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| M. Price, B. Antoine, M. Mitchell, D. Harmon, K. Coulibaby, I. Okoro, C. Harris, N. Day & S. Lewis |
By most accounts, session #1 of the National Youth Basketball League (NYBL) was
a huge success! From the feedback we received from coaches, parents, players
and innocent bystanders, the talent assembled in Washington D.C. was unmatched
by any middle school event in the country.
Eighty-eight teams from as far as California, Texas, Florida and Canada
battled it out in hopes of landing favorable seeding for the NYBL National
Championship in June. Fortunately for
us, we had the opportunity to evaluate a number of new players who have not yet
received the national recognition they deserve.
Although a few big name teams did not return to the league this year, it
was clear to everyone in attendance that the league is absolutely loaded with
talent! In fact, the 2019 division expanded from 32 to 36 teams this year,
while the 2020 division went from 16-28 teams, and the league added a 24-team
2021 division. At the end of the day,
there are simply more good players in the league this year than past years!
Anytime you
match-up elite teams and players you’re bound to create a great deal of intensity
and some special moments. Just like the storylines being played out in March
Madness across the country, no team is immune from upsets in the NYBL. One of the biggest storylines of the weekend
was the turnaround logged in by Mike Dobbins’ Team Loaded squad, who despite
having been blown out by Team Rio 80-26 in the opening game on Saturday, came
back 2 hours later and took down a stacked D.C. Premier 60-53. For those kids
to dig down deep and turn it around in such a short time is both a testament to
the players and their will to win. It also
illustrates that in the NYBL if you have a let down and don’t come to play, you
can get beaten regardless of your reputation!
It wasn’t an
upset, put the Team Texas vs Team Teague matchup right out of the gate on
Saturday was very competitive, required overtime, and really set the tone for
the entire day. Despite the efforts of Mike Moreno (6’5/PF/KY/2019), the
stellar guard play of Tyrees Maxey,
Chris Harris and Devion Harmon proved too much for the Indiana-based
Teague. Another good one on day one
pitted 2019 D.C. Premier against Team Florida. This game featured 2 of 2019’s
best post players in Balse Koprovica
(7’0/C/2019/FL) and Makhi Mitchell
(6’7/PF/C/MD/2019). The game was highly contested until the end, but D.C.
Premier was ahead 42-47 by the time the horn sounded. Mitchell and Koprovica
played well the entire day and did nothing but strengthened their national
reputations.
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| K. Walker, Z. Harmom, J. Harris, S. Morrow, P. Dawson, L. Manuel, T. Notarainnu, C. Ellis, & J. Pugh |
Bmores
Finest’s James Bishop
(6’0/PG/2019/Bmore) hit the ground running on Saturday and proved to be his
team’s primary scoring option. The super crafty guard can get in the paint
consistently and get others involved, but he can also put up big numbers if
required to do so. Butler Elite returned for a second season in the NYBL and
their two-headed monster of Demonte
Hudson (5’9/SG/2019/Racine, WI) and Noble
Days (6’8/C/2019/Racine, WI) gave teams problems all day. West Coast Elite’s
2021 team has a good one in Latrelle
Moore (5’9/PF/2021/Houston, TX) and Chris
Page (6’2/WF/2021/CA). Moore is an explosive athlete with a mature game
that makes an impact both offensively and defensively. Also, we plan to follow
E1T1’s Leonard Manuel (6’2/WF/2020/Ocala,
FL) over the next couple of sessions as he proved to be a great looking athlete
with a big upside. Team Durant’s
Anthony “AJ” Hoggard
(5’9/PG/2020/Philly) was one of the best 2020 guards we saw all day. A big guard with an elite handle, Hoggard has
no problem breaking down his defender and getting into the paint for a score or
dish. The Worldwide Wildcats are loaded
with elite prospects including Dwon Odom
(6’1/SG/2020/ATL), Chase Ellis
(6’0/PF/2020/ATL) and Jeremy Roach
(5’8/SG/2020/GA) to name a few and all three of them are worth tracking going
forward.
In the 2019
division, several teams went to bed Saturday night with an undefeated
record. Some of those teams included
New World, Team Rio, Philly Triple Threat, Team Texas and Butler Elite. Some of the 2020 teams joining the ranks of the
undefeated after day 1 included Team Durant and the Oakland Solders, while some
of the 2021 teams included New World, Team Takeover and the West Coast
All-Stars. In addition, Team Izod 2021 is absolutely loaded with elite talent
with the likes of Trey Patterson (6’3/C/2021/Summerset,
NJ) , Darnell Harris
(6’3/PF/2021/Miami, FL) and Kahlil
Farmer (5’8/PG/2021/Philly). Izod is
long and athletic and will be tough to beat the rest of the NYBL season. We
were also pleasantly surprised with teams like 2019 New World and Triple Threat
who we had heard and read about but had not had a chance to see them play. Both teams have legitimate bigs with
long-term potential. We wrote about Team Charlotte a few days ago and their
play in session #1 confirmed what we had heard.
They took a 72-66 hit from Bmores Finest in the opening game, but would
not loose again the rest of the weekend.
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| D. Patterson, J. Blackman, D. Harris, M. Branham, N. Peeples, D. Booker, S. Jones, C Houston, & D. Johnson |
The 2020
Mid-Ohio Pumas shocked a couple of teams with their team-oriented brand of
basketball. They may not have a roster
full of bigs or extreme athletes, but they excel at executing their offense and
distributing the ball to open teammates. The West Coast All-stars found that
out the hard way as they went down to the Columbus, Ohio-based team 72-66. Jack
Pugh (6’0/W/PF/2020/Plain City, OH) is the primary stud on that team, but
he gets big time support from a solid core of skilled players. Although the
Pumas would take one on the chin against Steve Wade’s San Diego Select team later
in the day, they would finish the nightcap with a comeback win over God First
Crusaders. San Diego is well built with
the requisite floor general in Alex Wade
(5’5/PG/2020/San Diego, CA) and consistent scoring from Thomas Notarainni (6’0/SG/2020/San Diego, CA), but this team also
has great post play and plays as a cohesive unit. San Diego is clearly one of
the best 2020 teams in the league and has a solid chance at the title. We have to mention the Oakland Solders who
were clicking on all cylinders on day one. If a roster of Shemar Morrow and Khari
Walker wasn’t enough, the Soldiers have gone out and added more top 10
talent in Zion Harmon and Jaden Springer. Although a few teams manage to hang with
Oakland early in games, by the time the horn sounds Oakland is often comfortably
ahead. Simply too much talent on this team for most teams!
Day 1
featured far too many compelling games and match-ups to mention here; however,
we will take a shot of highlighting some of the standout performers we saw. As
we have often stated, we love seeing talented kids for the first time and
digging out those diamonds in the rough.
Add New World’s Karim Coulibaly
(6’7/C/MD/2019) to that list, as Coulibaby was a straight beast in the games we
saw. Long, with a nice touch around the basket and the ability to finish at a
high clip, Coulibaby’s potential is through the roof. We also really liked
AOT’s Isaac Okoro
(6’3/PF/C/Atlanta/2019). Okoro has a strong frame, is very athletic and handles
the rock well for his size. Although
only 7th graders, AOT’s backcourt features the Cooper brothers, who
despite their diminutive size, provide solid backcourt play to the
Atlanta-based squad. We had heard about team Charlotte’s Zeb Graham Jr. (5’11/PG/Charlotte/2019), and he was as good as
advertised. Justin McKoy
(6’3/WF/Cary, NC/2019) was another intriguing prospect. McKoy has good size, is
strong, and has a nice touch around the cup and great footwork.
Team Rio’s Bryan Antoine (6’4/SG/2019/NJ) had a
huge day one and continues to make a case as one of the top players in the
league. Antonie has continued to stretch
out, is deceptively explosive, super smooth and has really perfected his
outside shot. The elite shooting guard
has turned into a big time scorer. In
should be mentioned that on Saturday, Antonie had back-to-back breakaway
dunks. Also really impressive on day one
was D.C. Premiere’s Marvin Price
(6’3/SG/2019/Bmore) who was in straight beast mode. Price is an elite athlete with loads of
potential and represents serious matchup problems for most teams, as he is too
big for most guards and is too quick for bigs.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based SWO Elite finished 2-1 on Saturday and was powered
by a trio of players including Joey
Edmonds (5’8/PG/2019/Wyoming, OH), Alec
Pfriem (6’3/SG/2019/West Chester) and Nick
Thelon (6’4/PF/C/2019/Edgewood, KY). Although none of the above have
national reputations, they all are consistent performers with a chance to play
college ball at some level.
With 88 teams
in the league playing on 12 courts, it’s extremely hard to see every team and
player. Over the course of league play, our media partners and we will do our
best to provide exposure to every player that deserves it. We also plan to publish a day 2 report in a
few days that will highlight the play of more players. Also, keep an eye out for highlight videos
from Ty Kish and Middle School Hoops. If
what went down in session 1 is any indicator, the teams and players in the NYBL
are in for a serious treat!
Standout Performers:
2019: Bryan Antonie-Team Rio: Scottie
Lewis-Team Rio; Makhi Mitchell-D.C. Premier; Karim Coulibaly-New World; Isaac
Okoro-AOT; Donte Scott-Philly Triple Threat; Mike Moreno-Team Teague; Jay
Heath-New World; Tyrese Maxey-Team Texas; Chris Harris-Team Texas; Devion
Harmon-Team Texas; Bishop James-Bmores Finest; Zeb Graham Jr.-Team Charlotte;
James Mungo-Bmores Finest; Joey Edmonds-SWO Elite; Alec Pfriem-SWO Elite; Nick
Thelon-SWO Elite; Josh Burkhart-SWO Elite; Justin McKoy-Garner Road Bulldogs; Triston Miller-CBC Havoc; Jacob Ray-West Coact Stars; EJ Jackson-West
Coast Stars; Horne-Garner Road Bulldogs. 2020:
Shemar Morrow-Oakland Soldiers; Khari Walker-Oakland Solders; Jaden
Springer-Oakland Solders; Anthony Hoggard-Team Durant; Gervon Dexter-E1T1; Cone-Worlwide Wildcats;
Dwon Odom-Worldwide Wildcats; Leonard Manuel-E1T1; Chuck Harris-023 Feet; Chase
Ellis-Worldwide All-Stars; Jeremy Roach-Team Durant; Alex Wade-San Diego
Select; Thomas Notarainni-San Diego Select; Jack Pugh-Mid-Ohio Pumas; Chris
Mayfield-Mid-Ohio Pumas; Matt Allocco-Mid-Ohio Pumas; S. Cooper-AOT; O.
Cooper-AOT; Tramon Mark-God First Crusaders. 2021: Trey Paterson-Team Izod; Darnell Harris-Team Izod;
Kahlil Farmer-Team Izod; Malaki Branham-Buckeye Prep; Jayden
Hawkins-White-Buckeye Prep; Caleb Houston-S Elite; Latrell Moore-West Coast All-Stars; Chris Page-West Coast All-Stars; Blackman-Team Teague; Drake
Booker-Oakland Solders; and Joshua Bascoe-S Elite.
