Midwest Memorial Classic – Impression-Makers Pt 1

WILDER, KY – Back to northern Kentucky OTR went, to host our 2nd trip to the region and another impressive field of teams from the Bluegrass and surrounding states.

We played tournament-style basketball for this one rather than our more traditional pool play, and the intensity as we got down to a champion in the 3 high school divisions was fun to watch.

We look at guys who made an immediate impression, part 1:

By: Keith Agran

Walker Craig | G | 2026 | Griffin Elite

Long and skilled shooting guard has all the earmarks of a future Power 5 player, deadly from long range he got better as the weekend went on, the drive game came out over multiple games and he is wiry strong and was a whole lot to deal with getting at the rim, Griffin’s 15U was stacked but Craig appeared the go-to guy as things moved along and a crowd favorite, easily a First Team All-15U guy and among the best overall guys I saw from the weekend.

Adrian Wilder | G | 2026 | Kentucky Ambition

One of the weekend scoring stars from our Gatlinburg Rocky Top Invitational a few weeks back, bit of a slow start when I saw him early Saturday morning but his 2nd half was more of what we saw in TN as he can flat out score it, some guys just have a knack for finding a way to score and Wilder does it really well without forcing the action, going to be fun to see his maturity physically and how that adds to his obvious born to ball type dynamic.

Dillon Tingler | G | 2024 | Wildcat Select 3SSB (pictured at top)

The best prospect on what was a deep and talented 17U champion that draws talent from PA, OH and WV, his size and length at the 2-spot created all kinds of problems for the other 17s on hand as he could shoot over other guards from deep or get into the mid-range and rise over traffic, finished strong at the basket both in the open floor and in the halfcourt, the bounce game and long strides got him past people and he was competitive and fiery all weekend, told me several MAC schools as well as Bucknell have expressed significant interest.

Cameron Hudson | F | 2024 | 901 Ball Stars Elite

Played with a fun crew from 901 out of Memphis, he’s their biggest and most talented guy so he’s stationed as a 4-man for the purposes of their attack but there are elements with his athleticism that indicate D1 3-man potential, he’s a tireless worker in close and at 6-6 can certainly offer you some 4-man play as he can operate with his back to the basket, strong and athletic finisher means he can adapt at the next level and when he gets the chance to show off some face-up shooting from further out it adds to a really interesting package.

Loic Kalau | C | 2026 | Wildcat Select 3SSB

Near 7-feet a the 15U level is self-explanatory for how hard that is to handle but when you can move like Kalau you can chalk it up most times when he catches it around the basket, still has work to do on the finite parts of post play but the athleticism is stark and the shot-blocking is pure eliminator, so much to like with the body and natural gifts and has time to nail down the intricacies of college-level post play and will be a presence to come on Wildcat’s strong 16U and 17U products in years to come.

Aveion Shenault | G | 2025 | Griffin Elite

Perhaps the weekend’s most explosive natural athlete there were points where his god-given gifts just took over, so springy and so quick he could beat people up the floor on the break or with the ball in his hands, just put it up near the rim and let him go get it in the halfcourt and you’d better cut off the baseline drive or some thunder was coming, played bigger than his 6-4 or so guarding opposing bigs and hitting the glass with all that spring, will be a big name on their 17U next year.

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 also spent 3 years as a sports writer at two newspapers in New Jersey. After a championship-coaching background on the HS-level also in NJ, he accepted the Girl’s Basketball Head Coaching position in May 2022 at Mt Bethel Christian Academy and now balances scouting and coaching still with a keen eye on talent around the region. You can reach him at keithagran1@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BracketSage.