What a first day of the RYZE Tip Off Classic. With teams from all over the southeast, there was a ton of great basketball played across the twelve floors in the LakePoint Champions Center. Here are some notes from the opening day:
Best player I saw today? AE5 2025 forward Caleb Wilson (Pictured). His skill level for a player at his age is remarkable. Throw in the size, length, and mobility that he has at 6-foot-8 and you have a special prospect. He does everything there is to do on a basketball floor: he scores it from all three levels, he's a great passer, he rebounds well, he protects the rim. He's a player you will hear a lot from nationally in the 2025 class.
Team Curry's 17U group is so well-rounded. Guard play, talented bigs, energy, shooting. It's all there. They got great play today from Kevon Vanderhorst, Silas Demary, Collin Tanner, & Riley Allenspach among others en route to two dominant wins.
Garner Road will have one of the better 16U backcourts in the southeast. Isaiah Washington was one of the top performers of the day, averaging over 24 points per game. Five-star guard Paul McNeil has the ability to take over games with a wide variety of skills and Rakease Passmore has great size, versatility, & playmaking ability.
Pro One 17U is a very fun team with a great backcourt. Lukas Walls was a huge standout today, getting to the rim and scoring consistently. Ty Davis & Win Miller are each dynamic scoring guards in their own right. Kyle Layton shot the cover off the ball from three today as well. Throw in the efforts of big man Shah Hall and this is a team that will make some noise this travel season.
A number of unsigned seniors played extremely well on day one: Georgia Man Up Dekalb's Stephen Lewis, Team Forrest's Justin Forrest, Team SMASH's Alahn Sumler, and GSW Black's Dylan Cambridge are all among top scorers in the 17U division.
Wood Elite has one of the best 17U independent teams in Georgia. Their backcourt is loaded with talent between Tayden Owens, Cameron Pope, Jay Boyd, & Preston Parker and they have versatile, athletic wings in James Leach & Keishawn McPherson.
List of other top performers on the day:
Jalani Reynolds, Georgia Man Up
Brandon Rechsteiner, Atlanta All Stars
Dylan Faulkner, Atlanta All Stars
Vasean Moody, Tri-City Elite
Niko Wilson, Ga Canes
Stefan Davidov, Atlanta Timberwolves Green
Earnest Ofremu, North Metro Elite
Kaleb Gallman, Atlanta Timberwolves