A-Town Showdown Stock Risers: Florida
This is my detailed scouting report on the most effective players from Florida that attended the A-Town Showdown. This is an expansive list of some of the top talent that Florida has to offer, all of which should receive a…
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Continue ReadingThis is my detailed scouting report on the most effective players from Florida that attended the A-Town Showdown. This is an expansive list of some of the top talent that Florida has to offer, all of which should receive a major uptick in recruiting as a result of a standout weekend.
Lajae Jones Lajae Jones 6'5" | PG Fletcher | 2022 State FL 2022 6’5 Star Ready Athletes 2021 17U Fletcher High School (FL)
Lajae is an engaged wing defender who is great at poking ball free. He has good defensive instincts coming over to contest shots and protect the rim. His defensive ability covered up a lot of teammate mistakes. He moves around the floor well and shows an impressive ability to handle the ball and get past defenders in the full and half-court. His ability to get to the rim creates opportunities for teammates when the defense collapses on him.
Martueze Anderson 6’4 2021 Star Ready Athletes 2021 17U Cedar Creek Christian (FL)
Martueze is an athletic forward who runs the floor well for easy looks at the rim. He finishes with ease around the rim, utilizing his dominant frame to bully defenders in the air who attempt to jump with him. I am excited to see him grow into his body and see how he develops in the next year. I would like to see more work in his ability to move with the basketball as well as the ability to pull up off a live dribble.
Adrian Bloodworth Adrian Bloodworth 6'0" | CG P.K. Yonge | 2021 State FL 2021 5’9 Star Ready Athletes 2021 17U PK Yonge High School (FL)
Adrian is an intelligent point guard who is incredible at finishing around the rim. His ability to leave defenders in the dust after his quick and tight crossovers was very impressive and he created a lot of easy offense for his teammates by kicking out after getting into the paint and forcing the defense to collapse around him. I would like to see more confidence in his pull up jumper and ability to get his jump shot off quick over the defense.
Maxwell Jones 2020 6’6 X-Factor XFE 17U Clearwater High School (FL)
Maxwell is a very active player who moves around the court well. He is great in the high post and is an intelligent passer for his size. He has clearly seen a lot of playing time, as he makes smart reads within the flow of the offense. He is great at using triple threat moves to free space against a defender in one on one situations.
Alonzo Perry 2021 5’11 X-Factor XFE 17U Clearwater High School (FL)
Alonzo is a true shooter who is great at moving without the ball. He is a patient player on offense with the ability to run an entire offense through him. He makes smart reads and keeps his teammates involved when he can. I would like to see more work with his ability to get downhill and collapse the defense around him.
Chancey Johnson Chancey Johnson 6'7" | PF Strawberry Crest | 2021 State FL 2021 6’7 X-Factor XFE 17U Strawberry Crest High School (FL)
Chancey is an enormous wing with unlimited potential. He has great ball control and a tight handle to beat his defenders off the dribble. He is a very confident player who possesses a decent shooting stroke. He does not have the best shooting motion, but his confidence and work in the gym allows him to be an effective shooter. At the next level, this will get corrected and for now, I would like to see a better ability to finish with either hand around the rim.
Jacob Dunlow 2021 6’9 X-Factor XFE 17U Bishop McLaughlin High School (FL)
Jacob is an incredibly large forward who finishes with ease around the rim. His ability to move defenders around underneath the rim to clear the glass and get easy tip-in looks for himself allows him to be a dominant player. What he lacks in mobility he makes up in strength and awareness around the rim. While he will not be an effective rim runner, he does have the ability to catch a pass in the post and jump hook the opposing team to death with his impressive length, or punish them and get deep positioning down low.
Beril Kabamba 2021 6’6 X-Factor XFE 17U Cal Knights High School (FL)
Beril is a dominant big who displayed a great ability to operate with the ball in the post. He was even comfortable with bringing the ball up the court an initiating offense. He is an intelligent player at using ball screens to get favorable switches and bully smaller opponents down low. He has great body control when attacking the rim to avoid unnecessary contact as well as contorting his body to avoid outstretched defenders. On defense, he is an active player who loves to disrupt the opposing team and get easy looks on the other end.
Arinze Edward Nnomoko 2022 6’8 SOH 16U Rivera Prep School (FL)
Arinze is an incredibly large forward with great strength that allows him to get easy finishes in the paint. He is an aware basketball player that moves to open spots all around the floor as an open option. He is great at flashing to the high post and looks to create offense for teammates. Because of his impressive size, he draws double teams down low and kicks out to open shooters with ease. He is great on the glass and can get to any shot he wants to down low, displaying good touch on soft bunny hooks. I would like to see continued development on drop steps and other post moves to move around defenders and create space for himself, and continued work on ball control as the game gets more and more perimeter centric.
Rickey Ballard Rickey Ballard 6'6" | CG Westminster | 2022 State FL 6’6 2022 SOH 16U Sagemont School (FL)
Ballard is a scrappy defender who is great at frustrating his opponents with his engaged defense. His ability to get his hands onto the ball and poke it free. He loves to run up and down the court as a result of his hard work on the defensive side of the floor. I would like to see continued development in his ball-handling ability in the open court, and work on getting his handle tighter to be able to get by defenders. He has great size and frame and all the tools to be an effective “three and d” type of player at the next level.
Matthew Cadogan 2022 6’5 SOH 16U St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)
Matthew is an athletic wing who has a knack for getting to the rim and wreaking havoc on the opposing team’s game plan. His athleticism was on full display this weekend, hanging in the air and having impressive double-clutch finishes over defenders. His footspeed and agility were incredibly impressive for his size, he moved around very gracefully and even had a few tough hop steps he used to get past defenders and to split another defender coming over to help. With his size, I would like to see more awareness on the glass, instead of looking to run and gun. He will become an effective player going coast to coast with his ball control and size and can even look to create for others when barreling down the court at full speed
Jiverson Sylvestre 2022 6’4 SOH 16U Ocoee High School (FL)
Jiverson is an athletic combo guard who is great at finishing around the rim and in the paint. I was incredibly impressed with his fluid mobility and agility getting up and down the court. His aggressiveness and ability to get to the hole stood out and created many looks for his bigs and shooters as a result of drawing in the defense. I would like to see continued development in his ability to finish with his off-hand around the rim as well as a pull-up jumper that he can get to when he gets the defense on its heels.
Christian Aldrich 2023 5’8 X Factor XFE 15U White East Lake High School (FL)
Christian is a true point guard with a flamethrower like jump shot. When set off the catch he is a knockdown shooter, and his ability to shoot off the bounce kept the defense honest. His defensive instincts were on full display this weekend, making the right decision on when to trap the ball in the full court. With the ball in his hand, he creates well for others and is a capable passer. I would like to see more work driving into the defense and passing out and creating for his teammates or going up and challenging bigger defenders at the rim.
Jacob Thiel 2023 6’1 X Factor XFE 15U White East Lake High School (FL)
Jacob is a rim running wing who runs pick and roll with intelligence. He finishes with ease around the rim and is great at putting his body into defenders and drawing contact. He rebounds well for his size and his strong legs allow him to sky for rebounds. I would like to see more strength and development under the rim if he is going to play inside out, but really think his frame is best suited for adding in an outside game to open up driving lanes for himself. With as much contact as he draws on a normal basis, he needs a reliable free throw shot to put pressure on the defense.
E’Mareion Glover 2023 6’3 X Factor XFE 15U White Private School (FL)
E’Mareion is an athletic wing and ball handler. As a focal point in the offense, he showed an ability to run a pick and roll and create for others out of those sets. He can initiate the offense and put pressure on the defense by forcing them to collapse and drawing a whole bunch of attention. He is very skilled at getting to the mid-range and rising up above his defenders for easy looks. His ability to get from his live dribble into a set shot was incredibly impressive. For his age, his calmness with the basketball and ability to control tempo should translate well at the next level.