Tip-Off Classic: Day Two Focus – Atlanta Timberwolves 17U
The great folks at Suwanee Sports Academy and the organizers of The Tip-Off Classic put a viable system in place to control access and keep folks safe on the first full day of play last Saturday, and everything went really…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe great folks at Suwanee Sports Academy and the organizers of The Tip-Off Classic put a viable system in place to control access and keep folks safe on the first full day of play last Saturday, and everything went really well, including the basketball.
It was a long wait since I last saw coach Scott Samach’s Atlanta Timberwolves 17U (White) back in March, and so it was high on my list for the weekend, and this jovial and exciting group from a wide array of schools didn’t disappoint in dismantling the GA Knights …
Their standouts:
~~ Last winter, North Gwinnett boasted super soph RJ Godfrey RJ Godfrey 6'7" | PF North Gwinnett | 2022 State #198 Nation GA , an array of talented upperclassmen, and rising fellow junior Jaylen Harris Jaylen Harris 6'1" | SG Kell | 2021 State GA as well, so the ball didn’t make its way into the hands of Brendan Rigsbee Brendan Rigsbee 6'2" | CG North Gwinnett | 2021 State GA a ton, that is a different story this summer as he’s a key wing scoring threat for the T-Wolves and is an explosive athlete at 6-2 who seemingly always starts the game off by wowing the crowd and opponents with something spectacular, he can also stroke it from distance and can be your primary ballhandler if called upon, a real area sleeper and one who’s garnering a lot of attention from D-3 level programs …
~~ The 4-headed backcourt for Samach includes three other exciting guards who all populate our 2021 rankings and do a lot of things on the floor well with both flair and discipline – Pope’s Will Kolker Will Kolker 6'1" | PG Pope | 2021 State GA put on 15 pounds of muscle since March and not only now looks D-1 ready physically but hasn’t lost any of the game that would put him there, knocking down 3’s, finding the open man with his trademark flair and showing off his slick handle by plopping defenders on their backside …
~~ Part Two of the T-Wolves maestro-handling backcourt is St.Pius’ Brookes Kahlert Brookes Kahlert 5'11" | PG St Pius X Catholic | 2021 State GA , who most now know as one of the best passers in the ATL-metro at any level, like Kolker he has exceptional vision and sees things before they happen, he showed off an array of whirls, twirls and slick feeds which make one think they’re at a Globetrotters game, but he does it within the confines of heady basketball, don’t sleep on his scoring either, he can knock down the 3 and he too added muscle absorbing a ton of contact against bigger players while venturing inside …
~~ Jax Bouknight Jax Bouknight 6'1" | PG Blessed Trinity Catholic | 2021 State GA of Blessed Trinity is only mentioned 4th among the exciting guards for the T-Wolves because it’s so hard to separate the four young talents from one another and someone had to be mentioned last, but he’s “un-missable” on the floor with his combination of infectious enthusiasm, sneaky-elite athleticism, and all-around excellence at both ends, at 6-2 and a terrific leaper like Rigsbee he can play all the way up to the 3-spot, he’s got a bombers range out well past the arc, loves to get out in space on the break, and is a smooth finisher in traffic, a sleeper small D-1 prospect in my view …
~~ The way Samach likes to run his club he’d probably happily play five 6-2 guards and run you down, but he slips a forward into the mix and one whose name might not be well known in the ATL-metro but whose game warrants a ton of attention, being all the way out at Brunswick, GA at Glynn Academy means Max Hrdlicka Max Hrdlicka 6'6" | SF Glynn Academy | 2021 State GA might not hear his name from the lips of Atlanta’s recruiting guru’s all that often, but the 6-6 small forward has all the game to be in any discussion of top small forwards in the state, possessing plenty of grit to get inside and mix it up he’s really at his best from the arc where his quick release was lethal and pumped in at a high percentage, he’s a very fluid mover as well with a big body who can slide into the 4-spot, rebound effectively and showed a catch and turn game in spots as well, were he playing for a marquee program in Cobb or Gwinnett counties he’d be a top 50 player by now in the 2021 class in my eyes.