The opening night of the 2018 Generation Next Basketball Association saw some solid performances at multiple age groups. With the future on display a number of talented prospects took to the hardwood and made their presence felt on Friday. We begin our coverage of the Session 1 of the annual middle school development platform with a look at some of the standouts from day 1 in Wisconsin…
TOP PERFORMERS
Ethan Kizer - 2023 (Illinois Irish 13) - Kizer was one of the more impressive big men of the night. In a hard-fought loss to Wisconsin Phenoms Kizer made sure his presence was felt for the entire game. Kizer showed off his abilities to handle the ball in transition, make hard but good passes, he was able to get good looks in the paint using his footwork and post moves, and he was able to stretch the floor and hit a couple of big threes. Defensively Kizer was blocking shots and protecting the rim as good as anyone I watched. The 6-3 forward finished with a team high 15 points, 11 boards, and at least 8 blocks.
Dalen Davis – 2023 (Wisconsin Phenoms 13u) - Davis was phenomenal in Wisconsin Phenoms 48-46 win over Illinois Irish. Davis was scoring from all three levels and doing it in fashion. Blowing by his defenders using crossovers and change of speed Davis was able to get to the rim and finish at a very high rate. The young guard hit 4 three pointers including one to tie the game with a few minutes left. Davis had the most impressive scoring performance of the night with a game high 25 points.
Deshawn Graves– 2023 (Playground Elite Bradley 13u) - Graves was a walking bucket and when his team went to him he was able to find a way to score. Graves handled the ball pretty good, showed that he could shoot from the outside when he gets going, but he was at his best when he was attacking the rim hard and aggressively. Defensively Graves was in his opponents face for the length of the court and was giving nothing easy up. He finished with a game high 18 points.
Steven Clay – 2022 - (Wisconsin Phenoms 14u) - Clay was showing off a little bit of everything during the Phenoms big win over Quad City Elite. The most impressive part of Clay's game was his overall skill set. Clay was handling the ball with confidence, shooting it from the outside, making good passes, and threw down a very impressive fast break dunk. Still a very young and raw prospect who gets better every time I watch him will be one of the top players in the GNBA.
Jordan Jahnke – 2022 (Pack Attack 14u) - Jahnke was one of the better athletes I watched opening night. With the combination of his size and strength the young 6-6 forward was very hard to match up against. Jahnke was running the floor well, filling in the right lanes, and scoring in transition. He also had one of the best highlights of the night when he went up and threw down a powerful 2 handed dunk off vert. Jahnke finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds in Pack Attacks convincing win over Wisconsin Shooters.
NEW FACES
Donald Ferguson – 2022 (Team GetShook 14u) - Ferguson was one of the most productive players of night one. He's a very shifty guard that uses his quickness and speed to blow by defenders. The young guard makes players around him better and already has the leadership part of being a point guard down. Ferguson was scoring from all three levels knocking down deep shots, floaters, and he was finishing around the rim through contact. Ferguson scored a team high 13 points in Getshook’s big win over always tough REACH Legends.
Dahiya Griffen 2023 (Man Up 13u) - Griffen was one of the more physical 7th graders we watched yesterday. The 6-1 guard was scoring at will and there was nothing defenders could do about it. His ability to blow by defenders and finish at the rim through hard contact was what impressed me most. Griffen is already very built with a long and strong frame and he has the athleticism to match with it. He finished with a game high 19 points in a big win over the Milwaukee Rebels.
Calvin Marshall – 2022 (REACH Legends 14u) - The 6-3 forward did everything he could to help his REACH Legends team stay in the game against a very good GetShook team. Marshall is very long and strong making him a hard match up at this level. Scoring a game high 22 points of his teams 24 the young forward was playing with one of the highest motors I saw on both ends of the floor. Marshall was cleaning the glass on both ends of the floor and finished with 12+ rebounds. Still a very young prospect Marshall will be one that we will be watching closely.
Brylan Phillips 14u (Illinois Irish 14u) - Phillps was very impressive for the Irish in their big win over Milwaukee Rebels. Finishing with a game high 19 points the young guard was finding different ways to get the ball in the hoop. Using the combination of his craftiness and quickness there wasn’t much defenders could do to stay in front of him and prevent him from scoring. Phillips is looking to be one of the better guards in the GNBA this season and has potential to make a lot noise.
Prentice Young – 2023 (Wisconsin Phenoms 13u) - The young 6-1 forward is very long and athletic making him extremely versatile on both ends of the floor. Being able to defend multiple positions Young was making sure his presence was felt on defense causing multiple turnovers that were leading to easy transition buckets for him and his teammates. Young showed his ability to step outside and hit shots including one of the best plays of the day when he pulled up from just inside the three-point line to knock down a game winning shot. Young finished with 13 points.