Rising Stars Tourney off to Great Start

Weaver, Murphy, King, Williams, Odan, & Holt

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to spend some time at Josh Clark’s inaugural Rising Stars tournament in New Albany, OH.  Although this was Clark’s first event, the amount of talent he was able to attract was quite impressive! Not only was the talent impressive but also the quality of the facilities and the organization of this inaugural event were remarkable.

We saw a number of players we had not seen previously, including super skilled and crafty Zyaire Weaver (5’2”/PG/2025/Columbus).  Weaver is a dynamic PG with quickness, who excels at playmaking. His vision and passing skills are superb, as is his feel for the game. Moreover, his poise, pace of play and decision-making were beyond his years. His teammate, Weston Gregg (5’11”/C/2025/Columbus) was no slouch.  Gregg was strong and finished with contact frequently, in fact, he put up big numbers in the game we watched We really liked this kid! Speaking of point guards, Cameron Giesler (5’6”/PG/2024/Cincinnati) logged in an impressive performance for Orlando Gentry’s Ohio Ballstars. Giesler is a slick little PG with good vision and passing skills. On a number of occasions, Geelser broke down his defender  and got into the lane for a drop off pass and score.  Giesler also changes speed and direction well and is aggressive to the cup.

Although we’ve seen him before, we could not have been more impressed with Mikell Murphy (6’0”/C/2025/Whitehall). Murphy not only defends the post well, offensively, he puts up big numbers. Murphy rebounds the rock well and handles it well enough to push the ball in transition.  Murphy could be a good-looking prospect going forward.  While we’re discussing quality bigs, Damaarion Odan (5’9”/PF/2025/Flint, MI) has a chance to be really good in a few years.  Odan has good length, athleticism and plays with a high motor. What was most impressive about Oden was his footwork and nasty spin move to the basket.  This kid played hard and with intensity, and we intend to keep and eye on Odan’s development over the next few years.  We also saw some big things out of Mason King (6’4”/C/2024/Hamilton).  King has good length and finishes well near the basket.

Similar to Odan, Dorain Williams (6’0”/WF/2024/Cincinnati) was a monster in the game we saw. Great size and athleticism best describes Williams’ gifts.  He also plays hard, is quick off his feet and is an effective scorer around the bucket. Williams is another nice looking prospect. Team Xcel’s Jake Reece (6’2”/C/2024/Dublin) is a quality big with good size and ability to finish near the cup at a high rate.  In addition, Reece has a soft touch and already understands how to use his big frame to post up smaller defenders and impose his will.  Reece’s teammate, Jessie Burris (6’0”/PF/2024/Delaware) is a great frontcourt compliment and may be the team’s leading scorer. A scorer with a high basketball IQ would describe what we saw with Burris.

There were several quality floor generals at the tournament including All-Ohio Red’s Jason Bates Jr. (4’10”/PG/2026/Pickerington) and Maurice Hamrick Jr. (4’11”/PG/2027/Columbus), both of whom are highly skilled, smart, quick and can score the rock.  As coach’s kids, both Bates and Hamrick understand how to play the game. We have to give a shootout to Coach Jeff Maslar’s 2026 OBC team who looked great in a win over All-Ohio Red-Hamrick. OBC is powered by Brayden Holt (5’2”/PG/2026/Wooster) and Daron Hill (5’4/PF/2026/Cleveland). Holt holds it down at the point as the team’s floor general while Hill protects the paint and provides low post scoring.

 

Ward, Pollard, Abbott, Johnson, Reece & Gregg

Keep an eye on T.J. Ward (5’3”WF/2027/Columbus) and Dashaun Harris (4’9”/SG/2027/Dayton) both lead a very talented Ohio Kings squad.  Although we only caught glimpses of them, both players were impressive and could be good going forward.  We also heard some good things about Chandler Jackson (PG/2028/Columbus) who is considered by some to be one of the top point guards in the state.  We’ve written about him before, so it appears he continues to develop.  In terms of young, skilled floor generals, add Intact’s Jahmere Johnson (4’9”/PG/2025/Columbus) to the list. He’s on the small side, but his elite handle and attack mentality makes up for his diminutive stature.  Drive and dish was his game.

We were also impressed with the tenacity of Flint’s Daniel Steele (4’11”/PG/2025/Flint, MI)Steele’s speed and quickness were only matched by his aggression to the cup. Another smaller guard, Steel still managed to score against much bigger player. His teammate, Amariyunn Blythe (5’3”/SG/2025/Flint. MI) was not bad either. Blythe was an athletic slasher who was aggressive determined to finish at the cup. He’s still very young, but Tony Cornett (PG/2029/Columbus) has game to go along with loads of potential.  We’ve seen him shine before, and he’s still getting it done!

One of the best players we saw all weekend was Team Trill’s Damaurian Abbott (SG/2029/Baton Rouge, LA) who powered his Team Trill to a lopsided win over All-Ohio Red.  In that game, Abbott slashed his way to the basket and shot jumpers to the tune of a game-high 28 points.  Abbott was tough as nails, relentless to the cup and he feasted off of transition points.  This kid is going to be good! We also were really impressed with All-Ohio’s Nysuan Pollard (WF/2028/Columbus) who was his team’s primary scorer. When All-Ohio was down early in the its half, he added instant offense when he was inserted into the game. Below is a broader list of standout performers we saw.

Standout Performers

Zyair Weaver-2025	Mykell Murphy-2025	Dorian Weaver-2024	Damarion Odam-2025
Cameron Giesler-2024	Jake Reece-2024	Jessie Burris-2024	Mason King-2024
Jason Bates-2025	Maurice Hamrick-2027	Daron Hill-2026	Braydon Holt-2026
Weston Gregg-2025	Reese Powell-2025	Tony Cornett-2028	Daniel Steele-2025
Devin Wilson-2024	Amaryunn Blythe-2025	Jahmere Johnson-2025	Traee Jallick-2025
Eddy Conners-2026	Chandler Jackson-2028	Dashaun Harris-2027	T.J. Ward-2027
Dmaurian Abbott-2029	Nysuan Pollard-2028	Amir Clark-2027	Arness Lawson-2024

Congratulations to Josh Clark and his staff for putting on an excellent tournament. From what we saw, this event has a lot of growth potential!  Finally, all of the players listed above are formally invited to our next Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase scheduled for September 7th & 8th.  Email us at Buckeyeprep@yahoo.com for details.

Player Pictures