SH Report Fall Showcase – Frontcourt Impression-Makers

WOODSTOCK, GA – One of the fall’s must-attend stops on the Showcase circuit took place again at Etowah HS Sunday, as SH Report and Kris Watkins went to work once again to help get kids performing in front of college coaches.

OTR had all 3 courts covered with evaluating eyes, so names should pop up in our content left and right. Here were some of the guys we couldn’t miss who came around where I was on Court 1.

By: Keith Agran

Deke Cooper Jr | 6-6 | F | Woodward Academy | 2025

Made a big splash at our Breakout camp a few weeks back catching the eye of virtually everyone with a pad and paper on hand, truly one of the monster emerging names from a 2025 class that is poised to make a statement across the state as sophomores, got a chance to see him do more facing the basket off the bounce Sunday and that was impressive in concert with how athletic he is around the basket, nice mix of the physical and finesse brands and with a good frame already and 3 seasons to go he has a real chance to rapidly develop into a national level prospect.

Cedric Taylor | 6-6 | F | Drew Charter | 2023

Entering the day I mentioned to a few folks on hand to eye up Taylor as he was to me a real hidden gem among the 6-6 and over crowd on hand, he didn’t disappoint as the shoulder taps and questions flew fast and furious my way as Taylor displayed an intriguing package of mobility, agility, face-up work and defensive smarts, to many in attendance he was the most college-ready guy right now on hand and with Jakobe Strozier moved on he can take the bull by the horns as the guy down at Drew.

LJ Moore | 6-7 | F | Pace Academy | 2024

You can argue what with the immediately noticeable step forward in Moore’s game that he and not Taylor was the most college-ready guy on hand, either way both were excellent and Moore after fascinating as a freshman and sophomore with his raw abilities has now harnessed those into a much more polished and powerful package, with a variety of spin moves and quick-footed drives to the goal and a defensive understanding that spans both the frontcourt and backcourt he can do an awful lot of things, this upcoming junior year should put colleges on notice as he potentially assumes a more Josh Reed-like role for the Knights.

Cameron Kelly | 6-5 | F | Buford | 2023 (pictured at top)

With space to work and away from his ball-dominant pals over at Buford we got a chance to see the kind of damage Kelly may be inflicting this coming winter, an athletic specimen who could probably be an All-State defensive end on their powerhouse football team if he wanted he can play the power “rush” game and be a force in close if he wants, what I loved was how he ran the floor as a well-schooled big rim-running and positioning himself either for a good catch or killing it on the offensive glass, will be huge for the Wolves this year.

Sam Maynard | 6-5 | F | West Forsyth | 2024

Here’s that guy Maynard doing it again and wisely getting himself out there in forums like this against some really strong and athletic frontcourt prospects, he’s been matching that athleticism in a lot of cases and continues to show off the tremendous strides he’s taken since last summer as documented several times with OTR scouts throughout the last 6 months, nice touch on the jumper and some well-honed back to the basket work stands out on the offensive end, will be along with stud 2024 wing Will Moore the focal points for a new-look but still very dangerous West bunch.

Adonai Mussie | 6-9 | C | Parkview | 2024

We got more of the “eraser” side of Mussie on Sunday as he went from court to court it seemed sending shots into the stands with regularity, add that aspect to what we’ve seen of late with him facing up and using the dribble to create offense while still being a terror on the glass at both ends, gaining confidence with every outing he like a lot of other young developing frontcourt players is putting in the work around town in the right places and seeing the fruits.

Deangelo Berry | 6-5 | F | Valdosta | 2023

Fits my “Workers” category in my Stock Riser series to a “T” as he utilized his sleek athleticism both off the deck and laterally to make things happen all day, perhaps not the polished threat offensively that some of the others on this list but the effort-level was constantly noticeable and the ability to catch and finish without over-dribbling or fumbling his movement caused problems all day, represents yet another of the versatile athletes from the southern half of the state.

Ethan Sams | 6-5 | F | Lakeside-DeKalb | 2023

Our evaluators loved him Sunday and with good reason as he was equally impressive no matter which of the 3 courts he was on, had a June with the Vikings that surely caught my eye and showed off really valuable versatility for a guy 6-5 who can guard 3 spots and jump out of the gym with some highlight reel stuff, running the floor and around the basket he was a bucket Sunday so it will be interesting to see if he adds deeper shooting range to broaden his appeal at 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 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.