Starting Five- July 17-19
The Prep Hoops Circuit spanned over 2,000 miles last weekend from Atlanta to Appleton to Indianapolis. Over 200 college coaches studied Ballertv to find the perfect prospects for their university. This week I thought why not debut something new? Like so many I was at home for the weekend eyeing the talent at all three events. Undeniably there was talent across each event from all levels. My “Starting Five” is solely based on one thing and one thing only who performed the best?
Terence Guinyard 2021 Team Speights Point Guard
The jump Guinyard has made in the calendar year is incredible. At the Point Guinyard thrives with the ball in his hands using excellent decision making skills to put his team in the best situation. On a talented Team Speights roster Guinyard is the go-to guy. In the big moments you want the ball in his hands. Guinyard uses his great athleticism hammer home huge dunks. What caught my eye about him originally still remains my favorite part about his game, defense. Guinyard was great at picking the pockets of his opponents turning great defense into easy offense. The D1 looks are starting to come and should come on stronger with his big improvements.
Leon Bond Leon Bond 6'5" | SF Wauwatosa East | 2022 State #62 Nation WI 2022 JH1 Elite Wing
The name Leon Bond Leon Bond 6'5" | SF Wauwatosa East | 2022 State #62 Nation WI is not a new one to Prep Hoops at all. However, the noise has not hit colleges as much just yet. Bond continued to help drive home the noise with a big weekend in Appleton. He was stellar getting to the rack with ease and showing off his nice mid-range jumper. The leap he has made on defense only adds to the player he already was making him even more of a High Major D1 talent. The big offers are not in yet but are coming. He is very coachable, impacts the game in numerous ways, gets to the bucket at will, and turns defense into offense. Last but not least I love the infectious attitude Bond has on his teammates around him. From watching him the past few years it is easy to tell he loves basketball and his teammates feed off his energy. The recruitment of Bond is far from over.
James Dent James Dent 6'3" | SG Springfield Southeast | 2021 State IL 2021 IL Hoopstars Wing
Still hunting for his first Division I offer Dent did everything he could to help himself in Indy averaging 23 points per game capturing his team the 17U Championship. The 6’5 wiry shooting guard out of Springfield Southeast has out performed any expectations anyone could had for him this summer with the Hoopstars. As you analyze what Dent can do on the floor one description fits, he’s a bucket. The pure scoring ability of Dent begins with his three-point shooting off the catch. The greatest sign of improvement we have seen in his game is being effective off the bounce and flashes as a playmaker. I believe if you are a Low Major to Mid Major D1 program looking for a scoring Wing Dent is a must look.
Sekou Gassama Sekou Gassama 6'10" | PF DeSmet | 2021 State #166 Nation MO 2021 Gateway Forward
The moment of the weekend belonged to Gassama hitting a game winning buzzer to lift his team to the Championship game. The incredible joy from Gassama and his teammates was fun to observe. Gassama is a long lanky Forward with a tough face up jumper. The feel for the game has improved with Gassma greatly over his high school career. Not only is Gassama a scorer and rebounder, but a solid defender making every opponent work hard to put the ball in the cup. The D1 school that ends up landing him will get a great young man and ball player.
Keshawn Murphy Keshawn Murphy 6'10" | SF Ramsay | 2021 State #152 Nation AL 2021 Bama Celtics Forward
After recently decommitting from Western Kentucky Murphy was a man on a mission in Atlanta. The first thing I noticed about his game was his footwork, which is always key, but especially when a 6’10 big fella can move. Just a crack in the defense leads to a Murphy thunderous slam dunk. For someone watching at home there was multiple times he got me to my feet with incredible athletic dunks. The dunks are great and fun to watch but it is the footwork, competitiveness on the boards, size, and motor that are going to have D1’s knocking down his door to recruit him. The recruitment of Murphy is about to go crazy.
6th Man: Jalen Griffith Jalen Griffith 5'9" | PG Simeon | 2023 State IL 2023 The Hardwork Foundation Point Guard
I would be in trouble if I let Griffith’s insane 40 point outburst go unnoticed. The Simeon standout caught fire in the second half with one jaw dropping move after another. When talking about Griffith’s game you have to start with his handles. The ball sits on a string making defenders look silly. No one could stop his drive especially when he caught fire from three-point land. How tall he grows will play a factor in the recruitment of Griffith but there is no doubt the young man will be playing D1 basketball once he moves on from high school.