UA Next Elite 24 – Scrimmage Standouts
CHAMBLEE, GA – Gathering at the Core4 facility, Under Armour brought in 24 of the top high schoolers in the country to practice and perform in front of coaches, scouts and media.
Before the main event Saturday night (8pm, ESPNU), the two groups of 12 each squared off in a highly competitive scrimmage Friday. A few standouts below:
By: Keith Agran
Flory Bidunga | 6-10 | 2024 | Kokomo HS (IN)
Easily the most active of the big men on Scrimmage Friday, classic modern day up and down the floor fleet-footedness who puts pressure on opposing centers with his motor and effort out in transition and then with his cat-like catch and finish ability around the basket, Auburn/Duke/Kansas/Michigan are his final four and he can be instant impact at any of those.
Chase McCarty | 6-6 | 2024 | IMG Academy (FL)
Had what I thought was the best overall morning, the work rate was especially top-notch as he did a good portion of his damage by outworking others, with the NBA lines painted on the Core4 floor he too seemed the most comfortable from that 3-point distance as he knocked down a couple and the quality of his stroke on the misses never wavered, been so good and so consistently impressive with UA travel power Atlanta Xpress love the last 2 years, recent visits to Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Kansas and Georgia Tech in the books soon to be followed by Tennessee and Houston.
Ian Jackson | 6-6 | 2024 | Cardinal Hayes (NY)
A deep field of PG’s was highlighted I think in most people’s minds by the sterling pass-first play of NYC’s Jackson, off to North Carolina next fall he fits their style like a glove as his pace is a problem, even a greater problem is the clearly innate ability to thread the needle for special-level passes, not unlike past New York City legends on the playground his mixes flair with such a sound approach as a lead guard and appears to have that rare “2nd set of eyes” to make some incredible finds.
GEORGIA GUYS
Bryson Tiller | 6-9 | Overtime Elite (GA)
Joined by #1-ranked 2024 Ace Bailey (McEachern) and top 5 2025 Caleb Wilson (Holy Innocents) in repping the Peach, Wilson is looking stronger and now entering his junior season has added to his body to better endure the physicality of a game of this magnitude level, Bailey had both moments of solid and spectacular and did nothing to dissuade a soul he isn’t the best 2024 in the country.
But on Friday it was again the consistency that always seems to track Tiller, while perhaps not possessing the face-up guard skills both Bailey and Wilson can call upon he still can work away from the basket and get downhill with a good handle and terrific feet, add to that a clear understanding of the scoring game from 15 feet and in all its varietal wonder and it’s easy to see why Alabama, Ohio St, USC and Villanova are just four of the latest to offer him.
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.
