked good, and the full court sprint into a catch and finish on the move really grabbed our attention. If you need a center King is available.
End Notes
- Good to see Hunter Ruck back healthy. He missed much of the season with injury after being a seven rebound per game underclassmen at Rancho Salano. Ruck surely took the best non-called charge of any player at the Mamba Sports Academy this weekend. Maybe the best uncalled charge I’ve ever seen.
- Keep an eye on Logan Phillips of Valley Christian HS and Powerhouse Hoops in Arizona. He had a pair of treys and a nasty throw down in the open court that blew people away. Phillips is a long, 6-foot-7 wing that is thin but more explosive than opponents expected. Nelson was a 40 percent three-point shooter over the winter, 53 percent overall.
- Johnathan Schooley of Inderkum High School and Upper Level 16s was one of the most explosive players we saw at the 16s level Saturday night.
- One thing I love is a feisty competitor that backs down from nobody. That would be Noah Shannon Sharifi of Gamepoint OC and Northwood High School (CA). He had a guy yapping in his ear for much of the game but Noah didn’t hesitate to knock out triples to counter everything that went at him.