1. The Under Armour Association came to Rock Hill, S.C., and it’s one of those events where you don’t know exactly what to expect.
Under Armour trails adidas 3SSB and Nike Elite Youth Basketball League when it comes to players ranked and depth of teams. College coaches take the approach of dropping in and seeing their main guys, and maybe catch the younger players from the region. NC State assistant coach Levi Watkins represented the Wolfpack until about Saturday afternoon perhaps, but the main targets were in Texas (adidas) and Arizona (Nike).
The top player on NC State’s current board at UAA is Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy junior guard Jahseem Felton. The Wolfpack offered him last summer after a productive sophomore year at Gastonia (N.C.) Gaston Christian and B. Maze Elite, which is his traveling program run by Bobby Maze. Normally players of Felton’s stature — he’s currently ranked No. 98 by Rivals.com in the class of 2024 — I’ve seen a lot. With Felton, he went to Santa Clarita (Calif.) Southern California Academy his junior year, so he didn’t get the usual blitz of coverage. The Charlotte, N.C., native also didn’t play for one of the N.C.-based traveling teams that routinely play in Bermuda Run, N.C., events or Rock Hill.
The last time I saw Felton play live was 11 months ago at the Josh Level Classic in Greensboro, N.C., which is happening again May 20. Watching him play in two full games and the tail end of a third, proved enlightening to know what his fit is for college.
The listed 6-foot-5, 195-pounder isn’t flashy. He plays some point guard, but also can play either of the wing positions. My hunch is that he’ll end up at small forward or the “third guard” in college. He could have the role that former NCSU player C.J. Williams had his senior year, where Williams averaged 10.6 points per game, shot 34.3 percent on three-pointers, hit mid-range jumpers and guarded the opposing team’s top scoring wing. Felton is maybe an inch shorter but also more explosive off the bounce than Williams, but he has that meat and potatoes, no-nonsense kind of game.
Felton is simply a bully driving the ball against smaller players. The biggest difference between UAA and Nike EYBL is the size of the bodies. They are thinner and lankier in UAA, and Felton can bully other guards.
The late night Saturday game against Atlanta XPress, he drained five three-pointers, so it shows what he can do when he gets hot. His team had a comfortable lead, fell apart in the last 80 seconds or so, and were down one. Felton drove and pulled up off balance from 3-point land and hit the game-winner with 0.5 seconds left. Felton finished with 28 points in the 70-69 win. That also showed he’s not afraid of the moment.
There has been a train of thought that NC State will wait on pushing hard on Felton until they see what happens with other guys. The class of 2024 is all about wide receivers in football recruiting and guards/wings in basketball recruiting in the state of North Carolina. It’s hard not to get a few of them.
2. Mooresville (N.C.) Lake Norman sophomore post player Trent Steinour is starting to make that jump.
He’s long been regarded as a future Division I prospect, but now will likely draw high-major looks. At 6-foot-9 and 195 pounds, he’s still growing and filling out his body. However, playing with Team Curry 16s, he came out and had a quality performance against a solid DC Premier squad Saturday night. He had four dunks, 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Two things stand out about Steinour — he plays hard, including running the floor consistently, and he isn’t afraid to mix it up inside, even at 195 pounds.
Steinour played last year with the Carolina Riptides and put up good numbers. He then played with Zymicah Wilkins of Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High in Rutherfordton, N.C., and got a taste of the NIke EYBL with Team United 15s. He showed flashes, but now it is turning into production.
Steinour, whose dad was an accomplished tennis player at North Carolina, battled some injuries this past season at Lake Norman. The combination of Steinour and sophomore wing Tre McKinnon, who was just offered by East Carolina, should have them in the thick of things next winter. He played in 21 games, missing six, and averaged 10.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.
The key with Steinour moving forward is can he develop some perimeter skills and be a little bit of a stretch four, or will he used as slender center. Colleges will figure that out in three years, but he’s looking like a high major prospect who could be in the Rivals150 one day.
3. Felton wasn’t the only standout from Combine Academy this weekend.
Freshman forward Elhadji Diallo showed flashes this past season, playing on a veteran squad with Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia), Trentyn Flowers (Louisville) and rising senior Rakease Passmore.
Playing with Team Curry 15s accomplishes two things for Diallo — a crucial role of his own for as many minutes that he can handle, and how does he look against his peers. The tricky part with the 15s division is many of the games are played off site at local high schools. The key with Diallo was that he was playing at 8 a.m. Sunday at the main complex.
Was the trip worth it that early for a game? Without question. One scout had Diallo for 13 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. We’ll see if the future scouting video confirms but he was impressive.
Diallo is a small ball power forward at around 6-6 but isn’t a three-point threat yet. He rebounds and defends so well, that it more than makes up for not being a long-range shooter like Jericole Hellems or Jack Clark were.
The beauty of Diallo’s game, he rarely tries to do something he doesn’t think he can do. That kind of efficiency in such a young player is impressive.
Almost 10 years ago, I wrote about Diallo’s older brother, Ibrahima Diallo, who was 6-10 and 225 pounds at Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education. He came from Senegal and picked Rutgers in the class of 2014, and unconfirmed, but I remember he was affected by a bad knee injury in high school, but the memory is hazy. Diallo spent two years at Rutgers and two at Manhattan, finishing with 100 points and 108 rebounds in 57 games played.
The younger Diallo will be in the mix for the top prospect in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2026, joining Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange wing Cole Cloer, Durham (N.C.) Jordan power forward Rivers Knight and Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons point guard Aiden Smalls. This is under the assumption that football will come first for Reidsville (N.C.) High power forward Kendre’ Harrison.
Under Armour trails adidas 3SSB and Nike Elite Youth Basketball League when it comes to players ranked and depth of teams. College coaches take the approach of dropping in and seeing their main guys, and maybe catch the younger players from the region. NC State assistant coach Levi Watkins represented the Wolfpack until about Saturday afternoon perhaps, but the main targets were in Texas (adidas) and Arizona (Nike).
The top player on NC State’s current board at UAA is Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy junior guard Jahseem Felton. The Wolfpack offered him last summer after a productive sophomore year at Gastonia (N.C.) Gaston Christian and B. Maze Elite, which is his traveling program run by Bobby Maze. Normally players of Felton’s stature — he’s currently ranked No. 98 by Rivals.com in the class of 2024 — I’ve seen a lot. With Felton, he went to Santa Clarita (Calif.) Southern California Academy his junior year, so he didn’t get the usual blitz of coverage. The Charlotte, N.C., native also didn’t play for one of the N.C.-based traveling teams that routinely play in Bermuda Run, N.C., events or Rock Hill.
The last time I saw Felton play live was 11 months ago at the Josh Level Classic in Greensboro, N.C., which is happening again May 20. Watching him play in two full games and the tail end of a third, proved enlightening to know what his fit is for college.
The listed 6-foot-5, 195-pounder isn’t flashy. He plays some point guard, but also can play either of the wing positions. My hunch is that he’ll end up at small forward or the “third guard” in college. He could have the role that former NCSU player C.J. Williams had his senior year, where Williams averaged 10.6 points per game, shot 34.3 percent on three-pointers, hit mid-range jumpers and guarded the opposing team’s top scoring wing. Felton is maybe an inch shorter but also more explosive off the bounce than Williams, but he has that meat and potatoes, no-nonsense kind of game.
Felton is simply a bully driving the ball against smaller players. The biggest difference between UAA and Nike EYBL is the size of the bodies. They are thinner and lankier in UAA, and Felton can bully other guards.
The late night Saturday game against Atlanta XPress, he drained five three-pointers, so it shows what he can do when he gets hot. His team had a comfortable lead, fell apart in the last 80 seconds or so, and were down one. Felton drove and pulled up off balance from 3-point land and hit the game-winner with 0.5 seconds left. Felton finished with 28 points in the 70-69 win. That also showed he’s not afraid of the moment.
There has been a train of thought that NC State will wait on pushing hard on Felton until they see what happens with other guys. The class of 2024 is all about wide receivers in football recruiting and guards/wings in basketball recruiting in the state of North Carolina. It’s hard not to get a few of them.
2. Mooresville (N.C.) Lake Norman sophomore post player Trent Steinour is starting to make that jump.
He’s long been regarded as a future Division I prospect, but now will likely draw high-major looks. At 6-foot-9 and 195 pounds, he’s still growing and filling out his body. However, playing with Team Curry 16s, he came out and had a quality performance against a solid DC Premier squad Saturday night. He had four dunks, 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Two things stand out about Steinour — he plays hard, including running the floor consistently, and he isn’t afraid to mix it up inside, even at 195 pounds.
Steinour played last year with the Carolina Riptides and put up good numbers. He then played with Zymicah Wilkins of Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High in Rutherfordton, N.C., and got a taste of the NIke EYBL with Team United 15s. He showed flashes, but now it is turning into production.
Steinour, whose dad was an accomplished tennis player at North Carolina, battled some injuries this past season at Lake Norman. The combination of Steinour and sophomore wing Tre McKinnon, who was just offered by East Carolina, should have them in the thick of things next winter. He played in 21 games, missing six, and averaged 10.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.
The key with Steinour moving forward is can he develop some perimeter skills and be a little bit of a stretch four, or will he used as slender center. Colleges will figure that out in three years, but he’s looking like a high major prospect who could be in the Rivals150 one day.
3. Felton wasn’t the only standout from Combine Academy this weekend.
Freshman forward Elhadji Diallo showed flashes this past season, playing on a veteran squad with Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia), Trentyn Flowers (Louisville) and rising senior Rakease Passmore.
Playing with Team Curry 15s accomplishes two things for Diallo — a crucial role of his own for as many minutes that he can handle, and how does he look against his peers. The tricky part with the 15s division is many of the games are played off site at local high schools. The key with Diallo was that he was playing at 8 a.m. Sunday at the main complex.
Was the trip worth it that early for a game? Without question. One scout had Diallo for 13 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks. We’ll see if the future scouting video confirms but he was impressive.
Diallo is a small ball power forward at around 6-6 but isn’t a three-point threat yet. He rebounds and defends so well, that it more than makes up for not being a long-range shooter like Jericole Hellems or Jack Clark were.
The beauty of Diallo’s game, he rarely tries to do something he doesn’t think he can do. That kind of efficiency in such a young player is impressive.
Almost 10 years ago, I wrote about Diallo’s older brother, Ibrahima Diallo, who was 6-10 and 225 pounds at Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education. He came from Senegal and picked Rutgers in the class of 2014, and unconfirmed, but I remember he was affected by a bad knee injury in high school, but the memory is hazy. Diallo spent two years at Rutgers and two at Manhattan, finishing with 100 points and 108 rebounds in 57 games played.
The younger Diallo will be in the mix for the top prospect in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2026, joining Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange wing Cole Cloer, Durham (N.C.) Jordan power forward Rivers Knight and Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons point guard Aiden Smalls. This is under the assumption that football will come first for Reidsville (N.C.) High power forward Kendre’ Harrison.
