Our staff made the trek over to Rock Hill, South Carolina this weekend for the #RockTheRock Tournament hosted by BigShots. Rock Hill is not only the home (D1) Winthrop University, but also the beautiful Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. This facility holds 9 basketball courts under one roof and the team over at Bigshots filled it up - to the tune of 200+ teams. Today we got a chance to check in and watch some top regarded prospects to see how their game has been developing. We also got the surprise of watching a few emerging prospects that should become well known over the next few months. Join us we go through our notes from Saturday & highlight some of the standout performers.
Class of 2023 (PG) Stylz Gardner of Team Loaded 757 had a really strong showing today as he knocked down (5) three’s on his way 21 points in the win over BigShots SC “Salley”. He was shooting the ball with great confidence – both off the catch and dribble. He has the ability to play on the ball and control the tempo of the team. Loved the way he handled the ball to create not only his shot but for others well. Very intriguing prospect that is a must see this summer.
Coaches that are looking into the class of 2024 already need to spend some time evaluating and getting to know Jaylen Claggett of BSA Supreme 2024. He is playing up 17U this weekend and hasn’t missed a stride. Jaylen can really shoot the ball from the perimeter. It takes him little time to get his shot off, and he isn’t a volume shooter type of player. He is a good athlete as well, combined with good ball handling skills and a high IQ. There are rumors circling about him potentially reclassifying as well… Coaches make this Charlotte (NC) based team a priority to see this summer.
Class of 2024 Jordan Burgess of Columbia Elite 16U can play with the best of them. He has a great handle, is very shifty with ball, and gets downhill to make plays for him- self and for others. We have seen Jordan several times this spring and one common denominator is that he stays in ATTACK MODE. We haven’t seen defenders be able to
contain him off the bounce consistently yet, and he isn’t selfish when attacking the basket. He is a must see for college coaches heading into the July live periods.
Looking ahead to the Class of 2026, I would be remiss if I didn’t take time to highlight Chris Morrison of Prospect U 8th Grade. In maybe the game of the day, Chris led his team with 15pts to a win over Team Shack. He used his ball handling ability to slice through defenses and get to the cup at will. Already, he has a variety of skills in his bag (spin moves, euro-steps, step-backs – you name it). This exciting young prospect will be fun to watch in the years to come.