Fall League Notes Pt. 1 (Week 1)
Night one of HoopSeen Fall League was filled with excitement as many of these Prep teams got the opportunity to play for the first time since June period this summer. Here's a look at some of the teams and players that stood out Week 1:
Franklin County:
Everything with Franklin County starts through the Huff brothers. 2026 Bentley Huff & 2028 Hudson Huff are two skilled guards that play well off each other.
Bentley, the more physical of the two, couldn’t get much to fall tonight but was effective at getting to the rim and getting good looks. Bentley showed off his court vision and found open teammates often & played off 2 feet well. Talented player that had a good spring with the Atlanta Allstars 17u.
Hudson has incredible pace & confidence that anyone can tell as soon as you watch him step on the court. Able to leave defenders while going downhill & decelerates quickly to get open looks. High-level shooter that can heat up in a hurry.
FUTURE PLAYER TO WATCH:
2029 6’5” Drake Nix – Unsure of his position yet due to his tweener size at his age but this kid is a ballplayer. LOVED HIS MOTOR. Plays extremely hard and not necessarily something you see every day with kids his age on the varsity level. Finished with 13p, 9r, & 2b in a loss to South Forsyth. Prospect to watch outside of Atlanta over the next few years.
South Forsyth:
This was my first time getting to watch South Forsyth and was impressed with their aggressiveness, ability to speed up Franklin’s offense to force turnovers, & communication. Their effort & energy helped them take the lead from the start of the game & left Franklin trying to catch up.
2026 Payne Smith & Luca Fornano were two names that stood out.
Payne is a smart guard that can score and facilitate well. He commanded the offense & seemed to be the emotional leader of the group.
Luca is a muscled up, physical guard that surprised me with his athleticism. He killed defenders with his turnaround mid-range jumper and put pressure on the Franklin bigs by crashing the glass hard.
Look forward to following South Forsyth more closely over the coming weeks after a big win in Week 1.
Grayson:
The gym at Suwanee Sports Academy got an extra pulse of life when Grayson and their fans came onto the court at 7pm with their loaded roster. This Grayson team looks much different & younger than teams in past years but our staff left impressed by the group.
2029 Austin Leonard…go ahead and buy stock now. Probably the most impressive performance of the night from the incoming freshman who already touts offers from Auburn & Georgia. Leonard was all over the place making an impact in a variety of ways. When driving downhill, he kept inviting contact and physically putting pressure on defenders while attacking the rim. He showed the ability to hit open 3’s making him a matchup nightmare. His poise and decision-making was much better than any Freshman in recent memory. My favorite highlight of his from the day was an outlet pass he made in the 2nd quarter to MJ Curry for a slam. Really excited to track his progress moving forward.
2027 MJ Curry was everywhere on the floor. Every time the rising junior touched the ball a highlight followed. Whether he was finding an open teammate in transition, dunking through traffic, leaving a defender looking as he blew by, or hitting an open kickout – he showed why he is one of the hottest prospects in Georgia with offers from South Florida, Tennessee, Xavier, Georgia State, Florida State amongst others. The Grovetown transfer will be one of the top players in Gwinnett County this season and someone that is going to be at the top of must-watch lists for college coaches.
2026 Malik Rideout – The PG has made a name for himself in Gwinnett over the past couple of seasons and brought that swagger to the court tonight with Grayson. First offensive play, Malik cashed a deep top-of-the-key 3 to open things up for the Rams. From there, he kept making solid decisions as a PG & feeding his teammates in the right moment. We even saw Rideout take a charge in transition that helped fuel an early run that put East Forsyth away early. Unsigned senior that deserves more collegiate attention.
East Forsyth:
A tough matchup for the Broncos against Grayson in Week 1 of Fall League without one of their top players. East Forsyth hung around early but could not sustain that as the game went on into the 2nd half.
Bright spot for East Forsyth was 2026 Brennan Burns who came ready to play. The physical guard was making dime after dime to his teammates and putting guys in position to be successful. Burns handled pressure well and was able to initiate the offense for East. After dicing up the Grayson defense in the 1st half, the Rams started to send 2 his way on multiple possessions that took the ball out of his hands. Even so, he played a game that anyone watching could see the talent and ability this kid has.
TWU Elite:
In a tough matchup against Cherokee Bluff, 2028 Christian Caldwell of Denmark stood out immediately. The big-body underclassmen showed off his physicality & rebounding prowess throughout the game. As he continues to develop and work on finishing better at the rim – Caldwell has a chance to be a prospect.
