This past weekend, Phenom Hoops traveled out to Rise Indoor Sports for our annual March Madness. The event featured a lot of notable teams, prospects, and overall storylines worth following. While there were several 17U teams who performed well, Cap City Charlotte stood above the rest to claim the championship. They have a highly recruitable team featuring college-level unsigned seniors like Jared Taylor, Ryan Evans, Nate Tavares, Josh Tolchin, and Dennis Kurucu in addition to their junior trio of Tyree White, Chris Rivens, and Samaj Long. Let’s take a closer look at some of their pieces…
Their available prospects in the Class of 2024 shouldn’t be available much longer. We wrote recently about Taylor and his (fairly obvious) appeal as a long, bouncy forward/post with the ability to make a consistent two-way impact around the basket. Taylor finishes, rebounds, block shots, and spaces the floor. He’s a strong athlete with plenty of upside remaining. Meanwhile, Evans is another guy who should entice a variety of different programs. His value as a tough, scrappy wing with legit size and smooth perimeter shooting shouldn’t require much explanation. Evans competes hard, makes hustle plays, and adapts to various roles with this group.
The trio of Tavares, Tolchin, and Kurucu have each shown next-level ability. Tavares is a heady guard who can initiate the offense, create for others, score from all levels, and make his presence felt defensively at the point of attack. Tolchin is a reliable shooter who moves the ball, fills in the gaps, and provides a generally steady identity at all times. Lastly, Kurucu is a 6-foot-5 forward with nice strength, athleticism, and interior ability. He rebounds, alters shots, finishes around the basket, and spaces the floor as needed. All three exemplify terrific feel and the understanding of how to produce within a role or expand their production as needed.
Regarding their juniors, it’s easy to be impressed with what they’ve shown through the first few weeks of the travel ball season. White has shined as an incredibly smart, reliable floor general who offers the perfect balance of scoring and playmaking. He possesses a tight handle and precise creation skills, highlighting the ability to get wherever he wants, make proper reads, and set up his teammates in favorable scoring positions. White plays with excellent pace and patience. His general IQ and understanding of how to run a team are very high. White is also an efficient scoring threat who is comfortable working without the ball, as he’s a useful cutter and spot-up threat who naturally puts himself in a position to succeed. He rebounds well for his size and pushes effectively in transition. White also communicates and leads by example.
His backcourt mate, Rivens, has been reliably producing as a focal point for this group. He’s a capable creator with feel and quality two-way energy. However, most of his production comes through his shooting and overall ability to score the ball from all levels. He’s continually expanded his game off the bounce and can reliably convert pull-up jumpers, but is arguably at his best when hitting shots off the catch. Rivens is an engaged defender and willing rebounder.
Rounding out this group, Long is a quick, heady utility piece who can do a little bit of everything on the court. He’s a quality athlete with the ability to get downhill and make proper reads, whether finishing or kicking out to others. Long knocks down jumpers at a respectable rate and is comfortable with or without the ball in his hands. Add in his motor, transition presence, and defensive instincts, and it’s easy to see what makes him a valuable piece.
