PHOK State Tournament: Brandon’s Stock Risers
The Prep Hoops State Tournament was one of the best events we have had in the great of Oklahoma so far. The event was filled with incredible moments and players who took their games to another level. Here are the…
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Continue ReadingThe Prep Hoops State Tournament was one of the best events we have had in the great of Oklahoma so far. The event was filled with incredible moments and players who took their games to another level.
Here are the players who increased their stock throughout the weekend:
MJ Warrior 2020 BTR
Warrior was one of the most competitive players of the entire event. Every time BTR needed that big play Warrior would step up and get the job done.
Warrior isn’t the quickest guard or the most physically imposing but he is just one of those guys who produces night in and night out. The kid just understands how to perform in big moments.
In an intense game agains’t Team Griffin 16U Elite, Warrior showed out against the best competition you were going to find in the tournament.
BTR were underdogs but you couldn’t tell them that due to their swagger and confidence in their abilities.
Alot of that confidence came from the fact they knew they had a guy like Warrior who didn’t care who was in front of him he just kept his gear in attack mode.
Warrior was already an interesting guard prospect before the PHOK State tournament but now he is looked at by most as a legitimate target for some some college out there to add to their program.
Mason Drake 2020 Oklahoma Eagles
Drake was one of the biggest mismatches in the 17U division. At 6’4, he has a solid build and a good handle which made him unguardable for smaller wings and bigs struggled with his perimeter game.
I saw D1 prospects getting mixed up while guarding Drake this past weekend. The Oklahoma Eagles are a team filled with underrated prospects but Drake showed that he can play with anybody due to his array of skills on the offensive end of the floor.
The lefty plays at a slower pace than most stretch 4’s which threw alot of his defenders for a loop.
From the sideline you may not understand how he is creating the types of shots that he is but his patience with the ball in his hands is impressive for a kid going into his senior year.
There was a lot of chatter about Drake from D2 coaches around the area due to his performance this weekend.
Traejon Davis 2020 Team Buddy Buckets 17U
There isn’t another player who showed the level of elite scoring ability at all levels on the floor this weekend like Davis did. There was no place on the floor where Davis was not a threat to score.
His size was a problem for defenders to deal with and it didn’t matter who was assigned to guard him. The pure efficiency in the way he scored may have been the most impressive skill.
It was as if whenever he touched the ball he was scoring or getting fouled. It was rare that he shot the ball and you felt as if it wasn’t in his ability to hit that shot.
Davis is a D1 prospect and he should be treated with that type of respect due to the summer he has had and the way he performed this weekend at the state tournament.
Jaxson Robinson 2021 Team Griffin 16U
The main ball handlers on his stacked Team Griffin squad get most of the attention and for the most part that is correct but Robinson is slowly becoming one of the top prospects on the team with the great success he has had as the “3 and D” role he has filled for his team.
He has played this role at an elite level which is what D1’s are looking for these days. Guys who can hit shots while also defending their position well enough and that is what Robinson showed at the PHOK.
It was unfair the amount of open looks he got and converted on. It seemed automatic whenever he was given the ball on the wing or corners for an open three.
You could feel the energy whenever his teammates would pass it to him for an open look.
As soon as he began his shooting motion, the Team Griffin bench was already standing trying to decide how they were going to celebrate his jumper going down.
CJ Campbell 2020 Oklahoma Eagles
Only seeing Campbell play school ball, I was not expecting to see a high IQ point guard with a nice mid-range jumper. It was the most aggressive I had ever seen Campbell play and it was fun to watch.
He used his speed to get to his spots and pull up on a dime and knock down his pull ups. The tournament was filled with excellent point guards so Campbell was also tasked with stopping the other teams best guard.
He always seemed up for the challenge and he showed off his quick feet and full court pressure on defense.
Campbell looked to have embraced a new found freedom on the Eagles that I believe will carry over into this senior year. His stock rose tremendously based off of his performances this past weekend.
Emadre Hightower 2020 BTR
Hightower was one of my favorite players to watch all weekend. An old-school guard who is defensive-minded and who loves to get up in his opponent with full court pressure.
The 5’8 guard was putting on a clinic on defensive footwork when guarding while applying full court pressure.
Hightower plays with a chip on his shoulder which showed in their matchup against Team Griffin 16U where he was asked to guard guard phenom Trey Alexander and Hightower didn’t think twice about it.
Alexander got his points but Hightower made him work for every last one of them.
What was most impressive about Hightower was his improved offensive game. Team Griffin sagged off of him in the halfcourt but he didn’t settle and used his quickness to get in the lane and finish at the rim or create a shot for his shooters.
Hightower had a very impressive tournament weekend and if there was an all-defensive team he would for sure be given that honor due to his play on the defensive end of the floor.
KD Jolly 2020 Team Buddy Buckets 17U
Jolly is another small guard who stood out and showed his great feel for the game. One of the better young guards in pick and roll situations that I saw.
He understands angles and when to change his pace to keep the defenders guessing.
He did a great job of coming off of the ballscreen and then slowing down to make the defense wondering and then he would speed up and find the open teammate. You can’t always teach that type of feel for the point guard position.
Jolly also shot the ball well which made him even more dangerous with getting a ballscreen. He showed the ability to apply full court pressure and caused some fastrbreak points for his team due to creating turnovers.
On a team filled with scorers, Jolly did good job of balancing of putting his teammates in position to score while also staying aggressive and attacking for himself.