Saturday Scrimmage Standouts: Columbus
There are a lot of players to note after watching Bradley, Centerville, Coffman, Moeller, and Newark yesterday. Let’s just jump right in: Matt Allocco (2020) | 6-4 PG | Bradley Allocco continues to become more athletic and confident as a shooter.…
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Continue ReadingThere are a lot of players to note after watching Bradley, Centerville, Coffman, Moeller, and Newark yesterday. Let’s just jump right in:
Matt Allocco (2020) | 6-4 PG | Bradley
Allocco continues to become more athletic and confident as a shooter. His jumper is losing the hitch and he nailed several spot-up triples to go with pull-ups that were even smoother. Seldom needs to change direction with his dribble because of his effectiveness changing speed. Makes tremendous reads while in traffic or coming down the floor at full-speed.
The Princeton commit’s balanced two-foot finishing package should translate to the next level. He’s able to put his body into defenders and finish contested shots in the lane. Provided versatility and rebounding in Bradley’s undersized lineup.
Bobby Crenshaw (2020) | 6-1 SG | Newark
Crenshaw is still a few years away from his best ball. But he has athleticism that cannot be taught and has improved as a ball-handler from last season. Flashed what he could become by splitting a hedge coming off a ball screen before cleanly pulling up. He finishes in traffic with bounce and is pretty creative with the ball when airborne.
Gabe Cupps (2023) | 5-11 PG | Centerville
Cupps competitiveness and defensive ability stood out. At the point of attack, the freshman point guard played with tremendous anticipation and quick hands, occasionally picking a pocket. When his matchup caught on the wing, Cupps shuts the gap and doesn’t afford any space to the ball-handler.
He’s an offensive weapon, too. Cupps shoots the ball with remarkable range from a stand-still or off the dribble. Moves well without the ball. Dropped in a Zavier Simpson hook shot driving right against tight defense. Cupps is a dynamic pick-and-roll threat, showing great awareness of where his rolling big would be.
Michael Currin (2020) | 6-2 SG | Moeller
Currin, Moeller’s starting point guard yesterday, is a fundamentally sound guard with a college-ready build. His long arms and physicality allowed him to make opponents uncomfortable with defensive pressure. He doesn’t allow much space for ball-handlers to operate. Currin also nailed open shots from distance.
Logan Duncomb (2021) | 6-9 C | Moeller
Duncomb is rapidly improving. On Saturday, it was the big man’s passing out of the post that really stood out. He’s seeing the floor better than ever when he catches with his back to the basket, often finding an open shooter opposite. Coffman frequently doubled on the catch and Duncomb instinctively knew where the help was coming from. Delivered accurate passes to the shooting pocket, too.
Crucially, he demands that double team. Duncomb posts up wherever he wants because of his size and ability to seal defenders. When he had room to operate, his overpowering crab dribbles were more effective than ever before. Duncomb was able to come across the lane or drop step for buckets and showed soft touch at the rim.
Gavin Headings (2023) | 6-5 SF | Coffman
Headings played big minutes as a starter against Moeller and looked like he belonged. More of a power forward right now, Headings steps outside to stretch the floor with his lefty stroke. His capable handle and shot-making ability suggest upside to become a shot-creator. Competed on the glass against Moeller’s prestigious frontcourt. Promising size.
Nash Hostetler (2022) | 6-2 SG | Coffman
Hostetler is a very physical guard who can shoot the rock. He made spot-up 3-pointers without much space and even added a pair of deep jumpers while in motion. He brings a real edge to their backcourt, too. Hostetler used his body to defend the post and rebounded extremely well for a 6-foot-2 guard. Didn’t do much as a ball-handler, rather making quick decisions to pass or shoot.
Tom House (2022) | 6-5 SG | Centerville
House made an immediate impact when he checked in, scoring the ball in transition and from the outside. He was ready to take and make 3-pointers despite not playing huge minutes. He doesn’t over-dribble. Solid defender with his size and energy — effectively fought through screens.
Tre Johnson (2021) | 6-7 C | Centerville
Johnson looks the part at 6-foot-7 and plays with energy on the glass. Active rebounder who high-points the ball off the rim. Moves fluidly and runs the floor gracefully. Johnson is also a solid passer who could add a shooting threat. He shot the ball confidently from distance a few times, just hardly missing the open opportunities.
Kebba Njie (2022) | 6-7 PF | Centerville
Njie’s physical tools and ball skills qualify him as a clear Division I prospect. His energetic style of play, though, set him apart. He is constantly going in transition, on the glass, and on defense.
Offensively, Njie is very comfortable catching the ball at any spot on the floor. He shoots an impressively smooth one-dribble pull-up, which he often cleanly released with a defender on his hip. Njie faces up and reads the floor well for a young forward. He can also play perimeter defense and slide his feet. Finally, Njie is a disciplined rim-protector who jumps straight up and allows his length to make the difference
Max Land (2020) | 6-4 SG | Moeller
Land, a St. Francis (PA) commit, displayed an improved jump shot. The ball came out of his hand cleanly, even on pull-ups. Shot the ball with a nice arch and a ton of spin. The lift on Land’s pull-up allows him to shoot it over the contest. Maybe his most impressive play was a rejection on back-to-back shot attempts, where his second jump wowed.
Keaton Norris (2021) | 5-10 PG | Bradley
Norris is so savvy. Everyone in the gym knows you can’t lose him around the arch or he’s going to burn you — and if you didn’t know, you got caught up to speed pretty quickly when Norris nailed 3 triples in the first quarter — yet he still finds open jumpers. With the ball, Norris is very patient and has the ball-handling skill to deal with pressure. Developing a confident floater once for when he gets past the first line of defense is the next step in his game. He also impacted the game defensively by playing with energy in passing lanes and chasing guys around screens.
Tayshaun Mayfield (2022) | 6-2 SF | Bradley
Mayfield effectively defended posts who had 6-plus inches on him in the height department. When you play as hard and physically as Mayfield does, though, good things will happen! To his credit, Mayfield’s length really helps him as a post defender, too. Causes deflections, won battles for loose balls, and never gets out-efforted.
Will McCracken (2021) | 6-4 SG | Moeller
First of all, we haven’t given McCracken enough love for how long he is. He has an impressive wingspan, another attribute allowing him to defend at an elite level. He drew the toughest matchup of the day against Coffman’s best perimeter player, a 6-foot Keaton Turner. He played with energy and made Turner work for 94 feet. Also, McCracken is maybe the most physical of Moeller’s wings. Shot it well from range.
Dayvion McDonald (2022) | 6-6 PF | Coffman
McDonald’s promising physical tools were complement by his confidence to do some things with the ball. Although his skillset is a bit raw, McDonald drilled one of his 3-point attempts and tried to crossover and get to the basket on his first touch. His stroke may not be a traditionally perfect one, but it’s certainly not broken either. Back to the physical tools, McDonald is a physical and active 6-foot-6 athlete with high hips. He impressed defending the post against large Moeller bigs, often swatting post entries away by beating them to the ball. McDonald is quick for his size. Added a transition dunk.
AJ Mirgon (2021) | 5-11 PG | Bradley
Mirgon takes the crown as the most clever off-ball player in Ohio. He often scores wide-open shots at the rim after a back-screen or flash-cut. Mirgon shows high-level awareness of when and where to dive on the court, requiring his man to stay extremely alert. The athletic guard also contested shot attempts well because of his athleticism off the floor — Mirgon is very good at transitioning from sitting low in a stance to getting a high hand up.
Aidan Noyes (2021) | 6-5 SG | Moeller
Noyes combines footwork with sheer explosiveness. He makes opponents scramble with his rocker step, meanwhile he’s at the rim in a split second finishing or getting fouled. Quick off the floor, another reason he draws so many shooting fouls. Noyes operated a lot from the corner for Moeller, where he also provided spot-up shooting. Long and wiry athlete. Sound defender.
Rich Rolf (2022) | 6-7 PF | Centerville
Rolf added another inch while maintaining his dexterity and mobility. His offensive rebounding was once again impressive. Rolf also flashed his ability to put it on the floor.
Ajay Sheldon (2022) | 5-10 PG | Coffman
Sheldon displayed the ability to play well with or without the ball. Away from the rock, he’s a truly elite spot-up shooter with range, confidence, and a quick release. Slides around the arch cleverly, making himself available for the kick-out.
Long-term, Sheldon projects as a point guard and there were glimpses of him in that role when teammate Keaton Turner checked out. He has a layered handle with tons of moves. He knows how to change pace to beat pressure. Most importantly, he makes reads quickly in the lane. Unafraid to seek his shot in the paint but made a few very impressive kick-outs to shooters.
Aidan Turner (2021) | 6-1 PG | Moeller
Turner provided energy and a change of pace off the bench for Moeller. The sideline was adamant he pushed the secondary break and sought quick scores when he checked in. We liked his decision-making and how he applied pressure with speed. He has also bulked up recently. Athletic lead guard. Shoots it pretty well. Turner appears in line to crack the 8-man rotation this season.
Keaton Turner (2020) | 6-0 PG | Coffman
Turner was the stock-riser of the day. He dominated for stretches against one of the state’s most ferocious defenses in Moeller.
Turner is a talented scorer with remarkable shooting ability and the ball on a string. Most of his 27 points came via the jumper, which he created separation for and launched from Division I collegiate range. Dynamic side-to-side crossover ability. Very shifty. Turner’s jumper is extremely pure with little wasted motion and he releases it the same way off the dribble.
Jaden Woods (2020) | 6-4 SF | Newark
Woods is dangerous catching in the mid-post with momentum. From there, he can put his body into the defender and make contested shots in the paint. The next step for him is creating those baskets out of the face-up from a little bit deeper. He flashed the ability to score from there with straight-line-drives and even a one-dribble step-back move. Woods is an active, springy athlete with versatility and upside who should be on NAIA radars.