WOODSTOCK—The Relentless Hoops Summer League is underway at Etowah High School. This field presents one of the best opportunities to see some of the best prospects in Georgia get some games under their belt with their high school teams. 

The first day provided plenty of notable performances and kept my pen busy in my notebook. Here are some of the highlights from the day’s action. 

2025s Shine

The 2025 class was well represented by Etowah’s Aiden Weaver, Buford’s Kyle Carpenter, and Cherokee’s Lawrence Sanford. In different ways, each rising sophomore made their presence known.

Weaver did so with electrifying athleticism and highlight plays in transition. The Etowah guard showed flashes last season with the Eagles, but it seems like he could step into a more prominent role and capitalize in an open floor spread out by Etowah’s plethora of shooting. 

Kyle Carpenter was an overall steady, productive presence at the guard spot for Buford with Malachi Brown sitting out. Carpenter sees the floor well and can dish out some flashy assists. He can score well and can use his frame to excel in a crowded paint. 

Sanford was the most dynamic shooter and scorer of the three. He can pour it on from the perimeter. That’s where he’s at his best. He can make a play off the bounce and utilizes a quick step back to create space. He finished with 29 points in Cherokee’s win over North Cobb Christian. 

A-Private Schools Impress

King’s Ridge and Mount Vernon both showed signs that they could be two of the better A-Private teams this season. 

After making the A-Private championship game this past season, King’s Ridge looks to be in good shape to make another run at it. Isaac Martin continues to play well this year. He brings plenty of poise and leadership at the poing guard spot for King’s Ridge, and he’s one of the most deadly shooters in the state too. With Jack Thomas and Zak Thomas surrounding Martin on the perimeter, the Tigers have plenty of shooting options and can spread teams out. Sticking with the backcourt, 2025 Jaydon Cole should be a name to keep tabs on for the Tigers. He was solid for them on Tuesday and could continue to emerge throughout the summer with King’s Ridge and TSF. 

Micah Hoover had a tremendous day at RH Summer League. The 6-foot-6 forward was automatic around the basket and provided a perfect target for his guards to feed when in the post. His motor was revved, so he was able to do plenty of damage on the glass as well. Hoover made several nice plays from the wing as well. 

Adding William Jobe was huge for the Tigers. He’ll be able to add size in the frontcourt at 6-foot-9, and he also adds to their wealth of shooters because he can step out and consistently serve as a perimeter threat. 

Moving over to Mount Vernon, the Mustangs should have as much size and physicality as anyone in A-Private this coming season. With a starting group that looks to be around 6-foot-3 and above, Mount Vernon could overwhelm teams throughout the high school season. 

Dennis Scott III was tremendous in the only game he played. The 6-foot-9 forward is lethal from the perimeter and showed that off with five 3-pointers and 20 points. Big Keith Williams Jr. is going to give opposing frontcourts all kinds of issues with this size and physicality. He’s going to have some dominant numbers when the season gets going. 

At the guard spot, AJ Patterson impressed. He’s the kind of guard that does a lot well, so he can make his impact on the game in a variety of ways. He’s going to be able to provide plenty of stat sheet stuffing for the Mustangs this upcoming season. Patterson is aggressive in his attack and has plenty of viable passing options surrounding him, or he’s more than capable of just taking it himself and scoring. He should be a name for coaches to check in on during the upcoming live periods. 

Buford’s Balance 

Buford was a bit of a question mark going into the summer because of the production they lost when Alahn Sumler and Jaylon Taylor graduated, but this team appears to have the depth and balance to make some noise again. Even with Malachi Brown sitting out for the evening, the Wolves went undefeated and looked impressive in doing so. 

I already talked about Kyle Carpenter’s outing above, but he was tremendous for the Wolves. London Williams also had a standout evening. He’s a big, bruising forward that’s on double-double watch whenever he takes the floor, but one thing he showed on Tuesday was an ability to reliably step out and hit from beyond the arc. 

Speaking of shooting, Chase James-Robinson is as much of a threat from distance as anyone and displayed that in both of the Wolves’ games. With Brown, Carpenter and James-Robinson holding down the backcourt, the Wolves have plenty of depth there. At the wing spot, Cam Kelly, David Burnett and Stephen Jackson all played well and showed plenty of versatility in terms of defense, playmaking and shooting. 

Even in a loaded 7A, this will be a tough squad to beat.