Standouts: Dr1ven Timesland Invitational (Part 2)
The second annual Timesland Invitational Showcase was held Sunday at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA. Hosted by Dr1ven Training’s David Williams, the event featured over 20 of the best prospects in the 540/276/434 area, giving kids a chance to…
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Continue ReadingThe second annual Timesland Invitational Showcase was held Sunday at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA. Hosted by Dr1ven Training’s David Williams, the event featured over 20 of the best prospects in the 540/276/434 area, giving kids a chance to show college coaches that there’s plenty of talent in the Southwest part of the state. Here’s part two of the standouts from Sunday, featuring eight kids that we hadn’t seen or learned more about during the event.
Baylor Mabes | 6’1” WG | Salem 2017
Mabes did exactly what you’re supposed to do as a senior in a showcase event, he played to his strengths. I walked in never hearing his name before, but walked out telling college coaches that need a shooter to take a trip to Salem. He isn’t the quickest player, but he seems to be in the right spot at the right time and can absolutely stroke it from deep. There’s always one shooter at Salem High School, and this year I learned it’s Baylor Mabes!
Jake Furrow | 6’1” WG | Cave Spring 2017
There’s just something to be said about a player who seems to do everything right, and that’s what Furrow showed Sunday. In stations he worked his tail off, he took care of the basketball when he was pressured, he was always in help side defensively and he took and made good, open shots. Not only is Furrow smart, but he’s tough as well, something that Cave Spring will need as they lose their two top scorers to graduation. While he’s been a steady role player the last two season, he’ll have to do more than he’s ever been asked this season, but he seems up for the challenge.
Ramon Hampton | 6’6” PF | William Fleming 2018
As soon as I walked into the event, I saw a long, slightly skinny big that seemed to be everywhere on the court. After learning it was Hampton, I watched intently and even when he made mistakes it was encouraging because he was playing so hard. If he turned it over or missed a shot he didn’t hang his head, he hustled back on defense. His length caused a lot of deflections, he rebounded well and ran the floor for easy baskets. While he needs to put some weight on and fine tune his offensive skill set, he did show soft hands, decent touch in the paint and the high motor you always want to see in a big. He’ll be firmly on the radar moving forward.
Cameron O’Connor | 6’4” WF | Northside 2018
While Northside returns a lot of talented players this season, they lose their two best shooters from last season, and the way O’Connor played Sunday he should be in contention to fill that void. He has good size at about 6’4”, and in the first game he got hot quickly and hit four straight three’s. While he isn’t the quickest laterally, he did use his size to alter shots without fouling and help his bigs on the glass too. He moves well without the ball, and with all the weapons on Northside that opponents have to prepare for, O’Connor could have a lot of open looks this season.
Noah Duncan | 6’0 G | Glenvar 2018
A hard nosed, hustle type of player, Duncan wasn’t the most talented player there Sunday but he made up for it by giving it his all on every play. Offensively, he was crafty with the ball and protected it well despite not being a true point guard, and he moved well when he was off the ball to get easy shots and layups. Defensively he showed good IQ to stay in front of much quicker guards, and his toughness was evident as he didn’t back down from the challenge of guarding anyone. All in all, a very good showing for Duncan.
Jake Martin | 6’0” WG | George Wythe 2018
Martin is sometimes forgotten in the backcourt of Malik Johnson and Noah Atwood at George Wythe, but he’s a sniper of his own right. He lacks explosiveness off the bounce, but he has deep range and can heat up quickly, forcing defenders to close out hard and allowing him to attack closeouts for one or two dribble pull ups. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and has a nose for the ball as he came up with numerous loose balls on Sunday. With those three, Wythe should be able to score with anyone in 1A this year.
Damien Martin | 5’8” PG | William Fleming 2018
You have to love when the smallest kid on the court just starts lighting it up. Martin may be small, but he’s got big time game and he showed it the whole day. In 3-on-3 stations, he showed great burst coming off the pick-and-roll and is athletic enough to elevate and finish with a finger roll at the basket. He also shot it well and showed deep range, as he just kept backing up and knocking it down off the dribble. He showed some dog defensively and the ability to score it, but he also was a volume shooter after getting off to a hot start. If he can use his ability to score to set his teammates up once he gets the attention, he should be a solid option at point for Byrd this season.
Julien Wooden | 6’5” WF | Northside 2019
This kid we have seen sparingly over his freshman season with Northside and this summer with Spectrum, but he hasn’t even began to scratch the surface of how good he is. Wooden has great length, allowing him to guard players on the wing and in the post, and his offensive skill set just screams mismatch. He can run the floor in transition, face opponents up and put it on the deck and he can shoot it from deep, which you’d expect out of a lefty, right? As he continues to get more experience and confidence, Wooden has a chance to be a division one kid at some level.