Top 250 Expo: All-Expo First Team
Last Saturday, Prep Hoops invaded Park School for their annual Top 250 Expo. In the best turnout yet, over 100 prospects gathered to showcase their skills in front of over a dozen college coaches and evaluators. This event is always…
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Continue ReadingLast Saturday, Prep Hoops invaded Park School for their annual Top 250 Expo. In the best turnout yet, over 100 prospects gathered to showcase their skills in front of over a dozen college coaches and evaluators. This event is always a perfect opportunity to find players who have flown under the radar and for the ones that are already talked about, a chance to prove themselves against great competition.
For this article, we’ll take a look at the five members who make up the All-Expo First Team. There were plenty of impressive players, but these five rose above the rest with consistent productivity throughout the afternoon.
Tyrae Washington | 6’7 | ’20 Takoma Academy
For the past month and a half, I’ve seen Washington really blossom into a dominant force on both ends. At 6-foot-7 with great length, size and athleticism, Washington scored from all three levels and had a share of dunks in transition. Where he was most effective was when he had the ball around the rim. He used brute strength to bury his defender under the rim before laying the ball in the hoop. Defensively, he was a shot blocking presence and took it upon himself to guard smaller players effectively on the perimeter when getting caught on the switch of ball screens.
Nate Lacey | 6’4 | ’20 Sherwood
Lacey was one of the players who took advantage of the event to get his name on a few Division II program’s radar. With the way he competed throughout, it wouldn’t surprise me if he sees an offer thrown his way in the near future.The 6-foot-4 guard was crushing the rim with dunks both in transition and in the half court. One specific possession that comes to mind was in the last game when he caught the ball in the left corner. Lacey exploded by his defender on the baseline and rose up for a two-handed flush that left the rim shaking for some time. He doesn’t just want to dunk, he want’s to send a statement. Not many players were exuding that type of effort in the last game. Lacey, on the other hand, was all over the floor.
Jared Billups | 6’6 | ’21 McDonogh
Billups was the engine for his team on Saturday. Much of the play making, scoring and rebounding went through him. He’s beginning to assert his dominance on both ends. As a sophomore, he had spurts where you saw the potential, but it now seems to all be coming together for the McDonogh standout. He wants to dominate in every statistical category. I’m still surprised he didn’t break any of the rims on Saturday with the authority in which he was finishing with. Defensively, he used his length to record multiple blocks on jump shots around the perimeter. There was at least a handful of times where Billups grabbed the defensive board and took it coast to coast for a score. The one that jumps out to me was when he led the break, stopped at the free-throw line and hit his defender with a behind the back into a pull up. If he can consistently make these sort of plays, he’ll be lethal.
Terrence Butler Jr. | 6’7 | ’21 Bishop McNamara
Butler had a second-straight dominant showing in this event. The 6-foot-7 forward showed significant improvement on his perimeter offensive skill set. If Butler didn’t have a good look from mid-range, he’d bring the ball out to the three-point line where he would either break his man down off the dribble or rise up for a jumper. As usual, he was a consistent force on the glass and was especially good in communication as the back line of the defense.
Ryan Prather Jr. | 6’4 | ’21 Clarksburg
Prather was one of the biggest stock risers from this event. The 6-foot-4 guard used his strength to routinely attack the rim and finish through contact. Prather used his quick first step to attack seams in the rotating defense and had one thing in mind: score. When he didn’t have the ball, he was crashing the offensive glass trying to earn second chance opportunities for his team. Defensively, he held his own when guarding in one-on-one situations and anticipated in the passing lanes effectively.