Grassroots Showcase Top Performers

Justice Decker (2025) 6’5 SF   Central Kentucky Basketball Club/duPont Manual
Decker brings a physical component to the game due to his frame and style of play. The southpaw likes to B-line to the rim and initiate contact on dribble drives. Showcased some body control in the paint. Definitely has polished his game since I saw him at Wright State’s Team Camp in June 2023. Versatile defender as he’s quick enough to guard wings and physical enough to battle with smaller 4’s on the block.

Isaiah Cochran (2025) 6’7 PF   Central Kentucky Basketball Club/Adair County
Cochran caught my eye at the KHSAA Sweet 16 two months ago and again impressed in Louisville. Catches the eye right away with his athletic, 6’7 frame. Defensively sound prospect in terms of keeping guys in front and rotating in halfcourt defense. Draws defense into help when he puts the ball on the floor. Combine this with the intangibles and vision to see teammates and Cochran can be a great setup option. Midrange/perimeter shots weren’t falling consistently in the games I watched, but still a high profile prospect and performer.

Diante Jones (2026) 6’0 PG   MR22 Elite Gold/Northland
Jones was a new name for me in Louisville as he played a very tough brand of basketball for a guard heavy team. Aware of where he needs to attack to draw defenders in for drive-and-kick opportunities. Quickly rises into his shot if he chooses to keep and try to score himself. Jones was fantastic on-ball defensively as he showcased impressive lateral movement and cut off the drives well. Would like to see improvement in his game implementing a post player and getting big involved. 

A’zon Steele (2025) 6’0 PG   Team Greatness 3SGB/Sidney
Steele had a different role with Team Greatness than with his HS team. Ball dominant with SIdney and tasked with being the primary scorer, Steele was more of a distributor for Team Greatness. His vision has improved and he sees the floor much better than previous outings I’ve scouted of him. Still a threat offensively to blow by a defender with a move or two, or get into his shot in the midrange. Steele has even showed improvement getting his secondary option as he got a defender to commit to him in a pullup 15 footer, and then hit teammate Alex Kazanecki for an easy layup.

Brandon Roddy (2025) 6’1 PG   MR 22 Elite 3SSB/Harvest Prep
Roddy will go down as one of my favorite PGs I’ve ever scouted. Unselfish with his Harvest Prep team and even with his club team with some real scoring threats. Knows how to utilize a pick-and-roll and find rolling big or attack gaps to draw another defender. Facilitates and cleanly distributes out of screens and drives. Difficult to speed him up as Roddy has one of the tighter handles in Ohio and can settle in against tighter and higher ball pressure. Roddy doesn’t take a ton of outside shots whenever I’ve scouted him as he’d rather get another guy the ball or get within a few feet of the rim to score himself.

Cash Ingram (2025) 6’1 PG   Elite Mentality/Fairfield
Ingram showed a lot of comfortability offensively against MR 22 Elite. Tough nosed guard with an attack mode mentality with the ball in his hands. Consistently beat his man off the dribble and plenty of paint touches. Lured fouls by initiating contact and going up strong and collected. Aware enough on the perimeter that he found shooters on the wing after getting in the paint enough times. I would like to see Ingram’s decision making be just a tad quicker as he did take an extra dribble or two at times instead of making a pass or a floater in the paint. Still impressed however against a shoe team. 

Tyson Davis (2027) 6’0 SG   Phenom United Gold/Lakota West
Davis was another ball-dominant offensive player that impressed me. Playing against a very skilled STAR Basketball Club (UA Rise), Davis played like a more mature prospect in terms of physically being tougher than defenders and showcasing the awareness that he has a stronger, more physical frame than some of the defenders. Prioritized attacking to the left and was comfortable if switched to the right. While Davis got into the paint, he did get called for two charges by going off one foot uncontrolled. As he shows more poise in the paint, could really benefit with Lakota West’s offense.

James Kalala (2026) 6’7 PF   EG10 (17U)/Southport
Kalala was probably my favorite prospect to watch throughout the weekend with his EG10 team. Playing up a grade, Kalala has a ton of upside and it showed. Catches the eye right away with his frame and the athleticism and springiness he plays with at 6’7. Caught an alley-oop off the backboard in transition and was persistent attacking the glass offensively. On the defensive side, defended on-ball and as a big extremely well. Long enough to slow down smaller attacking players and hedged ball screens to perfection. Kalala does have some improvement in terms of forcing shots offensively when he catches on the block. Also was caught reaching defensively if he did get beat. Still one of the highest upside prospects I saw, especially considering he is playing up.

Jaymal Whitfield (2028)   Phenom United 3SSB
Whitfield was one of several athletes that caught my eye for Phenom’s 14U 3SSB squad. Passes the eye test right away with his frame as a 14U player. Overpowered defenders both off the dribble and attacking the glass. Literally attacks through on-ball defense and went over box outs. Whitfield did have a lot of success putting the ball on the floor and finding trailing guards or dump offs to bigs. Shows signs of being a skilled offensive weapon at the HS level.
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Shea O’Toole (2025) 5’11 CG   Midwest Flyers-Creamer/Turpin
O’Toole was in a groove against a more athletic and guard-heavy Marshall Warriors team. Gave himself opportunities with his off-ball movement. Backdoor cuts and dribble handoff reads allowed him to get separation and score more than just shooting the ball. Had a few flashes with dribble drive from teammates and was able to get touches. Speaking of shooting, O’Toole was able to get into shots off the dribble or off catch. Especially liked to settle for the midrange jumper when able. A bit undersized, O’Toole plays bigger than his 5’11 frame and has the toughness factor.