This past weekend, our Phenom Opening took place at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center'where many teams came together to kick off their travel ball season. As expected, the field featured a ton of standouts and intriguing squads. Team Snow Elite certainly deserves to be mentioned among that grouping after competing well against quality competition throughout the weekend. They have a roster full of tough, unselfish guys who play hard on both ends of the floor, which was evidenced in each of their games. Although their entire team should warrant attention from college coaches, we will take a closer look at two of their key pieces…
It all starts and ends with Champ Hayden. He's a clear focal point for this group, both by example and through production, and provides nice leadership qualities. Hayden is a strong, physical guard prospect with a polished scoring arsenal and the ability to make an impact with or without the ball in his hands. He gets downhill with relative ease, where he's able to finish effectively through contact or set up his teammates for scoring chances. Hayden creates space well off the bounce, allowing him to hit jumpers with a high degree of difficulty while subsequently keeping defenders on their toes. He rebounds bigger than his size would imply and understands how to make hustle plays whenever possible. Hayden is a well-rounded athlete, active defender, and useful transition threat. He's coming off a high school season where he averaged 21.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, and 1.8 SPG while shooting 49% from the floor and over doubling his production from his sophomore year.
His teammate, Jaden Smith, is an unsigned guard prospect who should appeal to various programs as a possible steal during the closing stages of his recruiting process. He's a quality athlete with a quick first step, great body control, and the ability to consistently play at the rim. Smith gets downhill well, both in transition and the half-court, and can finish or make the necessary pass to set up others. He displays a crafty handle and an overall understanding of how to create shots within the flow of the team structure. Smith just concluded a promising season for Acker Academy, where he averaged over 15 PPG and continued to showcase growth within his progression. Expect to see both guys continuing to perform and turn heads over the coming months.
