High School Division Standouts at #TheMainEvent Part 2
Here is the 2nd wave of players that stood out at #TheMainEvent. Robert Flynn/ 6’2 / Point Guard / Alabama Young Stars 2024 / The Altamont School (Birmingham AL) Instagram: Robert_Flynn1 Robert had a solid showing at #TheMainEvent. One of…
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Continue ReadingHere is the 2nd wave of players that stood out at #TheMainEvent.
Robert Flynn/ 6’2 / Point Guard / Alabama Young Stars 2024 / The Altamont School (Birmingham AL)
Instagram: Robert_Flynn1
Robert had a solid showing at #TheMainEvent. One of the notable things about Robert was his aggressive mindset. He was in attack mode from start to finish. Often when a player is talked about having an aggressive mindset, it is in conjunction with his ability to score. Robert impacted games in more ways than just scoring. He showed his ability to be a playmaker and had a balanced floor game in doing so. For most of the time that I saw him, he never really forced the action, but there were a couple of times that he could have been a little more patient and allowed things to develop into better situations for his team.
He was one of the players that did a lot of stuff on the court very well.
From ball-handling to passing with both hands, to making on-time/on-target passes off the bounce, to communicating, to simply putting his mark on both ends of the court. Opportunities for Growth: As I mentioned, Robert did many things well, but I want to see him be more consistent from behind the arc. Would also like to see Robert be more explosive with the ball in his hands when attacking downhill.
Adam Gonia / 5’7 / Point Guard / Slaam 2024 / Auburn High School (Auburn AL)
Instagram: agonia3
The 5’7 PG from Auburn made one thing known to all in attendance, and that is that his size doesn’t limit his game. Adam had one of the quickest 1st steps of anyone at the camp. While watching Adam in the game settings, 3v3 and 5v5, good things happened for his team when the ball was in his hands. He has good vision and excellent passing ability. I like that he pushes hard in transition with his eyes up and looks to kick the ball ahead to open players running the floor. He is a skilled guard that knows how to finish at the rim with crafty finishes. By the way that Adam plays, you can tell that he is an excellent team guy, as he looks to get everyone involved.
At 5’7, he played with a lot of grit and toughness and did not back down from anybody at camp.
Opportunities for Growth: It is hard not to mention Adam’s size during this portion of the eval, as time will only tell how much more growing Adam has left. I will say that a few more inches could drastically change Adam’s projections. I would like to see Adam continue to work on the defensive end as bigger guards, when on offense, will often try to attack him. I did not see Adam shoot a lot from the perimeter when I saw him, so he might be a good shooter from deep, so I just encourage Adam to work on being a big-time shooter from deep.
Peyton Wiggins / 6’1 / Point Guard / AAU: Steel City Gators 2025 / Huffman HS (Birmingham AL)
Instagram: peytonpnutwigg13
Known as ’Peanut,’ it was a pleasant surprise to see Peyton at camp. I did not know it was him until mid-way through the opening session when he caught my eye with a drive to the basket with a strong finish. When I went over to verify that it was him, I made sure to keep my eye on him for a while. I saw him earlier in the Spring and Summer with his team out of Birmingham, the Steel City Gators. Peanut is one of the brightest young players in the state of AL, with an excellent skill-set. He is extremely tough off the bounce, and when he gets going downhill, he is coming to get buckets. Now just as explosive as he is with the ball in his hands in creating scoring opportunities, he is just as effective in facilitating the offense. During camp, based on my previous evals and times that I have spent watching him play, I felt that he was taking a back seat at times, but don’t get me wrong, he was still showing that he was one of the top PGs at the camp.
Hands down, Peanut is an emerging prospect, and his stock will only increase as he continues to put the work in.
Opportunities for Growth: I have shared opportunities for growth in Peanut’s previous evals, so I will take a different angle with this one. Peanut will find himself at a lot of elite-level camps like #TheMainEvent over the next few years, and I want to see him come into these camps with a more aggressive mindset and not just sit back and wait for things to happen. Sometimes these camps are a player’s one shot and one opportunity for certain stages, and in front of particular eyes, and I believe Peanut has what it takes to seize those moments, but it won’t be done sitting back in cruise control.
Reece Pride Reece Pride 5'10" | PG William Blount | 2023 State TN / 5’10 / Combo Guard / BMaze Elite 2023 / William Blount HS (Louisville TN)
Instagram: reecepride
Let me just start out by saying that Reece was one of the hardest workers at camp. He brought energy and effort from beginning to end. He is a competitive, tough, and aggressive guard. He is a hard-nose 2-way player that gets after it on both ends. He was consistently breaking down defenders and either getting to the rack or breaking down defenders and forcing help then making good decisions when engaging the help. Reece has a lot of tools to unlock and unleash out of his toolbox. He has some promise and could use the next two years of high school to sharpen his game and possibly get a chance at the next level. At the end of the day, I was really impressed with Reece’s overall game.
He brings a lot to the court when he steps onto it.
He comes at you hard on both ends of the court, and on offense, he put pressure on his defender, and on defense, he made the person he was guarding earn everything they got. Opportunities for Growth: During camp, I did not see Reece get up a lot of shots from beyond the arc, so I am not saying he cannot score from outside, but I challenge Reece to continue to put in work with his perimeter J. Continue working on creating separation off the bounce to get his shot off against bigger and longer defenders.
Malik Burton / 6’0 / Combo Guard / AAU: N/A 2024 / Woodlawn High School (Birmingham AL)
Instagram: therealmalikburton
Malik was an intriguing player out of Birmingham, AL, that played with a lot of confidence throughout the camp. He was constantly looking for his shot and was aggressive in doing so. He gets downhill in a hurry with the ball in his hands. He showed that he has the ability to score in multiple ways, but at times you could tell that he was not letting the game come to him. He has a good skill-set that he can continue to improve upon and build on.
He definitely has some tools in his scoring package.
Opportunities for Growth: As mentioned, Malik definitely has some tools in his scoring package, but he has to continue to work on balancing out his game and putting together a complete offensive package. On defense, he has to continue to work on his on-ball defense, which has a lot to do with his feet and lateral movement. I really would like to see, over the next year, Malik hone in on his overall game and work towards having a breakout spring and summer in 2022.
#TheMainEvent was everything advertised, and I am looking forward to seeing what next year has in store.