Run n’ Slam: Central Ohio’s Standout Guards
There’s no way to properly recap or summarize the Bill Hensley Memorial Run n’ Slam event. You just have to be there, at least once in your life. The Spiece Fieldhouse hosts all of the top high school teams from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. Meanwhile, there’s several other pristine basketball venues filled with quality college prospects.
Anyways, over the next couple of days, we’ll do our best to capture the action, by spotlighting just over 65 Ohio prospects who exceeded expectation. We’ll call them “Standouts,” and segment them by state region throughout the early week.
Sean Jones (2022), 5’8” PG, Miller Factory 16U / Gahanna South MS
The freshman-to-be has a pure jumper and can hit it off the dribble pretty well. He hit quite a few from beyond the arch after drawing separation with his quick handle. Matter of fact, Jones drew separation against 2020 prospects pretty much whenever he wanted to. Although Jones didn’t really shoot from anywhere besides the 3-point line, he is already a quality defender because of his quick hands.
Markeece Brown (2020), 6’3” G, Miller Factory / Bloom Carroll
Brown is one of many players who jumped on our radar for the first time this weekend. Brown has a strong and athletic build. He uses his upper body to attack the basket and finish through contact. The poised combo guard has a solid handle, is quick, and showed leadership as an off-ball guard playing alongside the younger Jones.
AJ Mirgon (2021), 5’11” PG, Mid Ohio Pumas Elite 2021 / Hilliard Bradley
Mirgon has all of the instincts you’re looking for from the point guard spot. He simply is able to feel the defense from all angles and use his awareness to dribble to the right spots on the floor. It resulted in plenty of layups in the half-court and bounce pass assists. The athletic lead guard front-rimmed his fair share of jumpers, but was a scoring factor because of the drives.
Ethyn Kuhns (2020), 6’4” G, Nova (Alleyne) / Bloom Carroll
Kuhns took over a Saturday afternoon game in a way only top prospects can. His ascension as a prospect may take him to a D-I evaluation by this time next season. He’s simply playing exceptional basketball this spring.
Kuhns has an athletic build and loves to crash the offensive boards. His upper body strength also allows him to finish inside through contact. Meanwhile, he scores the ball efficiently from the wing, whether it be catch-and-shoot triples or quick pull-ups. He can do it from all three levels and has a knack for getting to the free throw line.
Conner Maciag (2020), 6’0” PG, Indiana Elite North / Pickerington Central
First of all, Maciag is listed at six-foot, but there’s no way. He looks like a legit 6’2”, maybe even 6’3” at this point. He also has an athletic build. As far as skill goes, Maciag facilitates the ball well and can shoot it from the outside. More of a combo guard. He’s a competitor and has improved as a ball-handler also.
Matt Allocco (2020), 6’3” PG, C2K Elite / Hilliard Bradley
We’ve written at length about Allocco this spring, but his presence is impossible to ignore with this C2K team. Once again this weekend, Allocco set up his teammates for scoring opportunities by directing traffic and delivering timely passes. He hardly ever turns the ball over and finishes with skill around the rim. Expect at least a few more offers for Allocco in July, as he has an argument as the best true point guard prospect in 2020.
Javohn Garcia (2019), 6’3” PG, All Ohio Red / Pickerington Central
No shocker that Garcia received an offer from Air Force last night. If anything, it’s surprising that more D-I programs haven’t pulled the trigger on JG.
Garcia uses his shifty handling ability and height to consistently finish these sneaky runners in the lane. Even against sound defense, he can flip up a floater/runner/layup hybrid shot while putting pressure on the defense. He also remains one of the best perimeter defenders of the spring because of his quickness, instincts, and length.
Josh Corbin (2019), 6’3” G, All Ohio Red / Gahanna
The volume scorer from Gahanna had his best performance of the weekend on Sunday afternoon against Iowa Barnstormers in the championship. Corbin was hitting a ton of big jumpers even when defenders had a hand up. He does a good job of creating enough space by simply jab stepping to manipulate the defensive stance. Corbin is at his best when he’s also driving and converting floaters in the paint, as sometimes he settles for the 3-pointer.
Casey George (2021), 5’9” PG, Mid Ohio Pumas Elite 2021 / Pickerington North
George starred in their championship win over the Meanstreets by being a patient playmaker and hitting timely shots. He’s a true point guard because of his poise and passing ability. He doesn’t do a lot wrong and is trusted by his teammates with the ball. George is a solid outside shooter.
Jeremiah Keene (2019), 6’0” PG, Nova (James) / Westerville North
We only really watched this Nova team once this weekend, having studied them the past couple weekends. With that being said, Keene was fantastic on Friday night, as he closed out a close game with a couple clutch drives to the basket. He was poised in the waning moments and didn’t settle for anything less than a layup or shooting foul. He has elite ball skills and continues to prove capable of running a team.
Josh Russell (2019), 6’1” PG, Nova (Russell) / Upper Arlington
One of this Nova team’s unsung prospects had the best performance we’d ever seen out of him on Saturday morning. The tough point guard did a good job of communicating on defense and being unselfish. Most importantly though, Russell shot the deep ball very well on catch-and-shoot opportunities.