By most accounts, the NYBL All-Star Weekend & Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase were a tremendous success! With over 530 elite level players crammed
inside the beutiful 8-court facility at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, the
atmosphere was electric and the competition was next level. With that amount talent assembled in the gym
the national media had to be in the house to document the action. Day one of
the event was multi-dimensional, consisting of a series of 6 all-star games
featuring the best players from the ultracompetitive National Youth Basketball
League (NYBL); a riveting presentation by former Ohio State standout Sconnie
Penn, and the traditional Buckeye Prep Elite showcase.
In terms of the NYBL games, the 2019 NYBL Top 40 Game
tipped off first, and a Keyshaun Langley
led West squad got the first win of the day with a 85-55 victory over the East.
Butler Elite’s Matthew Brown paced
the East with a game-high 22 points, while Cleveland’s Alfonse Hale led the West with 20 points. Although Langley was the second leading
scorer on his squad with 15 points, he was the driving force in the win. Other standouts in the game included Quinn Cafferty (13), Larry Canady (9), Michael Moreno (13), Simon
Banks (11), Amari Davis (9) and Cartier Jernigan (7). For their efforts, both Langley and Brown were named MVP.
The 2019 Top 60 Game was a nail biter, with the East team
edging the West 75-74. All-Ohio Red’s Andre Gordon had a monster game to the
tune of a gaudy 30 points in route to MVP honors. According to one observer,
Gordon dominated the contest and was virtually unguardable. The DMV’s Cameron Byers (2020) took home the MVP for the West with 15 points.
The Lexington Hustle’s Jalen Burbage
was the leading score for the West with 17 points. Other standouts included Charlie Large (15) and Jalen Gaffney (11).
There wasn’t must drama in the 2020 Top 20 Game, as the
East ran away with an easy 88-64 victory over the West squad. Chuck Harris led all scorers with a
game-high 16 points, while Paris Dawson
paced the West with 15. Other standouts included Zion Harmon (12), Chance
Mott (12), Jeremy Roach (10) and
Jordan Toles (8). Both Harris and
Dawson grabbed MVP honors. The 2019 Top 20 Game was another close contest, with the
West taking down the East 73-69. The West was led in scoring by Terrance Williams and Isaiah Moseley, both of whom finished
with 12 points. The East was led by Dexter
Shouse who finished with a game-high15 points. Other standouts included Chris Harris (10), Bryan Antoine (11), Sydney
Curry (11) and Chris’Sean Stringer
(8).
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| Kobe Langley & Marquise Walker-MVPs |
The two feature games of the day pitted the top kids from
the NYBL against a team nationally ranked players from outside the league. Billed as the “NYBL vs the Nation” games;
both contests were chucked full of talent and proved to be as competitive as anticipated. The class of 2020 was first to tip off and
was highly contested until the final seconds ticked off the clock. In the end,
Bill Francis’ elite squad had secured bragging rights with a 37-34 victory. Although Hunter Jackson’s outburst in the
later minutes of the game were key to the win, Donovan
Billings’ game-high 14 points were the difference, and garnered him MVP
accolades. Hunter Jackson finished
with 10 points. Terrence Williams led the NYBL with 12 points, while Jordan McPhatter added 8. The
NYBL roster included: Jordan Toles, Zion Harmon, Jeremy Roach, Tyler Brelsford,
Jordan McPhatter, Charles Harris, Terrence Williams, Justin Powell, Isaiah
LeBlanc, Latrelle Gonzales, Paris Dawson and Cameron Byers, while the Nation roster
included: Tarik Booker, Nimori Burnette, Jaden Springer, Ryan Conway, Mike
Saunders, Hunter Jackson, Donovan Billings, Reece Beekman, Raymond Terry and
Dylan Branson.
The 2019 NYBL vs the Nation game was equally as
impressive, but the NYBL squad would jump out to an early lead and hold it for much of the game, until finally
notching a 36-32 win. Kobe Langley
and Wendell Moore both paced the
NYBL with 7 and 6 points respectively, while Marquise Walker was the high man for the Nation with 11 points. The NYBL
roster included: Myles Pierre, Bryan Sanders, Chris’Sean Stringer, Balsa
Koprivicia, BJ Mack, Kobe Langley, Wendell Moore, Jeremiah Francis, Isaiah
Moseley, Nobal Days and Chris Harris, while the the Nation rosters boasted: Marquise Walker, Sheriff Kenny, Tristan Miller, Makhi Mitchell, Makel Mitchell, Korbin Spencer, Daniel Rodriguez, Christian Depollar, Marvin Price and Makani Whiteside.
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| Brooks, Kenny, Moseley, Moore, Shouse, Sanders, Langley, Banks & Days |
As competitive as the slate of NYBL all-star games proved to be,
the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase segment of the weekend was equally as competitive. In addition to the Saturday
all-star games, players had another opportunity to play themselves into final
all-star games on Sunday, based on how their were ranked by their coaches over
the course of 4 games. During the showcase games several players logged in
standout performances. We’re not sure
anybody’s stock raised more the Indiana’s Keion
Brooks, who arrived in Columbus on a mission. Brooks has always been considered an elite
player for quite some time, but his play at the showcase put him in top 10 discussions. Brooks played hard, demonstrated a nice skill
set and displayed his length and athleticism. Oh
yea, Brooks tried to dunk everything in sight.
His George Hill teammate, Dexter
Shouse, also had a big weekend, and proved that his game his perimeter skills are evolving and that
he can prosper further away from the bucket.
Shouse is big, strong and aggressive and can get to the cup on a regular basis.
North Carolina’s Kobe
Langley was impressive all weekend.
Although he did not hang around for the final all-star game, he put in
work during the NYBL all-star games and the showcase games. Langley has a high basketball IQ, knows how
to run a team and can score the rock of needed. In addition, Langley is a good defender who rarely turns the ball over. Moore really impacted the NYBL vs the nation game on both ends of the floor.Wendell Moore’s performance was
impressive and his play solidified his place among the top 10 players in the
class. Chicago’s Marquise Walker had another big weekend. Walker’s handle is elite as are his play
making skills. In addition, he can get
you buckets or find teammates for easy scores. Fun to watch; Walker is quietly
moving up the rankings and has staked claim to top 10 status.
Maryland’s Sharif
Kenny did nothing to hurt his stock, in fact, Kenny was all that was advertised. At times, Kenny was simply too big and to
strong to be guarded, while and dominating games.
From what we saw, Kenny has the skill set to do damage on the wing; he is a
great looking prospect, and is clearly a top 5 player in the class. Canada’s Isaiah
Moseley continues to display an elite level game, and his play in Columbus
was consist with what we saw during the NYBL season and a few weeks ago and the Future
Phenom Camp. Very skilled, athletic and a playmaker best describes Moseley’s
game. Indiana’s Simon Banks was impressive this weekend and he re-emerged as one of
the top guards in the class. Team
Florida’s Balsa Koprivcia and Bryan Sanders both had standout
performance during the weekend. Sanders’
size, strength and ability to handle the rock sets him apart from many in his
class. Koprivcia was much more
aggressive this past weekend and his production reflected that. In terms of upside, Koprivcia has high major
potential. Wisconsin’s Nobal Days drew the attention of several
scouts over the weekend and what’s most
impressive about Days’ game right now is his defense and shot blocking
ability. As he gets stronger and more
offensively gifted, look for Day’s stock to rise significantly. Already, days’ long-term potential is high
major!
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| Jeremiah Francis, Alphonse Hale & Andre Gordon |
Columbus’ Jeremiah
Francis has consistently excelled in NYBL play and on the national camp
circuit, and his performance this past weekend was just as impressive. Widely
considered one of the top 1 or 2 floor generals in the country, Francis’ play supported those
claims. With good size for his position, Francis goes strong to the cup and
either finishes with contact or kicks the rock to a spot up shooter for a
jumper. Francis clearly understands the
game and often makes the right decision.
He’s a hard-nosed defender who can also rebound the ball at a high rate. Francis is a stat sheet stuffer. His All-Ohio Red teammate, Andre Gordon, had a coming out party of
sorts. Francis, Mitchell and Stringer got most of the love on that team, but
Gordon’s 30-point outburst in the NYBL Top 60 all-star game announced his
arrival. Gordon is a strong guard who
understands how to use his strength and body to get into the paint and score. In terms of guards in Ohio, Gordon is in
the top 2-3 range, but deserves more national attention We have to give some props to Cleveland’s Alfonse Hale. He does not get a lot of ink on that Ohio Basketball squad, but he is as
productive as many of the more heralded players in the class. Nationally, he is a virtual unknown, but at
some point, that’s going to change.
Easily top 5 in Ohio.
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| Harmon, Jackson, Dawson, Toles, Billings, Williams, S. Johnson, M. Johnson & Wilson |
We have spent most of this recap talking about the class
of 2019, but the showcase was jammed packed with talent at every age
division. Guys like Cory Davis (2018), Kristian Pechac (2018), Justin Johnson, Shawn Christian, John Kirinick, Jeremiah Keene (2019), Zerek Thomas (2019), Tariq Aman (2019), Daniel Rodriguez (2019), JC Tharrington (2019), Hunter Jackson
(2020), Zion Harmon (2021), Donovan Billings (2020), Jordan Toles (2020),
Isaiah Kennedy (2020), Parris Dawson (2020), Cameron Byers (2020), Chance Mott
(2020), Jordan McPhatter (2020) Christopher Ford (2020), Tyler Brelsford (2020), Cameron Byers (2020), Meechie Johnson
(2021), Seth Wilson (2021), Noah Peoples (2021), Legend Greeter (2021), Khalil
Brantley (2021), Sonny Johnson Jr. (2022), Aaron Davis (2021), Mike Saunders Jr. (2020), Andre Irvin (2021), Collin Albert (2021), Jackson Holt (2021), Paul
McMillan Jr. (2022), Sean Jones (2022), KK Bradford (2022) and Khalil Luster
(2022) all logged in standout performances.
With over 530 players in the gym it’s near impossible to
see all of the players and to identify all of the standout performers who
deserve some recognition. With this in
mind, we brought in several scouting service to help cover the event and
evaluate players. Hopefully, between all
of the scouts present in the gym, players deserving of recognition will receive it. Below are link to several articles and recaps featuring
standout out performances during the event.
