2019 Oklahoma City Midwest Shootout Recap by IndiHoops

By: Brian

April 29, 2019

Oklahoma City Midwest Shootout - April 27-28,2019

IndiHoops traveled for its first time to the state of Oklahoma to see what Sooner State basketball is all about and left quite impressed. Of course like many states, you have your shoe funded HS programs that have middle school development teams.

Team Griffin (Nike), Trae Young Elite (Adidas) and Oklahoma PWP (Under Armour) these programs all came together to represent at the Midwest Shootout. That says a lot about a city or state when you can get a ton of great programs and everyone in the same building to come together so that iron can sharpen iron.

Trae Young continues to leave his legacy on Oklahoma after his dominant Freshman season and now contributing back to his own AAU organization.

Besides these obvious programs, there were some “grassroots” teams that left quite an impression on us. We could not cover all the action this event, but look forward to next year to see the development here. Apologize in advance if we missed you. But this is what we saw:

Breakout Team:

OYG Savages - lead by a tremendously athletic and skilled backcourt, OYG beat Team Griffin (disclaimer that Team Griffin top 14u was missing most of their starters, due to playing up in 15u EYBL), but then OYG gave the eventual champion Trae Young a scare in the semis cutting it to a 4 point game 44-40 with about 3 min to go. This Tulsa squad will improve with playing in more top event and maybe adding a key big.

Na'Kylan Starks and Lathan Boone.

Young Prospects:

I had a chance to sneak in some 4th and 5th grade action, and #14 of Blueprint Basketball, although lost, looks to be a prospect to track as a wiry strong PG that can pass, shoot and defend. His backcourt partner #0 is a lefty that plays with great passion and plays great defense. The Hawks won the game, behind a great all out effort by #0 who sacrificed his body time and time again. I also got a chance to chat with 3rd grade TMT ballers. #studs.

Best Leader of Event:

Rickey Hunt #28 of Trae Young Elite - Strong player that is an emotional leader with great presence. Don’t get me wrong, he can ball. Nice stroke and feel, but possesses glue and intangibles that helped his team win the championship. I caught him a couple times in the semis yelling to his team “Come on it;’s too close lets pick it up. Some of these things simply can’t be taught.”

3 Ball: 2024 "Fudge" Gilstrap - Hit some nice long bombs in his championship game.

Overall Game:

2023 Luke Haas - Oklahoma PWP - Luke played great all week and has a really effective spin move in the lane. Gets a lot of nice buckets in transitition and can really see the floor. Would like to see him get better rotation on his 3 point shot, but his form is solid. They were simply a bucket away from taking the whole thing. Oklahoma PWP had a ton of great players.

In the Shadows:

Brennon Clemmons Jr. a prospect that I am excited to track. He plays with some absolute studs for Team Griffin, but I am glad I saw him at this event because he got to shine in the games I saw. Great size that looks to only grow, and has a nice touch from the perimeter.