📅 Published on: 2024-12-11 11:00:42

⏱ Duration: 01:02:03 (3723 seconds)

👀 Views: 50 | 👍 Likes: 1

📝 Video Description:

Ep. 16 of Learning Basketball with Prolific Prep Basketball Coach Mo Haroon!
Coaching AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Tyran Stokes, Niko Bundalo, Seven Spurlock, Winters Grady, Aiden Sherrell, Obinna Ekezie, Mikey Lewis, Zoom Diallo, Rajan Roberts, Derrion Reed at Prolific Prep with Mo Haroon
Projected Top-3 2026 NBA Draft Pick Darryn Peterson and Prolific Prep are fresh off beating fellow projected Top-3 picks AJ Dybantsa’s Utah Prep and Cameron Boozer’s Columbus
Dybantsa attended Prolific Prep last season, at the same time as projected #1 2027 Overall Pick Tyran Stokes

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:55 Background
9:40 Coaching and getting to know Obinna Ekezie Jr.
15:00 Getting to know AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes, Mikey Lewis, Derrion Reed, Zoom Diallo, Aiden Sherrell up close as human beings and Prolific Prep’s pro pipeline (Jalen Green, Gary Trent, Josh Jackson)

18:20 Scouting Prolific Prep – Montverde matchups in 2024, the first time ESPN aired a matchup between 3 projected #1 Picks: ft. AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes, Cooper Flagg, Aiden Sherrell, Mikey Lewis, Winters Grady, Zoom Diallo (Swish Theory Written Scouting Report
LINK: https://theswishtheory.com/analysis/amateur-basketball/2024/04/scouting-the-2024-hoophall-classic-title-game-montverde-academy-invitational-tournament/

21:50 Scouting, Coaching, & getting to know Winters Grady at NBPA Top-100 Camp and marquee matchups last two seasons
LINK: https://theswishtheory.com/analysis/amateur-basketball/2024/07/2024-nbpa-top-100-scouting-report-notes-film-quotes-and-data-visualizations-on-70-standout-players/

25:58 Scouting Darryn Peterson’s Claim for the Throne as 2026 #1 Overall Pick Upsetting Cam Boozer’s #1 Ranked High School team Columbus
LINK: https://theswishtheory.com/analysis/amateur-basketball/2024/11/darryn-peterson-makes-his-claim-for-the-throne/

31:15 Scouting & Coaching Seven Spurlock
34:29 Scouting & Coaching Niko Bundalo
38:05 Scouting & Coaching Rajan Roberts
41:09 Getting to know AJ Dybantsa off the court + Scouting AJ & Darryn Peterson in marquee matchup between Prolific Prep vs. Utah Prep
47:55 AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and the incredibly talented 2026 NBA Draft loaded with start potential throughout the lottery
49:14 Scouting Darryn Peterson, the “Up-and-Thunder” driving jams
54:49 Who will wind up the #1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft between Darryn, Dybantsa, and Boozer?
57:00 Early impressions of Mazi Mosley, Magic Johnson’s nephew, after his transfer from Montverde to Prolific

🎙 Channel: Beyond The RK

🌍 Channel Country:

📂 Tags:

AJ Dybantsa,Darryn Peterson,Tyran Stokes,Niko Bundalo,Seven Spurlock,Winters Grady,Aiden Sherrell,Obinna Ekezie,Mikey Lewis,Zoom Diallo,Rajan Roberts,Derrion Reed,Coaching,High School Basketball,Prolific Prep,Prolific Prep Coach,Scouting,Grassroots Basketball,Scouting Grassroots Basketball,2025 NBA Draft,2026 NBA Draft,2027 NBA Draft,Scouting NBA Draft,Scouting NBA Prospects,Scouting High School Basketball

🕵️‍♂️ Transcript:

[Music] b b [Music] b with Ryan today we are learning basketball with Mo harun the assistant coach and director of video operations with prolific prep who is fresh off the win against Utah prep and just a few weeks ago beat Columbus beating these huge High School matchups coaching Darren Peterson against AJ devont and Cameron Boozer in head-to-head matchups Darren’s a projected top three 2026 NBA draft pick who’s now led prolific prep to head-to-head wins against fellow top three picks really making a name for himself in these matchups so super excited to dig into his game and his Rising stardom but you know first how how you doing today Mo I’m good man I’m good you know better since we won those games and uh better than I would have been if he had lost so you know I can’t complain right now uh team’s healthy things are trending in the right direction so yeah everything’s good right now no doubt I mean I I bet the teams’s just you know feel feeling proud of themselves and ecstatic to get those big games you know check off the box and and kind of roll out from here where where’s the team’s mindset at after that and and kind of expectations for the rest of the season I think you know obviously we’re happy after those wins um celebrate those wins enjoy those moments but at the same time you know we understand there’s more work ahead and our B basketball and our biggest Works ahead of us because you know we want to go win Chipotle and win a National Championship so you know be happy celebrate it enjoyed it that night we have the day off today but you know tomorrow we’re back to work um and you know something we like to say something coach Ryan says every day is today is the most important day so today’s the most important day tomorrow’s going to be the most important day and you know we’re just going to have to keep that mindset throughout the year keep consistent with it and hopefully you know get I I don’t know if they give banners for our high school championship for the Chipotle National Championship or whatever you get hopefully we get that because we want to win it yeah no no doubt I mean I I was actually just at Mount ver for the sunshine classic and they’ve got banners you know for like every every year for the last like decade it feels like hanging up there so prolifics come got their eye on the prize now exactly so backing up a little bit uh you were telling me you were the head coach of the select team for prolific prep just last season and I was just kind of wondering you know what’s your path like to get where you are today with with prolific prep what’s your background and and kind of like your coaching philosophy that that’s really helped you you know carve out a a career to this point um so like my background like you know I just really love basketball like since I was a little kid since about third grade um yeah like the first basketball game I watched was in the 2008 playoff so like third grade and you know like every little kid you know I wanted to play in the NBA and by about fifth grade maybe early sixth grade I sort of put two and two together that that wasn’t in the cards for me and I wasn’t gonna go to the NBA I’m very unathletic so you know I I really you know besides playing pickup basketball and like YMCA basketball and all that like I still play try to play like you know when I can like pick up when I go home and stuff um for fun but really I was a manager in high school after I was a manager in high school I went to Xavier University for college um in the Big East and I was a manager there um and the head the director of basketball operations there Trey Scotty he and I had a good relationship I worked pretty hard um when I was at Xavier and uh so that became a good relationship which is important later on uh after Xavier the first year out I worked for sports Information Solutions as a video Scout I worked for DJ SackMan the trainer like I just did a lot of like things here and there trying to just get my foot in the door anywhere and after like sort of a year of just trying to find myself coach steel who is the head coach at Xavier he’s now the head coach at Miami Ohio he um him and Coach Gro who is a coach at Charleston right now he helped me get a job at an ni school called University of Rog grand um under head coach Ryan arowood over there and you know I was there for a year as an assistant coach um that was one of the best years of my life special team and for me I was 23 at the time and got to say I was a college coach which was really cool to me um and yeah we had a great year we went 25- seven 16-1 in our conference won a won the conference won the uh we won a game in the National Tournament which was ri’s first time in the national tournament since like our first time winning a national tournament game since like 2000 or something like that um and only our second appearance since like 2000 so you know it was a great year like two separate 10 game winning streaks still talk to all those guys all those players to this day um and then that next August um I saw prolific was working looking for something or looking for coaches so I texted Trey Scotty um just who was the doo Xavier as I mentioned and you know a lot of times when these jobs get posted they’re already filled and they’re posting them for you know HR purposes so you know I just texted Trey I’m like you know if this is actually open or anything and he was like no but he knew our head the head coach of iic Ryan bernardy and texted him on my behalf and me and Ryan got in touch uh talked a couple times and from there Ryan brought me on as the select head coach um you know I had a pretty good year we played a bunch of games like 50 games so it was like almost like an NBA schedule compared to like what most people are playing that age and we played uh the school Nappa Christians like that’s the school all our players go to uh we played there High School schedule their CIF schedule um and like that that was like our regular season like so but if you count like fall league and all that we played like 50 games but like uh we just played that High School season and you know it was pretty low level in terms of competition in terms of we were like a division six team but still we had a really good year made it to all the way to the state championship game with just freshman and sophomores like my oldest player was a sophomore uh um no we had obina key who’s a five star now ESPN has him as number 10 in their latest rankings in 2027 uh we had a really good guard and just a real uh named brayen WTH he led the I think he he was either first in the state or second in the state and scoring at 37 a game and you know those two some other supporting players you know we were able to get to the state championship weren’t able to close it out but had a really good year um I learned a lot in that experience I I also had was a aaou head coach this summer before that with Midwest Basketball Club um so you know like in a span of like you know like probably eight nine months I was a head coach for over a hundred games or about a 100 games and you know was lucky enough to have a lot of talent and have a good record but also still like you know take my bumps and like learn a lot and you know head coaching reps are invaluable so to any other young coach I would really like uh recommend becoming a head coach as soon as you can whatever the level is because there’s nothing that simulates it and yeah then this year you know I felt like it was best for me just to be a an assistant coach with prolific so I got to travel a bit more uh learn the video side of things just so as I can try to get a job in college like now I know Sports code like the back of my hand um I’ve always been really good with Synergy but just trying to develop my video skills so I can get a doo or video coordinator job uh soon here and you know just also get an experience like the being on a national level getting to travel getting to be like as around those guys every day last year but this year I get a coach to him be involved with that and yeah so that we’re here now man definitely got a lot of meaningful experience there and man going back to first thing you said 2008 playoffs you’re talking like the this kg Celtics like the big three right made you a fan I mean talk about I’m from La I I grew up a diard Lakers fan I’m still a DieHard Lakers fan we’re we’re in a bit of a beat Portland last night but we’re in a bit of a rough stretch here um but yeah I’m still um I’ll always ble even if I got hired you know hope and I hope I will one day I will one day get hired by an NBA team part of me is always going to bleed purple and gold like like I I love the Lakers like hey I hear you man I’m I’m right there with the Orlando Magic though the blue and white it’s it’s running through the veins but obviously you know you you root for the the team that employs you at that point yeah exactly exactly you get there but um speaking of aesi I mean he he’s really an impressive big man um you you said he’s rising up the ranks for the 2027 draft like a seven foot center um I caught his uh his game in the last two matchups in the the big matchups against Columbus and uh Utah prep and I mean what stood out to me is just his defensive instincts and kind of his fundamentals his timing like able to like keep his hands up tall use that height and strength effectively and then have a little explosiveness for Rim protection so you know what what else kind of stood out to you coaching him as kind of a prospect uh going forward I mean first of all just his youth I mean he’s high School class of 2027 so he’s a sophomore um so super young young and then like you know all the off court stuff like Obie’s like my little brother like I pick him up for school every morning cuz you know his parents like this is a prep school so his parents aren’t here I’ll take I’m going to take him back to to his host family in a couple hours and just you know he’s just like a little like he you know you people forget cuz he’s 7 foot one and that’s like this humongous human being but he’s like a little kid you know like he’s going to go home and like play fortnite all night like you know like he’s like a little kid and it’s like very like Charming in a way like uh just the way he speaks and stuff it’s like you’re really like wow I’m speaking to a child right now um and I mean that in the best way like in an endearing way um and then on the court I think one like just like his approach to like being able to get coached hard like you know you can if you ever have him on an interview you can ask him about my first month coaching him like where I was just yelling at him every day about his motor not being good enough which it wasn’t um and you know he was able to take it internalize it and you know uh he’s gotten a lot better like I think and that’s sort of the last one I’ll touch on like you know everyone sees the Columbus and the and the the Utah prep games but like Obi was like last year in the fall he was a bad basketball player he was horrible um and I don’t mean that as an insult to him I mean it as a compliment cuz like I’ve never seen someone improve as much as he has that fast and that’s just a testament to his ability to take coaching and his work ethic like you know everyone sees the dunks and the blocks and stuff but people don’t see every day this summer when he wasn’t with aou and I know like you know instead of going home to his family in Nigeria he spent the entire summer here in Napa with me and every day we woke up at 6:00 a.m. drove an hour to our strength and condition coach um and you know he would work out every day on his body for an hour Plyometrics Mobility drills strengths or rats I mean and you know he’s improved his body so much and then like after we we wake up 6:00 a.m. get there 7: am. finish by like 8:30 get back at 9:30 to Napa then he does a basketball workout right and then we would take him home um you know had rest for a bit come back in the evening or early after or like like three o00 to 5:00 and just do some shooting and you know like that’s every day for two three months and that’s in between aou games and a travel and you know people don’t see that work and that’s sort of the like most most college guy most guys don’t start taking weights seriously till he gets to college and like he did that at 16 years old um so I think like his work ethic and ab his accountability is probably what stands out to me the most on top of what you said just you know the size um the feel like the defensive feel and then people haven’t seen it yet but he’s going to be able to shoot threes at 7 foot one eventually like he’s got like he has a goodlook shot he makes his free throws like he’s going to be a good three-point shooter all right well we got to keep an eye on that development yeah I mean it get it gets lost real easy with with folks and and fans how young these prospects really are I mean like they’re they’re just a kid growing up like everyone else going high school and he he happens to be really good at basketball and and really tall and strong and like exact like whenever I get too mad I just think to myself like I’m like these guys are children like don’t like relax like I mean the way I’d put it is like even like the seniors who are supposed to be like older obviously I’m 25 so if I if I saw like a college freshman I’m like that’s a baby cuz I’m just thinking of my S freshman year of college and how long ago that was how much I’ve changed and then I’m like looking at these high school kids I’m like and they’re younger than that so you know they’re just guys growing up doing the best they can and I think people people lose that like you know but yeah like uh obviously they’re bless with talent but that doesn’t mean they’re not children yeah AB absolutely so you know we wish him the best of luck in his development and hope hope he keeps rising up on those draft boards and so bouncing around the the talent going through prolific prep is is really insane when you when you look at it just like even just listing off some names I mean back maybe even before you got there that you had Jaylen green and Josh Jackson and Gary Trent Jr these you know highly touted players go through that system and then just last year I mean basketball’s at a point where there’s a lot of transfers that happening happen fast so you got talent coming in and coming out but just last year I mean you had Aiden cherelle Mikey Lewis zum Dio um T Tyron Stokes AJ devont obviously and then wnter Grady is is still there as well so you know yeah Darion Reed too there you go yeah I mean the talent comes comes crazy or just keeps coming so you know what what can you tell me kind of about some of the players that are no longer here like some of those names and then you know what what was it like getting to know Tyron Stokes and AJ deona up close on on a day-to-day basis I mean I think the first thing that stands out and this wasn’t new for me when I got to prolific this is sort of when I got to Xavier um but these guys are just people at the end of day like you know you the stars are there you know the Instagram followers and all that are there but theend day they’re they’re just still people you know every day like they they go home and they have their hobbies and they come to practice like just like you know regular people go to practice or go to school or go to work um but yeah it was great getting to know them um I lived with Mikey me and him lived at an apartment last year um that’s my guy I’m really close with him need to need to get to catch a couple St Mary’s games they’re just like 40 minutes away so I need to make that drive um you know AJ and Tyron they’re definitely definitely characters tyron’s like one of the funniest people you’ll meet um you know very um easygoing very like you know once that once to relaxed uh loves to joke loves to smile AJ’s very similar um you know those two are pretty close friends so they have pretty similar personalities um AJ’s a bit more serious but like he’s still U still very joking person loves to smile loves to have fun you know they both love to do their like Tik Tock dances and stuff um but yeah like I could go down the whole team Aidan Charelle is one of the funniest people you’ll meet he’s um he’s the type of person who he’ll talk to anyone in the room and have a great conversation with them he’s just very charismatic um like he goes out of his way to say what’s up to everyone just a great human being uh Darion is like a professional like pros Pro shows up to practice um you know on time does his extra work off the court by himself or with a coach um leaves doesn’t cause any issues like a real pros Pro um Zoom also super charismatic like loves to joke around um treats everyone super well and then like very committed to what he’s doing like you know whatever it is basketball not basketball he’s a very committed person yeah and um I was able to C catch your team last year in live at the mount vert Academy Invitational Tournament and then also the tape of the Hoopa classic title game where I was kind of doing a little feature on all these potential number one picks all playing against the same T same time it was actually the first time that three project projected number one prospects three years in a row were all playing in the same game together with Stokes deona and Cooper flag yeah I remember that that was two two great games would have been better if we had come out with the wins but two great games two Classics uh you know MD obviously had an amazing team last year all those guys are killing it in college now um absolutely and um that so I wrote down like a a scouting report on Swiss theory for that and um also a video version on YouTube that anyone can go and find if they want to see some more thoughts but you know just to quickly hit on some of the players you know Aiden Chelle his defensive Instinct similar to aesi I suppose just able to strongly use that strength and length effectively good defensive instincts down low as a rim protector you got Mikey Lewis with super high field point guard scoring Creator just deep range shooting knockdown splashy shooter Zoom Dio explosive downhill for Force bringing that quick First Step burst just really getting to the north south rack driving with ease just so much talent and I mean t Tyron Stokes I mean like there there’s a reason he he’s projected to be number one a couple years from now I mean this guy is it’s funny I’ve seen Markel fultz a lot up close in Orlando while he was here and that’s kind of the movement I don’t know about the game but like the athletic movement that body control Herky jerky style the explosiveness kind of reminded me a little of of the way Marquel would throw like a a hang dribble crossover as he’s flying downhill to the rim so I don’t know and he’s like and the thing is tyron’s like 68 200 something like like Tyron is a physical specimen man he is a massive human being and then he moves so well like crazy can jump out the gym just like like physically he’s just a freak right and we’re talking about a point guard basically at like he can run the offense at 68 like that that’s wild and then I believe he he played like up I might have this wrong he might he played up a year in the feeble World Cup on like playing overseas like on Team USA I mean yeah I believe he pied up a year he’s been playing on 17s for uh ebl ever since he was 15 so yeah I mean just wild for him to be able to not only hang with that level of talent but to have the athleticism and skill already to like make his presence known among that level of Talent on a team that features deont cak native men just all these projected top picks a couple years before him so I mean Stokes is someone that’s that’s really impressive really might be one of the or is one of the best high school prospects in the country right now and a name to you know be excited for a couple drafts out about unless he reclassifies I think that was a rumor but he he’s he’s about three drafts out at the moment but you know super excited to see him and then you know uh winners Grady has been on both of these teams so you know he he’s a knockdown shooter I’ve caught him in those games and then also at the nbpa top 100 camp and you know he’s just um rating really high cerebro rates him highly for three-point Effectiveness and he was a not you know a good free throw shooter showing a lot of indicators with touch and and shooting at the free throw line from downtown where like you that’s a legit shooting gravity and then what also impresses is he can also attack the close out he can execute some horns pick can roll as the screener or the initiator um so you know a lot of kind of more allaround ball skills that you see with winners Brady that you might not see with the average shooter so you know what what stands out to you about Winners as you know a person and a prospect um person just work ethic obsession with basketball like that dude loves basketball he’s probably somewhere in the gym right now shooting or practic you work on his handle and his competitiveness um also like the Loyalty aspect of it has to play a part just like you know he was here last year uh obviously we the team team sort of like left and you know it would have been easy for him to leave and he did it he stuck it out he’s trusted us and he’s still here and it’s going well so far uh like you said to shooting and shot making um I know in in 3ssb shot 40 something per on seven attempts from three I have our numbers for this year and he is shooting 40.3% for the year on six attempts a game so you know he’s getting them up yeah he hopefully we can get that six attempts a game up up more like ideally that’d be in the eight or nine range maybe 10 but like you said he also has more to his game than just shooting um you know his pullup jumper like more than catch and shooting his pull-up jumper is lethal shot 50% from mid uh mid-range and 3 SSB so you know coming off drop or coming off ball screens you can’t sit you can’t sit in a drop with him or you can’t show it uh you can’t just do a show and recover with him like you have to throw two at him and uh you know in ISO situations he’s going to get to his spot rise over the top knock it down and then he has a post game his post fade away is probably his best shot to me and he’s a guy you know he’s pretty tall he’s like 66 67 you know at the maybe not in the NBA but before then he’s gonna have a lot of length Advantage at the two three spot especially at the two and if he has a smaller guy on him you can just post him up and he’ll shoot that fadea away all day and make it and you know the other teams are going to have to adjust but yeah I think the commitment to the game shot making and um he’s not not someone to settle like you know he he could really shoot it he doesn’t want to just be a shooter though so he started working on all the other aspects of his game and that that’s why you see like the ability to score in is ISO or off the post or or in ball screens yeah and that’s good to know that that um post up fadeaway is kind of like a go-to move for him I I saw him do that in I think it was against the Utah prep on the tape and it was like a baseline out of bounds just a quick postup entry and he like looks to the side for a second and then a quick like spinning fade away and I was like oh that’s that’s in his bag too I mean that that’s like a tough shot to to Really contest when when you like you said you have that length advantage in the post you have a you know a smooth jump shot and you’re fading away you know there’s only so many people that can really contest that like you you can get to that move quite a bit so it’s it’s nice to know that it’s you know not just a three-point shot not just pull outs and catch and shoots but he can also initiate a little bit run some pick and rolls he can pop out of the screen or maybe even post up a mismatch so a little bit of scoring versatility that win’s Grady brings as well so you know super impressive and then you know let’s let’s jump right into some of these big matchups you know you took out Columbus a few weeks ago Darren Peterson I I I was so blown away by the tape I had to like quickly break down every play I saw him make and and write down a whole uh scouting report on the game of just him for Swiss Theory and to me that was like obviously he’s he’s been in the talks for top three pick for a while but that was just like his claim for the throne type of statement game 33 points yeah and that’s sort of why Darren um that was part of the reason that he wanted to come out here to prolific because he knew we would have Boozer and AJ on the schedule and you know there’s healthy competitiv between those competitiveness between those three all three went the top spot and you know what better way to settle it then play against each other and you know that game was amazing like I I remember we we were down 12 in the first quarter he hits a three at that buzzer to of the first to get it to nine that right there was just a huge shot mentally because there’s a big difference between being down 12 and being n down nine you know like you’re down nine you’re like okay we just played a terrible quarter we’re right here we’re fine 12 is when it starts to get like a who are we what’s going on here and then that second quarter that second quarter uh first of all credit to seven Spurlock because he did a fantastic job on on Boozer but you know that second quarter Darren just went off and it was you know crazy to see um you know and then the Utah prep game was sort of similar where we started off slow Darren started off a little slow in the first and then you know he he got the got a couple layups got that he split the defense and dunked it and from there he got going ended the first half with 20 and you know he’s just a he’s a rless competitor he’s obsessed with basketball always in the gym and you know those sort of matchups are why we love to see the game right so they were fun games to be a part of I was at the I wasn’t unfortunately wasn’t at the Utah prep game but I was at the Columbus game and that was electric and you know we talking about the 08 playoffs the first basketball game I ever watched was the Lakers versus the Jazz with Carlos Boozer um so see so play coaching against his two sons that was pretty cool for me Carlos booer was on the on the other side like sitting directly across from me so that was like a little full circle moment for me personally but um yeah that’s awesome I um randomly caught he he was Carlos Boer was at the matchup uh against Mount ver that I was at so he was like sitting like five seats in ahead of me next to Jason Richardson because both their kids were on the team it was very like I’m I’m now older than I used to be moment where watch after the game I saw Jason Richardson walking around out died and I was like oh I remember you w the Suns um you know the play Jason Richardson play I Remember was game six against game five against the Suns I mean when Ron ESS hit the bank shop to win it okay Jason Richardson banked in a three right before that to make a tide in the first place um yeah so like I saw I was this man like I hated you when you backed that shot still holding on to it all these won the game so or the Lakers won the game so it’s okay but yeah that was that’s what I was thinking about yeah it makes sense I mean he was they they obviously should have never broken up that sun steam like that was just the perfect balance with J Rich at the two and sash Mary and Amari I mean that was it was too much talent they shouldn’t that was the core that to me that really would have been special but you know we had Jay Rich on Orlando too so M that makes him a magic Legend shout out to J Rich always fun watching him back with the Dwight teams um but you know back to Darren Peterson like he’s just incredible like he you’re it’s good to know that you know he wanted to face these other guys these other top three projected picks in a head-to-head to kind of show himself on the national stage put his name like into the conversation whether you like it or not I mean 33 points eight boards four assists three blocks two steals against Columbus really just showed incredible two-way feel you mentioned how he was willing the team I think he scored like 16 of the first 18 at least against Columbus like just insane you mentioned the buzzer beater the that was the first one where it’s like oh he’s he’s he’s about to get hot where he’s he hits a runner floater like on the side almost half court three to beat the buzzer and then just goes goes off with like Stampede movement decisiveness that burst speed acceleration his his body control is what is incredible the deceleration that that ability that change of pace where he could just stop on a dime and then explode to the rim it he’s just like clearly deserves to have his name in the in the TOs for for that top pick and um you shouted out seven Spurlock he’s also showing some cool good defense against abona too so I mean what what can you tell me about Spurlock a little bit uh so Seven’s like you you know that’s sort of like the role he’s taken at this team you know um like you said Darren’s a really good Defender too but like we don’t want to wear Darren down down where you know he’s doing so much offensively that they’re also goingon to be like okay you have to go guard the other team’s best player too like for the full game like we’ll give him like he had he drew the b a bit especially in the second half but um you know seven just sort of you know like strong 65 Wing um guard wing who can like guard one through four pretty much very comfortably and you know he takes a lot of pride in that role and he he always knows to scout to a te like not just for his matchup but for the entire team like that’s something that stood out to me and you know just like I guess like sort of will Powers his way into good defense like he’s very physical he’s going to get up underneath you um and he can guard you in multiple ways if you know you need if he needs to bang with someone in the post can do that if he needs to stay in front and get over the top of a screen he can do that if he needs to chase you off the ball screens then he can do that like and you know every team needs role role players or and guys who buy into the roles and thankfully Seven’s been a great sport about buying into being the stopper of our team and he’s had a lot of success about it from it and um yeah that’s going to continue being his role and you know think he’s going to continue succeeding at it at all this level the next level and uh onwards hey I mean being being the guy that slows down the opposing team Superstar and you get the win is is is hard to find as well so I mean it it’s a good good little notch in his belt for for his basketball resume that he’s able to be something of a star stopper or at least the guy that can slow down the other team’s best player so that that’s that’s a good little feather in his cap and you know should should only help and I can definitely see you know how it kind of frees uh Darren to kind of focus on some other things and it kind of unleashes him into like a help defense where maybe he can like use that field to jump passing lanes and and make blocks the defensive playmaking with all the steals he gets and the blocks he gets and yeah and I’m glad you changed it to slow down because I don’t want to disrespect AJ or Boozer in case they listen to this you know with those elite players there’s no yeah the best I mean AJ I think had 28 against us um yeah those guys are phenomenal talents NBA going to be in the NBA for a long times have um you know be Allstars and all that so there’s no stopping them yeah definitely fair definitely fair it’s it’s just all you can hope against the against you know stars of that magnitude is just just make their life a little tougher like not go to their get their easy buckets like they’re used to like just just make it a little harder and that that’s what seven Spurlock’s out there to do so um you know some other players that jumped out uh Nico bundalo really dominated the glass in that Columbus matchup he had 14 boards he scored 11 points a nice steal um splashing a corner three driving downhill and and some you know active hands for deflections but also like some impressive ball skills for a 610 power forward where he has a little bit of handle that’ll can can kind of drive a little bit so you know what’s what’s it like been being able to coach him up close um man n’s a unique kid hyper hyper competitive um like insanely competitive and VAR his emotions on his sleeves and sometimes that hurts him but sometimes you know I’d rather have that fire and that tenacity than not and have to try and bring it up and you know like you said just like a very complete all-around basketball player when you know for a dude who’s like 610 611 I remember that corner three it was a it was a huge shot um I I remember the exact context but I think it felt like Columbus was going to go on their run you know Columbus is a great team so you’re always just sitting there like at least I’m sitting there like okay when’s this run coming they always go on a run like when’s it coming I felt like it was about to happen and he had that big three and then the other play he had was I think Darren either posted or drove it Baseline and they threw two at him and Nico cut right down the middle caught it for the dunk um so yeah just like has a ability to do a lot of things like you know he can rebound it well he can hit catch and shoot threes he can attack Closeouts he can cut off the ball he can he can post up like he just does so many things well offensively um and then rebounds so well that like he’s just going to be a very complete player and I just think you know he he’s going to be a guy where if he’s coached well and buys into a roll well that’s going to become he’s going to be a super efficient guy as he gets to higher levels and the guard she plays with her better and the SP got the floor’s more space cuz like when he’s an attacking at Advantage when he’s attacking a close out like he’s so good like that’s when he’s at his best when he’s attacking to close up because he he he’s liable to hit one like you have to you can’t just let him shoot wide open threes and then once you close out he has really good foot speed for someone of his size and so he’s just going to drive it down he has a good floater package he’s pretty like he’s more athletic than people think so he can get up and finish like with a two-handed or one-handed dunk yeah just a very complete complete player offensively yeah like you said I mean an all-around complete basketball player at 610 or 611 that can dribble pass and shoe a little bit bring some athleticism to way type of feel and instincts I mean that that’s Bound for Success at at multiple levels and you know the fewer holes he has in his game the fewer holes that can be exploited on the next level and the level after that so you know can definitely see him carving out you know a two-way impact winning type of role with with everything he brings to the table yeah exactly and you know he’s gonna he’s committed to Washington and you know he’s going to be up there with zoom and uh you know like they’re GNA have they’re going to be a great Lev prolific Duo up there um but yeah that Nico Nico has all the tools to be a great player he’s um uh like you know he he’s a great high school player right now and he has all the tools to be a great college player and beyond that and you know it’s sort of on him to put it together now no doubt um so so one other guard that really stood out um is Ron Roberts who 61 point guard type I mean it what really impressed me was impressive handle had the ball control smooth floater game but also had a really Shifty change of pace to to his style like he can just move anywhere he wants on the court he better his Instagram handles like John so Shifty John too Shifty or something like that you better be Shifty um but yeah you know to me you know rayan is one of the most underrated players in the country um I think on 247 I don’t think he’s ranked I don’t think he has any stars yet you know that’ll change after this year before he got to prolific he only he had three mid majors and no disrespect to Mid Majors that that’s a great level but since getting to year he’s gotten Cal as an offer and gotten Xavier as an offer um and you know he deserves it he’s he’s really good man like I’m one I’m just a big believer I’m a I’m a numbers guy personally I believe in catch and shoot threes I believe in getting to the rim and you know Rim rate to me is huge right and rayan’s someone who just lives in the paint two feet in the paint every time you give him the ball and you know he has a great handle he has great Elite fo foot speed like like super fast like a blur especially his first second step uh he can finish with either hand he’s get he’s improving as a playmaker he’s really good in those dump off passes and yeah like he he’s gonna he’s very good and he he’s going to get better because there’s things that he can get better on and he’s going he puts into the work to do better at them like you know I think his handle might be a little too good for his own for his own sake because like he’ll do that thing where you know Shifty guards love doing this where they’ll break a guy down and instead of going they’ll like Let The Defender get back into play Andy break him down again it’s like man you you created the advantage just go it’s it’s fine like um but yeah man I’m excited for raan he’s only a junior I think by the end of this year he’ll be ranked and then I think like know with a full summer to get better sky is the limit for him just when you have a guard who can put that much pressure on the rim good things are going to happen like if you get two feet in front of the rim every time good things are bound to happen no yeah you know he’s he’s working on that am1 mixtape you know he’s got show off the skills for for the highlights but obviously like you said like you got the advantage go go use it you don’t you don’t have to make it again you know yeah exactly and you know he’s young so he’s gonna figure it out he uh he’s very coachable he works hard like I I don’t have any doubts he’s going to figure it out and you know whichever school ends up with him um they’re going to be really lucky and they’re gonna Man by his junior senior year of college man he’s going to be an issue like he’s going to be team are going to be fig trying scrambling to figure out how to stop him from getting into paint no doubt way got to keep keep an eye on his Recruitment and and kind of where he ends up so you know the the other big game we touched on prolific prep versus Utah prep AJ Deans is back to face off against his former team what was it like for whoever was left on the roster from the year before might might have just been Winter’s Grady I’m I’m not exactly sure but what was it like with the program going up against aansa and you know we know we we all see the highlights you can jump out the gym he has The Buttery smooth jump shot you know but what stands out to you about AJ off the court with his work ethic and and chemistry with teammates and you know what was it like maybe like it seemed like the game plan was to double him almost every time he touched the ball and you know what what went into that decision yeah so you know obviously we were all around AJ for a year and we knew how spectacular of a player he is he is a special special talent he’s going to make multiple Allstars in all NBAs one day um and you know so and you know he was on our team last year so we wanted to win you know him and winners live together at the same host family they’re really close um Obie was in the program last year and you know Obie like uh so Obie knew him we had a couple of our you know our uh I don’t want to call them walk on but like our end of bench guys who knew who were here last year and knew him and you know there is no ill will towards AJ let me make that clear I I have no bad feeling towards AJ he’s a great kid he’s goingon to make all NBA and All Stars um no one in our program has any ill will towards a like he he did nothing wrong he he came here for a year he was spectacular for a year did his job was professional and he made a choice to leave and that’s part of basketball and that’s okay so no ill will towards him that said you know anytime you play your former teammate you you want to win right like it it it just means a little bit more and so obviously we were all up for that game you know Darren had his personal stakes in it so he was up for that game and um yeah so we we wanted to win and as far as what I’ve seen from AJ opticor just a big time worker comes in every night make sure to get his shots up um and then like off the court like not even basketball and Darren does this too D Darren’s great at this too both of them like you know a lot of those times those top level guys will sort of like close everyone else off and only hang out with each other right um but you know both those guys did a great job like AJ would hang out with select guys last year D Darren will hang out with like um our second Team guys this year prolific green guys or um so that’s something that s about them off the court and then as far as the decision to double AJ it’s just like hey he he’s really good man we we didn’t want him to go downhill and just dunk it on our heads every time and so he threw two at him every time um and he did a honestly in the first half he did a really good job um just slicing it up with his pass passing he was hitting cut Corner Cutters he was hitting Jackson kiss on the short roll and kiss did Kris to his credit played a phenomenal game and did a great job um passing out of the short roll or scoring it when he had to um so I I don’t know where he’s going but he you know he’s a really good Center I I like his game a lot um in the second half we somewhat we sort of adjusted where we started uh hard hedging him more but then recovering a bit quicker and you know that was pretty effective uh but yeah you know with with two player with a player like Deans or Boozer or if I if I ever had to do a scout against Darren for whatever reason one player isn’t enough to stop those guys or to slow those guys down you have to um it may not even have to be a a straight up double team but you have to be in the gaps ready to help it it takes five guys you know like uh like against Boozer you know a big thing was to like build a like the Yannis wall like the Heats Giannis wall against him like he catches it like okay he’s just seen bodies and um yeah I think you know those that’s sort of how you have to treat it you know you play the numbers like make sure you know who you’re helping off of and know what they do uh know how to rotate out of it out of the help once they make the pass so yeah you know uh just but the priority is always going to be to stop the main guy or slow the main guy down yeah and I mean they still got their numbers deona dropped 28 points eight boards six assists like you mentioned and four steals Darren Peterson matched it with 32 points 10 boards eight assists self and like you know that’s with the whole game plan trying to slow him down and like it felt like it did you did a good job and you won the game and then you look at the Box Store and he he’s still got his numbers so I mean it’s you can stop that like like we said there’s no stopping AJ there’s no stopping Darren you can only hope to slow them down um you know the I don’t remember what Boozer had I think he he his numbers weren’t uh you know he was relatively slowed down I have him right here for you he in that matchup he tallied 15 points nine boards one assist and two steals so relatively Monday night for for Boozer and and what I think was also maybe their opening game of the season it was their opening game of give him some leeway in terms of they’re still building into things um you know that was our seventh game so we were in much more of a rhythm than them sure but you know you you got to give him some Lev and also like man 15- N is a slow night for you then you you must be pretty good because 15 and N is a great statline you know yeah no doubt no doubt I mean that’s how impressive he’s been I mean they’re they’re all top three prospects in in their 2026 NBA draft for a reason I think they’ve sort of edged out that top three to me as as it could kind of go just about any direction it might obviously there’s a lot of time maybe you know a whole year of high school ball and a whole year of college ball left if they all end up you know in in in college basketball which I think we are actually recording tonight before deon’s announcement so you know there’s rumors he might end up at BYU Bama UNC you know there so excited what happens there yeah man I’m excited too I I I have no idea and you know this could be um the like the little connection that these three have this could be go beyond high school and like you know the this could be an NBA thing like you know sort of like when magic and bird played in I don’t want to compare any of those guys to Magic and bird that’s like too that’s unfair to any any high school kid you know maybe not magic bird and yeah you know say I’m with you on the comparisons but like that their draft is like one of the best draft classes I can think of and I mean you know you got LeBron Wade and Bosch and and Melo were in a draft together and and that’s one of the all time drafts I mean that that could be this level of dra I mean to me the when when the back end of the first round has flyers for starters are even better with you know get Kaden Boozer or a Kaden Lewis or or all these different like point guards that can score and create I mean Malik Thomas Elijah Arena just joined the draft class as well I mean na men is another one yeah na men Christina I mean there there’s just so much talent of like that that draft to me is full of like possible stars that are you know it’s a it’s a perfect ideal draft to have a lottery pick in because you know there’s a good chance you you you’re betting on a talent that really has star potential pretty much wherever you land um so super excited about that draft and you know one one last note on on Peterson I like I can’t say enough about what he brings to the table like it’s funny I saw someone who it was Ben Maan do this move in the NBA the other day where he basically did an Up and Under but in the air but he dunked it and I you coed the up and thunder as a throwaway comment and then I’m watching because it sounds funny but I’m watching prolific vers Utah prep and Darren Peterson must have done it twice and that and that was he broke up twice I was like and you know they were like some of the more aggressive moves I’ve seen him take but yeah man he’s a special talent he’s going to end up being great he like I’ve seen a a lot of guys who work hard and have professional approaches but for his age he’s definitely the most professional player I’ve seen like like always on time or early all like you know some other guys like you have to be like they’ll get they’ll do their work they’ll be like like but you have to remind him like Hey you know you should probably work out right now like let’s go get a workout and D Dan’s texting you like hey we need to get a workout then let me let me work out and then you know he has a great support system too with um you know his parents and siblings and just everyone around him like uh his dad Daryl he played in college basketball for five six years and scored over a thousand points in college at uh I believe akan and you know so he knows what he’s talking about he done a great job teaching uh Darren and yeah they’re very they’re a very professional group and they’re going to go far man no doubt and I mean he just uses his instincts so well like he he’s a 65 big guy guard with with a 610 wingspan if the numbers are right it maybe close to that where you know how often do you see a guard like flying across the paint for a a chase down block or a helps side block and then like explode downhill and transition on The Fast Break like what his change of pace really stands out too like it’s rare to see someone with that level of body control where he can just stop on a dime split two Defenders and then explode to the rim for one of these you know up and thunder dunks like we’re talking about so so just had to shout out his his game one more time and you know I know you’ve kind of already hit on who he is his work ethic and just you know any kind of parting thoughts on on who he is as a person a teammate and and what kind of like you know um you see for him as as a draft prospect going forward yeah I think the word that just jumps out the words that jump out are professional and mature like you know like um he’s the type you forget he’s a senior in high school just because of his like sort of his demeanor and his approach he’s a pretty he he’s not that like he likes to joke around and stuff but like you know like especially when you first meet him he’s a shake your hand guy go to practice guy be on time to practice stay late after practice like I think he does like two like one or two extra workouts a day goes on morning runs like he teach takes his conditioning really seriously then uh he’s sort of taking a step forward as a leader this year in terms of like you know he he’s open he’s been open about this he’s never been V really vocal before this year and he’s gotten a lot better at that like know that was something we have to tell him early on like we need you to like lead us and you know like when you’re when you’re talking you know you need to talk with some presence in your voice be loud be loud make eye contact and he’s got way better at that stuff uh so just his willing willingness to get better also is what stand is another thing that stands out and yeah I I have no doubts in my mind that you know um he’s going to be like a top three pick like you said um and you know he’s going to get all the accolades and everything that comes with it and he’s going to be great like you know he has a complete game um shooting 45% from three on the year with us um which is a huge jump from 3 SSB shot 30% again with 3 SSB and at the end of day you can’t sort of with 3 SSB he average 297 and seven with us he’s averaging about that and you know obviously Bas go more than numbers but that sort of that’s the sort of production you can’t deny you know it’s just like yeah and I mean I we we touched on so many things that he does well and I I think I just want to sum it up and just add how complete of a game he has and I don’t even know if we raved about his shooting enough like he it seemed like every shot he took from outside is just not even hitting the rim like it’s just splashing to the net he he’s hitting pullup threes movement threes floaters and also I almost forgot his his second jump like he he’s able if he misses a floater he’s the first one to the rebound for the putback on multiple occasions he he he’ll grab you know double digit rebounds he’ll grab double digit assists like he he’s just a true like complete guard creator that storing creator that create his own shot create a good look for his teammates get to the line grab the boards Force turnovers I mean there there’s just nothing this this guy can not do on a basketball court yeah I mean yeah the he he’s such has such a complete game I like I I really don’t know what else to say for it like yeah and not to put you on the spot with um since you coach both of them not going to ask you who’s better but if you had to project maybe who do you who who do you think might end up the the actual top pick when it’s all said and done between Boozer deons and Darren man it it’s very tough um see um man I’m not sure there’s so many factors that go into it like you know how they’re going to play like we don’t know where AJ’s going to college we know Darren’s going to Kansas yeah so you know like just like that choice might shift things in terms of like you know what system they’re playing in in college who their teammates are um you know personally I’m going to ride with the guy we have right now I think to me Darren’s the best player in the country um and I firmly believe that by the way I I was trying to avoid saying it but it’s fine uh he’s on our roster right now and to me like the pull-up shooting is the and the shot making is sort of what separates it and then just uh me personally I really value lead guards and you know Darren like not to say you can’t with the other two but Darren’s straight up a point guard where you can just give him the ball and be like here’s a high ball screen figure it out um so yeah I I value that so I think so I I think it’ll be Darren yeah I I could see it and that’s that’s the right answer is context dependent on you know their roles at the next level and kind of what team is picking and that’s a good point that like he he’s pretty much a oneman offense in that sense and the other two could end up there as well but like in terms of right now Darren’s out here doing it so you know I I I had to had to at least you know you have to ask I figured it I figured it was com I mean I was I was thinking about the entire podcast just being like should I just say he’s the best player in the country because I truly believe that and you know it’s it was about a few days after he I I’m sure I could find a text I um but it was a few days after he arrived on campus where I was like oh okay he he’s that guy there you go he’s different well U one one last question for you uh before we wrap it up was uh I noticed Mazy Mosley transferred from Mount ver to prolific and if I got this right he’s Magic Johnson’s nephew or maybe like he is Magic Johnson’s nephew there you go f fun fact I mean what what’s it been like getting to coach him I I caught him technically at the mvpa top 100 camp but I didn’t see much of him because of how the courts are set up there’s like six games going on at once but you know he he did have show some good feel for the game making good decision making from what I did see so you know what’s it what’s it like been coaching he’s only been around for like I want to say two weeks so it’s still very new um still very new but like you know big addition to our team in terms of he’s this bit uh you know taller Wing uh he can really shoot it he can play on or off the ball like he has good feel for playmaking coming off a ball screen do a really good lob to Obie the other day uh he can really shoot it um you know we we we recruited him over the summer uh broke down his Scout when he was at St Francis so fun fact about Mazy he he grew up like 20 minutes from where I grew up um my parents my parents go to his neighborhood all the time because their their friends live there um and the high school he went to St Francis my high school coach I went to San Marino he went to St Francis so I I’ve known about mazy’s high school team before Mazy knew about his high school team so yeah like he you know we broke down the Scout um when he was at St Francis he shot um I think it was 32% from three overall but it was 38% catch and shoot threes and 43% open Catch and shoot threes so he knew that like in a role where he’s not just getting doubled every time like he would at like this you know St Francis is a great program but they’re a regular high school at the end of the day so you know having being a top 100 guy there you know everyone’s throwing this kitchen SN to stop him and you know here you know he’s going to get easier shots you know once he gets into a rhythm more um plays a few more games with us we’re really confident he’s going to be able to space the floor and yeah you know but the biggest thing that sort of surprised me about him is his competitiveness and willing to guard on defense like he takes a lot of pride in guarding the ball and he does a really good job of sliding his feet and using his length to contest and just his energy on that end is sort of infectious and then so yeah you know we’re really excited to have him and you know we finally have another another La guy in the program besides me another California guy we have a bunch of guys from Boston and North Carolina all the way out here on the West Coast I I told Ryan we need another West Coast guy I can’t be by myself so I’m glad we added one there you go you got La representing now Lo up I mean you know shout out to prolific prep so much talent just basically a machine churning out these just highlevel prospects for college in the pros and you know we got to keep an eye on Darren’s uh Next Step uh with Kansas and competing at the Collegiate level rooting for him to you know make keep making a name for himself and that that was a big reason he transferred he wanted to join a big program and he’s got his money’s worth so far like I I think he’s very much not only in that conversation but so far he he in terms of this season like he’s dominating it he’s he’s in the he might have taken the lead in this never ending you know threers race for for that top spot so you know gotta keep an eye on him and um you know most most importantly shout out to you for hopping on the pot I appreciate you taking time man really enjoyed it great time had a great time yeah no doubt well good luck the rest of the season we’re hoping to see you and prolific in the Chipotle Nationals hope we get to see that and then you know maybe once you wrap that up we might have to talk about how how you made it and and won the championship by then hopefully hopefully we got we gota get there we gotta take care of business right now you know we have the day off but you know uh tomorrow we got to get back to work and focus on practice tomorrow win practice tomorrow and go from there there you go one step at a time one game at a time that’s that’s what I’d like to hear well thanks again for hopping on it was a lot of a lot of fun talking to Hoops Smith yes sir appreciate you having me you know what have a good one you [Music] too B Bas [Music] Bas with Ryan learning basketball is a Swiss Theory podcast hosted from Beyond the arcade hey that’s me you can find my work on Twitter Youtube substack and check out the teams writing at the swish theory.com

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