ATLANTA – The Tipoff Classic is beginning to cement its standing as one of the best non-shoe sponsored events of the travel ball season. After a tremendous four-game session on Friday evening, we take a look at the 10 things we learned in Atlanta.
The unlimited upside of Jabari Smith. He was a standout earlier this month at the USA Basketball Next Generation Camp and was even better on Friday night. Looking every bit the part of 6-foot-9 with tremendous length, fluidity to his movements and a feel for the game, Smith is what a pro looks like at the age of 15. He can slide between spots in the frontcourt, make shots from off of the catch and off of the pull, and finish in the lane. Ranked 33rd in America, it won’t be much longer before he receives the coveted five-star rating as, for the hot take of the night, is potentially one of the five best sophomore prospects in America.
Sharife Cooper is one of the savviest guards in America. The five-star standout has never been short on production and while he has made his calling in the scoring department, it was nice to see threads of playmaking and premier passing skills woven into the fabric of his outing on Friday evening. Auburn, Kansas and Kentucky are the three most talked about programs with Cooper as he enters his senior travel season as he continues to state his claim as one of the best guards in the 2020 class.
Corey Walker is a complete throwback. Who uses the backboard anymore? Walker does but besides his angle playing abilities from 15-feet and in, what was even more impressive was his point-forward capabilities in Atlanta. Already committed to Tennessee, Walker might be the king on the chess board for Rick Barnes. His skillset should transition seamlessly to UT and with it, become a household name within the sport immediately upon his enrollment.
There aren’t many as polished or as smooth as BJ Boston. The five-star junior continues to throw tricks into his bag, his newest coming via the Euro-step in the lane on Friday evening that would have made Manu Ginobili applaud. He has to get stronger, that we know, but his upside, polished scoring acumen and ability to impact the game when used on and off of the ball remain as strong as ever. The four to beat are Auburn, Duke, Florida and Kentucky, and a commitment could come before his senior travel ball season completes.
Jordan Meka has one of the best motors in America. His skillset still needs more tweaking but there are not many harder playing forwards in America than Meka. His recruitment is rather limited currently with offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State in hand. He might be best used as a small ball center at the next level and if he can find the right setting, his ability to help a winning program by way of his defensive versatility, scoring in the lane and impact on the weakside glass would be felt immediately.
Rice nabbed a steal early in the 2020 class. The commitment of Cameron Sheffield didn’t receive a ton of praise as it came last fall but that doesn’t mean that Sheffield’s services in two years won’t go without a quick impact on the CUSA program. The Game Elite product made a number of plays from out of his area while proving to be a threat to the 3-point line whenever the opportunity was allotted. Rice continues to enroll quality talent and Sheffield will be the next in line.
There are not many better passers than Marcus Fitzgerald. The product out of Nashville, Tennessee impressed on Friday with his passing skills and floor control at the point of attack. So far, ETSU and Tennessee State are the lone two programs to have offered. That will be changing soon because playmaking agents that can knock down shots and defend are harder and harder to find; he has been to the campuses of Murray State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in recent months.
Ernest Ross is the next blow-up candidate from Florida. A smooth and fluid 6-foot-10 power forward that can defend arguably all three spots in the frontcourt, Ross is just scratching the surface of what he can become. He can already stretch the defense with the perimeter jumper but it is his energy, fluid leaping skills and length that really stand out. He is going to be a well-recruited power conference recruit by the end of the summer as Xavier has already offered, while Florida and Oklahoma are keeping tabs.
Scoring and defense will make Nahiem Alleyne a live period breakout. A 6-foot-3 guard that was born in New York but moved to Atlanta in third grade, it is a bit surprising hearing of the lackluster recruitment that Alleyne leads. The lefty guard plays with confidence as he can score from all three levels and has deceptive athleticism at the basket. Throw in his defensive prowess and what you have is a two-way threat that holds offers from Hofstra and the old St. John’s staff. Could he be the next Bryce Brown? Maybe, as he has been to the campuses of Auburn and South Carolina within the past year.
The downhill abilities of KD Johnson are second to none. We can pick him apart all day and wish he was more of a playmaker, which he has become better at, than a scorer first but we also need to bring greater attention to the toughness, competitive drive and takeover abilities of Johnson. The Rivals150 guard was the primary reason why his Game Elite unit took home on the W on Friday night as he continues to lead a well followed recruitment where Auburn, Georgia and Georgia Tech may be the three to beat.
