There was a full house of NBA and College Programs in to see the latest group of players tagged to represent OTE for the 2024-2025 season. OTE through careful planning and structure has developed a model that focuses on the athletes in all aspects of their development. On Tuesday the latest group was showcased to the delight of pro and college scouts, getting an early look of whats to come this season. Standouts on the day:
6’3″ PG Maleek Thomas just plays winning basketball. One of the attributes that make him an elite prospect is his confidence. Thomas believes in everything he does on the floor and no challenge is too big to overcome. He plays with tenacity, toughness and heart that allows him to impress his will on both ends. More shot-maker than shooter, he can get streaky from deep, navigates pick-n-roll where he gets paint touches scoring off floaters, high arching teardrops off the glass or kick-outs for corner 3’s. In transition he was good kicking ahead as a catalyst for easy buckets in transition. On the defensive end he’s a hawk on defense and gets his fair share of rebounds.
6’5″ SG Akai Fleming showed that he can get buckets on all levels. His ability to knock down the deep ball and his awareness not to live by the three, opens up his mid-range and attacks on the rim. The thing that separates him is his ability to move without the ball and his knowledge of shot selection. This class has some bucket getters but shot selection hasn’t been a priority. On iso situations he can create space with the bounce without over using the dribble and is effective in PNR’s. Defensively he can develop into lock defender with his length, athleticism and more importantly his desire. After a year off due to an injury sustained before the 2023 season, look for Fleming to make his way back up the national rankings this year.
6’5″ SF Amare Evans is a physical, big bodied wing that can score it on the perimeter or attacking and finishing tough plays in the paint. Evans has a Battle Cat mentality, getting after it on the defense end as the reigning OTE defensive player of the year in 2023. It’s redundant but its worth noting that he has the ability to knock down the deep ball while driving hard closeouts. I have an affinity to players that are committed to both ends of the floor and Evans fits that build. Always the competitor, he’s the player that you want on your team not the opposition.
6’10” F Moustapha Diop was impressive on Tuesday. He was active on both backboards, running the floor and showed patience in the paint when things slowed down. He has good hands, making tough catches in traffic, finishing with authority in the paint. He showed rim protector ability, quick enough off his feet to make multiple plays on the ball and was effective making the transition from defense to offense. I look for huge improvements in his game with the constant battle against like size players all season long.
6’8″ Samis Calderon has one of the sweetest strokes in the country. In drills he shot it at an elite clip and carried that over to the games with a hand-down, man-down mentality. I liked his use of shot fakes to commit defenders to his jumper, allowing him to get to his mid-range. He isn’t twitchy but his length and bounce allows him to be a problem on the offensive glass.
6’2″ PG Micah Tucker will make it tough on any ballhandler in the building. He’s fully committed to being a high level defender and wears it with pride. On the offensive end he gets paint touches where he finds cutters, shooters or the floater. He showed improvement on his jumper during drills, knocking down a few during the scrimmage. Another player in the Battle Cat mode, paired with Thomas during the season, will make it tough for any backcourt duo.
6’5″ SG Adam Oumiddoch showed his scoring tools with catch and shoot three’s, dribble pull-ups and tough drives. AO had a big summer and I didn’t see a drop-off from his play on 3SSB. Solid defensively, I see him as an improving three and D guy. Catching him on pin downs and curls, with his quick release, will be a problem for the defense.
6’0″ PG Wei Zhao is a pure point guard with a quick deep trigger. He is a problem on PNR’s because you pay for going under, leaving the drop defender on an island for Zhao to choose the pocket, lobs, kicks or his own scoring opportunity with the floater as the defense collapse’s. Small in size but tough in heart, he doesn’t back down from bigger, physical guards.
6’10” C Kai Rogers is a banger with good hands and a relentless pursuit of the ball off the glass. He was very good trailing plays to grab boards for put backs. In the paint he battled for position and showed a soft touch in the lane. A rim protector with very good timing blocking shots and able to make consecutive plays on the ball. He ran the floor well and showed a solid stroke during drills.