Hoop Group DC 16/15U Standouts
Unfortunately the new NCAA rules only allowed for one live evaluation period this July, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good tournaments with good talent to go to. Hoop Group, one of the top organizations for exposure camps and AAU…
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Continue ReadingUnfortunately the new NCAA rules only allowed for one live evaluation period this July, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good tournaments with good talent to go to. Hoop Group, one of the top organizations for exposure camps and AAU tournaments, came back down to the DMV area, this time running their first ever DC JamFest at the brand new and unbelievably beautiful facility The St. James in Springfield, VA. (Side note: It’s almost possible to overstate how gorgeous this facility was, best one I’ve seen in my five years of doing this.)
While we all agreed that it could have possibly been the biggest tournament in the country if it was a live period event, it still brought loads of talented teams from from New England and the Mid-Atlantic Area, and there was a ton of talent on display. Here’s a look at some of the standouts from the 15U and 16U divisions in the DMV area.
Judah Mintz | 6’2” PG | Team Takeover 15U
Gonzaga has had a lot of very talented guards come through their doors over the past decade, and while it’s still early Mintz looks like he could grow into the next one. He has a good frame for his age and is a smooth and natural athlete, he can handle and get you into your sets and he’s able to create for others and score for himself. He shot the basketball well, defended and was made good decisions for the most part.
Jared Turner | 6’3” WG | Team Takeover 15U
The son of Gonzaga coach Steve Turner, Jared easily projects as a division one player and it’s not just because of his bloodline, although that surely has something to do with his talent. He possesses good size for his age and shoots the basketball well off the catch with good range and confidence. Playing against good competition every day in practice and the WCAC he’ll have to bring it but he’s going to get better as well.
David Soloman | 6’6” PF | Team Durant 15U
The Lake Braddock big man projects to be one of the best in the 2022 class moving forward with his blend of size, athleticism and nose for the basketball already. He’s a monster in transition and controlled the glass on both ends of the floor, and he was all over the rim with put-backs and dunks and brought a ton of energy to his team. He moves well and defends, plays hard and will be very good moving forward.
Domonic Strothers | 6’7” PF | DC Premier 15U
Strothers is a 2021 local product of Woodstock where the Massanutten Post Grad team is one of the best in the country, and he’ll be transferring from local Central-Woodstock to the military academy where he’ll play for the high school team and work out with some big time college prospects and likely do a post grad year too. That’s huge, because he has a very good skill set for his size as he can shoot it from deep and put it on the deck, but he needs to get stronger and be challenged more. He’s an impressive prospect to keep an eye on and could pan out to be very good.
John Loughlin | 5’11” WG | DC Premier 15U
Louglin was one of the best shooters I saw in attendance, regardless of class or age, as I think I can count on one hand the number of shots he missed and I watched about three of their games. He’s got good strength and a nice frame for his size, he moves well without the basketball and he shows great confidence and range in his jump shot. He’ll be a guy that will light up the DMV for years to come.
Alphonzo Billups | 6’5” W | VA Havoc 15U
Billups is a guy that will be on my radar to keep an eye on and should be on college coaches radars shortly with his length and solid skill set on the wing already. While he needs to fill out and hone his skill set, that all should come as he continues to grow into his body, and he’s shown that he’s a legit wing and perimeter player at about 6’4”-6’5” already. He can put it on the deck in transition and in the half court, he uses his length to finish at the basket and rebound and showed a solid jumper as well.
Jamonte Smith | 5’10” G | Team Loaded CVA 16U
Smith may not be the biggest name or biggest guy on this list, but every time I watch him he’s super productive as a shot maker and bunch scorer. He has the ability to turn it on when he needs to and can create and makes shots when his team needs it from all three levels. He makes good decisions throughout the game and can make others better as well, but when he needs to take over it quickly becomes a tough day for the defender.