Greg Brown puts on a show at Mavs Fall Classic, others emerge

The Dallas Mavericks Fall Classic opened the Thanksgiving week-long break with a three-division, 26 team tournament hosted by Frisco ISD. The three-day tourney will wrap up Wednesday at the Frisco Dr. Pepper Arena. In the meantime, teams were fighting for bracket position as the event opened with pool play Monday. TexasHoops/GASO analyst Blue Zertuche caught the action Monday.

2019 TexasHoops200 | 2020 TexasHoops120

Day one of the three-day event tipped with the TexasHoops.com No.2 ranked prospect, Greg Brown of Austin Vandegrift dropping 44 points against Carrollton Newman Smith in a 66-58 victory, and followed with 30 point performance before fouling out in a loss to Dallas Carter. The 6-foot-8 Junior hit five three-pointers and produced plenty of memorable dunks/tip-ins in his two games combined. The TexasHoops/GASO staff have seen many of the state’s top talent and major changes in the top 10 from a week ago will look different come January/February.

Brown was definitely the “talk” of the tournament in the early stages with his instincts taking over around the basket. When studying Brown and his moves away from the basket, he makes his teammates before by forcing the offensive action towards him and then getting the ball to an open teammate. His high-level athleticism puts him in a category by himself as there are few that can keep tabs and match his bounce. Brown is not a one trick pony type of player, he has shown more consistency from the perimeter and his willingness to be a team player and not an individual is something that has to be commended. He showed more of a soft touch from the mid-range area and as mentioned, Brown will hit the three. There may be a hole or two in his game, but that is manageable at the next level.

DeSoto is always a favorite to take home a championship in a tournament setting due to their preparation, execution on the court and how well coached they are. On Monday, those boxes were checked off as the Eagles beat Dallas St. Mark’s (64-54) and Dallas South Oak Cliff (67-36).

Jarius Hicklen had his shot falling and made three-pointers and turned the corner on the defense to hit the mid-range jumper, scoring 16 points and knocking in three triples. Hicklen is a rangy framed guard who is skilled and can get things going on both sides of the ball.

Point guard Chris Pryor is a two way player on the offensive end. Pryor showed pace to his game by pushing the ball through traffic and getting the ball to his teammates for the score. The other side to his game on offense is his ability to shoot the three and penetrate to finish in traffic. Pryor isn’t the biggest or strongest player on the court, he actually has a smaller frame but Pryor can take over and do what’s best for his team. An available senior, Pryor scored a team-high 19 points versus Dallas St. Mark’s.

Dallas St. Mark’s fell short to DeSoto, but the play of junior Andrew Laczkowski and sophomore Harrison Ingram stood out. Laczkowski played hard and did a little of everything for his team and was a passer, a ball handler, a rebounder and a scorer. A 6-foot-4 small forward, Laczkowski has a thin body, but Laczkowski gets inside and battles. Laczkowski had 15 points which came inside the arc and around the basket. Ingram was the key to the perimeter game stroking the three from beyond the arc for 17 points. Also, freshman Chase Martin and Noah Shelby each nailed two three-pointers each in the loss.

Episcopal School of Dallas is led by senior forward Keller Casey who is a tough interior player, but it’s the underclassmen of Colby Henderson, Spencer Hutchinson and Andrew McCaulay that will have the duty of carrying the team in the near future.

All three of the class of 2022 prospects of Henderson, Hutchinson, and McCaulay are guards and play a little different, but a fast style. Henderson has tight handles and a nice feel for the game and can hit the three, which being a shooter comes from his father who is the head coach and former Texas A&M stand out. The younger Henderson handles the ball, pushes it up court and will find the open man, but leave him open and you are asking for him to hit it from behind the arc. Hutchinson likes to get up the court in a hurry and slash his way to the basket. He has a quick first step to the basket and the freshman passes the eye test.

The third of the group is McCaulay who defenders need to locate and know his whereabouts on the floor. McCaulay isn’t shy about letting the ball leave his hands from deep and McCaulay hit three three-pointers in the team’s win over Dallas Spruce.

TexasHoops/GASO takes a look at a few ranked players in their class and how they did during the first day of the DMFC.

• Dallas South Oak Cliff sophomore big man Kylon Owens (No.45 ranking) has packed on some size and plants his body on the Block. Listed at 6-foot-10, Owens takes up space and works at and around the basket for the ball. Only scoring four points versus DeSoto, Owens still has time to develop and show that he can handle the inside duties and score with his back to the basket. Still, a body like Owens will only improve and more touches will help with his point production increasing.

• TexasHoops/GASO praised Steven Fontenette’s (No.123 class of 2019 ranking) progress back in September after the GASO Houston Fall Classic and fast forward to now, and we still think that Fontenette’s best basketball is ahead of him. Fontenette plays more comfortable out on the wing now than just a few months ago and the transition of being a “paint player” from a year ago has paid off in the 6-foot-3 forwards game. Fontenette's has the speed and scoring ability to compete. His Katy Tigers were on the wrong side of the scoreboard with the loss to Plano John Paul, but that doesn't take away from his potential.

• Junior guard Jarren Cook for Carrollton Newman Smith came and executed on the offensive side of the ball producing a 25 point game by drilling five three-pointers. Cook handled the ball and hits a few shots inside the arc and displayed a soft mid-range jumper. Today’s performance is what we wanted to see from Cook as the No.54 ranked player in the class of 2020.

• International Leadership of Texas-Grand Prairie had two guards that in passing looked to have some ability. Seniors Isaac Billingly and Messiah Moore have the body to compete and they have the athleticism. Moore can get a shot off from the 15-foot marker on the floor and elevates over his opponents. Billingly is rangy and can shoot the three and has some handles.

• Keller Casey of Episcopal of Dallas is a strong build forward who can get things done inside the paint. The senior led all scorers with 19 points and was hard to stop once he got position on his opponents of Dallas Spruce in an early matchup.

• Lefty guard for Dallas Carter Jalen Williams can strike quickly and stroke the three. Williams knocked in 17 points while converting on three from behind the arc and used his speed to sprint up and down the court. Williams sharp-shooting ability will have TexasHoops/GASO monitoring his play in the Coming week’s.

• Plano John Paul has a new look with a handful of players that came off the football field and that helps Junior point guard Jajuan Tot who has another gear to his game. Tot is a solid point guard who does exactly what a true point should do, distribute and look for himself as being a late option in the offense, break the press and get his team into the half-court offense. John Paul has size, length, athleticism, and depth which makes them a dangerous team.

• Justus Morton was a surprise find for the Katy Tigers. A slender combo guard, Morton displayed skill with the ball, blowing by the press and getting the ball passed the timeline. Morton led the Tigers in scoring against Plano John Paul with 23 points and stroking three three-pointers. Morton is an unsigned senior and has some intriguing attributes for the next level.