#OTRSweet16 – Saturday 17U Gems from McEachern Pt 2

POWDER SPRINGS, GA – The Saturday grind during a live period was in full effect at McEachern HS’s 5 courts on Saturday, here’s Part 2 on the 17u guys who were hard to miss from a rollicking Sweet Sixteen Session 1 in front of a large contingent of coaches.

By Keith Agran

Brigham Rogers | PF | Atlanta All-Stars | 2023 (pictured above)

Rogers’ transformation from 2 years ago to now has been particularly satisfying to me as I’ve been there up close to follow it, his progression is both impressive and astounding as he’s taken all of his physical gifts and added a body transformation to it that has taken his all-around game to an elite level at 6-9, much more than just a post-up player and superior shot-blocker he’s added face-up range out past the arc and handles the ball in the open floor, a tremendous get for any program smart enough to pounce.

Spencer Elliott | PF | Atlanta All-Stars | 2023

All-Stars guards like Brandon Rechsteiner, Mason Etter and Kyle Walters often grab the most headlines with their own sterling play but at Sweet 16 when I saw them the bigs were particularly impressive, together with Rogers and Dylan Faulkner as well Elliott with his measurables and incredible movement is easy to spot be running the floor for dunks or putting n the work at both ends on the glass and defensively, I’ve seen him step out to range and knock down J’s from 18+ and that clearly has caught the eye of D1 programs as his enormous upside and athletic skills are at that level for sure.

Donovan Hand | PF | GA Canes | 2022

One of the weekend’s real eye-openers for me was Hand, so athletic and so mobile he at around 6-8 he can play bigger than that with the great lift, seeing him get up and down the floor and convert with such a flourish around the basket was an eye-opener for sure on a team full of intriguing unsigned 2022’s, that lift and his work rate makes him an elite rebounding prospect alone, he attracted attention from schools after the weekend and will not be walking around unsigned for very much longer.

Zailan Blue | PG | GA Canes | 2022

Blue has been one of my favorite PG prospects in the class since last summer when he dominated the Showcase scene, little has changed as he can get buckets in bunches but what is underrated is how good a floor leader he is, the vision has always been excellent but better decisions have led to him setting up and finding his many Canes options with frequency and that aspect of his game is key at around 6-0, skilled guy at both ends as he can really defend too.

Brandon Fussell | Pro One Select | 2023

Fussell was so sound and so well drilled it seemed he hardly made any errors at all, he sliced up defenses all day long with good speed and was tremendous handling pressure and guiding a deep troop of scorers, a good defender he was in the passing lanes all day.

Kiah Key | Pro One Select | 2023

Key played like a hybrid G/F mixing it up plenty in close to the basket but with all the shooting range to be a really effective partner with Fussell, had to address him at the arc but there was good first step on the blow-by, crafty enough at 6-2 to guard both 2’s and 3’s.

Cris Carroll | SF | TSF Elite | 2022

No list of available 2022’s from the weekend could omit Carroll who has picked up right where he left off after a tremendous season with Osborne, at 6-5 he can play like a 4 and battle as hard as anyone around the basket and be effective against bigger frontlines, yet when he steps out and faces up those same forwards he’s much too quick on the drive and has more than enough explosion to get at the rim or be crafty with an array of advanced moves, clearly one of the real steals still available on the GA trail.

Moses Horne | PG | Showtime Ballers | 2023

A very impressive and deep cast for Showtime as backcourt mate Tyrell Smith was also terrific when I saw them, Horne looked the part of a college-ready PG as he was composed and in control with confidence to burn, loved seeing him pick his spots for mid-range shots and 3-balls when the defense crunched on their other options, stellar on-ball defense adds yet another positive to this good-looking prospect.

Alexander Doyle | SG | Showtime Ballers | 2023

Really good size for the 2 at around 6-8 and as pretty a natural-looking stroke as I saw all weekend, without a hand in his face it was going to fall as he did a nice job working to get open off screens or just hustling to a spot, sure to generate some D1 interest if not already with the good size and pretty release and it’s easy to see as his best days are still ahead of him.

Elijah Walsh | SG | Game Speed Elite Blue | 2023

Game Speed brought in two teams and was really impressive across the board, Walsh has a pair of D1 offers in hand and it’s easy to see why as he’s got the full package at around 6-5, can work off screens or drive it past you in space, good motor as a rebounding guard and physical enough in traffic to get his hoop and harms, will be a solid college player.

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.