By Brian Crownover
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The Charlie Weber Fall Hoop Classic took place on Saturday in Maryland.  Some of the top teams from Virginia to Pennsylvania were in attendance.  While all events have a ton of good guards, this tournament was also loaded with a number of outstanding big men.  Here are some of the players that stood out.

Joshua Hairston – NOVA United 16s (Courtland, VA 2010 6-5)
Joshua was an impressive young player.  He did a great job running the floor and scoring.  He also has a lot of athletic ability.  His offensive skills are still developing, but he’s already pretty solid.

George Harper – Filly Sol (American Christian Academy, PA 2010 6-7)
I haven’t seen the Filly Sol in awhile and was anxious to see the progress that their players have made.  Physically, George has always been quite impressive, specifically with his huge hands and long arms.  He is still far from a finished product, but looks to have improved his ball handling and ability to finish around the basket.  He has such a soft touch that once he gets a better feel for the game he could be a real force on both the inside and outside.  Right now, he’s still a developing prospect with a lot of upside.

Daniel Heppert – Richmond Metro (Benedictine, VA 2007 6-4)
This the second time I’ve seen Daniel and he was solid again.  With all the talent on his team, he doesn’t make a ton of plays.  He is a smart player though and passes the ball fairly well.  He moves well without the ball.  Daniel is also a good leaper, although he doesn’t use that ability all that often on the court.  His jump shot is solid and has a high release point, although the release is also a bit low.  He could use some more consistency with his shot.  Daniel is a good role player and gets the job done for Richmond Metro.

Bryant Irwin – East Coast Scholar Athletes (Bridgeport, WV 2008 6-7)
Bryant is a smart big man.  He is aggressive and attacks the basket with solid ball handling.  He draws a lot of contact.  He is an okay athlete.  Bryant is a good face up interior player.

George Johnson – NOVA United (Wakefield, VA 2007 6-4)
George is a solid all around guard.  He runs the floor well and is a decent ball handling, although not the smoothest player with the rock in his hands.  George can drive and dish or take the ball all the way to the goal.  He’s aggressive, attacking player with a solid build.  He is a slightly above average athlete.  He can knock down the perimeter shot, but like a lot of players could improve there.

Kevin Jones – DC Assault 16s (Bishop O’ Connell, VA 2009 6-5)
This young lefty showed an array of skills.  He runs the floor very well and finishes.  He can step out and shoot from behind the arc.  Kevin also hit several key free throws to help his team.

Wallace Judge – DC Assault 16s (Bladensburg, MD 2009 6-7)
Wallace didn’t have a big game, but I continue to be impressed by his skills.  Not too many young players have his combination of size and ball handling ability.  He did hit an early three pointer, but was relatively quiet on the offensive end after that.  He brought down a ton of rebounds though.  Wallace will only get better as time goes on and could become a big time player.

Nurideen Lindsey – Filly Sol (Overbrook, PA 2009 6-2)
Nurideen is one of the most intriguing players in Philly.  He can do things with the basketball that other players (regardless of class) simply can’t.  He makes some fantastic plays that have you shaking your head in disbelief.  He’ll also leave you shaking your head for the complete opposite reason because he tries to do too much at times.  Nurideen certainly needs to learn how to rely on his teammates more and realize that a lay-up by one of them is a better shot than a fade away jumper by himself.  In his defense, the Filly Sol team that he plays with still has a lot of developing young prospects.  Not only was I impressed with some the acrobatic shots he made, but also the way he conducted himself on the court.  The last few times I watched him, he let the refs or opponents get the best of him as he lost his cool.  His intensity is great; he just has to learn how to consistently keep it under control.  This was definitely the best I’ve seen Nurideen play, but there still room for improvement.  If he ever puts in altogether, he could be the top player in Philly.

Latef McMullen – D-One Sports (Ashbrook, NC 2008 5-11)
Latef is a lightning quick guard with a killer crossover.  He loves to score off of tough moves like pull up jumpers or floaters in the lane.  I did not get to see him in action too much, but Latef still managed to make an impression.

Dexter Moore – East Coast Scholar Athletes (Bluefield, WV 2007 6-2)
This talented guard was quite impressive in the morning session.  He showed a variety of skills.  He hit a couple perimeter shots, displayed good ball handling, passed well and ran the floor.  He was a bit quiet in the evening game, but certainly has some skills.

Kevon Moore – Triple Threat (Arch Bishop Spalding, MD 2008 6-2)
Kevon is a very strong and quick guard.  He proved to be an unselfish player who set up his teammates well.  He can dribble either direction and is a good finish when he gets by the defense.  Kevon is good player on the loaded Triple Threat squad.

Tony Peters – Jersey Hot Shots (Seton Hall Prep, NJ 2009 6-6)
Tony is a long, athletic wing player.  He was rather quick offensively, but this young player did show the ability to knock down the perimeter jumper.

Ahyaro Phillips – Richmond Metro (Freeman, VA 2007 6-8)
Phillips is a long, athletic big man.  His physical characteristics are similar teammate Ed Davis, but his skills are nowhere near Ed’s.  He does have decent hands and touch, but struggled to finish around the bucket.  He did pass out of the post fairly well.  Phillips did make the impact on the defensive end.  He blocks several shots and grabbed some rebounds.  He is a solid player with a lot of upside.

Terrance Roderick – Sam Rines (Northeast Prep, PA 2007 6-5)
Terrance didn’t have a big game in the scoring column, but still played well.  He did a great job of breaking down the defense and finishing, but struggled some from the perimeter.  He really surprised the Baltimore Stars with his athletic ability, especially when he had a nasty block from behind.  Terrance has such an interesting set of skills.  He has such good size and passing ability that he could probably play anywhere from point guard to small forward.  If his jumper was more consistent, Terrance would probably have a lot of big time offers.  One other thing I would like to see out of Terrance is more emotion.  He has the same straight face and expression on all the time.  He’s not vocal and while he might be playing hard, he doesn’t always look like it.  I would just like to see more fire out of him.  On the flip side though, he won’t lose his cool either.  Terrance is still a very intriguing prospect, especially if he goes the mid major route.

Brandon Rozzell – Richmond Metro (Highland Springs, VA 2007 6-2)
Brandon is a solid guard.  He is a good ball handling who likes to dribble behind his back.  He is not super quick, but just very efficient.  He passes the ball well, although his decision making was not always top notch.  Too often, he took quick pull up jumpers instead of running the offense.  Brandon is capable of hitting those shots though.  He can knock down the jumper out to three point range. 

Henry Simms – Baltimore Stars (Mount St. Joseph, MD 2008 6-10)
This long big man is a top notch athlete.  He is a shot blocking machine and a good rebounder as well.  Henry has great hands and a soft touch on his shot.  He can step out to the perimeter and even hit from behind the arc.

Daryl Traynham – DC Assault 16s (Henry A. Wise, MD 2010 5-9)
This small point guard has yet to play a high school game, but you’d never guess that if you didn’t know it.  He is super quick and likes to use spin moves.  He shifts his body around very well near the hoop and can score in transition because of it.  Daryl also distributes the ball fairly well.  He should be able to wreak havoc on opposing defenses all year.

Zack Wilmot – Virginia Renegades (WT Woodson, VA 2007 6-3)
Zack started out slow, but caught fire later on during the game I witnessed.  The strength of his game is clearly spotting up and shooting from beyond the arc.  He buried several three pointers in a short stretch of the second half.  He has a pretty good build which helped him finish well.  He’s isn’t a great athlete, but is a smart player.  His ball handling could use some improvement.  Zack seemed suited for a lower level division one program than a mid major.

Perry Wright – Baltimore Crusaders (Cardinal Gibbons, MD 2008 6-3)
Perry showed some good all around skills at this event.  He can handle the ball and runs the floor well.  He is lanky and thin, but very quick.  He has a nice outside shot as well.

Khalif Wyatt – Filly Sol (North Catholic, PA 2009 6-2)
Khalif did his usual damage by putting the ball in the bucket.  He looked pretty solid shooting from the perimeter a few months ago, but has appeared to have become even better in that area.  He also did a nice job of driving and dishing in this game.  He’s not a dynamic guard, but he just gets the ball in the basket.  Khalif is a solid young player.

Prospects (A-G)