OTR Breakout Camp – Eye-Opening 2026’s
NORCROSS, GA – The premier Underclassmen camp in Georgia once again welcomed in a sterling group of talented 2026 and 2027 players from the Peach and beyond, as OTR’s Breakout Camp went down Sunday.
Among the sophomores, here were some Eye-Openers from the day:
By: Keith Agran
Bobby Buggs | PG | Eagle’s Landing (pictured at top)
Perhaps had the best showing to me among the guards in the building both in his drill work and during live play, caught him 2 years ago as an 8th grader and saw the star potential, such smoothness with the ball it almost seems like the ball sticks to his hands as he slices and dices, he attacks angles and has a glide as a penetrator or covering ground on the fast break that most of the other guys didn’t have, moving from Heritage to EHS adds another piece to keep the Eagles train rolling on the south side.
Aiden Maxwell Aponte| CG | Eagle’s Landing
Well represented with their two noteworthy transfers as Aponte-Maxwell joined Buggs and headed south from Osborne, has clearly put the work in on his frame and for good reason as he likes to play the power dribble drive game and with a solid lower half and more upper body strength we loved seeing him work using the bounce, he can stop on a dime in the mid-range or has plenty of burst to get it all the way to the hole, with what ELHS has coming back plus the above two guys arriving the Eagles will be appointment watching once again.
Jerrin Samuel | SG | Winder-Barrow
Puts on a good-looking show in drills as his motor is high and he shows all the signs in shooting and one-on-one drills of the budding young scoring talent he is, coming off a monster frosh season with the Doggs the arrows are all pointing northward both for his scoring numbers and his recruitment profile, can flat out find ways to covert it and it’s often wise to just get out his way and let him work, range to 22 feet and beyond and wiggle to shake you loose as this is a guy worth the ride to Winder and one of the nicest gyms in the ATL-Metro.
Colben Landrew | SG | Thompson (AL)
Caught his act with a stacked Alabama Fusion team back during OTR’s Birmingham Classic in late March and even before his THS head coach DJ Black began raving about him I saw a bunch of what he later told me, great frame for a sophomore which will get even stouter so against other sophomores and freshmen he can be a load to deal with at 6-5, shoots it and drives it and rebounds it and handles it and the tantalizing upside easily had him in my top 3 dudes of the day.
Jayden Crawford | PG | Cristo Rey
Not a ton of folks have seen Crawford with Cristo Rey at least among scouting circles but I’ve been fortunate to catch his act with OTR and other circuits over the last two spring and summer seasons, pure point guard in the grandest style of today’s PG’s as he wants to get into the teeth and works in attack mode doing it with quantifiable quickness and a top level IQ for the position, was among the day’s best passers and that’s a quality with all his explosive scoring ability that should not be overlooked.
Payne Smith | PG | South Forsyth
More than one evaluator in the gym mentioned Smith’s consistent presence as a factor at both ends in his live games, that speaks to both the mind and motor of a player who like nearly all Redline Hoops guys has seen the enormous benefits of playing travel ball under accomplished Coach Jay Gibbons, he’s a gifted athlete that can do a lot of things on his own but the basketball acumen is what has come a long way even just since a frosh season with the War Eagles where he made contributions.
Frank Jackson | CG | Paideia
Has taken just a few months for him to emerge as one of my favorite guys in the class, just enamored with the overall game as he can play both guard spots for you and be equally as dangerous at either, plays with the strength of an older player and rebounds and gets involved in the paint like a forward, but facing you up from the perimeter he can embarrass guys and will spend a good deal of his season at the free throw line the way he drives it, unquestionably has a chance to develop into a P5 guy.
Trey Rhodes | SG | Gainesville
Another Redline product along with Smith and Charlie Gersmehl who all had notable performances at Breakout, Rhodes was a powerhouse from the 2-spot all afternoon which has kind of been his calling card on the travel scene as when he’s bearing down he’s just bigger and stronger than the next guy, that’s kind of the M.O. with this intriguing prospect who has such undeniable physical gifts and when he calls upon them consistently it’s a whole bunch of trouble to stop.
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.
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