Howard Pulley’s 17U team displayed the much talked about Tyus Jones 6’2” (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and he did not disappoint. Tyus is clearly an elite point guard and has a real knack for making tough angled passes. He has such great court awareness and is more than capable of creating his own shot. The knock on his game to me at this point is he like to leave his feet a lot and pass the ball. and right now that fine, and maybe even at the next level he can get away with it but at some point this will catch up to him. If Tyus can get a little more constant on his jump shot he will be that much more unguardable.
Pulley’s team also showcases another premier wing player in Reid Travis 6’7” (De La Salle, Minnesota). I went to this game to watch Tyus Jones but Reid continually stood out to me. Travis is a total grinder and does all the little things asked. Whether that be setting tough screens for Tyus or gobbling up rebounds this kid is a brute to deal with, with big thick shoulders. Reid is also the top quarterback in Minnesota, showing just how athletic this kid really is. Knows how to get to the line and is a solid free throw shooter. Uses his big frame well to shield off defenders. Travis currently holds offers from Arizona, Boston College, MSU, Stanford, Tennessee, and UCLA along with numerous others.
Sunday marked the first time for me to see Cliff Alexander play for Mac Irvin Fire 17U team and he did nothing to disappoint. Alexander 6’9” (Curie High School, Illinois) is a load to handle for anyone. Cliff completely destroyed the 7’3” center Tanveer Bhullard for CIA Bounces’ 17U team. Cliff showcased his improved range hitting a couple of three’s over the weekend, while also showing he is capable of knocking down shots out to the three point line. Can literally get position at any point, he is that strong. Rebounds everything and is a disruptive force on the defensive end. For Alexander to continue to improve he simply needs to improve his shot consistency and pick up pro work habits. Cliff is a good kid who wants it and it shows. Alexander has numerous offers from Baylor, Depaul, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, MSU, and WIsconsin and many more.
Mac Irvins’ 17U team also displayed two other guards Jalen Brunson and Josh Cunningham.
Jalen Brunson 6’1” is another sturdy point guard capable of handling any tough situation. Brunson just plays with a certain swagger on the court and is a very capable point. Has a decent jump shot that could stand to be a little more consistent, but his bread and butter is creating for others which he is very good at. Solid with both hands, and is a very good defender. Likes a challenge. Right now Brunson has offers from Creighton, Depaul, Illinois, Purdue, SMU, Xavier.
Josh Cunningham 6’7” (Morgan Park, Illinois) is a smooth shooting wing who has some serious bounce in his game, displaying a nice vertical all weekend a few bunch of nice flushes. Has a really clean jump shot that extends to the three point line and has solid mechanics. Needs to get a little stronger with the ball and put a little weight on. Could stay a bit lower on defense as well. Right now is a very effective wing player on the offensive end. Cunningham has offers from Bradley, Depaul, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.
The 17U Oakland Soldiers were another west coast team that was impressive overall. Stanley Johnson 6’7” (Mater Dei High School, California) was just a guy who stood out every game I saw him in. For one he has a pro level body and moves extremely well. Johnson is a smart player who knows where to attack you. Stanley displayed very good mechanics on his shot and has a solid release point as well. He also does a very good job of rebound the ball the it’s highest point. Johnson’s best quality though, is that he doesn’t rely on his talent alone, he’s going to out work his opponent. He is the “hustle” player that does everything out there, get scrappy rebounds, take a charge, set a screen, you name it Johnson will do it. Right now Johnson is working on keeping his body strong and trying to strengthen his core, and he also simply wants the ball more as he feels like he can make more plays for his teammates. Very good and smart kid. Johnson has offers from Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, UCLA, and USC.
Later in the day Sunday left me with a chance to see an interesting matchup between two loaded teams Spiece Indy Heat (IN) versus the St. Louis Eagles (MO) and this was a good one throughout.
Spiece has talent from top to bottom on their roster and many players had good showing however when watching the Heat play Trey Lyles really just stuck out to me. Trey Lyles 6’10” (Arsenal Tech, Indiana) is a very versatile big man who does a lot of nice things on both ends. Trey who roughly nine months ago severely sprained his knee looked sharp for most of the game. I think Trey Lyles is a huge mismatch offensively because he is big enough to bull his way on a smaller defender but more than agile enough to beat quicker opponents. He never rushes anything and waits for his opponent to make a mistake. Very instinctive and smart player. Right now Trey has offers from Butler, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Georgetown, Illinois, Indiana, MSU, UNC and many more.
The talent isn’t even close to being over from there however with two big guys standing out to me as well in Caleb Swanigan and Stephen McElvene.
Caleb Swanigan 6’8” (Homestead High School, Indiana) is a crafty big man and is a two sport athlete who just knows how to move. Swanigan also plays offensive tackle for Homestead and is also getting a lot of interest in football as well. Whatever he chooses to do he will excel at because even as a 2016 kid he has very nimble feet and posses great hands. Has very thick legs that allows him to gain good position in the post and for rebounds as well. Uses his left very effectively. Right now Swanigan is just working to get into better shape. Swanigan stated that he has received interest from Purdue, MSU, and Georgetown while he also has interest from Alabama, Michigan, and MSU as well as others.
Stephen McElvene 6’11” (New Haven High School, Indiana) just looks like a man out there as he is listed at roughly 280 lbs. The first thing I noticed about McElvene is that he can actually move his feet pretty well for how big he is, granted he still will need to work a bit on this but it is by no means a knock on his game. Also, Stephen poses huge hands which makes catching the ball for him pretty easy as displayed on a few catches with just his left. McElvene also gets off the ground pretty well for his size as well and does a good job getting good position and going up and getting rebounds. Right now McElvene is a relative unknown but that will gradually be changing as he has serious game and is only going to get better. McElvene recently transferred from a smaller school in Alabama to a much larger one in Fort Wayne and while it took him a quick minute to get acclaimed both academically and on the court by the end he was right where he needed to be academically and dropped 39 points 33 rebounds and 10 blocks in the IHSAA Marion Regional. McElvene has interest coming from Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Purdue, Wright State, and Xavier.
However the Spiece Indys’ talent didn’t stop there with good showing coming from Trevon Blueitt 6’6” (ParkTudor High School, Indiana) getting interest from loads of high major’s, JaQuan Lyle 6’5” (Benjamin Bossi High School, Indiana) another wing gettign interest from most high major programs.
The St. Louis Eagles were another impressive squad with two guys showcasing themselves in Larry Austin Jr. and Ikenna Okwarabize.
Larry Austin 6’1” (Lanphier, Illinois) is a very capable point guard who does a lot of smart things on the court. You can tell he is the general of his team and runs the point very effectively. Doesn’t “wow” me much, but again Larry just constantly makes the right plays when needed.
The other St. Louis Eagle Ikenna Okwarabize 6’10” (STL Christian, Missouri) is a powerful four who has the look of a ready college player, with wide shoulders and a stellar leaping ability this kid gets every rebound. Very effective at keeping the ball high on put backs and gets the ball high. Moves very fluidly and is a very long athlete and sets very solid wide screens. Okwarabize is relatively new to the game and once some more people see him play he will be getting a ton more interest. Right now Ikenna is working on improving his game by learning more post moves and how to get better positions in the post offensively and defensively.
Another team out of the state of Texas really impressed me and that was the Team Texas Elite. Texas Elite had talent all over the floor and it started with a sharp shooter named Austin Grandstaff 6’5” (Rockwall High School, Texas) and if you give this kid and inch anywhere on the perimeter he is going to make a shot. Grandstaff is lethal form beyond the arc and shows solid mechanics shooting off the dribble as well. Grandstaff has offers from Arizona, Iowa St., Marquette, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., and Texas A&M.
Another Elite team member that impressed me was a big fella named TJ Maston 6’7” (Desoto High School, Texas). Maston stood out to me because he was always making plays around the hoop. Moves very well in the post area. Maston is an above average rebounder for is position and really works well getting in good position. Seems to have a pretty high basketball IQ, knows where to be on the court. Maston also seems to have pretty good hands.
Playing that Texas Elite team at the time was the NY Lightning team and their roster was flush with talent was well.
It started for me with Angel Delgado 6’8” (Redemption Academy, New York), who is another kid who looks like he could walk onto a college court and fit right in. Delgado is another kid who’s meat and potato’s is out hustling his opponents and out working them. He always keeps the ball high in the post, and almost always got position on his man for rebounds. Dominant on the boards, shows a good ability cutting to the basket as well. Also, shows a good ability to spin right and left in the post. RIght now Delgado is working on trying to improve his conditioning. Also worth noting is that Delgado has only been playing competitive basketball for three years now. Delgado currently holds offers from Dayton, Florida St., Manhatten, Seton Hall, and Virginia.
Another NY Lightning member that caught my eye was Luis Montero 6’7” (Wilberham & Monson Prep, New York) and Luis just moves very fluidly on the court. He could stand to dribble the ball a little lower but Montero displays good hands and a pretty good handle for his size. He is very crafty with the ball as well. A very smooth shooter as well. A very highly regarded Dominican player with an offer from Maryland and more to come.
Another big from the NY Lightning squad that was overall impressive was Jessie Govan 6’10” (St. Mary’s High School, New York). Govan didn’t impress me too much in the first game that I watche dof his but when I watched another game of the Lightning’s he really showed me why he is so highly regarded. For one Govan has big broad shoulders and very thick legs, which makes him a load to deal with. However, upon further watching his game he shows some pretty soft hands for a guy his size as well. You can definitely tell he is still growing into his body. Govan moves fairly well for his size as well and due to his size gets position pretty well. Right now Govan holds an offer from Virginia with interest from many more high majors.
The last team that I really got a good chance to get a look at was the Wisconsin Playground Elite team and they had a very competitive roster. The first player from Playground Elite team that stuck out to me was obviously Rashad Vaughn however Sandy Cohen has a game of his own to note of.
Rashad Vaughn 6’6” (Cooper High, Minnesota) is a very smart wing player who knows how to pick his spots. Never forces the issue. Has a really good feel on offense and has talking to coaches he seems to have a really good work ethic. A very highly touted recruit and there is reason for it. Rebounds the ball at a very high level for his guard position.
Cohen 6’6” (Seymour High School, Wisconsin) plays a lot of point for this team and he is more than capable of doing so, however with his size I think he will ultimately end up out on the wing. Cohen possesses a great feel for getting into the lane and making plays for others. Has a very smooth game and never seems to get flustered. Has a smooth jump shot and is a scrappy defender as well. Cohen seems to be a very bright kid with a very high ceiling. Right now Sandy holds offers from Creighton, George Washington, Green Bay, La Salle, Marquette, Memphis, and many others.
I would say my favorite team from the weekend from the 17 U bracket would be the Texas Titans team. Not only do they have a lot of talent throughout the roster they have a lot of kids that really love to play the game. However, had Mac Irvin Fire had Jahlil Okafor along with Big Cliff I’m not exactly sure that there is a team in the country that could compete talent-wise.
My Favorite prospect from this event had to have been DJery Jean Baptiste for the simple fact that he truly is a physical specimen and he really cares about the game and cares about doing well for his teammates, not just for his own sake.
