Midwest Memorial Classic – Top Backcourt Combos Pt 2

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.

Quite a few backcourt combos stood out as these duos did damage in a lot of ways:

By Keith Agran:

Antjuan Welch II & Dez Carpenter | HandlesandBuckets 16U

The perfect complement for each other, Welch the scorer was among the 16s division best pure scorers while Carpenter was cool as a cucumber as a floor leader and distributor, entertaining bunch from Handles all around.

 

Santonio Waide & Ryan Harward | Cave Gym Elite 16U

Waide put a ton of pressure on the defense with his drive game while showing off a slick handle, Harward was a worker but was sneaky good in the open floor to augment dangerous deep shooting range.

 

Brennan Wansley & Mike White | Team S.M.A.S.H. HGSL 17U

Wansley has intrigued going back to his breakout turn with Buford (GA) this past winter, has gotten bigger and stronger and seems poised for a big senior season in the Peach State, White has been one of the ATL-Metro’s best young scorer’s to watch for two years while at Mountain View (GA) and enters his senior season carrying that same moniker forward as he can really get cooking from the 3-pt arc and inward.

 

Jordan Hamilton & Shawn Johnson | CBP Elite 17U

Similar players and of similar size combining speed and crafty play, Hamilton was jacking them from 3-land at a high clip and was a solid floor leader, Jophnson showed off more of a pure scorer’s mentality and brimmed with confidence from all levels.

 

Aidan Haile & Turner Clayton | 423 Elite 15U (Haile pictured at top)

Haile knocked down an OT-game winner when I saw 423 capture a solid win Sunday, he’s got good size and can score in a bunch of ways playing with finesse or physicality, Clayton has really noticeable natural instincts as a passer and table-setter and as he matures physically the next 2 years has a shot to make his way to the next level.

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.