Hoosier Shootout Day 1 Top Players:

2010:

Christian Kabongo Mt Zion Academy NC was the most dominant player I got to see on day one. He was playing with a team from Toronto called Scadding Court Ballhawks that I'm having trouble finding a roster for. He's a legit 6'5 and went coast to coast at will. He dribbles between his legs way too much but its impressive nonetheless and he pulls it off against some really quick players. He missed almost all of his deep shots but the people on hand assured me he usually hits them. He played great on defense for most of the game against one of the quickest points I saw yesterday. He took a lot of possessions off on defense too, but was extremely talented. He's the sort of guy who I'm sure will be a pro but I'm not sure if he'll make it to college. I was told he has a Nebraska offer on the table but is 19 already. He's an instant impact D1 talent if he makes it to a campus but might need reigned in a bit. He scored 30, had at least 8 assists and several steals and rebounds (and turnovers) as well.

Robert Wade from Team Nashville has to be one of the least talked about future college high major stars in the country. Here is a link I found while digging for more dirt on Wade. He was the player that all the kids from other teams gathered to watch and he kept going up strong on offensive rebounds and jamming the ball with one hand and having near misses. I didn't get to see enough of his game to get a feel for how good the little things are, but the big things are great, ask the Indiana Dawgz about him! Cincinnati and other schools were there watching and a couple of coaches were seen flipping through their $125 programs on the sidelines as they walked by. http://www.tnprephoops.com/content/view/1161/48/

Crishawn Hopkins from Indianapolis Manual was outstanding for Team Blaze but he was the only highlight for his team. He scored well over 20 of his teams 30 or so points. He is every bit of 6'0 tall but skinny, but the kid can jump out of the gym and has some range. He reportedly got a Miami (Oh) offer and did well at Miami and Indiana's elite camps recently. Coaches from Wright State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Morehead State, and Princeton were on hand for his game against a loaded Atlanta All Stars team.

David Mason was the most impressive college prospect on the Atlanta All Stars. I haven't dug for their roster yet to see who some of his talented teammates were, but Mason was about 6'5 with good reach and had high major athleticism and some explosion to his game. This was one of the most talented teams I got to see in the 17U group yesterday and should be a tough out in the tournament. #34 was about 6'9 and played well as did #55 who was about the same size but a little bit stronger. Both looked like mid-majors or better to me.

Jeff Johnson was outstanding for the Peoria Irish 17U squad against Camp Daryl. #0 and #30 were both 6'8 forwards with nice games. I'm pretty sure Johnson was #0 so please correct me if I'm wrong. He had a shaved head and a headband and kept draining jumpers and defending well and being physical. #30 was also about the same size but more mobile and longer and made some nice plays with the ball and hustled. Let me know if you know who he was. Just found out Josh Piper was the other one. They both play for Champaign Centennial.

Eric Gaines was very impressive for Orange Crush. They had a very athletic team and the 6'4 rangy Gaines was chosen for his work on the baseline, he's quite an impressive athlete for his Hillcrest high school.

Jeff Hoskins is a 6'1 shooting guard from Kalamazoo who looked really good against the Irish for Camp Daryl. He was playing point yesterday and hustled all game long and showed off a nice 3 pointer even when well guarded. He was #10 unless the rosters have shuffled around.

Illinois Titans had some impressive athletes. I mentioned Siakhem and Ochenje from the younger class playing up with this squad and they were dominant. But the team was loaded with guys with muscles and mohawks. #32 and #23 were especially impressive physically.

Nashville Celtics Green #2 was big time as well. I'm not sure who he was, have three suspects so until I narrow it down somebody help me out. He was a 6'4ish kid who had a nice stroke, star level athleticism and had Vanderbilt and Michigan coaches among others watching he and his Nashville Celtics Green team. #1 and point guard #8 were good as well.

2011:

James Siakhem is playing up with the 17U Illinois Titans and was extremely impressive. He didn't look near the 6'7 height I'd seen him listed before but he's got to be one of the most physically imposing players in his age group. He hustled and is a special athlete. Word on him is that Depaul, Vanderbilt, and Southern Illinois have already offered. The 17U Titans had several other good athletes, check them out.

Khristian Smith from Indianapolis Pike has had a good summer. He led his Pike team to a victory at Purdue's team camp without Marques Teague and has picked up some D1 offers. If he continues to play alongside the special 2012 prospects who joined his team for the Shootout, the college coaches following them like a band of gypsies will continue to be impressed with him. He is about 6'5 with good length, athleticism, and a mature game. He plays hard on defense, cuts at the right time, and has a decent stroke. Keep an eye on him.

2012:

Emanuel Ochenje had the most potential of the 2012 kids I got to see yesterday. He is ranked #1 in the class by Chicagohoops and was playing up with the 17U Illinois Titans. He is an amazing athlete, you simply have to go see this team play if you are checking out the shootout. They have outstanding athletes at many positions and should be one of the favorites to win the tournament. When I saw them play they didn't get a challenge from the Kansas Express who were most notable for having a kid play who reminded me of Seth Rogen from Badass but kept sticking nice 12 footers off the glass nonetheless.

Ron Patterson keeps playing great ball. He plays for Broad Ripple in Indianapolis and is only about 6'2 but his arms are so long he plays with the length of a forward. He's a really impressive defender and can shoot some and make it to the hoop. Look for him to continue to improve his handle and be a star in the class of 2012.

Gary Harris from Huntington Southeast was with a new AAU team and word apparently hadn't spread beyond Bruce Weber and Tom Crean who joined the Mongrel and a few others to watch Harris go to work. Harris changes speeds well, can drive, and looks good going up for pull up jumpers. He got hurt early in the second half, I can't wait to see him again expect to see him rocket up the charts with the national guys and make the Mongrel stop talking about him. Up Tempo had a really long lanky kid who came off the bench and stroked some 3's and played really good defense that had Tom Crean walking over to the scorer's table, he was #32 but not sure yet who he was.

Austin Burgett from Avon, Indiana keeps getting better and better. He looks a legit 6'7 now and is getting stronger. He was very aggressive yesterday in front of legions of college coaches for the first time and really took over his team's second game on both ends of the floor. He's got a very nice handle and shot for a big kid.

Yogi Ferrel from Park Tudor in Indianapolis was outstanding yesterday playing against older kids. The teams the Indy Stars went up against were not offering the kind of competition he's likely to face as the tournament goes on, but he was easily the most impressive of the 2012 kids playing up with Quarles' Indy Stars. He was efficient and made great assists at times. I believe he had 20 points in the second game and was all over the glass, penetrating, and his shot keeps looking better. I also think he might have grown an inch or so since last time I saw him and his arms look a bit longer than you'd expect from a 5'9 point guard.

Jeremy Hollowell from Indianapolis was outstanding. He is about 6'6 and has a smooth 3 point stroke and was active driving to the basket as well as off the ball yesterday. He has great length and a good handle.

Raphael Davis is another outstanding prospect on that Indy Stars team. He is going to be big time in college. Right now he dominates the ball too much for a kid with a shaky handle and 3 outstanding point guards on his team and he tends to shoot the team out of rhythm from time to time. But he's got talent to burn and will be an extremely good small forward in college. What could be seen as shooting too much to some is probably a killer instinct to Matt Painter. This kid will score a ton of points in college. He might not have the handle and defensive quickness you want a shooting guard to have, but he is 6'4 with good length and I can't wait to watch him mature.

Brad Hartman, Kellon Thomas, Rhett Smith, and Larry Drew were also impressive for the 2012 Spiece Indy Stars. DeJuan Marrero was extremely impressive rebounding and getting put backs. AJ Hammons didn't play in the second half of the first game or at all in the second game presumably because of a minor injury but he looked fine. RJ Mahurin was an impressive floor general for Up Tempo.

2013:

VJ Beachum from Ft Wayne played a great game for his Spiece Indy Heat 2013 game playing up a year against Up Tempo and Gary Harris. Tom Crean and Bruce Weber got to take it in. Beachum is very long and can shoot, drive, and block shots. He's about 6'5 already and usually had the ball and didn't look outclassed against extremely underrated 2012 prospect Gary Harris. If anyone has a roster for his team I'd love to know who #9 and #12 were on his team as they have bright futures as well as #5 who appears to be a Matt Howard clone in the making.