Edmond, Oklahoma — The Prep Hoops Next Southwest Kick Off, hosted at The Hive. Day 2 was all about bracket play, the best teams faced off for a chance to leave as champions. The competition was stiff and highly competitive…
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Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log inEdmond, Oklahoma — The Prep Hoops Next Southwest Kick Off, hosted at The Hive. Day 2 was all about bracket play, the best teams faced off for a chance to leave as champions. The competition was stiff and highly competitive for all ages, these prospects brought intensity and energy all day long. Here we’ll take a look at a few standout recruits that made major contributions and impacts throughout Championship Sunday.
David Ventura | Guard | Duncanville, TX | Prep Starz 2026
David Ventura stood out as one of the most active players in the building, consistently finding ways to get the ball into his hands. He proved to be a terrific pass-first playmaking point guard with awesome court vision, well-polished under control dribbling skills, a smooth crossover, shifty retreat dribble, and nice spins with a slight push off which kept the defense off of him, giving Ventura the space he needed to drive or throw it over their heads. The Duncanville native was the definition of a floor general, as the lead guard Ventura controlled the offense from start to finish, everything ran through him first.
Robert Ewans | Post | Little Rock, AR | Next Page Force 2027
Robert Ewans lived at the free-throw line on day 2 due to his physical nature on the block and his knack for jumping into the defender. Ewans also abused the backboard snatching down every rebound he could, his strong frame assisted him greatly when competing on the glass.
B.J. Crisp | Post | Tulsa, OK | Tulsa Hawks 2028
Defensively, B.J. Crisp proved to be a threatening shot blocker and a relentless rebounder with a motor that just wouldn’t quit, even on the offensive end he created a plethora of second-chance buckets, if he missed Crisp often got his own rebound and went back up with it. When I say B.J. Crisp controlled the glass game to game I mean it, this young man produced at least 12 boards in each contest.
Byron Daniels Jr. | Guard | Fayetteville, AR | Woodz Elite 2028
The ultimate slasher, this kid continuously attacked the lane with a full head of steam which led him to the free-throw line on several occasions. Daniels Jr. made incredibly tough contested interior shots and layups appear seemingly easy all day long.
Jaylen Phillips-Grey | Post | Dallas, TX | AKR Texas Summitt / Vols Elite 2028
Jaylen Phillips-Grey stepped in as a big body down low for the Vols and his presence was felt immediately in the championship game, going to the free-throw line less than a minute after entering the game. He then proceeded to nail both free-throws and score from the block the very next possession. Jaylen went on to showcase his skillset by turning over his right shoulder to score with jump hooks, turnaround jumpshots off the glass, and a dribble-drive spin move that led him into his soft touch floater.
Eric Melendez | Guard/Forward | Albuquerque, NM | ABC Spotlight 2029
When Eric Melendez has it going he’s tough to defend, the way he created his own shot off the bounce was remarkable. With the ball in hand, Melendez kept the turnovers down to a minimum using a tight behind-the-back change of direction move to get himself out of bad situations and to generate separation from double teams and stifling defense. Mean hang dribble crossover, good hesitation blow-by, and great stride in his first step.
Lendale Johnson II | Guard | Tulsa, OK | Tulsa Hawks 2029
Lendale Johnson, a very skilled big guard that controlled the flow of the game for the Hawks, everything started and finished with Johnson. His wide solid frame allowed him to get into the paint whenever he pleased, once Lendale put his body into his defender he was off to the basket either completing the play with a layup or going to the foul line. This lead guard showed a lot of promise while carrying the scoring load.
