With the spring and summer evaluation periods in the books, the 2017 travel season has officially come to an end. This offseason, hoopsters from the Middle Georgia area made names for themselves competing on varying showcase circuits. After following closely, we present our preseason top 25 mid-state prospects heading into the 2017-18 regular season.
TOP 3 REMAIN INTACT
Khavon Moore has been a mainstay at the No. 1 spot for the past couple of years and it seemed a foregone conclusion that it would remain that way. However, he struggled mightily during the early sessions allowing fellow Middle Georgians Nelson Phillips and Tavias Fagan an opportunity to close the gap, but right on que the 6-foot-8 phenom refocused and ended the summer on a tear. He went mano-a-mano with 5-star sensation Zion Williamson at the Best of the South Tournament and stepped up on the biggest platforms in July doing enough to stay atop our rankings heading the 2017-18 season.
In April, Phillips made huge strides as he outdueled Moore in a David versus Goliath matchup at Hoopseen’s Norman Parker Showcase featuring his local Warner Robins All-Stars and Moore’s shoe company (UA) Atlanta Xpress. That was the start of a breakout spring for the 6-foot-5 standout. He consistently put together herculean performances every tournament against many of the nation’s best prospects. After starting the offseason with no official offers, Phillips capitalized during the spring and summer evaluation periods picking up a total of eight offers. Further, he earned a 4-star rating and leaped into the 247 sports National Top 100 rankings solidifying himself as the No.2 player in Middle Georgia.
Rounding out the top three is late bloomer Tavias Fagan. Fresh off of a 2016-17 GHSA Class AAAA State Championship (32-0) school ball season, the smooth south-paw guard was arguably the hottest name in the state of Georgia at the start of the travel season. His name was buzzing hard in mid to high major coaching circles. He carried that momentum into April’s evaluation period racking up offers from the likes of South Florida, Troy, UGA, and the College of Charleston to name a few. However, his production plateaued in July which locks him into our third spot for the time being.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
Jacolbey Owens has been absolutely sensational over the past year and a half and no one seemed to notice. That trend continued until the end of July when Gulf Coast State College and Morehouse College decided to reward the feisty combo guard with his first offers following On the Radar’s Super 6 Showcase. Likewise, Clarence Jackson has been a model of consistency for back-to-back Class A State Champions Wilkinson County. The 6-foot-6 rising senior possesses great size, versatility, and leadership, but somehow was still being overlooked. During the first EYBL stop with the Southern Stampede, he put everyone on notice prompting Florida Gulf Coast to grant him an official offer. Eastern Kentucky piggybacked with an offer of their own the following week. All in all, both worked hard enough this offseason to come in at No. 4 and No. 5 in our preseason top 25.
HEART OVER HEIGHT
At 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-9 respectively, Ashton Bonner and Kameron Pauldo are not the most physically intimidating players, but make no mistakes about it, they are flat out gamers. In spite of their lack of size, both can drop forty at any given moment and are not afraid to mix it up with bigger opponents. On the circuit, Pauldo had his moments running with the Atlanta Celtics while Bonner was super productive suiting up with Team EAT. We expect these guys to continue representing for the “little big-men.”
NO HYPE, ALL GAME
Clayton Jenkins knows how to put the ball in the hole. The reigning Region 4-A Player of the Year averaged 22.3-points per game last season and remains the area’s best kept secret.
Maurice Gordon is a rangy athletic wing that showed flashes of being something special running with the Middle Georgia Supersonics. First Presbyterian Day will rely heavily on him to be the go-to-guy this season.
Darius Dunn seems poised to take a huge step in his leadership for the Northeast-Macon Raiders this season. The 6-foot-2 guard quietly put together a very productive offseason with the Macon Bucks and is in line to be the next marquee player from the mid-state.
Champ Dawson’s offensive production saw a noticeable uptick this offseason. His high basketball-IQ and blue collar work earned him an offer from Columbus State University.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
Playing in Class A-Private, Devin Butts has flown severely under the radar, but the 6-foot-3 two-guard did his due diligence in making a name for himself this offseason. In the most opportune moments, he continually demonstrated a sweet-shooting stroke from behind the three-point stripe. His consistency piqued the interest of low to mid major programs such as UAB and UNC-Greensboro.Butts is by far the biggest stock riser from the mid-state entering the 2017-18 season. Expect the rising junior to take on the lead role for Stratford Academy this season.
CRYSTAL BALL PREDICTIONS
Khavon Moore
Hypesouth Prediction – Alabama
Nelson Phillips
Hypesouth Prediction – Georgia State
Tavias Fagan
Hypesouth Prediction – Middle Tennessee
MIDDLE GA TOP 25
RK |
Name |
School |
POS |
HT |
Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Khavon Moore |
Westside-Macon |
G/F |
6'8 |
Alabama, Florida, UCLA, UGA +more |
2 |
Nelson Phillips |
Warner Robins |
SG |
6'5 |
Georgia State, Iowa State, Mississippi State, UTEP + more |
3 |
Tavias Fagan |
Upson Lee |
SG |
6'3 |
College of Charleston, Middle Tennessee, UAB, UGA+ more |
4 |
Clarence Jackson |
Wilkinson County |
SF |
6'6 |
Eastern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast |
5 |
Jacolbey Owens |
Warner Robins |
G |
5'10 |
Gulf Coast State College, Morehouse College |
6 |
Cameron Holden |
Mary Persons |
SF |
6'5 |
None |
7 |
Kameron Pauldo |
Dublin |
PG |
5'9 |
Columbus State, UNC-Central, Stetson |
8 |
Ashton Bonner |
Monticello/Jasper County |
PG |
5'8 |
Paine College |
9 |
Travon Walker |
Upson-Lee |
PF |
6'6 |
None |
10 |
Clayton Jenkins |
Macon County |
SG |
5'11 |
Isaiah Christian Academy (NJ) |
11 |
Darius Dunn |
Northeast-Macon |
G |
6'2 |
None |
12 |
Maurice Gordon |
FPD |
F |
6'6 |
None |
13 |
Donte Justice |
Baldwin |
G |
5'11 |
None |
14 |
Devin Butts |
Stratford Academy |
SG |
6'3 |
None |
15 |
Zyrice Scott |
Upson-Lee |
PG |
5'10 |
None |
16 |
Tylan Grable |
Wilkinson County |
F |
6'6 |
None |
17 |
Gregory Holloway |
Westside-Macon |
F |
6'5 |
None |
18 |
Jacory Burk |
Perry |
G |
6'1 |
None |
19 |
Kylan Hill |
Central-Macon |
F |
6'4 |
None |
20 |
Malik Foston |
GMC |
G |
6'0 |
None |
21 |
Justin Webb |
Baldwin |
F |
6'6 |
None |
22 |
Jalen Dawson |
Warner Robins |
G |
6'2 |
Columbus State |
23 |
Tyeem Mason |
Howard |
F |
6'4 |
None |
24 |
Dallas Ogletree |
Lamar County |
G/F |
6'4 |
Fort Valley State |
25 |
Sammy Mike |
Northside-WR |
F |
6'7 |
None |