Lancaster, TX- Christmas time in Dallas-Fort Worth means showcase and tournament basketball. For three days I attended the first annual In Season Showcase put on by former Kimball coaching legend, Snoop Johnson.
There were former district rivalries renewed for an evening. Competitive teams from Louisiana, Oklahoma and Austin all had good showings while players from senior to freshmen year impressed.
Starting with the unsigned seniors, Lancaster’s 6’0 Desmeon ‘NuNu’ Jones, Zachary’s 6’2 Xavier Ferguson, RWG Academy’s 6’6 Bryceson Melvin, Stony Point’s 6’3 Elijah Clemons and Crowley’s 6’4 Salyn Briggs and 6’2 Braxton James were upperclassmen standouts on the weekend. Jones is showing the maturity, patience and decision making every coach wants out of their point guard. He handles pressure with no issue, carves up defenses to play make for his teammates and is scoring from all three levels. Xavier Ferguson was an unknown coming in to the showcase but left Texas with three junior college offers. He has a solid frame, elite level explosion, and can score with the best of them. He was instrumental in his team’s come back win against Kimball. Bryceson Melvin has grown. He looks to be creeping up on the 6’6 mark and continues to be the most skilled scorer in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Melvin is the ultimate ‘phone booth’ guy as he doesn’t need much space or dribbles to be affective from the mid range and short corners. And there’s a chip there, he plays with an under appreciated urgency. Clemons is full steam ahead for 32 minutes. Slashing, rebounding, playmaking, and hitting 3 pointers he does it all with a motor that many players lack these days. James played the best I had seen him this year. He was aggressive on both sides of the ball, rebounded well and showed his slashing and finishing ability. Salyn Briggs is becoming a high level catch and shoot three point player. Development is a process and Briggs gets better with every outing.
Stony Point’s 6’0 Uzziah Buntyn (South Dakota) and 6’2 Landon Short (Pitt State) and Kimball’s 6’4 Jaylen Dean-Vines (Vanderbilt) and 6’6 Lance Carr (UAB) have all committed or signed to play college basketball but they were on their mark for the entirety of the event. Buntyn is a lead guard but he can score with the best in the state. Speed and quickness are his weapons while the mid range is his playground. Landen Short is known for his shooting ability but he is also a high level rebounder. Recording 15 boards in a game, Short was relentless attacking the glass all weekend. Kimball is the most exciting team in the state and they have Dean-Vines and Carr to thank. Carr had several eye to rim level dunks and patrols the paint like a player three inches taller. Dean-Vines is best when he’s attacking the rim and every drive has the potential to end with a dunk, with or without a defender in his face.
Red Oak’s 6’2 Kedric Bradford and 6’0 Trey Hodges, Grand Prairie’s 5’6 Valrick Haliburton, Lancaster’s 6’3 Kollin Douglas, Crowley’s 6’2 Kam McGilveary, Midwest City’s 6’3 DJ Denson, Kimball’s 6’3 JJ Hancock and 6’1 Kayden Gray, and Frisco Heritage’s 6’1 Cameron Lomax and 6’5 Bryson Howard were all juniors who made their mark. Bryson Howard was my best overall player on the weekend. He’s a lefty combo forward with perimeter ball handling ability, great balance and pace. Howard’s teammate Lomax has a high level scoring ability but it was the consistency of his floor reads that stood out the most. Natural scorers rarely see the floor well but Lomax is an exception. He’s good from all three levels while keeping his teammates hot. Valrick Haliburton is a small lefty point guard with playing making ability mixed with scoring. Kollin Douglas had an eight three pointer game and provides the outside cover to Lancaster’s inside attack. DJ Denson can score from anywhere on both sides of the floor. He’s best when attacking the rim and very dangerous from behind the arc. JJ Hancock went 6/6 from 3 before missing a shot against Desoto and proved he’s a real three point threat, he should have a very busy spring/summer recruiting. Kayden Gray is a scoring lead guard who had a hot hand from behind the arc over the weekend. 6’2 Kedric Bradford was the new face of the tournament. In a game against Desoto, Bradford was the brightest. He has knee scraping arms that help him finish at the rim and be dangerous in the passing lanes. A big spring should be on the horizon.
Grand Prairie’s 6’9 Steven McCleod, Zachary’s 6’1 Ian Edmond, Kimball’s 6’5 Marri Wesley, Rowlett’s 6’5 Cadarian Urune and Arlington Sam Houston’s 6’4 Armoni Green Red Oak’s 6’6 Anthony Burdine were five sophomores worth noting. McCleod is a four man with a ton of potential. With a great wing span, rebounding and finishing ability McCleod saw double teams much of the weekend and still managed to have a 20+ point 10 rebound double double. Edmond is a very good compliment to Zachary’s backcourt with his confident shooting ability and understanding of how to get to his spots. Marri Wesley is a future Power 5 forward with guard potential. He’s a walking double double and is Kimball’s secondary ballhandler. His effort stands out the most. He’s relentless on the glass and does not back away from any challenge inside. Urune is learning on the job but is the unquestioned leader on his young Rowlett team. He’s the go to scorer and was solid on the weekend. His continued development will continue to reap positive beneifts. Green has the potential to be the lead guard for Sam Houston, he’s that good of a ball handler. Great positional size Burdine has the perfect build, 6’6 with a long wing span, I’m sure it’s at least 6’9. He displayed flashes of his ability and his best basketball is ahead of him.
Stony Point’s 6’2 Max Moody and Beaumont United’s 6’8 Ephraim Moore are two freshman worth tracking now. Moody will be Stony Point’s future lead guard but in his reserve role he is active on both ends of the floor, play makes, hits shots, and fights on the glass. Ephraim Moore is the next big man out of Beaumont. He has good foot work, is aggressive on the glass, plays well with his back to the basket, and is competitive against more seasoned players at his position.
