Five Standout Frosh Part 2
'On the Rise'
While it's way too early for Phenom Hoops to calculate our North Carolina 2024 rankings, we decided to take a closer look at some of the state's top freshmen. In our first segment, we featured 6'8 Jarin Stevenson (Northwood HS), 6'5 Drake Powell (Northwood HS), 6'2 Zion Walker (The Burlington School), 6'5 Bishop Boswell (South Mecklenburg) and 6'6 Maurio Hanson (Vance HS). https://phenomhoopreport.com/five-standout-freshmen-stock-on-the-rise/
Today, we will take another look at some of the other top freshmen in the state.
6'4 Jahseem Felton (Northside Christian)
No player has had as much national publicity coming into their freshman season than Jahseem Felton. Felton has been highly regarded as one of the top eight graders in the country last year, if not the best. While we tend not to rank players until their sophomore season in high school, Felton will also be in consideration for the top spot in the loaded North Carolina 2024 class. We had ample opportunities to watch Felton at our NC Junior Phenom Camp and he simply dominated the competition. Now, he is a freshman in high school and going against players one, two, three and four years older. One thing is for certain, Felton is highly skilled and is simply poised beyond his years. At our NC Junior Phenom Camp evaluation, we stated the following. 'The do it all player has all the tools. Felton can be as good as he wishes to be. He can handle, pass, rebound and score. He's balanced beyond his years.' Felton recently transferred to Northside Christian and is averaging 11 PPG and 3.5 APG.
6'4 Rakease Passmore (A.C. Reynolds)
It's not often to find a freshman leading the way for a varsity team, but that is the case for Rakease Passmore. Passmore is putting up big numbers for the 8-2 A.C. Reynolds where he is averaging 15.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.1 BPG. The super athletic wing has bounce, speed and explosion in the open court. Jake Senyo of Ranking Report stated the following on his Open Gym Report. 'Passmore is the best freshman in the conference in my opinion. Made a name for himself this travel ball season. A high flyer!! In speaking with Coach Ryan Steven, he stated, 'Passmore is a great athlete with a tremendous upside. He is extremely active on the defensive end and is explosive in transition. He provides instant rebounding and alters shots very well in the paint. Rakease will be looked upon to have an immediate impact on this team on both ends of the floor.' Photo courtesy of Ranking Report
6'5 Lewis Walker (Winston-Salem Christian)
We first introduced Lewis Walker to our Phenom audience when he was a freshman at North Forsyth. Our very own Jeff Bendel stated the following. 'Walker's young but already displaying impressive signs of maturity and overall understanding of the game. He's smart, built like a tank, and affects various facets of the game, but is still truly just beginning to scratch the surface on his long-term potential.' This season, Walker has been outstanding on the Winston-Salem Christian Regional team and is now also playing on the National team. In speaking with head coach Antonio Lowe, 'Walker is making major contributions, which is impressive due to the competitive nature of their schedule.' Walker is tough, skilled, and able to seamlessly defend multiple positions. After being a top-twenty scorer in the state as a freshman (per MaxPreps), it'll be interesting to see what areas Walker begins to prioritize. He's shown a pretty versatile array of tools and understands the game quite well for his age, leaving him with a ton of possibilities going forward.'
6'5 Paul McNeil (Richmond Senior)
Talk about putting up big-time numbers, Paul McNeil is flat out getting it done for Richmond Senior. Currently 3-1 for the season and is averaging an impressive 18.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.7 BPG. More importantly, McNeil has a stellar 3.3 GPA in the classroom. Earlier this year, Phenom's Jeff Bendel stated, 'With the recent emergence of Nygie Stroman, it's only fitting that another notable prospect comes through the Richmond Senior program in McNeil. Already blessed with quality skill and positional size, he should be able to carve out a productive role and contribute right away. McNeil handles the ball well, displays craftiness, and shoots at a high clip from mid-range and beyond the arc. He creates well for himself and others, utilizes his length effectively on defense, and makes a quality impact in transition. Though somewhat under the radar, expect McNeil's name to pick up in circulation over the coming years.'
6'8 Brayden Crump (Winston-Salem Christian)
It's not often you find a 6’8 freshmen with the advanced skill set as Brayden Crump. Unfortunately, Crump encountered a hip injury and is sidelined for the season. That being said, Crump had a terrific summer showcasing his skill set. He's a talented young player that reminds us of a young Christian Laettner. Already sporting an offer from Texas A&M, Crump will be the target of high major schools this summer. Phenom's Jeff Bendel recently wrote, 'Crump has gone from relatively unknown to being widely considered the top prospect in this class within the last year or so. He's smart, smooth, and polished with an impressive inside-out skill set and the ability to cause a ton of matchup problems. Crump shoots the ball at a high clip, operates well off the bounce, and highlights a nice blend of vision, toughness, and rebounding. He has the ability to handle the ball in transition or when attacking opponents at his position as a penetrator. Crump already has a foundation that could seamlessly transition to the next level, so it'll be exciting to monitor his progression going forward.'
In our Part 3 addition, we will take a closer look at Austin Schwartz, Draven Pilson, Kobe George, Langston Boyd and Zion Collins.
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