Savannah Holiday Classic – Impression-Makers
SAVANNAH, GA – Took the buggy for a quick overnight jaunt to the great city of Savannah Dec 15, where really good basketball is being played without a ton of evaluating eyes on the action.
The Savannah Holiday Classic was a two-bracket, two-day event, and I had to make a choice as to which games I could see last Thursday night. Was able to catch the South Effingham v Savannah HS tilt at Johnson, then the big one later as Beach hosted Windsor Forest.
Great atmospheres, really good basketball, some really recruitable and available guys in the region, here were some Impression-Makers:
By: Keith Agran
Maki Joyner | 6-4 | SG | Savannah | 2025 (pictured at top)
The slithery wing has quickly after this trip inserted himself into the mix among best scoring guards to me in the 2025 class, at the rate he is likely to develop the top 10 overall is not out of the realm, did knock down a three-ball in the win over South Effingham among his 15 points and while that part of his game appears still in development he was a complete handful scoring it closer in, length and a smooth approach together with creative finishing makes this a must-watch package going forward down along the coast, keep your eyes peeled come playoff time as well for this young, deep and athletic Bluejackets team in A-D1.
Jermaine Edwards | 6-5 | PF | Savannah | 2024
I wanted to bestow more kudos on Edwards as his effort and fight as an interior guy were gritty and certainly notable, but he had a woeful FT-shooting day that needs to be buttoned up fast and also missed a ton of easy chances around the basket that would have added a bunch to what was already a hard-working 20-pt evening, that said he’s got another critical spring and summer ahead of him and as he irons out those easily correctable flaws he can emerge as so many have in recent years from their “still-a-work-in-progress” junior summer into a real get of a 2024 prospect from the Savannah area.
Isaiah Campbell | 6-4 | PG | South Effingham | 2023
Interesting bunch was this SEff team as shooters Gavin Hiatt and Devin Hallman converted some bombs and give this team the kind of spot-up shooting you need when you have a PG like Campbell who wants to break down defenders off the bounce, against a perhaps even more athletic Savannah team he was bottled up a bit but showed flashes of both the long-range shooting and good size that allows him to get at the basket with speed and sneaky power, there’s a ton to work with for a guy who can play either guard spot at the next level.
Justice Mydell | 6-1 | SG | South Effingham | 2023
Perhaps not the flash and pomp the rest of this list might have in their highlight reel packages but Mydell is here because of all he clearly provides for the Mustangs, playing all over the floor and guarding four spots he is a powerfully built 6-1 and plays and rebounds like someone much bigger, he had a quiet but hugely efficient 17 pts in the Savannah game converting his chances when he got them and being super active at both ends, looks like a football defensive back but is the kind of guy who can get to a small program if he’s discovered and does nothing but produce for 4 years.
Larry Pounds | 6-0 | PG | Windsor Forest | 2023
Pounds is getting some small school interest but he has been flying under the radar for some time both with this talented Windsor program as well as with travel team Georgia Ignites, in the terrific game with Beach he dropped 26 points with a flurry of different defenders tasked with stopping him and having little success, with fellow Windsor star Qurahn Anderson hampered by foul trouble all game Pounds took the bull by the horns, love the exhilarating speed he can throw at you on the blow-by and the hot hand he can develop from distance is game-changing, as a scoring PG he’s among my favorite anywhere in the state, always said if he and fellow Ignites guys like Alfonzo Ross of Woodville and Shamarrie Hugie of Beach (below) were playing in Atlanta they’d be big name guys.
Shamarrie Hugie | 6-5 | SG | Beach | 2023
Speaking of Hugie after a slow start in the emotional win over Windsor Forest he flat went nuts getting 18 of his 27pts in the 2nd half as the game twisted and turned and Hugie was right in the middle of it, unquestionably a top 15 unsigned senior in the state to me he at his size can take on most 2’s with the size advantage and quickness to burn and has the body and still too much quickness for 3’s who may be bigger and lumbering, has always had a great knack for getting to the line where he can both post numbers and add to leads for a Beach team that is every bit a 3A contender to win it all.
James Leach| 6-6 | PF | Beach | 2023
Despite a summer with Atlanta-based Wood Elite that exposed Leach to the ATL-basketball scene more prominently I still had several folks at the Windsor game asking me who the heck he was in his own hometown, I gave them some background but it was his length and jumping-jack activity that was a such a factor on the glass and defensively as the game wore into the key sections, with his 15 points he surely had double-digit rebounds to go with it and after the kind of performances I personally saw with Wood on our OTR circuit someone needs to get down top Beach and grab this kid, put 15 more pounds on him and possessing the kind of easily translatable game for the next level this is one of the state’s quietest steals out of the coastal region.
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.
