Prep Hoops Kentucky Top 250: The Top Ten Performers
The Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo in Louisville brought over 60 kids to the court on Saturday with some of Kentucky’s top talent competing. Who stood out among the rest? Here is our Top Ten breakdown. Co-MVP #1 It was…
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Continue ReadingThe Prep Hoops Top 250 Expo in Louisville brought over 60 kids to the court on Saturday with some of Kentucky’s top talent competing. Who stood out among the rest? Here is our Top Ten breakdown.
Co-MVP #1
It was a big week for Fern Creek Junior Darrius Washington. The big man from Louisville looks like he’s finally turning the corner. Fresh off his first offer from Morehead State, Darrius showed up to the Expo on Saturday and put in work. He was the best post player prospect there and was dunking everything with 2 hands. Washington showed a good motor and ran the floor hard in transition. But Darrius didn’t just run and dunk. Multiple times he would grab a rebound or a loose ball and take off in transition, showing a skill set he’s not shown at Fern Creek or with G3 Grind in AAU. If he continues on his upward trajectory, Washington should be a mid major D1 prospect at worst and have the potential to land at the high major level.
Co-MVP #2
West Jessamine’s Deajuan Stepp has been making some big strides in his play over the last few seasons. When he was a freshman he was used almost like a post player. Now as he enters his Junior year, Dee is a 6’4 combo guard who can knock down shots and get to the rim. Stepp was a vocal leader on a team of kids he wasn’t used to playing with. Late in the day when everyone was tired, he switched over to guard Nik Sorrell who was scoring at will. It wasn’t much longer before he switched onto Male’s Noah Courtney and locked him down for a possession as well. Shortly after that, Dee caught a cramp and his day was done 10 minutes early. An impressive all around day for the Junior.
2020
Ballard forward Rashad Bishop had a really strong day at the Expo. Recently back healthy after an ankle injury, Rashad was the best rebounder at camp by a long shot and dunks everything he can. With his size and length and ability to jump out of the gym, it’s a mystery why he doesn’t have more offers. In the modern game of basketball, you can take Rashad as a Kenneth Faried type rim running 5 man and develop him into a face up 4 over the course of his college years.
A late entry to camp on Saturday morning, Male’s Noah Courtney had a very impressive day at the Expo. Coach Tim Haworth has done a phenomenal job of developing Noah into a wing player over the past 14 months or so. Courtney, at 6’6, can still play around the rim or with his back to the basket but he also played on the ball a ton and, even more impressively, made a bunch of perimeter jumpers and looked confident shooting them. Noah has already racked up multiple D2 and NAIA offers but he should be on the radar for D1 schools as well.
2021
He’s already a ranked and known prospect but DaShawn Jackson of Frederick Douglass showed yesterday that he will put someone on a poster too. Jackson had the dunk of the day when he drove the lane and took off, dunking on not one, but two defenders. The rest of the day, he shot the ball well and was able to get in the paint and finish through contact. His recruitment has been slow developing but DaShawn needs to be on the radar for colleges at every scholarship level.
There are multiple reasons Colby Napier has not been a well known name in 2021. He plays in the mountains at a Class A school (Knott Central) and is a baseball player with an offer from Morehead State on the diamond. But Colby needs to be on the radar for any school who needs a shooter in 2021. If Colby set his feet before he fired, you may as well start going the other way because the shot was going in! Napier showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and is a legitimate 6’3 with a good frame. If he decides he wants to play basketball in college, Colby can be a specialist at any scholarship level.
2022
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but James Jewell is a beast. He is starting to put some distance between himself and the rest of the state as the best Sophomore. Yes it’s very early to say that but that’s how good Jewell has looked for the last 6 months. Already 6’6 and still growing, James finishes around the rim, dunks everything he can, protects the rim on defense and plays the game the right way, with a tremendous motor. He came to the Expo knowing he was ranked #1 in the class and could have a target on his back but he doesn’t hide from competition. Already ranked in the top 120 in America by Prep Hoops, he could be moving up over the next few years.
Like Jewell, Casey Steadmon has been a ranked player since we launched our 2022 rankings back in January. Casey has been moving up with each update and isn’t far from cracking the top 10 in the class. Yesterday was also the first I’ve heard about Casey going from Fern Creek to Jeffersontown. That likely means more playing time and possibly a starting role for the 6’4 wing. He started yesterday stepping into a 3 with confidence and has shown the ability to be a playmaker with the ball in his hands, creating for himself and others. Steadmon is a growth spurt away from being a D1 prospect.
2023
Saturday was our first look at all of the 2023 players who came to Louisville for the Expo. We ended up with 10 freshmen in total and all were competitive and none looked out of place with the competition level in games. The freshman who caught my eye the most was Daviess County’s Cole Burch. About 6’2, Burch played inside and out all day. He scored the ball at every level and made the right play more often than not. It’s super early for evaluating 2023 kids but Burch stood out as one to keep an eye on from Western Kentucky.
Eastern freshman Isaiah Cook was a walk up on Saturday and played without a jersey but it didn’t take long before I was asking around to make sure I got his name. Cook is a little on the small side (he’s 14 after all) but the young man is shifty with the ball, has a good handle and made shots. He played with Juniors and Seniors and never once stood out in a negative light. The 2022 class at Eastern is a good one and it looks like 2023 may not be far behind it in terms of quality. Isaiah Cook is a name to file away for the future.