Francisco’s Finest: Geico Top Flight Invite (Big Red/Mater Dei)
Francisco’s Finest: Geico Top Flight Invite (Big Red/Mater Dei prospects) GILBERT, AZ.—Since school started in this virtual world of learning, my mind has been working at a frenetic pace developing lessons and projects for my students. However, when a colleague…
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Continue ReadingFrancisco’s Finest: Geico Top Flight Invite (Big Red/Mater Dei prospects)
GILBERT, AZ.—Since school started in this virtual world of learning, my mind has been working at a frenetic pace developing lessons and projects for my students. However, when a colleague of mind—and fellow Prephoops writer—Devin Ugland text me about this event on ESPN2, it was a no-brainer to put my studies down and watch some hoops. It began with a tilt between national powerhouse Big Red (Mater Dei) versus one of Arizona’s in Tri Starting 5 (Sunnyslope). Toss in the likes of consensus No. 1 prospect Chet Holmgren and scoring dynamo Jaden Hardy (Coronado) translated into an epic day of hoops viewing.
Wilhelm Breidenbach Wilhelm Breidenbach 6'8" | PF Mater Dei | 2021 State #91 Nation CA-S (Big Red/Mater Dei)
2021, PF, 6-foot-8, 220 pounds
Joel’s Take: The Cornhusker-bound Breidenbach is one of the more unorthodox prospects in the country. He can finished with either hand against Tri Starting 5—including a beautiful jumpstop lefty-half-hook in the key. In addition, he showed off his soft touch from beyond the arc as well as rim-running ability.
Zack Davidson Zack Davidson 6'8" | PF Mater Dei | 2023 State CA-S (Big Red/Mater Dei)
2023, WF, 6-foot-6, 190 pounds
Joel’s Take: The younger Davidson is a bit of a ‘tweener at this stage. He shows glimpses of a possible 3-man down the road, but there is work to be done. It’s difficult to get going when there are already two other Division 1 bigs. Continuing to tighten up his face-up skills and ball handling will rise his stock. In addition, impacting the game in other areas (moving without the ball, post ups, man-to-man D) will improve his overall game.
Nick Davidson Nick Davidson 6'8" | PF Mater Dei | 2021 State CA-S (Big Red/Mater Dei)
2021, PF, 6-foot-8, 220 pounds
Joel’s take: Davidson, who is headed to Nevada in the fall, has continued to improve each and every season. His elbow touch was impressive as well as his evolving face-up skills. Along the base line he utlized the up-fake to get Carson Basham off balance, where he finished with a ferocious throw down. Once he adds some bulk to his ideal D1 frame, he should be a soloid player for Steve Alford.
Gabriel Quiette Gabriel Quiette 6'3" | SF Mater Dei | 2022 State CA-S (Big Red/Mater Dei)
2022, SG, 6-foot-4, 165 pounds
Joel’s Take: At this stage, I’m not sure what position Quiette. He is a rangy prospect with great length and he’s a solid athlete. His size for the 1 is ideal as he can see over the defense, but he lacks burst off the dribble. Improving his assertiveness on the offensive end as a scorer (finisher in the paint and mid-range pull-ups) will improve his stock. Defensively, he has good lateral quickness and the necessary length to be a quality defender.
Scotty Belnap (Big Red/Mater Dei)
2024, SG, 6-foot-5, 165 pounds
Joel’s Take: Mater Dei has a solid looking freshmen class and the best prospect at this stage appears to be Belnap. He has a willowy frame that should fill out nicely and he has deep range on his jump shot. His pull-up shot in the paint showed nice touch while defensively—despite being a youngster showed nice lateral quickness.