Names to know from EYBL Hampton 15U division
HAMPTON, Va. -- One of the best parts of the EYBL's Hampton stop was the chance to see 15U and 16U teams come through the main site. Today we take a look at player's from the 15U division that we'll be keeping an eye on down the road like high-flying freshman Christian Brown.
The Georgia Stars made it to the quarterfinals of the 15U draw and have a very nice looking young squad. Point guard Ashton Hagans already has tremendous size at 6-foot-3 and is comfortable playing as either a distributor or scorer. He already has offers from Georgia, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State and Tennessee. Also impressive for the Stars was high-flying wing Christian Brown. An energetic and tough wing with 6-foot-6 size, he looks like a future high major player himself. A product of South Carolina, Brown scored an offer from Clemson during April.
Winning the championship in the 15U division was another Atlanta-based team -- the Athletes of Tomorrow (AOT) Running Rebels. They swarmed with relentless guard play but wing Isaac Okoro and big man Babatunde Akengbola really caught our eye. Okoro is a well put together wing with athleticism who can shoot with some range while Akengbola is a skinny, athletic and active big who chased down a lot of loose balls.
The CP3 All-Stars have a very promising group of freshmen. Wing Marcus Watson really impressed with his strongly built frame, ability to attack the rim and make jumpers at 6-foot-4. It's too early to tell whether six-footer Chaz Gwynn is more natural at the point or shooting guard, but he can certainly score the ball. Drawing their first offer recently, from Virginia Tech, were twins Kobe Langley and Keyshaun Langley. Like most twins, there will be great debate about which is better and how they differentiate. Both are skinny, live-legged combo guards who can shoot and attack the rim.
Maybe the single most talented team in the 15U field was Nike Team Florida who fell in the semis. Also teammates at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University, 6-foot-9 Vernon Carey and seven-footer Balsa Koprivica immediately catch your eye. Carey is strong, rebounds and has skill to go with a great body to grow into. Koprivica lacks strength, but moves quite fluidly and has impressive agility and shooting touch for a young player as tall as he is. Florida, Baylor and Miami have already offered the duo. Also impressing for NTF were a pair of players we had seen during the high school year, point guard Marquise Walker and forward C.J. Walker. Hailing from Illinois, Marquise Walker is a physically tough, aggressive and sometimes flashy point guard who looks to put pressure on defenders. C.J. Walker is a skinny 6-foot-6 Floridian with a great motor, good skill and length for days.
The Playaz Basketball Club had a trio that looked good in Paul Mulcahy, Cartier Bowman and Al-Amir Dawes. An athletic swingman who looks like his jumper should develop into a weapon, Bowman played with tremendous energy and looks like a future above-the-rim finisher. Mulcahy already has very good size at 6-foot-4, can shoot with range and is a very good playmaker off the dribble. Dawes is a scoring point who is crafty with his dribble. Both Dawes and Mulcahy have scored early offers from Rutgers.
We hate to make comparisons too early, but Team Final's Khyree Temple plays like a baby version of Team Final alum -- and current Brooklyn Net -- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. He's 6-foot-5 with long arms, relentless energy, big-time athleticism and he plays with a mean streak on both ends.
Cut out of the same mold as Temple is Romeo Weems of The Family. 6-foot-6 with long arms, the New Haven (Mich.) High small forward is physically tough, athletic and he plays with lots of aggression. He tracked down rebounds, sought the basket in transition and showed tremendous confidence while looking like as much like a Big Ten priority recruit as a freshman in high school can.
The state of Ohio is looking pretty good in 2019 and the King James Shooting Stars are reflective of that. Power forward Alonzo Gaffney is a big-time athlete with huge upside. Combo guard Samari Curtis is an outstanding off-the-dribble scorer and wing Jordan Mitchell looks like an easy high-major target -- and he already has an Ohio State offer -- with his 6-foot-5 size, ability to handle and athleticism. Also impressing was compact and tough combo guard Andre Gordon, who loves to attack the bucket and might have been the most explosive athlete we saw in that age group.
The PSA Cardinals have plenty of talent of their own. Big man Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd looks skilled both inside and out and he's got a body to grow in. Originally a class of 2018 kid, 6-foot-6 wing Ismael Massoud has moved to 2019 and will attend the MacDuffie School in Springfield, Mass. Massoud can shoot the heck out of the ball from deep and has good ball skills.
Finally, Team Durant and the Alabama Challenge each had some guys that we will be tracking. For Team Durant, 6-foot-3 shooting guard Jay Heath was one of the better players we saw in the 15U division. He's long, bouncy and can shoot from deep. For the Challenge, Kira Lewis looks like a shooting guard that will make his way onto many high major radars. He has a crisp jump shot and is an explosive athlete with big upside. Also intriguing for the Challenge was 6-foot-7 combo forward DeAntoni Gordon. He's got length and some athleticism to go along with a very early offer from New Mexico State.