Entertaining matchups, strong individual performances and standout players highlighted the Tournament of Champions Classic. Here are just a few worth noting.
2024 6’2 PG Jaye Nash (McEachern) The available senior was one of my favorite players during this event. Nash doesn’t over dribble, utilizing it to create for his teammates or himself in an efficient manner. On his attacks downhill he is strong and quick in tight places, finishing through contact or finding drops and kick-outs. Early this season Nash was focused on meshing with his new teammates, looking to get them involved and not looking for his offense. McEachern needs another consistent scorer to go along with Bailey and Nash is it. He shot the ball well and finished plays to the tune of 20 points and seven assist. College programs are taking notice with Georgia Tech, UCF, Utah and SMU showing new interest, among others.
2027 6’2″ CG Tre Keith (Tri-Cities) There’s a lot to like about his game. His shiftiness, hard dribble, change of speed and change direction is advanced for a freshman. Keith showed an extra gear in beating Pebblebrook defenders all game. He can get in the paint and utilize his strong frame to finish plays or create for others. His ability to create off the bounce gives him an advantage to create space for a very reliable pull-up and tre ball. Keith finished with 30 points with not muched forced in the loss to Pebblebrook. Yeah, he’s efficient to! One to watch on the national scene.
2025 6’5″ SG Jaylon Dean-Vines (Kimball,TX) This game was the best game on the day with Kimball (TX) coming out with energy and matched by Shiloh. In the firstr half Dean-Vines was not much of a factor, trying to get his teammates involved and allowing the game to come to him. That plan changed in the second half. Dean-Vines scored in all ways and the overused three levels. Pull-ups, catch and shoot three’s, drives for tough finishes, above the rim finishes, tallying 24 second half points and face guard attention from the Shiloh defenders. Dean-Vines has offers from Oklahoma, Tulsa, Mississippi Valley State and UT-Arlington, look for that to change.
2025 6’9″ F Tylis Jordan (Shiloh) If you’re a first-time watcher of Tylis Jordan it’s easy to see the talent, what he’s doing now is turning the talent into production and doing it more consistently. He can handle to create scoring opportunities on dribble pull-ups, showing jab-step into step-back three’s, trail threes , and runs the floor, all while being used as a third ball-handler against pressure defense. But it was also on the defense end where he emphatically blocked four shots against a tough, aggressive Kimball squad, while also able to effectively guard on ball switches. With his varied tools and steady improvement his recruiting is percolating. Jordan finished with 26 points and nine rebounds. He has offers from UGA, SMU, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Cincinatti, LSU, Kennesaw State. He was recently on the campus of Georgia Tech (offered) and has recent offers from USF and Illinois.
2024 6’4″ SF Julien Cole (Shiloh) This was my second time watching Cole and it was more of the same. He was on attack mode all evening. He matched the energy of the Kimball squad with aggressive slashing drives, showed his mid-range and beyond the arc ability…a shot maker. Cole is built to absorb contact while making the defender feel his presence on his way to tough finishes. He made big plays all game, keeping the Texas squad at bay during their second half runs. He competes on both ends and makes winning plays. He’s got some low major action right now but MM and higher need to take a look.
2026 6’2″ Gregory “Pops” Dunson (Alexander) I really enjoy watching Dunson play. Although surrounded by upperclassman, he exudes confidence on the court and leadership of an older player. He made the defender pay for going under screens or closing out with hands down. Shows his IQ, using his threat to shoot from the arc to attack close-outs to get in the lane for floaters or lobs. He just knows how to play and play at his pace. Schools are taking notice with offers from Tennessee Tech, Kennesaw State, Texas State and East Carolina. Expect that to grow and level-up.