Shaw's Takeaways: ABC Fall League
CONCORD, N.C. – The second annual ABC Fall League just wrapped up its third week of games. College coaches were tuned in, media members were along the sidelines and top performers were across the three courts.
If you would like to watch the action, all games are archived HERE.
Rivals.com’s Jamie Shaw was there for all the action, and here is who shined in week three.
Defense wins championships, and there may not be a better on-ball defender in the region. The 6-foot-4 Silas Demary, Jr. has won 60 of his last 62 games, including a UAA 16u championship and a North Carolina 4A state championship. Demary, Jr. has incredible defensive instincts, along with an innate toughness (his father was a college football player and played professionally).
The 2023 guard at Charlotte (N.C.) Liberty Heights Academy showcased pace, court vision and the ability to make shots. Providence, VCU and Texas A&M are early offers with Wake Forest, Tennessee and NC State showing interest. Demary, Jr. is a winner, and he does winning things.
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Austin Schwartz is a smooth guard with the ball in his hands. The sophomore stands 6-foot-4 and has a jump shot that he can get off from 28 feet and in. Concord (N.C.) Cannon School is coming off a state championship, and sent Jarvis Moss to Stanford. Swartz is ready to step right into Moss’ role as the go to bucket getter, as he is scoring with or without the ball.
In the 2024 class, Swartz carries an early Houston Baptist offer, but since the start of the ABC Fall League, Virginia, Kansas, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and others have picked up their interest in Swartz. He is tracking as one of the five best players in North Carolina’s loaded 2024 class and should end up a national recruit.
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A high-major coach walked out of Charlotte (N.C.) Liberty Heights practice last week and said, “That Prather is like Seth Curry 2.0.” Listed at 6-foot-4, the shooting guard has a great feel for the game and a skillset that makes the game easy. He is a smooth shooter with deep range and a consistent, high release, both off the catch or the bounce.
Prather came to North Carolina with offers from Jacksonville State, Akron, and USC Upstate. After his three weeks in the ABC Fall League, Prather has picked up offers from Rhode Island and Wichita State. Coaches from Wake Forest, Illinois, Texas, Florida and more are now recruiting him as well. It has been quite the rise for the top-five prospect in his state.
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Noah Van Bibber transferred to Concord (N.C.) Academy in the summer, and he did so with no offers and no coaches talking to him. The 6-foot-5 Van Bibber is a bouncy shooting guard with natural ability to score. Everything Van Bibber does is set up by his jump shot, but his balance, footwork and confidence makes it hard to defend him in the half court. Van Bibber is a high academic student who has averaged 3.5 made threes per game and 13 points in only 18 minutes of running clock.
With no real recruitment three weeks ago, Liberty, Davidson, Charlotte, Wofford, Furman and others are starting to target him as part of their 2023 class. More schools should start to get involved once he is seen more. His cousin is Clemson senior Hunter Tyson.
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Takai Simpkins is perhaps one of the most overlooked players in the Southeast. The explosive lead guard is a game-changing defensive presence. His game is filled with electricity, whether it be on the break or turning the corner and dunking on a late rotating big. Simpkins plays winning basketball. He is also showing good pace in the half court and knocking down open threes on ball rotations.
The 6-foot-2 guard also has a twin, Tajuan Simpkins. Paired up, the two pick up full court, and cut the court in half. On the ball, or off the ball, they make life tough on any opposing guards and impossible to get into sets with enough time on the shot clock. With nothing in hand yet, the pair should have numerous D-I offers as their seasons progress. Whether Takai is by himself or paired with Tajuan, they both make plays that win basketball games, it is as simple as that.
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Point guard Marcus Morgan has been steadying presence for Concord (N.C.) Cox Mill. The younger brother of Cornell's all-time leading scorer Matt Morgan has seen his recruitment pick up of late with schools from the American East, Ivy, and Southern have started to pay serious attention to Morgan. A high academic, calming presence, with great basketball genes, it seems like a safe bet to take a chance on him in the 2022 class.