HoopSeen Fall League – Week 1 Impression-Makers
SUWANEE, GA – HoopSeen kicked off its Fall League last Thursday night at SSA, a good field is assembled and I got a look at several guys who are sure to be impact performers for their teams this fall and winter.
By: Keith Agran
Nordin Kapic, 6-8, PF, Denmark, 2022
The European-transfer has exceptional ability and transforms Denmark from what was going to be an already excellent playoff contender to perhaps a team that can make a deep run, scoring ability from multiple levels aside it’s the passing that really jumps out to make after multiple viewings now, he can ignite the break in Bill Walton-esque style or work as a wing threat and feed cutters with singular precision, that face-up ability to use the bounce and surprising foot speed for a big guy takes him from good to really good, he may qualify as a stretch-big but he can eat you up with his back to the basket as well, the frontcourt of he, energy-guy senior Jayden Hilliman and Virgin Islands-transfer 6-8 junior Keinan McFarlande will have a size advantage over much of 7A-Region 6.
Kourtland Tolbert, 6-4, SG, Denmark, 2022 (pictured above)
As good as Kapic is and as critical as the frontcourt play will be perhaps no one holds the key to Denmark’s success more than the multi-faceted Tolbert, now fully emerged from older bother Adonnis’ shadow it’s his senior year and he has a gear in the open floor and on the catch and dribble tat can be a serious handful, as a rebounding guard he’s top shelf and is in on a lot of action glass-wise at both ends, he can guard up to 3 spots comfortably and handle the point in a pinch, is the kind of bunches-type scorer who can change a game in a handful of possessions, with wing shooters senior Jackson Gibree and junior Stefan Davidov and developing transfer-PG junior Chad Molloy joining him in a varied backcourt it should be fun to watch him in a more feature role for the Danes.
Keishawn Hampton, 6-1, PG, Meadowcreek, 2023
The Mustangs have undergone another roster transformation adding junior guard Zay Wilson from Mountain View and 6-4 sophomore Jordan Moody from McEachern, playing Thursday without two frontcourt pieces in senior Marquez Harris and junior Davonte Sinclair they still eventually got things rolling against a spunky team from Franklin (NC) with Hampton running a tight show, he’s looking a little taller and a little stronger heading into the fall and it shows in how he’s more apt to attack tight spaces and get at the rim to augment his well-known deadly long-range shooting, he’s always been patient as a lead guard and that continues to show in his ongoing maturity, set for along with fellow junior Eddie Hendricks a potentially big breakout season.
Eli Chol, 6-10, PF, Forsyth Central, 2022
The big guy has been putting in the work over the last year as he showed off all kinds of new things, he had been a transition terror already as well as boasting a stellar resume as a shot-blocker, we saw Chol Thursday line up a few 3-balls as well as catch the ball near the elbow and use long strides and clever moves to drive it at the cup, those aspects are far removed from the more one-dimensional catch-and-turn Chol we saw last year for FCHS and will surely lead to a major bump in recruiting, he’s got a Howard offer in his pocket and is consistently on the lips of ATL-Bball influencers as a riser to watch and that appears very well-deserved attention.
Eamonn Kenah, 6-5, SG, St. Pius, 2022
I’ve to got to say how much I enjoy watching Kenah play, sneaky-good athletes always raise my eyebrows and Kenah has been that guy all year from my seeing him play at a high level with the ATL All-Stars all the way to last week, he got hot in the 2nd half from 3 vs Forsyth Central and that’s an aspect of his game when it gets going which makes him such a tough match-up, if you try and pin him to the sideline he has more than enough burst off the bounce to make you look silly with a monster jam at the rim, defensively he was matching 6-10 Eli Chol a good portion of the game and totally holding his own, the Golden Lions are breaking in a bunch of new faces after 2 superb seasons headlined by a large group of 2021’s and Kenah’s versatility will be the magic elixir to another big campaign for the always under-appreciated bunch from ITP.
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.
