Ohioeliteprep.com All-Star Classic – 2027 Standouts

COLUMBUS, OH – With two trips to Cincinnati on the horizon as part of OTR’s expansion in its 2023 schedule, we headed to the Columbus-market and Columbus East HS to get eyes on both some local 2027 and 2028 rising talent, as well as a group of 2027’s from all over the state.

Up next we cover both the Columbus-area All-District 2027 standouts, as well as four others from the All-State Game.

By: Keith Agran

All-District Game

Landon Evans | SG | Pickerington RV (pictured at top)

Very impressive showing for Evans who was a finisher with either hand and a jumping jack off the deck in grabbing Game MVP honors, did a bunch of handling the ball as a lead guard but can easily slide over and be an attack man off the wing, confident and clever he was easily one of the day’s better players overall.

Dunk contest winner Brian Ceol (left) showed off a lot more than just lift in the @ohio_com 2027 All-District Game, while Game MVP Landon Evans was nearly unstoppable at the rack and showed off some impressive young variety further out pic.twitter.com/4bRD7WLG8l

— Keith Agran (@BracketSage) February 20, 2023

Brian Ceol | SG | Olentangy

Brought home the dunk contest trophy with some impressive stuff for an 8th grader, definitely takes advantage at this stage of his high-rising ability but showed off some face-the-basket maneuvers driving it and controlling the ball some in the backcourt, when the skillset catches up to the athleticism this can be a scary package.

Brodey Reisinger | PF | Indian Lake

There wasn’t a harder worker on the day than Reisinger and you love to see that in all-star game settings, played every minute like it was the state finals and that along garnered him top honors in my view, but he matched the effort with a bruising inside game that scored through contact and cleaned the glass, stepped out to 3-land as well and that as a weapon takes his prospects to another level.

Two of the day's hardest workers Brady Reisinger (left, 44) and Kevin Smith came out of the 2027 All-District Game at @ohio_com, Reisinger was relentless all over the floor at both ends, and Smith runs the floor briskly and is beast finisher pic.twitter.com/Q9Mh2isoHB

— Keith Agran (@BracketSage) February 20, 2023

Kevin Smith | PF | Pickerington RV

Smooth athlete who quietly went about his business finishing around the cup and rejecting shots, ran the floor efficiently in gazelle-like fashion which is a skill that is underrated at young ages, put himself in good scoring spots to show off lift and agility and love the cool on-court demeanor and upside here.

All-State Game

Davion Mack-Carter | SG | Mansfield

Stirring display of athletic ability for this major high-riser as even with his misses around the tin he had the crowd oohing and aahing, those is Georgia will recognize that he reminds me of former Grayson HS and current Georgia Tech guard Deivon Smith the way he at 6-1 can explode off the floor, saw some shooting from distance and when that becomes a more consistent weapon he’s looking at some potential national attention down the road.

Possibly the two most gifted athletes on the day came out of the @ohio_com 2027 All-State Game, there's freakish possibilities with Davion Mack-Carter (left) and his flight game, while Reuben Holmes was 2nd in the dunk contest but has more range variety than just lift pic.twitter.com/TkaeuDBghe

— Keith Agran (@BracketSage) February 20, 2023

Reuben Holmes | PF | Columbus

Right with Mack-Carter in the eye-opening athleticism department was Holmes and when you’re dealing with players this young you have to rein in the awe because they will not be the same player we saw last weekend in another 2 years, Holmes’ high-flying surely did catch eyeballs and he added a nice-looking jumper that will get better rapidly.

Jamar Keyes | PF | Canton

You could just see the advanced post-game for such a young player in the way Keyes maneuvered around the painted area, he was keen and adept to take advantage of typical All-Game lapses and was an excellent and efficient finisher with power and finesse, as his body develops this could end up being one of the better post players in the state.

Saw a lot more "hard workers" than most All-Star game settings and 2027 Renaldo Perez (left) did all the dirty work and impressed in all of it at @ohio_com's 8th grade All-State Game, while the upside for low post Jamar Keyes' game is super intriguing as his body develops pic.twitter.com/5yVjecRwDG

— Keith Agran (@BracketSage) February 20, 2023

Renaldo Perez | PF | Pataskala

Perez’s highlights came almost exclusively in the hard-work department as he did all the little things in a game that usually devolves into a lot of fast-breaking and chaotic movement, at the center of the chaos was Perez setting screen and rolls and fighting hard for loose balls, that was eye-catching because there’s plenty of offensive skill to build on and that with the hustle is what makes a full prospect 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 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.