Dallas GASO Fall Classic Takeaways: Part 1

The Great American Shoot-Out returned to Duncanville this weekend to showcase some of the top programs and teams in the DFW, and the loaded field did not disappoint. After highly ranked prospects balled out and state contenders showed their credentials for a title, TexasHoops.com's Lyndon Cook gathers his thoughts on some of the most eye catching teams and players from Saturday's action.

Coming off last year's disappointing first-round playoff exit at the hands of Euless Trinity, Denton Guyer looks hungry to prove themselves in the state's biggest classification. The Wildcats' starting 5 might be the strongest in the state, and looked the part in a win over defending 5A champs Mansfield Timberview. With De'Vion Harmon serving as the team's primary ball handler, Guyer has an elite guard who can score and distribute with ease. Jalen Wilson will be one of the most dangerous players in the 2019 class, and his frontcourt partner-Georgetown commit-Grayson Carter will pose all kinds of matchup problems thanks to his range and pick-and-pop game. La'Tre Darthard is a tough matchup on the wing, and JaKobe Coles provides depth on the interior. Regardless of how they finish, plenty of eyes will be on Guyer this season.

Drew Timme has had his fair share of doubters this far into his career, but anyone watching the Richardson Pearce big man Saturday would have no choice but to believe the hype. Timme exploded for 30 of his team's 42 in the first half alone, and probably assisted at least half of his team's other points in a blowout win over Harker Heights. The 6-foot-8 big man was knocking down floaters, leading the break, and dunking absolutely everything around the bucket. With a strong supporting cast in Mason Alford and Cameron Owens, look for Pearce to go as far as Timme can take them this year.

After a tough season that saw DeSoto knocked out by Killeen Ellison early in the playoffs, there have been a few question marks about how DeSoto will be going into this season. But on Saturday's evidence, Chris Dyer's bunch will be a matchup problem for any team they come across. By beating Justin Northwest and coming back to knock off Guyer, the Eagles seem to have found a team identity that they can carry into the season. With a frontcourt boasting a TCU commit in Feron Hunt and an SMU commit in Jahmar Young, few teams can hope to match up against the combo of size and speed that both possess. Hunt especially looked like an improved player, with freedom in the offense and made strong moves to the rim to finish. Point guard RJ Mason has flown under the radar recruiting wise so far but that should change in a hurry if he keeps up his play from Saturday. DeSoto will definitely be thinking about a repeat of 2015 when they took home gold at the Alamodome.

With highly touted point guard Grant Sherfield missing out due to injury, North Crowley might have been expecting to struggle against such tough opposition. Instead, they pulled out a gutsy win over Midlothian then gave Justin Northwest all it could handle in a tight loss. A strong full-court press helped their cause and a "next man up" mentality was evident throughout the day as North Crowley showed their resilience. Tayron Moffett, Isaiah Wyatt, Jay Gates, and Craig Jordan form the backbone of a tough as nails team that a healthy Sherfield can elevate to elite status.

Midlothian looked to be having a bad day at the office after dropping their first two games to North Crowley and Allen, but then came out and played inspired ball to beat DeSoto in their final game of the day. Kaden Archie continued his upward trajectory towards a D1 power of his choice from this summer with some really great plays, while Vincent Lee is going to be a force to be reckoned with on the inside. Depth may be a question mark for Midlo as they get deeper into the season, but as long as Archie, Lee, Evan Marshall and 2018 guard Caleb Jordan are playing at the top of their game it will be tough to stop the Panthers.