3A Summer Stock Risers – “Hybrids”

ATLANTA, GA – With the travel season behind us with OTR having put on a monster spring and summer buffet across the region, attracting teams and players from as far as the West Coast, the Dakotas, Texas and the Midwest to name just a few, and along the way performing our core task of helping to set the table for hundreds of prospects to perhaps see their college basketball dreams come true.

Back to life on the local Georgia hardwoods with Fall Leagues soon to heat up, we take some time to look at Stock-Risers from the new Region alignments in a multitude of categories, and how they might impact those state tournament races (travel team in parentheses).

“Hybrids” are guys who morph between positions as they impact the game at both ends, filling up the stat sheet playing what seems to be all over the floor, equally impactful and dangerous, and who may not get the pub they deserve.

By: Keith Agran

Kham Little | 6-4 | CG | Mary Persons  | 2023 (Warner Robins All-Stars)

Little is a perfect example of a guy who aligned himself with a strong travel org and found himself playing on the best circuit in the Southeast (OTR!!) and got noticed for it (3 current offers), he also has been a mainstay on the Showcase scene and will continue that this fall showing the wisdom of playing in as many forums as you can, now his play is noticeable enough that he would have turned heads almost anywhere but it goes to show you how vital it is to be in the right places with the right people around you, explosive is hardly enough to describe how Little can affect the game both in the halfcourt and in transition where he supplied some of the summer’s most awe-inspiring moments getting off the deck, monster-riser who can hybrid between the 1, 2 or 3 spot for you.

Vonte Newell | 6-1 | CG | Monroe Area  | 2024 (Flame Basketball 2024)

Speed, defense and shooting are just three of the hybrid qualities that allow Newell to shine in a crowd, playing with the highly underrated Flame org out of Walton County he had another strong travel season where he always seems to make an impact on the game with the ball or his hands or not, really gets after it on D and can be effective running the show for you with a penetrating style or showing off deep range from the wing, totally worth the trip out to Monroe as I’ve made a few myself and always came away impressed.

Antonio Baker Jr | 6-3 | CG | Johnson-Savannah | 2023 (Atlanta Xpress)

In all of my spring and summer travels perhaps no player stunned me more than the performance I saw from Baker out at the Voorhees College June Team Camp, he was as singularly dominant as any player had been before that anywhere we went on our circuit, it was a jaw-dropping kind of performance that not only earned him a Voorhees offer but had coaches and basketball folks from the area on their phones all day, as a hybrid point guard he was devastating getting downhill at the basket bowling through and over people, as a shooting guard he has plenty of range to keep you honest as you have to defend the blow-by, outside the ATL-Metro there are few better players in the entire state.

Vic Newsom | 6-2 | CG | Sandy Creek  | 2023 (GA Canes)

One of my favorite players in the entire ATL-Metro as he does whatever it takes to help the team win and seems to be playing a different position every time down the floor, can hybrid between the 2 guard spots seamlessly but has always shown a knack in a highly-proficient defensive program like SDandy Crrekk to guard bigger players with not too much letoff, can really shoot it from the wing playing alongside 2024 stuff Amare Brown but whether with the Canes or the Pats he has taken the ball over and is a terrific creator and scorer getting at the basket, a stout frame and one of the real steals in the state of GA.

Jakorri Arnold | 6-2 | CG | Salem | 2024 (Promise Elite)

Promise’s 16U team was so much fun this spring and summer it was often hard to pick a guy to highlight, Arnold was steady and solid as he has been now for a couple of years, freakishly athletic he makes for a tough matchup as he can use blinding speed to get by you but has a ton of confidence in a deep jump shot that he connects with at a high clip, with Clark Mastin gone may see more time at the point this winter and that hybrid mix could help him get on more radars as the way he can score and carve up defenses and get after you guarding the ball makes for an enticing package.

Keith Agran has lived in Georgia since 2011 and joined OTR as a National Evaluator in 2021. He previously scouted for Prep Hoops dating back to 2019 and has both a championship-coaching background on the HS-level and daily newspaper writing experience, both from New Jersey. You can reach him at keithagran1@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BracketSage.