Shaquan’s Prime Performers (ATL HOOPFEST – 2027)
Taj Saragba | Team Scoot | 6’7″
Saragba is a prospect that’s evolving by the day. I was able to catch the true 8th grader in action a few times and each time he showed signs of a direction that he’s likely trending towards. He’s a good rim runner without the ball in his hands, he has good hands to catch passes, and he looks to dunk every chance he can. Saragba is also a high level rebounder. At 6’7 he made it hard for guys to keep him off the boards as he finished second chance buckets and pushed the break when he grabbed defensive rebounds. He showed he’s capable of making plays for himself and others at times with his developing court vision and passing skills. Defensively, Saragba has good lateral quickness to defend multiple positions and he’s an excellent rim protector that sent a ton of shots the opposite direction. He’s a long term prospect to monitor.
BJ Love | Team Scoot | 5’9″
Love has a knack for scoring the basketball. The guard did a good job of using his tight handle to get by defenders allowing him to make plays at the basket. The guard was fearless when attacking lanes and nonstop attacks made it easier for other guys to get open looks. Love has a nice outside shooting stroke that he used as well as his stop and pop jump shot that he made tough for guys to stop when he couldn’t get all the way to the basket. His stellar play helped take his team far in the ATL HoopFest tournament.
Lorenzo McCorvey | G | 6’2“
McCorvey is a 6’2 guard that can play multiple positions due to his size and athleticism. The game he had on display against a hard nosed Dorian Pinson Snipers team was all-around. Showing his ability to knock down both spot up 3s or 3s off the bounce. McCorvey was straight to the point during isolation situations, playing with great speed and creating mismatches for himself and others. He showed his ability to post up smaller guards as he knocked down a few turnaround jump shots which caught the crowd’s attention. Defensively, McCorvey was able to guard positions 1-5 but his shot blocking ability and timing stood out the most. McCorvey is definitely a prospect to monitor moving forward.
Domonique Bembery | Dorian Pinson Snipers | 6’0″
Bembery was a powerful force against Team Scoop (Purple) when I caught him in action. The southpaw forward showed his ability to continuously get to the basket where he finished some tough lay-ups through contact and in traffic. Bembery’s aggression towards the basket caused for weak and strong side helped which opened up his passing game. He showed good court vision, passing skills and his ability to scope the floor out before making any offensive attacks. While Bembery was no stranger to taking and making a few jump shots, that was an area that caused the most hesitation. As Bembery gains more confidence to take those shots being given to him even more, he’ll open his main strength of getting to the basket.
Tayson Pornsopone | Dorian Pinson Snipers | 6’2″
Pornsopone is a great piece for Dorian Pinson Snipers with his ability to be just about anywhere on the court. He knows how to move without the ball in his hands to get easy lay-ups, open jump shots and quick kick passes to that allowed him to attack close outs. Pornsopone knocked down open 3pt jump shots, mid corner shots and floaters when found. He also showed his ability to score the ball off the bounce as well with his sneaky attacks. Defensively, Pornsopone showed he wasn’t shy of getting up in defenders chests and coming away with easy steals for his team. He had great defensive efforts along with his teammate Christopher Mitchell.
Christopher Mitchell | Dorian Pinson Snipers | 5’4“
Mitchell was hands down one of the best lead guards I caught in action at the ATL Hoop Fest. His ability to create for others was on full display as he didn’t look to create for himself unless he really needed to. Mitchell has good court vision and passing accuracy that he showed off when making no-look passes or simple transition passes to his teammates. When Mitchell had to score himself, he often got to his sweet floater if he couldn’t get all the way to the basket. Defensively, Mitchell’s on ball pressure was relentless causing a few turnovers and taking guys out of their game. His defensive pressure was a game changer against Team Scoop.
Daniel Harper | Atlanta Kings | 5’8
Harper exploded for 15 of his game high 21pts in the first half against the Macon Mavs. The speed he has and plays with allowed him to blow by defenders easily to get to the basket where he had a field day finishing with either hand. His will to get to the basket helped him get to the free-throw line a number of times where he was pretty comfortable knocking down his free ones. Harper didn’t have to show too much of his ball handling because of his ability to use simple moves to get by. Defensively, Harper used his speed to jump the passing lanes to intercept bad passes which led to easy fast break points for himself or his teammates. Harper brought nothing but winning efforts to his team.
Promise Palmer | Atlanta Kings | 5’3″
Palmer is a diminutive guard that made his presence felt on the defensive end. Sitting low and getting up under defenders, completely taking them out of their rhythm, constantly speeding them up, and making things really tough for them offensively. He took no plays off defensively and did whatever it took to keep his team on track. Tracking down loose ball opportunities, sticking his nose in for rebounds, and taking on the opposing team’s best ball handler. Offensively, Palmer showed his ability to break down defenders to get to the basket, finishing with his high floater and often a nice stop and pop jump shot.
Javonte Floyd | Atlanta Kings | 6’7″
Floyd, the 6’7 big man has the ability to change games completely for his Atlanta Kings team. He’s a big body inside that won a lot of rebounding battles consistently giving his team extra opportunities to score and limiting the other teams to just one possession. Offensively, Floyd has a nice soft touch around the basket although he tends to rush his shots due to the attention he requires. Once Floyd’s inside patience is mixed with his nice soft touch he’ll be a major problem inside. He runs the floor well and sets hard screens on his opponents. Defensively, Floyd’s presence around the rim intimidated smaller guards and altered everyone’s shots. He had a few blocked shots without even leaving the floor. Over time, his game will be developing him into a prospect to look out for.
Christian Dixon | AE5 | 5’10″
One thing coaches love is a player that knows how to lead in areas that can’t be taught such as toughness. That’s what Christian Dixon displayed from the moment the game started. Pure toughness and a ton of pride on the defensive end taking on the opposing team’s best player and making it really tough for him. Dixon started the game off with an on-ball steal and a steal off the ball just being on his toes. Both steals turned into fast break points of his. He brought his energy and effort to help his team get the victory. He took on a challenge that fueled him from start to finish and didn’t care about scoring but he knew if he could stop the opposing team’s best player then he’d be giving his team the best chance at winning.
Jeffrey Lockhart | AE5 | 6’0″
Lockhart is a southpaw guard with a tight handle that he used to navigate through defenders so calmly. He didn’t seem to be in a rush getting to his spots so he used his tight handle to attack angles and once he got into the paint he was kind of hard to stop with his side advantage on smaller guards. Lockhart didn’t force any action and played well within his team’s offense. He took what the defense gave him all game long as he was on his way to a smooth 10pt game in a comfortable victory over Dorian Pinson Snipers.
Tyler Barnes | Triangle Offense | 5’8″
Barnes is a very exciting guard to watch with his skills of handling, scoring and defending the basketball. He has a shifty handle that used to break down his defenders in order to get to the basket for easy lay-ups or to create space for his sweet pull-up jump shot. Barnes scored the ball pretty well from all three levels and at times he allowed his defensive efforts to fuel that offensive energy making him fun to watch. He wasn’t afraid to get up in his opponents chest for steals in which he had a few of. Barnes also got the ball ahead to his open teammates when they were running the floor and found his spot up shooters. With Barnes’ defensive energy along with his backcourt teammate, they make Triangle Offense an interesting watch every time.
Christian Wofford | Triangle Offense | 5’9″
The backcourt pressure from Barnes and Wofford was felt by their competition. They caused havoc both defensively and offensively. Coming up with some off ball deflections and getting out on the break for easy lay-ups. Wofford has a handle to break down defenders but he was at his best off the ball with his ability to shoot the three and attack poor close outs. Wofford set his feet well and released a pretty jump shot that he shot the same every time. In back to back possessions, Wofford was able to bury two threes that pushed the lead a bit for his Triangle Offense squad making it tough for their opponents that never quit. Wofford and Barnes alone have the shooting touches to open games up at any time for their team and that’s what they did along with their defense.