Two things became clear Sunday at the LaMelo Ball Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. — the 1 of 1 15s squad is the best squad in the state in that age group, and the Team Loaded NC 16s vs. CP3 16s game was one of the better ones of the summer. Also, another well run event with games starting on time by Phenom Hoop Report.
Best game: CP3 16s had seven players on hand, all of which are Division I prospects. Team Loaded NC 16s is well known for sophomore point guard Eli Ellis and freshman guard Isaac Ellis, who are brothers.
In the first few minutes, it looked like CP3 would run them off the court with junior Bishop Boswell running the show at point guard and junior forwards Maurio Hanson and Lewis Walker doing damage. Junior wing Drake Powell was the first player to guard Eli Ellis.
However, Team Loaded NC found its rhythm and junior forward Hampton Evans of Wilson (N.C.) Greenfield School got hot from deep. However, Ellis was scoreless at halftime thanks to Powell’s defense.
Ellis finally scored in the second half and he got going a bit with Powell not guarding him as often. Then a funny thing happened — Team Loaded had a comfortable 10-point lead after halftime. All that talent on CP3, but Team Loaded NC was making enough three-pointers to build a comfy lead.
Junior wing Bryson Cokley continued his solid weekend and was a 3-and-D type for CP3. The Arden (N.C.) Christ School product boosted his stock and found a home shooting corner 3-pointers.
CP3 battled back and the sense was that Boswell was going to be the alpha dog in trying to create something down the stretch. CP3 rallied to win 58-53 with Cokley scoring 13 points, Boswell 12 points and Powell had 10 points.
Evans finished with 15 points and Eli Ellis had 13 points for Team Loaded NC.
Dominant team: The 15s semifinals game was anticipated. Sophomores Zymicah Wilkins and Amore Connelly were going to play the machine that is 1 of 1 which is sponsored by LaMelo Ball himself. This squad will be playing at Ball’s 1 of 1 Prep squad next winter.
Connelly brought his A game with 19 points in the first half, but 1 of 1 still had a comfy lead at halftime. It became running clock in second half, which was shocking because Carolina Heights Black 15s has the two high major guys, but two likely mid-major targets too. 1 of 1 won 78-52 with ease.
Does 1 of 1 have one clear-cut high major player for NC State to eventually go after? Some will argue for sophomore power forward Gevonte Ware, who is 6-7 and coming back from an injury. He wasn’t ready to make a major contribution this week.
However, it’s a collection of quick players between 6-1 and 6-5 who just get after it. The one player to watch could be small forward Taye Smith in the class of 2025. He’s about 6-5 and has a long wingspan and could end up being a quality prospect.
NC State football recruit sighting: After getting done with a game, sure enough there is West Charlotte (N.C.) High senior offensive tackle commit Darion Rivers. He goes, “I figured I’d see you here.” Rivers then says he’ll be playing, so I watched him play. He didn’t do a lot and you can tell he was winded after a few trips up and down the court. He did apparently make the game-winning basket the other day for West Charlotte in some event.
Rivers and his good buddy Daevin Hobbs watched some of the CP3 16s and Team Loaded NC 16s game. Hobbs came out with a top six of North Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, South Carolina and Tennessee. Good odds that Rivers will be blocking Hobbs in a few years. Hobbs will announce before Aug. 1.
Austin Swartz continues to play smooth: Team Charlotte 17s ended up winning the title in that age group.
Swart just had a quality weekend making jumpers and playing a mature offensive game. Another things happens when he plays with Team Charlotte and coach Jeff McInnis — he plays better on defense and even blocked a few shots. Playing defense isn’t optional under McInnis.
Swartz will continue to add offers because of his pretty jumper. Things like that never change during the recruiting process.
Another look at the future: Team United 14s continued to play in both the 14s and 15s division. In the second game, 6-8 or so freshman power forward Rivers Knight, who will be going to Durham (N.C.) Jordan played after missing some time with an injury. Knight is fluid and confident enough to try a three-pointer. He’ll be one worth monitoring.
West Charlotte High freshman wing Marcus Kerr again confirmed he’ll be a good player down the road. Some kids just get it and he seems to be that guy for Team United.
Best game: CP3 16s had seven players on hand, all of which are Division I prospects. Team Loaded NC 16s is well known for sophomore point guard Eli Ellis and freshman guard Isaac Ellis, who are brothers.
In the first few minutes, it looked like CP3 would run them off the court with junior Bishop Boswell running the show at point guard and junior forwards Maurio Hanson and Lewis Walker doing damage. Junior wing Drake Powell was the first player to guard Eli Ellis.
However, Team Loaded NC found its rhythm and junior forward Hampton Evans of Wilson (N.C.) Greenfield School got hot from deep. However, Ellis was scoreless at halftime thanks to Powell’s defense.
Ellis finally scored in the second half and he got going a bit with Powell not guarding him as often. Then a funny thing happened — Team Loaded had a comfortable 10-point lead after halftime. All that talent on CP3, but Team Loaded NC was making enough three-pointers to build a comfy lead.
Junior wing Bryson Cokley continued his solid weekend and was a 3-and-D type for CP3. The Arden (N.C.) Christ School product boosted his stock and found a home shooting corner 3-pointers.
CP3 battled back and the sense was that Boswell was going to be the alpha dog in trying to create something down the stretch. CP3 rallied to win 58-53 with Cokley scoring 13 points, Boswell 12 points and Powell had 10 points.
Evans finished with 15 points and Eli Ellis had 13 points for Team Loaded NC.
Dominant team: The 15s semifinals game was anticipated. Sophomores Zymicah Wilkins and Amore Connelly were going to play the machine that is 1 of 1 which is sponsored by LaMelo Ball himself. This squad will be playing at Ball’s 1 of 1 Prep squad next winter.
Connelly brought his A game with 19 points in the first half, but 1 of 1 still had a comfy lead at halftime. It became running clock in second half, which was shocking because Carolina Heights Black 15s has the two high major guys, but two likely mid-major targets too. 1 of 1 won 78-52 with ease.
Does 1 of 1 have one clear-cut high major player for NC State to eventually go after? Some will argue for sophomore power forward Gevonte Ware, who is 6-7 and coming back from an injury. He wasn’t ready to make a major contribution this week.
However, it’s a collection of quick players between 6-1 and 6-5 who just get after it. The one player to watch could be small forward Taye Smith in the class of 2025. He’s about 6-5 and has a long wingspan and could end up being a quality prospect.
NC State football recruit sighting: After getting done with a game, sure enough there is West Charlotte (N.C.) High senior offensive tackle commit Darion Rivers. He goes, “I figured I’d see you here.” Rivers then says he’ll be playing, so I watched him play. He didn’t do a lot and you can tell he was winded after a few trips up and down the court. He did apparently make the game-winning basket the other day for West Charlotte in some event.
Rivers and his good buddy Daevin Hobbs watched some of the CP3 16s and Team Loaded NC 16s game. Hobbs came out with a top six of North Carolina, Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, South Carolina and Tennessee. Good odds that Rivers will be blocking Hobbs in a few years. Hobbs will announce before Aug. 1.
Austin Swartz continues to play smooth: Team Charlotte 17s ended up winning the title in that age group.
Swart just had a quality weekend making jumpers and playing a mature offensive game. Another things happens when he plays with Team Charlotte and coach Jeff McInnis — he plays better on defense and even blocked a few shots. Playing defense isn’t optional under McInnis.
Swartz will continue to add offers because of his pretty jumper. Things like that never change during the recruiting process.
Another look at the future: Team United 14s continued to play in both the 14s and 15s division. In the second game, 6-8 or so freshman power forward Rivers Knight, who will be going to Durham (N.C.) Jordan played after missing some time with an injury. Knight is fluid and confident enough to try a three-pointer. He’ll be one worth monitoring.
West Charlotte High freshman wing Marcus Kerr again confirmed he’ll be a good player down the road. Some kids just get it and he seems to be that guy for Team United.
