The school year is nearing it’s end; graduations are being planned/prepared and as students start mentally preparing for the transition from middle school to high school or high school to college, we at TBB are graduating a class as well. This is one of the final editions of the Freshman Report featuring the 2021 class and when the summer hits, we will welcome the 2022 class to the report, who the top prospects will also headline our annual Cream of The Crop Camp in August. At “The Platform” in Houston there were several 2021 standouts and the TBB staff added a few to our radar.
Onu, Colbert Excel
As mentioned in the previous article (here) Samuel Onu of YIIS Elevation and Jerrell Colbert of Basketball University performed well at the MI3 center. Onu has show progressions in his skill-set and is looking a lot more comfortable on the floor. Colbert oozes with potential and seeing how the big man runs, jumps and finishes at the rim, Colbert showed why he maybe the best player in his class.
Perry, Farmer Made The TBB Radar
It was our first time seeing Team Kemistry this spring and two prospects that stood out to us was 2021 Brian Perry and Joshua Farmer. Both prospects go to Sharpstown High School and have a chance to be really good when it’s all said and done. Perry plays hard as he shot the ball well from three, Farmer moves very well for his size and one of the top 5 performers in his class from this past weekend.
Guard Play Spear Texas Hardwork To Success At “The Platform”
2021 guard Coleton Benson, Kajion Thornton, Jasean Jackson and Joseph Venzent were key to Hardwork’s success this past weekend. Benson is has a smooth shooting stroke and is ready to launch whenever he catches the ball, Thornton plays with a lot of energy and was effective on both sides of the ball, Jackson continues to be a productive two-way guard and Venzent, although struggled at times, still impacted games with his rebounding and relentlessness getting to the basket.
Powell, Taylor and The 17U Division
At Texasboysbasketball.com, we are fans of players playing up an age group and 2021 Duncan Powell and Wade Taylor of Urban DFW have been doing more than holding their own in the 17U division. Both prospects played as if they have a few years under their belt playing at this level and have been benefactors in “The U” success
A Cy Creek Product Shined At “The Platform”
DJ Richards for Basketball University was consistently productive all weekend. Richards knocked down shots from three at a high clip and made defenders pay when given space. He shares the back-court with another TBB 2021 prospect in Kaleb Stewart, and Steward exhibited why we are high on the floor general.
Notables
Noah Kon, 2021 PG – Houston Defenders: Kon flies up and down the court and this past weekend showed how much of a threat he is when the game is going fast. Kon has solid outings for the Houston Defenders 16U as they went undefeated.
Demari Williams, 2021 SG – Houston Defenders: The light turns on and off for Williams but the staff likes what we saw from him at “The Platform” he shows promise and he was strong in spurts.
Griffin Datcher, 2021 SF – Basketball University: Datcher embraces his role on the team and the athletic forward ran the lanes hard and finished with dunks.
A Brief Look at Whats Coming Up
Looking at the 2022 class in Texas, I don’t see the depth in the class compared to the 2021 group but there is a lot of promise. Three guards that stood out playing up were Cam Amboree of the Houston Defenders 15U, Austin Nunez of Texas Hardwork 16U and Bryce Griggs of Team Harden 16U. Amboree showcased his nice shooting touch and handle, Nunez has made strides in his game and exploded for 16 first half points against Griggs and Team Harden and Bryce showed a lot of heart playing this weekend and producing when his team needed him.
They are young and it’s very early but Mohammad Ngom of Team Elevation has been one of the best prospects we have seen in that class in the past 12 months. Ngom averaged a double-double in his outings at “The Platform” and I have a feeling his name will be on the Freshman Report a couple more time in the next year.
Cameron Crockett is another player that had a solid outing playing 15U with The Houston Defenders. this past weekend as Crockett followed up a strong string of performances at the Lonestar Challenge with a showing at “The Platform.”
Out Of State Love
Brandon Vigne, 2021 PG – Louisiana Kings: Vigne is a scrappy guard that was the engine that spearheaded runs for Louisiana Kings. A prospect out of Louisiana that the staff was impressed by.
Edited By AB