Day Two at the mega travel basketball event that is The Best of the South has been another action-packed day here at The Georgia World Congress Center. Let's take a look at what all went down today. 

The Wall Way

Best basketball player to come out of North Carolina in the last twenty years? John Wall. His AAU program, Team Wall have been regulars on our HoopSeen stage for a while now and they bring the talent along with a style of play, demeanor on the floor and a Raleigh area toughness that can only be described as The Wall Way. This 15-and-under Team Wall group has size and has perimeter scoring, making them a fun team to watch.

The 2025 group has some talent, Akila Proctor is a guy that can score from multiple spots on the floor but is at his best when he lines his feet up behind the three-point line. He has been one of the most consistent shooters we have seen all season from deep. He has had multiple games of multiple three-pointers and started out the week yesterday by making nine. He will let it fly wherever he catches it and it's a good chance it's going in.

6-foot-6 small forward Ira Wilson has been impressive in this Friday night game. He does a really nice job of rebounding and staying with the ball on the miss.

Josef Brown is an explosive prospect with length and ability to cause problems defensively with quickness.

Christopher Walker, a 6-foot-6 small forward has some bounce in his game with a soft touch around the rim. He is able to get up and down the floor in a hurry for his size and has really good timing on rebounding.

6-foot-5 prospect Josiah Sanders can get his buckets in the paint and can stretch the floor with his ability to knock down shots from the outside. He has a good looking shot and has some length.

A guy that is intriguing at his early age for Team Wall is Justin Caldwell, a 6-foot-5 forward with some length. He wears a size 19 shoe and has a lot of room to grow. It looks like he could reach the 7-foot mark by the time it is said and done. He is a 2025 prospect out of Pine Forest High School near Fayetteville. He has shown some really nice footwork for a guy that is 15-years old and has that big of a shoe-size already. He can use the pump-fake and get defenders in the air before attacking in the post. When Caldwell catches the ball at the foul line, he is taking one dribble and he is at the rim with two steps. A lot of length and a lot of really nice footwork coupled together. We are going to hear this name more and more.

Hello My Name Is

Taking away from our editor Justin Young’s old adage, Hello My Name Is, let me introduce you to Demarion Burch, a 6-foot-4 point guard out of Milwaukee for Team Haliburton. He scored 22 points in the win over Norcross Heat to start things off today for his team. He is a shifty guard that can put it on the floor and get by defenders with a smooth overall game. He has good size at the PG position, skilled, fast change of directions, quick first-step and change of pace. Burch tells HoopSeen that he is also hearing from Bradley, Marquette, Milwaukee and Minnesota. Burch holds a Cleveland State offer.

WNC’s Best Public School Player?

Team Swish guard Jacob Tiller has a motor like we haven’t seen in WNC since Ren Dyer played with Team Loaded 704 and North Buncombe High School a few years ago. Tiller is in the same breath as far as finishing above the rim, rebounding and high-level motor goes. Tiller can score with his ferocious ability to get to the rim and the way he tries to dunk any chance he gets. He has length that allows him to get into passing lanes and cause issues for anyone who has the ball in their hands. He has had a solid week here at The Best of the South and college coaches are going to start to take notice. Team Swish has a talented roster again filled with guys from the mountains of North Carolina. The pre-season title of best public school player WNC is for Tiller this season.

South Carolina On My Mind

I have been covering South Carolina high school and travel basketball for a while and I have always been a big South Carolina born and bred guard fan. Team South Carolina which back in the day was known as SC Raptors Elite, have always had some really good guards. From Jawun Evans to Russell Jones to Tre Jackson to Gage Ellis, Lamont Simmons and Mike Alexander have been two coaches and directors that have always had an eye for talent along with developing them.

I really like the play of their 2025 guard Garet Martin. He is a quick off-the-dribble guard that can score in a variety of ways and can get to the basket. He does a good job of finishing when he gets into the lane with some crafty moves. He can go left or right off the dribble and makes good decisions with the ball in his hands.  Martin might be a guy to watch over the next few years out of Dorman High School. At his young age, he is showing some signs of a guy that could develop into a really good guard prospect.

Charles Salley, a sophomore out of Fountain Inn High School in South Carolina was also impressive during the game we watched today. He scored 12 points and was a big piece overall in the win for Team South Carolina.

Old Faces

It was good to see new Collins Hill High School head coach Ty Baumgardner back in the gym on the east coast. I first met Ty when he was the head coach at Olympic High School in Charlotte back in 2011. He led Olympic to a state title in 2013 before moving to Westwood (SC) then to his first stint at Collins Hill and then to Topeka (KS) High School. Baumgardner has a son, 6-foot-3 guard Tyson Baumgardner who we will start hearing his name more on the travel circuit with the Norcross Heat program. He is a skilled prospect that oozes with being a coach’s son. He has a strong fundamental game along with understanding where to be on the floor and understanding spacing. So far this week he has had games of 20, 16 and 7. The class of 2025 prospect has some tools and will be fun to watch over the next four years.