1. Can Paul VI or McEachern Pull Off The "Springfield Double"?
Not if FAB 50 No. 25 Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) or 46 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) has anything to say about it. The No. 3 ranked Panthers are the favorites to capture the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions title on Saturday Dec. 13 in Springfield, Mo., and would actually meet No. 27 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) in the semifinals on Friday with Bosco and Edmond North pairing off on the other side of the eight-team bracket. McEachern is the only club that actually had a tough opening-round game on Thursday, downing highly-regarded Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.), 73-62 behind a 29-point performance from Rutgers-bound Ace Bailey. Edmond North is still unbeaten but, St. John Bosco is a bit more battle-tested. St. John Bosco and McEachern would be a pick'em game should Bailey have a monster game and help his team upset Paul VI in the semifinals. Since McEachern will have to be firing on all cylinders to beat No. 10 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) on Monday morning after a travel day on Sunday, we like Paul VI's chances a bit more to pull off the Springfield Double even though its MLK Monday game vs. No. 8 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) will be a doozy. We just feel if Paul VI win the Bass Pro TOC, the Panthers will play well Monday. For McEachern, it would be one hell of a statement to pull it off.

2. Which Game Could Impact The FAB 50 Most?
Yes, we do feel Paul VI will take down Columbus should the Panthers win the Bass Pro TOC, but don't count out the Explorers from having a big weekend. They face No. 2 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) on Saturday and returning Mr. Basketball USA Cameron Boozer is due for a big game. Sure, Columbus got blown out by No. 1 Montverde Academy earlier in the season, but the Explorers can play with LuHi. Boozer hasn't played bad at all this season, but some fans and veteran onlookers want him to dominate more in the big games. The bar is set so high for him, probably as much as any high school junior since LeBron James over 20 years ago. On a big stage, don't be surprised if he steps up and Columbus gives LuHi all it can handle. If they pull off the upset that could shake up the rankings because Columbus has four other losses and LuHi is in the thick of the FAB 50 title hunt. Should Columbus lose, it won't want to lose two in a row vs. No. 3 Paul VI. Columbus can dominate on any given day, or play with the pack so keep an eye out for its two games.

3. Is This Montverde Academy's Toughest Stretch?
The Eagles will be favored in every game the rest of the way, but this is still not its toughest stretch of games. The toughest three game stretch will come at the end of the season during the High School Basketball Nationals, April 4-6. The pressure will be on for MVA to win the FAB 50 national title and more than likely it will face one or two highly-ranked teams it has already faced after a big break. Even for a team like MVA, beating a good team a second or third time is not easy. This weekend, Montverde will face No. 23 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), bubble club Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and No. 9 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). Oak Hill Academy has only lost to No. 2 LuHi and both the Warriors and Brewster Academy want to prove they are upper echelon EYBL Scholastic teams. The two teams' individual players have also been somewhat overlooked by other top players from its own league and will be eager for the big opportunity. As fas as Prolific Prep, The Crew has already proven it can play with and beat some of the nation's best teams. It has been banged up, however, in recent weeks and has played its last three games without its best all-around contributor, senior forward Derrion Reid. If he's not available versus MVA, that will be a big blow to Prolific Prep's chances. Others Prolific Prep players can step up, but Reid is invaluable to his team's success so far this season.

4. Who Will Make Lasting McDonald's Impressions?
Derrion Reid, bound for Alabama, was having once heck of a season before the injury. Regardless, he should be a shoo-in for the 2024 McDonald's All-American Game, which will take place April 2 in Houston. The teams will be announced on the ESPN's "NBA Today" broadcast on Tuesday, January 23. In a national senior class that is average by previous standards, there has been more buzz leading up to the announcement of the team about the borderline McDonald's selections than anytime in the past five years. There is definitely some gray area about the final 4-6 selections. That's why the Saturday game between Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Centennial (Corona, Calif.) will be so intriguing. Wood features Miami-bound shooting guard Jahlil Bethea and Arizona-bound forward Carter Bryant. Hoophall is the final big national showcase before the teams are announced and those two want to make great final impressions. Bryant is coming off a monster 39-point, 11-rebound performance in Centennial's 82-78 win over No. 19 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.), so he'll go into the Wood game with some positive momentum. Another highly-regarded player who wants to show well in Springfield is undecided wing Bryson Tucker of FAB 50 No. 24 Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.). His team takes on Cardinal Ritter (St. Louis, Mo.) on Sunday morning.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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This is a three part series and in the first episode, I'll talk about three headlines from the two practice sessions (with some scrimmaging going towards the end of each practice) and a full scrimmage.

Ace Bailey Checks A Lot of Boxes

I haven’t had the chance to see Ace Bailey play much this year, but he pops out when he enters the game. Even in the drills, looking at him elevate and shoot, the fluidity with his athleticism and handle was present. A big wing at about 6’9 that can create his own look, make separation off the bounce and is a playmaker in the open court, Bailey also has positional size, adequate handle combined with shooting and scoring upside. Bailey showed why he’s one of the best in the national 2024 class and is intriguing to NBA Scouts. 

Zoom Diallo Made Presence Known in Thursday Afternoon’s Practice

The afternoon session on Thursday was a good evaluation opportunity, especially after a morning practice and a decent break. I was looking for which player's energy would still be up and who would finish strong. Zoom Diallo, a 2024 point guard, fit that bill. A strong, pure point guard with good positional size, Diallo utilizes his strength to create space off the dribble, albeit without a crazy burst. He’s very shifty though and is an intuitive passer. Diallo also finds an off-ball cutter when in isolation or coming off a ball-screen. He also excelled when he got a paint touch, making no-look passes to the guy at the dunker spot or open at the 3-point line. Defensively, Diallo competed and moved well laterally. Zoom really impacted the session with his passing and paint touches.

Ian Jackson, Vyctorius Miller Show Out on Friday

Going into the next day, Friday’s full scrimmage run was a competitive one. Vyctorius Miller came out the gates fast, showing his adequate pull-up game, decision making and poise as the primary ball-handler. At 6-foot-5 and labeled as a two-guard, I thought Miller showed the ability to play on and off the ball effectively. Streaky as a 3-point shooter, but it’ll get better with reps and time. He has quietly been one of the better guard performers this week. 

UNC commit Ian Jackson, another one of the nations' top guards in the 2024 class, made his presence known. A quick twitch athlete that’s a regular visitor of the paint. Jackson blew by defenders, showed dexterity in his finishes and just knows how to finish vs. length well. Even when guys knew he was trying to get to the rim, it didn’t matter because Jackson flashed his counters, changed speeds and got where he wanted. 

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Between events in Atlanta, Ohio, and Georgia, here are a few of the top players who I watched excel over the past two weeks.

Airious Bailey, 6’9, SF/PF, McEachern (Power Springs, GA), 2024
In one of the most dominant defensive performances that I’ve seen this season throughout the country, “Ace” Bailey completely controlled the game in McEachern’s opening round AAAAAAA Playoff win over South Gwinnett (Lou Williams’ alma mater). At 6-foot-9 with crazy length, Bailey truly defended all five positions at times throughout the game. The combination of motor, insane lateral quickness, and remarkable timing as a shot blocker put him right there with the best in the nation for ‘24 defensively. On the offensive side, the Rutgers commit played exclusively facing the rack, showcasing his raw talent and knocking down countless mid-range pullups.

Stephon Castle, 6’6, SG, Newton (GA), 2023
One of the two McDonald’s All Americans to make it out of Georgia (with Wheeler lead guard Isaiah Collier being the other), Castle showed why UCONN fans are crazy hyped for his arrival in Storrs. Standing a legit 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, he’s got the prototypical size that you look for out of a two guard in today’s game. Watching Newton’s playoff game against South Gwinnett, Stephon Castle showed what makes him such a special prospect. He played the game with a great pace off of the bounce, got to his spots with ease, then pulled up for effortless mid-range jumpshots, a la DeMar DeRozan. Castle scored efficiently with limited dribbles, but also showed his ability to create for others en route to a 29 point, 11 rebound, 4 assist, 5 steal showing in a first round playoff win against Harrison. The combination of size, athleticism, and versatile skills that Castle offers will immediately make him one of the more highly touted freshmen in college basketball next season.

Nolan Winter, 6’11, PF, North (Lakeville, MN), 2023
Right up there as one of the leading finalists for Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball, Winter has lived up to every bit of his reputation throughout his senior campaign. He has paced his Lakeville North squad to a 22-2 record (including 15 straight wins as of publication) while posting averages of 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. The Wisconsin recruit is far from your traditional big man, owing the ability to step out to the 3-point line (34 percent from 3-point) and take slower defenders off of the bounce. In his senior night game we were in the building for, Howard Pulley’s top 2023 prospect poured in an effortless 24 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks in limited playing time throughout his final home game. Aside from his normal skills, what really stood out the most about Nolan’s growth was his comfortability and improved footwork making scoring moves on the block. With a super strong lineage (his father is former Timberwolves center Trevor Winter), Winter is certainly a name that you’ll be hearing about in the Big Ten.

Jalen Wilson, 6’7, SF, St. Margaret’s (Benilde, MN), 2025
Considered by many to be the top sophomores in the state of Minnesota, Wilson is the type of mismatch problem that makes him awfully tough to guard at the high school level. At 6-foot-7 with a very sturdy frame, Wilson can utilize his size to post smaller defenders and control the glass on the defensive end. However, the 2025 prospect also has the skill level to stretch the defense out to the 3-point line and take slower defenders off the bounce. Running with Howard Pulley in EYBL, Wilson has already been on campus at numerous Big Ten schools and will continue to gain more attention with his high level of productivity.

MJ Whitlock, 6’2, PG/SG, Newton (GA), 2023
While Castle gets a ton of the attention, his backcourt running mate Whitlock is one of the best unsigned players left in the state of Georgia. He brings serious energy to the table on both ends, has deep 3-point range, and showed the ability to play either guard position at times for Newton. Named to 7A All Region First Team, people in Atlanta certainly know about Whitlock and many throughout the region will as well throughout the Georgia state playoffs.

Kevin Hamilton, 5’8, PG, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, OH), 2023
Hamilton is the definition of “heart over height”. A two-time state champion in Ohio’s largest division, the diminutive lead guard is one of the most productive playmakers the state has to offer. “Fat” is a reliable 3-point shooter, plays with a great change of pace, and can really facilitate an offense. Hamilton has a serious shot of leading his squad to a third straight state title and was named MVP (23 points) of his squad’s victory at the Ken Ganley Play-By-Play Classic.

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