Phenom National High School Showcase
Day One Thoughts and Take A Ways
Oak Hill Academy bounces back in a big way
Legendary coach Steve Smith has an unbelievable 94. % winning percentage at Oak Hill. Oak Hill losing is like a celestial “blue moon” event that happens just once in a while. After being upset by Combine Academy at the Carmel Classic Tip Off Classic, Coach Steve Smith stated the team had a great week of practice. The main focal point was moving the ball better with faster and more precise passes. In the game against Crestwood Academy, Oak Hill was clicking on all cylinders and making the extra pass was definitely the focal point in the week of practice. Oak Hill had a believable 4:1 assist to turnover ratio as the Warriors finished with 16 assists to only four turnovers. The mark of a great and well coached team is how they respond to adversity. In this case with Oak Hill, they passed the test with flying colors.
The effortless scorer
There’s no denying the obvious. There is not a more prolific scorer in the country than 6’3 senior Cam Thomas. Simply put, he makes the game look easy, whether it is showcasing a runner using either foot and the move of the day came off a step back 3-pointer just using a one jab fade away jumper that only touched the bottom of the nets. For the game, Thomas finished with 22 points and made an array of difficult offensive moves that he made look way too easy.
The Floor General
It’s easy to see why 6’3 sophomore Jaden Bradley (Cannon) is regarded as the nation’s top point guard in the 2022 class. In the game against Greenfield School, Bradley finished with 27 points, dished out four assists, collected two steals and only committed one turnover. More importantly, Bradley definitely has the “it factor.” He makes his teammates better and is one of the most unselfish and team first players we’ve seen in quite some time. Some people may ask, how can someone score 27 points and still be labelled as so unselfish. First of all, Bradley allows the game come to him and rarely tries to hunt or manufacture his own points.
Production, production, and production
6’0 Creighton Lebo was instrumental in leading Greenfield to the NCISAA 1A state championship last year. He is once again putting up big numbers, but his game against Cannon was just another example of how valuable he is to his team. Lebo finished with 25 points going 8-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the 3-point line, and 6-7 from the free throw line. In addition, he collected six rebounds before fouling out. He’s hard to imagine that Lebo doesn’t own one D1 or D2 offer. We’re talking about a player that sports an impressive skill set, high basketball IQ, and is as efficient as they come.
Not just a two-man show
Moravian Prep has quickly jumped into the national conversation and 5 star Josh Hall and 4 star Shakeel Moore leading the way. That being said, this team is extremely deep and has a boatload of D1 talent, including 6’5 Jahamri Harvey. Harvey has been saddled to limited duty in the pre-season due to a nagging injury, but in their game against ISA Academy, Harvey showed how valuable he will be to this Moravian Prep team. Harvey was both efficient and productive by finishing with 23 points, going 8-10 from the floor, and 5-7 from the 3-point line. In addition, he collected three rebounds and dished out three assists.
