ROCK HILL, S.C. — Semifinal Saturday saw the end of Team Loaded VA 17s run, and championship Sunday is set.
Utah Prospects defeated Team Loaded VA in a slower-paced halfcourt battle, 52-49. NC State senior guard target Kaden Magwood continued his terrific play, making three-pointers and being creative. That was the fourth game of seeing him play this week and he’s the ideal guard for NC State coach Kevin Keatts. Naturally, as has happened on the trail to NC State many times in the past, now Kansas has jumped in with a offer Saturday. The two adidas-sponsored programs always seem to end up battling over a few players each year.
Team Loaded VA will play Compton Magic in the third place game. Compton Magic had a small lead against Indiana Elite and were poised to win, and then just couldn’t finish them off and lost in Overtime. Senior center Malachi Moreno was terrific and he’s apparently going to be a major Indiana vs. Kentucky battle, though many others are trying. Indiana Elite also has senior wing Braylon Mullins and senior small forward Trent Sisley, who are high-major players, and one of its guards will be a future defensive back at Notre Dame. They were my pick going into the quarterfinals and I think they’ll defeat the Utah Prospects, who are led by star junior guard Ikenne Alozie of Dream City Christian in Glendale, Ariz.
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The chance to see Garner Road 16s and junior power forward Cody Peck of Matthews (N.C.) Carmel Christian came undone Saturday. Peck re-injured his right thumb and will be out for a while, which is a shame because he was just starting to roll prior to the injury. Add in junior point guard Chaise Smith of Washington (N.C.) High being out with a hip injury and Garner Road was beaten up.
Garner Road 15s with Raleigh native Jordan Page did battle back in the consolation bracket and made it to Sunday. Page, who is one of the top 2027 prospects in the country, plays at 1:30 p.m. today in the last round of games in the event.
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NC State has always, always recruited the heck out of the Team Loaded organization, and the 15s Virginia-based squad has reached the title game against New World of Washington, D.C. area. Two class of 2027 wings, who could be on the radar soon of high majors in the region could be New World’s 6-6 Jacoby Briscoe of Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist High, who has a beautiful jumper, and Team Loaded VA wing Kirby Duran of Bishop McNamara in Forestville, Md.
Team Loaded VA also has an intriguing shooting guard in class of 2027 two-sport athlete Sequel Patterson of Lancaster (S.C.) Indian Land High. He already has football offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, James Madison and Eastern Kentucky.
Patterson plays like an alpha male in hoops, is quick and can score in bunches. We’ll see if NC State football ends up jumping in at some point, since South Carolina has become a major battleground for the Wolfpack football program.
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It’s always interesting to see the next generation of players, who have had parents or relatives be successful in basketball. Just a small smattering of guys:
Junior wing Brandon Bass Jr. has a chance to be terrific and is ranked No. 50 overall in the class of 2026. His dad Brandon Bass Sr. was No. 11 overall in the class of 2003 coming out of Baton Rouge, La., and stayed home for college at LSU.
Class of 2027 center Obinna Ekezie Jr. has a bright future and is already 6-11. His dad was a burly post player at Maryland and made the NBA.
Senior power forward Chamberlain Burgess showed a lot of upside at a long 6-9, due to a great wingspan. He’s the nephew of former Duke/Utah power forward Chris Burgess, who is now an assistant coach at BYU.
Class of 2026 center Cael LaFrentz is about 6-9 or so and from Decorah, Iowa. He’s a project and likely a low/mid-major type, and is the son of former Kansas and NBA star Raef LaFrentz, who was top five in the country in the class of 1994.
Compton Magic 17s junior wing Alijah Arenas is ranked No. 3 overall in the class of 2026, and he’s a terrific looking prospect. His dad is former Arizona and NBA star Gilbert Arenas.
I haven’t seen him yet, but folks from Indiana are raving about sophomore point guard Jason Gardner Jr., who is the son of Jason Sr., who starred at Arizona and now working at his alma mater.
***
Over on the Nike side, one well-sourced coaching friend said NC State was four-deep to watch senior wing Davion Hannah of Nicolet, Wis. Hannah was offered by NC State on June 19, and the Wolfpack were watching him with Tyler Herro-sponsored Team Herro.
Hannah is ranked No. 27 overall in the class of 2025 by Rivals.com and he’s a terrific scorer at about 6-4 or 6-5. He is leaving Nicolet High to attend Link Academy in Branson, Mo., which has been a powerhouse the last five years or so. He had flirted with leaving the Milwaukee area in past years for high school, so it wasn’t overly surprising.
This is where things get fun in some ways. Hannah played last year with Mac Irvin Fire 16s, and there is a woven them in the class of 2025 and NC State targets. When Magwood was a freshman, he and Heard played together on Mac Irvin Fire 15s. Magwood left for Team United 16s, but I believe Hannah joined the Mac Irvin Fire organization for 16s. Heard might have missed a chunk of time with an injury, so they didn’t a full season together.
Wisconsin, Alabama, Creighton, Cincinnati, Xavier, Arizona State and Arkansas, are some of the colleges in the mix.
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Another litter birdie at the Nike Peach Jam said junior wing Cole Cloer is back from his injury suffered in mid-May.
Cloer was playing with CP3 16s in the Indianapolis, Ind., area May 19, and he drove baseline, and a PSA Cardinals player tried to slid in and take a charge. Cloer landed poorly, hurt his back and suffered a seizure on the court.
Cloer, who went to Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange, has since transferred to Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy, which is coached by his CP3 coach, Brandon Clifford. Cloer is ranked No. 22 overall in the class of 2026.
Utah Prospects defeated Team Loaded VA in a slower-paced halfcourt battle, 52-49. NC State senior guard target Kaden Magwood continued his terrific play, making three-pointers and being creative. That was the fourth game of seeing him play this week and he’s the ideal guard for NC State coach Kevin Keatts. Naturally, as has happened on the trail to NC State many times in the past, now Kansas has jumped in with a offer Saturday. The two adidas-sponsored programs always seem to end up battling over a few players each year.
Team Loaded VA will play Compton Magic in the third place game. Compton Magic had a small lead against Indiana Elite and were poised to win, and then just couldn’t finish them off and lost in Overtime. Senior center Malachi Moreno was terrific and he’s apparently going to be a major Indiana vs. Kentucky battle, though many others are trying. Indiana Elite also has senior wing Braylon Mullins and senior small forward Trent Sisley, who are high-major players, and one of its guards will be a future defensive back at Notre Dame. They were my pick going into the quarterfinals and I think they’ll defeat the Utah Prospects, who are led by star junior guard Ikenne Alozie of Dream City Christian in Glendale, Ariz.
***
The chance to see Garner Road 16s and junior power forward Cody Peck of Matthews (N.C.) Carmel Christian came undone Saturday. Peck re-injured his right thumb and will be out for a while, which is a shame because he was just starting to roll prior to the injury. Add in junior point guard Chaise Smith of Washington (N.C.) High being out with a hip injury and Garner Road was beaten up.
Garner Road 15s with Raleigh native Jordan Page did battle back in the consolation bracket and made it to Sunday. Page, who is one of the top 2027 prospects in the country, plays at 1:30 p.m. today in the last round of games in the event.
***
NC State has always, always recruited the heck out of the Team Loaded organization, and the 15s Virginia-based squad has reached the title game against New World of Washington, D.C. area. Two class of 2027 wings, who could be on the radar soon of high majors in the region could be New World’s 6-6 Jacoby Briscoe of Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist High, who has a beautiful jumper, and Team Loaded VA wing Kirby Duran of Bishop McNamara in Forestville, Md.
Team Loaded VA also has an intriguing shooting guard in class of 2027 two-sport athlete Sequel Patterson of Lancaster (S.C.) Indian Land High. He already has football offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, James Madison and Eastern Kentucky.
Patterson plays like an alpha male in hoops, is quick and can score in bunches. We’ll see if NC State football ends up jumping in at some point, since South Carolina has become a major battleground for the Wolfpack football program.
***
It’s always interesting to see the next generation of players, who have had parents or relatives be successful in basketball. Just a small smattering of guys:
Junior wing Brandon Bass Jr. has a chance to be terrific and is ranked No. 50 overall in the class of 2026. His dad Brandon Bass Sr. was No. 11 overall in the class of 2003 coming out of Baton Rouge, La., and stayed home for college at LSU.
Class of 2027 center Obinna Ekezie Jr. has a bright future and is already 6-11. His dad was a burly post player at Maryland and made the NBA.
Senior power forward Chamberlain Burgess showed a lot of upside at a long 6-9, due to a great wingspan. He’s the nephew of former Duke/Utah power forward Chris Burgess, who is now an assistant coach at BYU.
Class of 2026 center Cael LaFrentz is about 6-9 or so and from Decorah, Iowa. He’s a project and likely a low/mid-major type, and is the son of former Kansas and NBA star Raef LaFrentz, who was top five in the country in the class of 1994.
Compton Magic 17s junior wing Alijah Arenas is ranked No. 3 overall in the class of 2026, and he’s a terrific looking prospect. His dad is former Arizona and NBA star Gilbert Arenas.
I haven’t seen him yet, but folks from Indiana are raving about sophomore point guard Jason Gardner Jr., who is the son of Jason Sr., who starred at Arizona and now working at his alma mater.
***
Over on the Nike side, one well-sourced coaching friend said NC State was four-deep to watch senior wing Davion Hannah of Nicolet, Wis. Hannah was offered by NC State on June 19, and the Wolfpack were watching him with Tyler Herro-sponsored Team Herro.
Hannah is ranked No. 27 overall in the class of 2025 by Rivals.com and he’s a terrific scorer at about 6-4 or 6-5. He is leaving Nicolet High to attend Link Academy in Branson, Mo., which has been a powerhouse the last five years or so. He had flirted with leaving the Milwaukee area in past years for high school, so it wasn’t overly surprising.
This is where things get fun in some ways. Hannah played last year with Mac Irvin Fire 16s, and there is a woven them in the class of 2025 and NC State targets. When Magwood was a freshman, he and Heard played together on Mac Irvin Fire 15s. Magwood left for Team United 16s, but I believe Hannah joined the Mac Irvin Fire organization for 16s. Heard might have missed a chunk of time with an injury, so they didn’t a full season together.
Wisconsin, Alabama, Creighton, Cincinnati, Xavier, Arizona State and Arkansas, are some of the colleges in the mix.
***
Another litter birdie at the Nike Peach Jam said junior wing Cole Cloer is back from his injury suffered in mid-May.
Cloer was playing with CP3 16s in the Indianapolis, Ind., area May 19, and he drove baseline, and a PSA Cardinals player tried to slid in and take a charge. Cloer landed poorly, hurt his back and suffered a seizure on the court.
Cloer, who went to Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange, has since transferred to Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy, which is coached by his CP3 coach, Brandon Clifford. Cloer is ranked No. 22 overall in the class of 2026.
