JB's Friday Notebook from The Grassroots Showcase
Louisville, Kentucky - One of the biggest stages in all of grassroots basketball is going down this weekend in beautiful Louisville, Kentucky at The Kentucky Expo Center. 57 courts under one roof. 675 teams. Let's take a look at who stood out on the first night.
MXTE Fisher out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin are the guys that look like they could make a Hoosiers 2. These guys play hard every play and make shots. They make shot after shot after shot. They play smart and they are consistent all game. These mid-west guys are fun to watch and they play the right way. This was my first time watching this group and I left impressed.
Ryan Meehan scored 15 points and Andrew Graf scored 16 points in a win over Team Trezz in the 16U division at The Grassroots Showcase. Meehan is a guy that can get baskets from the perimeter. He also has a good handle with the ball and can make defenders miss. One thing about both of these guys is that they play hard, every play.
Graf is a guy that can hurt you from the outside and knock down shots from the perimeter while also being able to score off the dribble. He has some toughness about him, as most mid-west guys do and he showed some shiftiness with the ball in his hands.
Michigan Playmakers 16's
This group has some talent. The group from just outside of Detroit came down to Louisville and made a statement in their first game of the night with a 65-51 win over Grassroots NC. Leading the way for the Playmakers was the tandem of Jakobie Boose and Terrence Martin with 19 and 20 points respectively.
Boose is an athletic guard that has some upside. He had the crowd going with a nice windmill dunk in transition. He hails from Hamady High School in Flint, Michigan where a ton of players have made it to high-level basketball. Remember the Flintstones back in the day for Michigan State? Boose may be a guy that can play at a high-level down the road as well.
Martin, a 6-foot-2 guard from Detroit, scored 19 points on a variety of two-point field goals and made one from beyond the arc. The
Team Wall 16’s Impress Again
Kendrick Williams’ Team Wall 16U program might be one of the best we have seen all travel season. They have so many weapons and it all starts with 6-foot-5 guard Jayden “Juke” Harris and 6-foot-6 forward Ari Fulton. The duo combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds for the game.
Harris has the length, the natural scoring ability and the swagger to be a high-major recruit over the next couple of years. He can score from anywhere on the floor and he is a versatile prospect with his ability to rebound, push the ball on the break and find open teammates.
Ari Fulton might be the most athletic player in the 16U division. He has a great build and has length. He plays with so much fluidity from end to end and plays with physicality. Time after time he grabbed a rebound, used some muscle and got the put-back.
