By Sam Federman
NEW YORK --- I attended the first two days of the MADE Hoops Jordan Holiday Classic at Baruch College, watching 14 high school basketball games featuring dozens of Division I prospects. Here are my notes on a few of them
'25 Keith McKnight (Quinnipiac) - Hudson Catholic: A 6 foot 5 guard that can handle the ball and get to the rim with ease. Plays as a 4/5 for HC,but will be a 2/3 at the college level. Thus, he must develop an outside shot.
'25 Omari Moore (Manhattan) - Hudson Catholic: He's going to get his shot no matter what. Moore is the best movement shooter to come into the MAAC since I started covering the league as closely as I do now a few years back.
'26 Peyton Miller - George School: A tough, gritty point guard from New Jersey, Miller got to the basket with ease when bigger defenders were on him, and got his shot in the mid-range as well. He only made one three, but it was a difficult shot from the corner in a huge spot. Good positional size at 6 foot 2 as well, and looks the part.
'25 Luke Melniczak - George School: I'm really not sure how, looking at his frame, but he made life really difficult for the Phelps School's big wings on defense. Good rebounder as well, hit some big shots.
'25 Onyx Nnani (Arkansas State) - Phelps School: A high-major athlete with extremely projectable skill and frame. But it's probably good for him to play at Arkansas State because he won't be buried in the rotation, but he won't have to handle the ball quite as much as he did for Phelps. Needs to be more of straight line drives and spot up threes than trying to make fancy dribble moves.
'27 Anderson Diaz - Lawrence Woodmere: Smooth and skilled guard that can hit outside shots and get to the basket.
'25 Jake West (Northwestern) - Penn Charter: The kid is tough. He's very skinny, but he isn't afraid to get to the basket and finish through contact. Once they started sending more help, he dished out assists galore in the second half.
'25 Matt Gilhool (LSU) - Penn Charter: Projects as a skilled 4 rather than a 5 at the college level. The uniqueness of his skillset will play better if he continues to work on his skills rather than bulk up and try to go band for band in the low post with the SEC guys. He's a good ball handler on the perimeter and can get downhill.
'25 Brandon Lee (Illinois) - Patrick School: It didn't even feel like he played well, but he scored over 20 points and fairly efficiently. Made a lot of good baseline cuts. When the outside shot is falling, he's a dangerous scorer.
'25 Eric Reibe (UConn) - Bullis: The size is outrageous, definitely looks like a legit 7 footer, and the skill is there, but struggled in both games. When it's clicking, he's very difficult to stop because he can get in the deep post and also take you off the dribble, while also using his length to bother everybody on defense, but that wasn't what it looked like this weekend.
'25 Adrien Stevens (Marquette) - Bullis: He's explosive getting to the basket, but was up and down over the two days.
'25 Cam Boozer (Duke) - Columbus: If I could recruit any high school basketball player to my program right now, I'm choosing him. Awesome combination of size, strength, rim finishing, rim pressure, vision, instincts, athleticism, skill, and shooting. There isn't really a skill that isn't there. Maybe the ceiling isn't quite as high as Dybantsa because he's not the same level of athlete, but he's more than enough to be an All-American as a freshman.
'25 Cayden Boozer (Duke) - Columbus: Good size for a point guard and has a lot of zip on the ball. Smart cutter and plays in tune with his brother at all times.
'26 Jaxon Richardson - Columbus: You thought Jase was really athletic? Jaxon is a freak. The explosiveness is off the charts.
'26 Caleb Gaskins - Columbus: Had some serious "f-- you scorer" moments. Rising up above multiple defenders to hit some tough shots. Also great length on the other end.
'26 Jordan Smith - Paul IV: He gets where he wants on the court.
'26 Deron Rippey Jr. - Blair Academy: One of the top players at the entire event. He brought immediate energy and scoring from all levels, distributed the ball, and played locked in on defense. All-around point guard that will be a 5-star prospect.
'26 Jayden Hodge - St. Rose: Brother of Villanova forward Matt Hodge, and a similarly well-rounded skillset with good size that will translate.
'25 Cam Fleming - St. Frances: Super strong, if not undersized, big man with a rim finishing presence.
(I didn't really get to watch much of the Dynamic/McNamara game)
'25 Jacobe Coleman (Sam Houston) - Dynamic Prep: Scored from everywhere on the floor.
'25 Kayden Mingo (Penn State) - LuHi: I feel like we know what Kayden Mingo is at this point. Tough all-around point guard that should be a great fit for Mike Rhoades.
'25 Nigel James (Marquette) - LuHi: Struggled early, but recovered extremely well. Confident and athletic player with explosiveness and resolve to find good shots and get to the rim.
'26 Dylan Mingo - LuHi: A little bit taller than his brother, and more of an off-ball player at the moment, but makes his presence felt whenever he's on the floor.
'26 MJ Madison - LuHi: Long and athletic wing who has very projectable skills.