Cassidy's Takeaways: Day 1 of Holiday Hoopsgiving

SNELLVILLE, Ga. – Day one of the annual Holiday Hoopsgiving event featured eight games and a long list of future college stars. Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy was on hand for the entire day of action in the Atlanta suburbs and provides news and notes from the event below.

*****

Rivals Roundtable: Giving thanks, surprise player, Louisville

2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team

2025 Rankings: Top 40

Transfer Portal: Latest news

*****

Trentyn Flowers is ranked as the No. 24 prospect in 2024 class and spent Friday backing up his rankings with an impressive, 23-point effort that saw him shoot an efficient 9-for-12 from the floor and help his Combine Academy team to a win over Atlanta-based The Skill factory High School squad.

Flowers’ stats were impressive, sure, but even more important to the Georgia-born prospect’s long-term future is his improved strength and the improving ability to create for himself in the mid-range via pull-up jumpers from multiple spots on the floor. Flowers’ scoring effort was well-balanced, but it’s also clear that the junior is starting to improve as a defender, where his long arms and solid instincts resulted in nine rebounds and caused problems for the opposition from the jump.

Following the game, Flowers said he may take one, final official visit this year before shutting recruiting travel down until next summer and cutting his list, which currently stands at 13 schools, to include just five programs.

“I’m looking at Georgetown for a visit right now, even though I’ve already been up there once on an unofficial,” Flowers said. “Florida State and maybe, like, Kentucky too. I’m looking at all those.”

Physically, Tyran Stokes looks more like a major college football prospect than a 15-year-old basketball player. Alas, he’s the latter. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward, who just turned 15 on Oct. 12, is, simply put, a man child. On Friday, he routinely manhandled prospects older than him for much of a 40-minute game and created some highlights in the process. In the first half of the contest, Stokes caught a lob one-handed and threw it down from above the rim to complete one of the plays of the day. The dunk brought the gym to its feet, but it wasn’t the most impressive thing about the freshman’s game.

Stokes plays with the aggression, instincts and athleticism of a senior. So while he needs some serious polishing when it comes to shooting and handling the ball, he projects as a strong, but hyper-versatile forward capable of playing multiple frontcourt positions, even if it seems as though he’s best suited for the 4 as things stand.

Stokes finished Friday’s game with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds while leading his Prolific Prep team to a comfortable win over a stacked Southern California Academy squad.

Stokes, whose only unofficial visit thus far was to Louisville for the program’s Louisville Live event, said he’s in frequent contact with Indiana and thinks the Hoosiers might be mulling an offer. Despite being from the state of Kentucky originally, Stokes grew up a fan of North Carolina and cited Caleb Love as his favorite Tar Heel. UNC has yet to make contact with the freshman or his coaches, however.

Flowers’ big game will get most of the pub – and rightfully so – but his teammate, USC-bound point guard Silas Demary was also extremely impressive at times, dictating pace and showing a knack for putting pressure on opposing teams with quickness and confidence in his passing ability. The future Trojan played with pace without ever seeming out of control, and finished the game with 12 points and six rebounds and three assists. His explosiveness and added muscle build allow him to get to his spots with ease in addition to absorbing contact on his way to hoop with more regularity than he did last year at this time.

Demary still needs some work when it comes to limiting turnovers, however, as he committed seven on Friday. And while it was a hot-and-cold effort to say the least, nearly all of Demary's seven turnovers were of an aggressive nature, not passive blunders.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH USC FANS AT TROJANSPORTS.COM

One of the most touted prospects in the class of 2026, 6-foot-5 wing Caleb Holt backed up the chatter that already surrounds him with a 30-point, nine-rebound performance that saw the freshman star knock down three 3-pointers. He also flashed the size, skill and devastating quickness that has already earned him offers from schools such as Florida, Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.

There’s still plenty of development to go, particularly when it comes to his defensive effort and his ball-handling ability, but Holt’s upside is certainly that of a top-flight national prospect should he continue to add polish. On Friday, he showcased dazzling upper-body strength for a freshman as well as the ability to finish through contact even when finishing through multiple defenders at the rack. He was often forced to create his own shot and did so without much issue, be it against an opponent that, while solid, lacked elite college prospects.

As for the early stages of his college recruitment, Holt says he talks to coaches from Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss most often but grew up a North Carolina fan and named the program as a “dream school.”

“My favorite North Carolina player is Kenny Smith [who helped coach my AAU team this year].” Holt said on Friday. “I just grew up a fan of UNC basketball as a whole, though.”

Texas is set to host five-star big man Yves Missi for an official visit on Dec. 8, and Missi says it's the Longhorns along with Baylor, Nebraska and Stanford that are in most frequent contact as of late. But while his offer list is long and seemingly growing by the month, Missi is most focused on his upcoming trip to Austin.

“I’m looking to get there and keep building my relationship with coach [Chris] Beard and the coaches, but I also want to see Texas’ style of play and things like that,” Missi said on Friday.

Missi showcased his trademark rim-protecting ability in his Prolific Prep’s team win on Friday, recording four blocks to go along with 10 rebounds and six points. Missi is one of the premier defensive players in the 2024 class and his offensive game seems to be coming along nicely to boot.