Anton Beard is finding plenty of success on the summer circuit with Team Thad following a state championship sophomore season at Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.).
File photo by Keith Owens
Taking a break from the established stars in the under-17 divisions, Friday was devoted to checking out the best Sin City had to offer in the 2014 and 2015 classes.
Here's a look at who shined during our stops at Durango High School for the Las Vegas Classic and the Centennial Hills YMCA for the Fab 48;
Anton Beard, 2014, Team Thad: Already committed to Missouri, the 6-foot-1 Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.) combo guard is a confident scorer. His pledge to the Tigers and play this summer are additional signs that things are headed in a positive direction under Frank Haith in Columbia.
Jalen Canty, 2014, Oakland Soldiers: At 6-7 and around 225 pounds, the rising junior at St. Patrick/St. Vincent (Vallejo, Calif.) resembles a mini Elton Brand and with star teammate Aaron Gordon resting, Canty made the most of his opportunities Friday against Louisiana Elite. California-Santa Barbara and Northern Colorado have already offered and Arizona State and Oregon State are showing interest. Expect his list of schools to multiply in the coming weeks.
Chris Chiozza, 2014, Team Thad: Making the move from Bartlett (Tenn.) to White Station (Memphis) in the fall, Chiozza runs the show for the 16U circuit's most entertaining squad. He entered the summer with little college interest, but Team Thad's hectic style has suited the 5-10 point guard's strengths well, helping generate offers from Mississippi, Missouri, Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech. Baylor, Kansas, Memphis, Tennessee and Wake Forest have also expressed interest.
Payton Dastrup, 2014, Arizona Select: Pushing 6-9, the Mountain View (Mesa, Ariz.) forward has an advanced offensive repertoire and went to work against Khadeem Lattin of Houston Hoops. The shots weren't falling as frequently as he would have liked, but it was pretty to watch.
Daniel Giddens, 2015, Game Elite: The Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) big man is nearing 6-10 and looks the part of menacing paint patroller. Giddens recorded a couple of blocked shots but changed or discouraged countless others. Not enough data to comment on his offensive game, but had a couple of nice sequences rolling to the basket after setting picks. Game Elite and Wheeler teammate Jaylen Brown, a 6-5 2015 guard/wing, was also impressive.
Brodricks Jones
File photo by Nick Koza
Shavar Newkirk, 2014, Team Scan: College coaches have to love the way the 5-11 rising junior runs a team, controls the action and adds a scoring punch to the point guard position. Iona, Providence and Seton Hall have offered and Iowa State and West Virginia are in contact.
Jahlil Okafor, 2014, Mac Irvin Fire: The Whitney Young (Chicago) center drew a tough matchup in Northwestern-bound walk-on Aaron Liberman of BTI Double Pump, an active 6-9 Class of 2012 big man who came to play. Okafor had to work for his points, but he kept coming and eventually got the best of Liberman (Northwestern is getting an intriguing walk-on here, by the way). Okafor looks to be in the best shape of his young career and was typically well-positioned to take advantage of Mac Irvin Fire's dominance in the backcourt for easy buckets.
Malik Pope, 2014, Team Superstar: Very intriguing young player who will be making the move from Burbank (Sacramento, Calif.) to Capital Christian (Sacramento) in the fall. At around 6-7, he played almost entirely on the perimeter Friday and used his height and long arms to pass over the top of the defense and make plays. Though he looks to be perimeter-oriented, Pope put his length to use on the glass, as well, snatching a number of rebounds.
Ivan Rabb, 2015, Oakland Soldiers: Following an impressive showing at the LeBron James Skills Academy earlier this month in Las Vegas, the 6-8 rising sophomore was back at it Friday. During one sequence before the end of the first half against Louisiana Elite, Rabb pulled down a one-handed rebound in traffic, quickly gave it up to a guard, ran the floor and six seconds later was on the receiving end of a pass from the same guard underneath the bucket for an easy score. Not exactly stuff that's going to make his Yay Area's Finest mix tape, but impressive play from a young post prospect nonetheless. Arizona and California have already extended offers to the Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) big.
Jake Toolson, 2014, Arizona Select: A well-built 6-5 wing out of Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.), Toolson launches threes without regard for the arc and connected on a couple of the deeper bombs we've seen this week.
