While the National Prep Showcase tends to feature older prospects by nature of it being a prep school event, a pair of sophomores made waves on day one. Four-star point guard
Tremont Waters had an interesting day while scoring 20 points, dishing out six assists and grabbing 10 rebounds and sophomore shooting guard
Hamidou Diallo announced his presence as a high-major prospect notching 21 points and seven rebounds.
The reason that we mention it was an interesting day for Waters is that while he ended up with a nice line and led his South Kent (Conn.) Prep team to a win over Fishburne Academy, he experienced some bumps in the road. Waters only shot 6-19 from the field (1-7 from three) and he had seven turnovers.
From a scouting standpoint, the cause of most of his mistakes can be related to the 5-foot-9 point guard's lack of strength and a tendency to over dribble the ball at times. These are things that will be easily corrected with maturity and seasoning and besides that, Waters does so much so well.
Blessed with a very high skill level and a tremendous feel for the game, Waters is very confident with the ball. He sets up his defenders with hesitations and changes of pace and he reads ball screens like a grizzled specimen. Go under the screen and he can shoot over the top of it, hedge with a big man and he'll drag him out away from the hoop and turn the corner on him. He finds teammates, he controls tempo and he is a guy who can be trusted to make good decisisions.
He's not quite the vertical athlete Phil Pressey was at the same age, but he shoots the ball better and is similar in many ways to the current Celtic. Waters told Rivals.com that he's not currently focusing on his recruitment and he declined to list any schools. However,
Connecticut,
Wake Forest, St. John's,
Purdue,
Seton Hall and many more have been involved early.
While Waters entered the NPS with a pretty big reputation, Diallo made his. A 6-foot-3 shooting guard from New York who plays at Putnam (Conn.) Science Academy, there has been some buzz that he was poised for a big season. A fluid athlete, Diallo more than backed that up and looks like a pretty safe bet to end up a target of many high-major programs.
To start off with, Diallo has all of the physical tools. He has long arms, he gets off the floor quickly and he has an outstanding first step. Long and lean, he can navigate through traffic and despite being skinny, he is able to take a bump and keep his balance and not lose his athleticism.
Most impressively, though, is that Diallo looks to have the skill part of the game down as well. A summertime member of the NYC Jayhawks program, Diallo is a good ball-handler from the wing, shoots with easy range to the three-point line and he has a nicely developed mid-range game featuring pull-up jumpers and floaters.
Diallo said
Temple and
Minnesota have made him early offers and he feels that Providence is on the cusp of making him an offer. Given where he is now and where he looks like he could be down the road, more high-level programs should be joining soon.
Fork Union (Va.) Military almost made a huge comeback. Down close to 20 points against Notre Dame, three-star guards
Kamau StokesClick One of the most impressive performers of the day was 6-foot-8 power forward Chris BaldwinClick More Friday standouts, notesHere to view this Link. of Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep. Originally a class of 2015 kid who has shown flashes in the past, Baldwin had it all together on Friday in a 22-point, eight rebound and three block effort. Despite not getting enough touches in the low post he showed strength, good hands, explosiveness off the floor and nice touch while making a very efficient 9-11 field goals. If he stays in the class of 2016, he looks like a lock to move into the Rivals150 and if he gets persuaded to head to college as a 2015 kid, then he will contest for it. Look for high majors in the Northeast to start turning it up on him.Here to view this Link. and
Khyri ThomasClick One of the most impressive performers of the day was 6-foot-8 power forward Chris BaldwinClick More Friday standouts, notesHere to view this Link. of Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep. Originally a class of 2015 kid who has shown flashes in the past, Baldwin had it all together on Friday in a 22-point, eight rebound and three block effort. Despite not getting enough touches in the low post he showed strength, good hands, explosiveness off the floor and nice touch while making a very efficient 9-11 field goals. If he stays in the class of 2016, he looks like a lock to move into the Rivals150 and if he gets persuaded to head to college as a 2015 kid, then he will contest for it. Look for high majors in the Northeast to start turning it up on him.Here to view this Link. refused to let their team go out without a fight. Down the stretch, Stokes hit three of his four three-pointers in the final minute and a half of regulation (including a buzzer-beater) to force overtime. Stokes signed with Toledo in 2014, but the Baltimore native is back on the market and he's a scoring point guard at 5-foot-10 with quickness and a dangerous pull-up jumper. He finished the day with 33 points, a pair of assists and five rebounds.