We got a lot of the young guys over at Proehlific Park today! Chris Sause, Kedrick Flomo, Myself, and many others will be bringing you all of the action from over here today! Let’s take a look at some of the top performers!
5’9 2021 Clay Hodges: Carolina Riptide/Lake Norman
Hodges is such a consistent performer for this Carolina Riptide group in the way he sets the tone with his tenacity on both ends of the court. He lays his body on the line, diving after loose balls and driving into the paint on larger defenders creating a sense of scrappiness and toughness every time he steps on the floor. His vision is what gets lost in all of this because he’s one of the better 15U passers in the event this week, always finding cutters and making the right pass to lead the fast break. Hodges will more than likely end up playing varsity at Lake Norman next year.
6’1 2021 Christian Taylor: Carolina Riptide/Lake Norman
Taylor is really showing flashes of becoming a star on the wing for this Carolina Riptide team and eventually Lake Norman. He’s really good at handling the ball, breaking down his defender, getting to the cup, drawing contact, and getting to the line. This entire Carolina Riptide group plays their absolute tails off and Taylor is no exception, you know at the end of every game Taylor is going to end up with 12+ points, 7+ rebounds, and more often than not a W.
5’9 2021 Jordan Timmons: Team Winston 15U/Parkland High School
Timmons is a tenacious lead guard that does a great job finding teammates on the break and staying aggressive in a zone defensive system. He has excellent lateral footwork on that end, to go with excellent anticipation when it comes to picking off passes in the zone. He’s great at breaking down the defense and finding his guys on the other end. He’s a classic defense first, distributing point guard that’s an asset to every team.
6’0 2021 Omari Bolden: Team Winston 15U/Parkland High School
Bolden is a smooth operator on the offensive end that scores at all three levels and does so extremely comfortably. He’s a true combo guard that does a really good job exploiting mis-matches at the offensive end. Super patient when attacking, yet never loses concentration of the pace that his squad likes to play with. He’s 100% a prospect to watch moving forward within the Triad region.
5’10 2021 Camden Johnson: PSB Wilmot/Metrolina Christian
Johnson is simply a bucket getter and is one of the more productive shooters in the 2021 class I’ve seen all week. He went 6/7 from deep showing his efficiency, to go with 8 assists and 10 rebounds which was the most outstanding thing about his performance. I love the way he affects the stat sheet in a variety of ways, propelling his group to a big victory over a talented NC Ice 2021 group. Expect him to pick up a major role with Metrolina Christian next year.
5’9 2021 Ryan Hirsch: PSB Wilmot/Charlotte Latin
Hirsch is one of the grittiest kids I’ve seen all week that is capable of making shots on the offensive end. He just plays with such a high level of effort, it just jumps right off the floor making it hard to ignore. I love his ability to knock down one dribble pull-ups and catch and shoot 3s, it really spreads the floor for this group that likes to play the 2018 position-less style of basketball that you see so often now. He’s definitely one to watch for D3s and possibly D2s moving forward.
6’9 2021 Eric Van Der Heijden: Team Wall 15U/Ravenscroft
This dude is a knock down shooter at 6’9 and is really starting to look like a bonafide high major prospect. At 15 years old he’s a great athlete what can become a true face up combo big if he continues to bulk his frame and produce the what he has been. Expect him to have a MAJOR impact at Ravenscroft next year and attract the attention of D1s throughout the region over the course of the next 2-3 years.
