by: Ethan Reece
2026 Josh Hines (CC Elite)
The leadership qualities Hines is showing at a young age are astounding and ultimately make him appear varsity ready because of his profound maturity. There's no replacement to the versatility he provides as an avid defender, sizable rebounder across positions, and adaptable offensive piece. He is a strong driver but doesn't need to dominate the possession with dribbling, willingly looks to make the right plays and is seemingly coming into his own as a focal point for this group.
2026 Yale Davis (Team USC)
Davis point blank was my favorite player of the weekend. They say you shine brightest when the spotlight is put on you, and Davis had his Kodak moment this morning. He had already been killing it all game with shifty handles and breaking guys down to hit numerous contested pullups, but when his team went down 6 around a minute to go, he took over and showed the ice in his veins. After an And1 drive, he then hit a stepback 3 with under 10 sec and iced the game from the FT line, one of the most impressive sequence of events I've seen all season.
2025 Will James (Strong Center)
Speaking of impressive sequences, the whole second half was a highlight tape of James. Whether it was scoring or forcing a key turnover, James was coming up with a play every time down the court. He's a physical guard that looks to expose any cracks in the armor he can find either by drive, shot, or putback opportunity, he just has the ability to put the ball in the hole no matter the pace or setting and can be relied on as a leader because he takes care of the intangibles you need to win games.
2025 David Frazier (Rod Howard Select)
Plenty of guys got to the basket this weekend, but nobody did it in so many different ways like Frazier was able to pull off. It was like he pulled out a map to the basket and decided to try every route he could see, combinations of jump stops, fakes and euros were coming out of his arsenal with no second thoughts. Along with the moves, he has the frame to succeed as a downhill force difficult to cut off or stifle, he doesn't have to be quick because of his enabling strength.
2026 Xavier Davis (Team Charlotte)
It's not a role commonly seen in today's game due to guys wanting to score, but the managerial presence of Davis distributing the ball really caught my eyes. He didn't even have to look to score to draw guys and set up others, being able to star in this role due to the makeup of the roster with other scorers, I was impressed by the genuine excitement he found in providing his teammates with easy looks as well as the focus he had handling the pressure with the ball on a string.
2024 Devin Agard (Team Hustle)
Just like pistons that repeatedly supply hits in a cycle, Agard has a way of locking in and delivering blow after blow throughout the game. Both games I saw him in were highly physical, and he only turned the notch further with his intensity to stay ready and make big plays when needed. Last night he displayed rugged toughness getting to the basket through contact, and today his shot was really on and he hit a dagger every time to even the score, no one led by more than a few so each one he hit was infinitely crucial.
