Baseline “Drive” Club Report – Part 1: Atlanta Nets 16U
Continuing on my road tripping across Atlanta’s club landscape, I landed at Douglas County’s Lithia Springs HS last week to get a look at Director Calvin Nash’s Atlanta Nets, a rising group of 2022’s who impressed during their workout and…
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Continue ReadingContinuing on my road tripping across Atlanta’s club landscape, I landed at Douglas County’s Lithia Springs HS last week to get a look at Director Calvin Nash’s Atlanta Nets, a rising group of 2022’s who impressed during their workout and possess plenty of athleticism size and skill to match up with anyone on the circuit.
Some standouts:
Cristian Willis Cristian Willis 5'11" | PG Lithia Springs | 2022 State GA (Lithia Springs, 2022, CG) – Willis immediately caught my eye for how vocal he was, and this from a player who’s just this summer transferring in from McEachern, he showed a presence and moxie on the floor that others responded to, not to overlook his skills as a combo guard, he showed an excellent handle, a lot of power-packed into a 6-0 frame and a good shooting touch out to the 3-point line, in what’s expected to be a breakout season for the Lions Willis is a huge addition to Coach Duane Kelley’s core.
Christen Williams (Lithia Springs, 2022, PG) – Speaking of power, it was hard to miss Nets Coach Jernane Williams’ son as he knifed or bulled his way through defenders, the 6-1 outstanding LSHS football player was bouncy and active at the lead guard, he’s an elite one-one defender, and like Willis he commands attention with or without the ball and was particularly good attacking the basket and mixing it up inside the free line area up to the rack.
Langston Terry (Lithia Springs, 2022, F) – Terry’s outgoing personality is hard to miss when meeting him, and that enthusiasm is seen in his play, at a stout 6-4 he can play the 2 thru 5 and mixed it up physically both on the block or putting it on the floor from the perimeter and plowing to the basket, with the many guard options for the Lions Terry could be interesting in a small forward role catching in space and hurting defenses with his versatility, he already holds an offer from Valdosta St, Berry College and Holy Cross have inquired and Kentucky has put him on their radar as well.
Zaylen Chaney (Cass, 2022, PF) – When I saw Chaney last season against a really good Hiram team I couldn’t help but notice him even though he didn’t see a ton of minutes that night with a veteran Cass team ahead of him, this coming winter the 6-7 forward will see a lot more of the ball and his battles with Terry were notable in that the two pushed each other defensively and for every ball off the glass, he’s a handful in close to the basket but can hurt you in a step-out role from 12-15 feet if not marked, I expect this season to be a massive breakout for the talented Chaney.
Khalil Porter (Pebblebrook, 2022, SG) – Porter was notable for the fact that he rarely drifted from the 3-point arc, and Nash pointed out to me that’s where he makes his hay, one couldn’t argue with the approach as he consistently buried bombs from well beyond the line, at a wiry 6-2 he can get out and run with anyone and can give the Falcons a lethal kick-out option next winter when teams crunch the middle against Pebblebrook’s big and highly-touted frontcourt.
Jaren Williams (Langston Hughes, 2022, CG) – I had to sneak Williams (no relation to Coach Jernane and Christen) into this grouping because I was so impressed with his toughness and defense, he’s pure lockdown and his foot speed all over the full and halfcourt was something we’ve come to know about LHHS products and their outstanding program, as he develops as a scorer he can be an intriguing prospect at a strongly built 5-11.