Checking in with WHBH Gold 16u
Work Hard Be Humble (WHBH) 16u stormed the adidas event in Indianapolis, powering through with a 83-54 win. This victory marks the team’s second championship in two weeks.
But this is all about offers, interest, and exposure. Did the wins garner any looks?
All Eyes On Thee
Saddled with myriad teams and players to follow a handful of Division I coaches invested their time in WHBH 16u Gold.
“We had Northern Iowa, Arkansas State, Indiana State,” said WHBH Head Coach JP Primm. “For Atlanta (4/27-4/29) we already have confirmed Arkansas State, Middle Tennessee, Iowa, Lincoln Memorial, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Wofford, and Tennessee State.”
Two players came away with fantastic early looks.
Harry Lackey (Brentwood High) gained Iowa interest and decided to attend this summer’s Tennessee basketball camp.
“Harry is going to Tennessee Elite Camp,” said WHBH Director and Head Coach JP Primm. “Him and Jacobi (Wood) both are going there.”
The 11th best player in Tennessee, Harry Lackey is a player PrepHoopsTN interviewed in late December. His ceiling is extremely high as the young man is blessed with ideal wing size. His quick mind enables him to make wise decisions on the fly.
Jacobi Wood continues to convince me that I woefully under-ranked him at #66 in the state. Seconds in to his first evaluation Wood was clearly a top 20 player, if not higher.
Texas A&M wants to watch Jacobi Wood play this upcoming weekend in Atlanta. Stanford is intrigued, but don’t expect them to see him just yet.
“One his high school coaches went to LSU,” said Coach Primm. “(TAMU) went in and checked in on him at Cleveland High. Then they reached out to me.”
Cleveland Assistant Coach Reggie Tucker played for LSU and now helps out his players with their recruiting. Because they are talented they are the perfect players for him to promote. It doesn’t hurt that Coach Tucker knows coaches around the country too.
“He has a connect with a coach at Texas A&M,” said Coach Primm. “Coach Chew is who I am referring to.”
Coach Tucker is an aggressive promoter for his players. Coupled with their talent and skills it makes a wonderful marriage.
“Coach Chew and I crossed paths when he was an assistant at VA Tech,” shared Coach Reggie Tucker. “He was recruiting my player Kerry Blackshear Jr. who’s a sophomore at VTech now. Texas A&M Assistant Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim is the coach that’s recruiting Jacobi. I’ve known Amir for a little over ten years now. Great coach but a better person. We crossed path when he was at Georgia Tech and they were recruiting another Cleveland HS point guard D.J. Bowles (Wichita State).”
The silver Adidas program boasts another couple D1 prospects.
“Ryan (Wilcox) played phenomenal this weekend,” said Coach Primm. “I am sure he will get his first offer soon.”
Enjoy an interview with Ryan from earlier this month.
Wilcox is a tantalizing wing that plays both AAU and high school away from the basket. This freedom is rather rare for a 6-foot-5 player in middle Tennessee.
The fourth player of note on WHBH Gold is surely DeArre McDonald (#32 in 2020).
“We are going to get him on campus at Middle Tennessee soon,” said Coach Primm. “I was just recently speaking to UNC-Asheville Head Coach (Mike Morrell). I was just talking about him. He is excited to get out and see him.”
Coach Primm detailed his connection with Coach Morrell.
“From what he knows, he knows me really well, if you say he can play, then we will see him,” said Coach Primm. “He coached against me when I was at Asheville. He was at Charleston Southern. He coached against me there. I just talked to him yesterday.”
Catch WHBH 16u Gold in Atlanta at adidas and WHBH 16u Black at Suwannee’s Hoopseen event.