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| Rammer Pryor, Juleeon Carter, Vernon Smith, Davon Smith-Johnson & Barret Labus |
We had the
opportunity to take in some Saturday action at the Nike Summer Championship in Columbus. The relatively new event represents a joint
venture between Jerry Watson and Steve Vega, and pulled together several
talented teams in multiple grade divisions. We were most interested in watching
Ed Heben’s 2022 TNBA Shooting Stars team that picked up a couple quality
players for this tournament. The most
notable addition was Jalen Wenger of
Dawg Days Basketball. We only caught one of their games, but it was clear that
Wenger will add a significant scoring punch to this team. What was also clear is that Raymar Pryor is a stud, and he was
easily the best player in the gym. We’ve
seen him play for a couple of years now, but this year he has had a breakout
season. He’s extremely athletic and is at his best attacking and finishing at
rim level. He even punched one in the
game we watched. Ohio’s class of 2022 is
a good one, but it’s time for Pryor to take his place among the top tier of
players. In our opinion, Pryor deserves
more national recognition! With
continued growth and development, Pryor has D-I potential and should be tracked
by college programs around the state.
We also
continue to be impressed with Michal
Bova who is the consummate floor general.
He’s highly skilled, smart and always seems to make the right play. He was in foul trouble in the game we watched
so he did not put up big numbers, be he knows how to set up teammates for easy
buckets and rarely turns the ball over.
We expect Bova to play college ball at some level. We also liked what we saw with Joey Battista. He’s a workhorse in the
paint and his soft touch allows him to score around the bucket. You can expect
to see Pryor, Wenger, Bova and Battista in the Ohio North vs South All-Star
Game in September.
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| Kevin Mack, Martavien Johnson, Paris Locke, Raynell Hester & Jimmykael Manning |
We also had
the opportunity to watch a couple of players we had not previously seen. Davon Smith-Johnson
(6’2/PF/2022/Cleveland) is a player to watch going forward. He has good size,
is athletic and has great upside potential.
He runs with Court Leaders who we have ranked in the top 10 of our Power
Rankings. His teammate, Raynell Hester (5’7/PG/2022/Cleveland)
is a solid PG with a solid skill set. We also really liked Juleeon Carter (5’11/PF/2022/Toledo). Carter is a bruiser with a strong frame,
power and nimble feet. He’s strong to
the cup and has perfected a spin move that gives him good looks at the cup. From what we saw on Saturday, Carter deserves
a spot on our top player list. We also
saw some good things out of Keivon Mack
(6’2/WF/2022/Toledo). We were most
impressed with Mack’s athleticism and motor.
Both Carter and Mack run with Toledo Ice, a team good enough for a spot
in our Power Rankings.
We also got
another look at MKU Athletics in a game against Michigan Rising Basketball. Vernon Smith (6’4/C/2021/Akron) was
impressive as he rebounded at a high level.
He’s better defensively right now, but with continued skill work he
could become a scorer as well. Martavien
Johnson (5’8/PG/2021/Akron) caught our eye with his high energy both
offensively and defensively. The speedy guard is aggressive to the cup and does
not mind defending 94 feet. Demarcus
Rogers (5’8/PG/2021/Akron) was solid as were Darrian Lewis (5’7/PG/2021/Akron) and Jumacius Portis (5’11/WF/2021/Akron). Michigan’s Paris Locke (5’11/PG/2021/Ypsilanti, MI) was the man for Michigan
Rising Basketball and did most of his damage with the 3-ball.
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| Arness Lawson, Jahmeel Wakeel, Samuel Johnson, Dominique Aekins & Collin Washington |
We were
treated to a barnburner between All-Ohio Red and TADD (2024). This game was not decided until the closing
seconds of the game as both teams took turns hitting big shots near the end. TADD
would go on to get the 49-48 win in a thriller.
Tadd’s top guy and leading scorer was Samuel Johnson (5’8/C/2024/Worthington), while the standouts for
All-Oho were Isaiah Marshall
(PG/2024/Pickerington) and Dominique
Aekins (PG/2024/Sunbury).
Other
Standouts we saw included: Barret Labus
(5’11/CG/2021/Wadsworth), Omar Abuhamdeh
(5’8/PG/2021/North Royalton), Terrance
Callaway (5’11/WF/2022/Tuscaloosa, AL), Jimmykael Manning (6’2/C/2022/Tuscaloosa, AL), Arness Lawson (PG/2025/Columbus), Jahmeel Wakeel (SG/2025/Columbus), Devin Colbert Jr. (PG/Indy) and Collin Washington (PG/Indy).
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