2021 Class: AAU Superlatives Heading Into the Live Weekend
The first NCAA certified period is starting on Friday evening and runs through Sunday afternoon. Scholarships will be earned and trophies will be handed out. Looking ahead, I thought it would be fun to hand out some superlatives leading into the weekend.
Most Likely to Get Their First D1 Offer: Scotty Draud, M.A.T.T.S. Mustangs/Beechwood. Draud is our top ranked 2021 and coming off a strong Sophomore season for Beechwood. He has a tendency to score the ball at a high clip, especially against teams who don’t have him scouted. With several in-state schools expected to watch him this weekend, Draud could pick up his first offer this weekend.
Most Likely to Score the Most Points in a game this weekend: Kale Gaither, Louisville Magic/Union County. Gaither plays with the ball in his hands most of the time and is never afraid to attack the rim or pull up from range. The Magic roster is mainly a mystery but Gaither is consistently getting promoted by the Magic Twitter account and several schools have been mentioned as coming to see Kale this weekend.
Most Likely to Dunk on Someone this Weekend: Trey James, Meanstreets (Illinois)/Martin County. A lot of this class is incapable of dunking on anyone right now but the drop step and dunk is James’ primary offensive weapon. I’m sure he’ll try to dunk on someone this weekend and more than likely will succeed, maybe even more than once.
Most Likely to Get Hot and take over a Game: Isaiah Mason, Bowling Green/Manimal Elite. Mason took over in the 16u title game in Lexington at The Journey a couple of weeks ago and has that aspect to his game where he can score in bunches and from all 3 areas. Manimal is going to need him to score it this weekend and he is more than capable.
Player With the Most to Prove: Darrius Washington, Brad Beal Elite (MO)/Fern Creek. Darrius is big and athletic by Kentucky standards but playing on the EYBL will require him to show more skill if he’s going to be a post player in the league. Over the course of the weekend, Washington will see plenty of 6’10 and taller bigs. If he plays really well and with a great motor, he could leave the weekend with D1 offers. If his motor isn’t running, he could struggle against the talent level of the EYBL.
Team With the Most to Prove: Manimal Elite. Coming out of the first set of Adidas Gold Gauntlet games, Manimal was 1-3 with a couple of close losses. They’ve re-tooled the roster a little bit and were only a couple of possessions away from going 3-1 in Indy. There is a real chance that they go 3-1 or even 4-0 this weekend to regain their momentum in the Gauntlet.