Championship Saturday Names to Know
6’2″ 2019 Chico Carter Jr. (Murray St)
Cardinal Newman (SC)
Carter Jr. was the MVP of the Crescent Moon bracket and won MVP of all three of his team’s wins. Carter Jr. is a competitive point guard who is able to score at every level, with consistency. He is more explosive that you expect and he has a tough downhill handle. Carter Jr. can defend the ball and he has good court vision. Heading off the Murray State, who has put their last three PGs into the NBA 1st round, he will follow in line.
6’4″ 2019 Alec Woodard (Austin Peay)
Morgan County (GA)
Woodard is a lot of things, but the word tough is what continues to come up. He is a strong framed wing, who just makes plays and produces across the floor. He was an incredible shot maker though out the event, averaging 4 made 3s per game. He is a tough rebounder and an instinctive defender. Austin Peay Head Coach Matt Figger will enjoy four years of this one, something tells us he will find his way onto the floor early, and be hard to take off.
6’11” 2019 Kadin Shedrick (Virginia)
Holly Springs (NC)
Shedrick is an elite defensive prospect, there is no easy way around it. He averaged a 11 blocks per game in this event, playing against very good and individually talented teams. Shedrick has great length (7’4″ wing span) and the ability to move his feet with great footwork. Virginia is known for taking under the radar guys and maximizing their abilities, their weight program is one of the best in the country, Shedrick picked a great school and has a world of opportunity.
6′ 2020 Kenari Jones
Great Bridge Christian (VA)
Jones set an event record finishing with 41 points in this one. He scored the ball very well in this one, showing a high IQ out of the pick and roll with great craft in the paint and around the basket. He has a jet-quick first step and plays with great pace with the ball in his hands. Coached by former Virginia point guar Donald Hand, Jones is getting coaching, he is one that college coaches should start immediately looking at, his star is on the rise.
Event Storylines
Trae Hannibal is a Top 100 Prospect
The storyline really says it all. Hannibal was nothing short of dominating in this one, putting up close to a triple/double average. He followed up Friday’s 31 point performance with 36 on Saturday. He averaged 13 rebounds to go with 8 assists for the three games. These are Ja Morant type high school numbers, another South Carolina point guard Phenom Hoops was higher on than the national media (who missed completely). Hannibal is a strong framed, and explosive point guard. Watch in the coming days as we will put out a mix of him from this event, it will be eye opening.
John Butler Jr. Has as Much Upside as ANYone Playing High School Basketball
Butler, only 15 years old, already stands at 7 feet tall, the way he moves is just not normal. He has all the wiggle and nimbleness of an older wing. As he continues to add strength, things are certainly looking way up for him. He has the ball skills to attack off the bounce and he has the jump shot to consistently knock down 3s off the catch (see Saturday’s game winner). Of course Butler has a lot of work to go to reach his potential, but if he reaches his immense ceiling, he could be the best player in high school basketball, think along the Anthony Davis lines.
Kadin Shedrick is in the Conversation as #3 Center in 2019 Behind Wiseman and Stewart
Shedrick is an elite rim protector, but further than that he is a high level defender. He has a great understanding of angles and a natural timing that allows him to move his feet and guard smaller guys. He is an athletic and fluid 6’11” center with a 7’4″ wing span. Shedrick has stuff with his back to the basket, both on the low block and in the mid post. He is able to iso his man from the wing and get down hill and he knocked down 4 of 6 from 3 in this event off the catch. He will get to Virginia and put on immediate weight, but do not be surprised if he is an early contributor for the Top 10 program. Also, do not be surprised if he is on draft boards by the time he leaves college. All the college coaches in attendance were raving about how good he is and how under the radar he is. We’ll go ahead and say it, he should be in the conversation as the #2 center in the 2019 class.
South Carolina’s 2019 Point Guard Class is Special
It starts with Josiah James, a 5-star going to Tennessee. However, the rest of the class is ridiculously under the radar nationally. Of course that has come to be the norm for South Carolina from the “national media”. Tre Jackson is going to Iowa State, Trae Hannibal to South Carolina. Chico Carter Jr has signed with Murray State, who has put their last three under rated point guard into the first round of the NBA draft. Then you have the likes of Russell Jones (Winthrop) and Traye Carson (Army). From there you have a handful of unsigned guys, Mikey Dukes is the fastest player in the southeast with the ball in his hands. Mike Green is perhaps the best shooter in southeast (2,000 career points at 52% from 3). You have the likes of Khalil Robinson, Deuce Dean, Tommy Bruner who are all available as well. This class of point guards is deep. College coaches, come through as there are still some available. More so, track these players careers in college, they’ll out play their high school reputations.