Troy Brown: A Triple-Double Threat

The Las Vegas Prospects are one strong weekend away from making the Peach Jam in their first season as an EYBL participant. A big part of their success has been due to the play of Troy Brown, the 6’5” point guard that is currently ranked as the No. 2 player in the rising junior class (2017). So far in the Nike EYBL, the Las Vegas native is averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.

Last summer Brown turned heads including those of college coaches and NBA executives at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas. This year he is continuing his strong player in the 17U age group, despite being one of the younger members of his high school class.

“We came from the Under Armour circuit, so that’s a different adjustment,” noted Brown. “I think mainly playing the 17’s you have to get used to the physicality and the height adjustment, that’s really it. That’s the major adjustment, and also the speed. Sometimes I’ll make passes that I think are there but because of the speed they aren’t really there.”

At 6’5”, Brown tries to model his game after Penny Hardaway. He knows he doesn’t have the end to end speed like a John Wall or a Russell Westbrook, but he looks to use his height and skills to contribute in a variety of ways. Brown’s idol In Penny Hardaway coaches his namesake of Team Penny in the EYBL, but so far the two haven’t connected during the tournaments.

“No, I haven’t talked to Penny yet, but I see him and say “wow” when I realize we are in the same gymnasium.”

In 11 EYBL games, Brown has scored in double figures in all but one. His best game came against Boo Williams in Lexington, KY which also featured Matt Coleman, another standout point guard in the 2017 class. In this game Brown scored 21 points on 8-11 shooting and added 11 rebounds and seven assists. With the score tied and a minute remaining, Brown scored four straight points including a contested shot under the basket where he was battling with the big men from Boo Williams. He left no doubt as to who the top point guard was in the class.

In two weeks, Brown will head to Colorado Springs to try out for the 16U USA men’s basketball team. Based on his play in the developmental camp this fall, Brown should be considered the odds on favorite to land the starting point guard spot.

While Brown is a versatile player that has a size advantage on most defenders, his outside shooting is definitely a point of improvement which Brown is more than aware of. The current scouting report tells guards to go under the pick and roll while playing off to avoid getting beat off the dribble. Brown knows this and has been focused on becoming a complete player. 

“When it comes to shooting, it’s just my confidence,” said Brown. “I work on my shooting 24-7 and a lot of coaches tell me I need to work on my shooting so that I can be a true point guard and be a threat and get to the basket. So, I feel like when I get my confidence I’ll be good, but my technique is pretty good right now.”

While not a volume shooter, Brown has proven more than capable from behind the arc. So far he has made 12-32 from behind the arc, good enough for 37.5%.

Heading into his sophomore season, Brown noted that he wanted to average a triple-double and he also wanted to be part of the team that knocked off Bishop Gorman with their twin towers of Stephen Zimmerman and Chase Jeter.  Unfortunately neither of those two events took place as Centennial was upset by Palo Verde one game before they would have squared off with Bishop Gorman.

“My sophomore year went pretty well,” said Brown. “I didn’t get my benchmark of averaging a triple-double, but I’m still shooting for it next year. We had a lot of surprise players so I tried to let them do their thing. Overall it was a pretty good season.”

As the No. 2 ranked player in the 2017 class and the No. 11 ranked player in Scout.com’s Ultimate Top 100, it’s no surprise that plenty of big-time schools are interested in the 6’5” playmaker.

“Arizona, Louisville, UCLA, and schools on the west coast I’ve heard from a little more” said Brown when discussing the early stages of his recruitment. “Duke’s always at my games. Chase is out of Vegas, so when they were there to see Chase they would come see me as well so I have a good connection with them.”

So far this spring, Brown has lived up to his lofty reputation with stellar stats on a young and promising Prospects squad. With colleges quickly picking up their interest, Sin City will be a popular destination next season where Brown’s goal of averaging a triple-double might just come true. 

Markus Howard: Torching The Nets

Point guard Markus Howard hasn’t even finished his sophomore year, but the Phoenix native is no stranger to high scoring barrages. After averaging 32.4 points per game this past season at Perry High in Arizona, the 5’11” Howard is fifth in the Nike EYBL in scoring at 20.1 points per game through three EYBL tournaments.

photo courtesy of USA Basketball

Despite coming off the bench for the Las Vegas Prospects, Howard has shined playing for the youngest team in the circuit and he is usually on the court when it counts in crunch time. After dominating the Arizona high school scene with a plethora of 40 point games, the question could have been asked whether Howard’s skill-set would transfer over to the highest level of AAU play. What he lacks in height and length, he makes up for in uncanny instincts and a quick release from behind the arc. Howard is adept at handling the ball with both hands and has a quick first step that gets defenders off balance. While he has trouble finishing amongst the taller defenders in the lane, he can find spots to knock in mid-range jump shots or floaters.

In late April, Howard averaged 18 points per game going 10-25 from deep in front of a host of college coaches in Lexington, KY during the second live period of the spring. Two weeks later in Houston, Howard stepped up his play and averaged 23.3 points per game while shooting 14-27 from three. His top game came in a close 88-84 win over the hometown Houston Hoops squad where the young guard scored a season high 31 points which included six three’s on the day.

With one EYBL tournament left this upcoming week in Minneapolis, the Las Vegas Prospects are tied for third in their division and they are in prime position to secure a Peach Jam bid for July. Once the EYBL regular season ends, Howard will turn his attention to competing for a spot on the 16U USA team that has tryouts starting May 28 in Colorado Springs.

“Oh man, I just want to play my hardest and get a spot on that team,” said Howard. “That would be a once in a life time experience.”

Howard got his first taste of the USA experience last October when he participated in the program’s developmental camp over the course of two days.

“It was good,” Howard noted about the USA camp. “I was really happy to get that opportunity and compete with USA on my chest. I’m looking forward to heading up there again.”

While Howard has an active few weeks coming up, he also made headlines in early spring. After losing to Desert Vista in the Arizona state tournament, Howard de-committed from Arizona State, the local school that he first committed to in August 2014. In addition to opening up his recruitment again, Howard also made the decision to leave Perry, where he was a two time All-Arizona selection to attend basketball powerhouse Findlay Prep.

“I head up in August,” said Howard. “I’m really excited. I think playing in the EYBL will prepare me for Findlay Prep. I’m really looking forward to it and just want to make a great impact on the team.”

As for schools, this time around Howard is planning to take the process slow in order to make sure he makes the correct decision for his future.

“When I de-committed, I realized I had made a decision a little too early,” said Howard. “Now I’m just going to take my time and really get to know the coaches. Both Texas Tech and UNLV offered me. I’ve been hearing from a lot of PAC-12 schools as well.”

As for Arizona State? When Howard de-committed Herb Sendek was still the coach. Now that the Sun Devils have hired Bobby Hurley from Buffalo, the lines of communication are back open between ASU and Howard.

“I talked to Coach Hurley last week and we had a good conversation,” noted Howard while he was in Lexington. “I really like him and he’s a good coach.”

He took the state of Arizona by storm his first two years in high school and now the talented point guard will look to make a national mark. Given his EYBL scoring exploits, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when Howard continues his scoring barrages at one of the top high school programs in the country.

Jacob Hughes: Steady Improvement

It’s hard for Jacob Hughes to stand out in the EYBL playing on an extremely young, but talented Las Vegas Prospects team and that’s just fine with him. This past weekend Hughes scored just six points in three games in Lexington, but the 6’11’ sophomore center is just starting to find his way.

After a 68-63 victory over Boo Williams, Hughes noted “this week I feel, I’m still getting the hang of it. It’s a lot higher than I’ve ever played basketball ever in my life. I just started a few years ago and it’s really starting to pick up for me. My body is still growing. The game is slowing down for me. I know I’m going to make mistakes, but I’m coming in just trying to make a name for myself. I just have to stick with it, stay the course and see what comes.”

Despite being pleased with great size, Hughes didn’t start playing basketball until 7^th grade. Four years later he is banging bodies down low against older, more talented players in the most competitive AAU basketball environment.

In his second game of last week’s tournament against Boo Williams, Hughes went up against Dajour Dickens, a long and athletic 6’11” center. He only made one basket, but in a short amount of time Hughes managed to show good footwork down low in the post when he caught the ball and an aggressiveness on defense to bother the lighter Dickens. Right now, Hughes’ excels at establishing position and corralling in rebounds using his strength and footwork. While he isn’t going to outrun anyone or dunk over a fellow big man, he does have the ability to deliver hook shots over either shoulder and can step outside of the paint for short face-up jumpers.

“I think that’s my biggest thing,” said Hughes. “I know I’m not super athletic like a lot of the guys here are. I think just working hard in the weight room. I might not be the tallest guy or most athletic of guys but I want to be the strongest guy on the court. A lot of guys my size don’t like to be hit but I like to do that to other guys. If they do it to me, that’s fine so I just think that is an advantage for me.”

This past year, Hughes transferred to Anaheim Servite high school for his sophomore season. The Friars finished 16-14 with their season coming to an end against Esperanza in the California Southern Sectionals. During the season, Servite played a host of talented teams including Mater Dei, JSerra Catholic, and St. John Bosco with the high level of competition only serving to further advance Hughes’ game.

“I play at Servite high school in California,” noted Hughes. “I just want to put my team on the map and make a name for myself. We’re not known for being a basketball school, we’re known for being a football school. Nobody really talks about the basketball.”

Despite only playing 10 minutes a game in his first EYBL action and despite playing at a football school, coaches from the West Coast have shown certain levels of interest.

“Cal has probably been the biggest one right now” said Hughes. “Oregon State as well. There are a few, some California and PAC-12 schools. I’m not really worried about it right now. I’m just a sophomore and trying to get as good as I can and not worry about colleges right now.”

A Man On A Mission: TJ Haws

Sharp shooter TJ Haws won his third state championship at Lone Peak High School in Utah this past year and is on a mission to win a fourth one as a senior. This past season, Haws played an integral part on the most dominant hoops team in Utah history. Lone Peak went 30-1 and finished the year ranked fourth in the country by Hoopniks.com. They went 16-0 in the state of Utah and won their games by an average of 29 points per game, including a 72-39 state championship win. The Knights also traveled the country winning over fans in Chicago, Florida, and Massachusetts with their up tempo style of play and three point shooting acumen. In a starting line-up that included BYU bound point guard Nick Emery and big man Eric Mika, Haws was the lone underclassman to start for the team. With the graduation of four starters Haws will have a difficult time winning a fourth straight championship, but he is already embracing the challenge. 

While his former teammates graduate, Haws is currently spending his off-season on the AAU and camp circuit working on his game. Last year he was primarily seen running the wing while draining three’s from all areas of the court or finishing at the basket after an athletic move. During the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA, he was seen running the point. Standing at 6’3”, Haws usually towered over his opponent as he went up against the 5’8” Tyler Ulis and 5’10” Chris Chiozza in camp games. The shorter and quicker guards tried to bother Haws with full-court pressure but he used his dribbling skills and quickness to break the press and set up the team’s offense. With the departure of Emery, the majority of the ball-handling duties at Lone Peak will eventually fall to Haws.

 “I thought I did pretty well at the point. It was a good experience going against those athletic point guards and will only help me for my future,” Haws said. “My dad played point at BYU and that’s the position I’ll be trying to play when I get there after my mission.”

Known as one of the top shooters in high school hoops, Haws was normally deadly from well behind the college three point line as he hit four three’s in Chicago against Proviso East and averaged just over three made three’s a game in the City of Palms tournament. During the camp, Haws did not get as many shot attempts as normal while manning the point, but he still found times to show off his stroke and quick release. 

“I kind of like playing the point better because I can push the ball and find open looks in transition” Haws noted.

During five games, Haws only averaged 5.2 points per game but kept his teammates such as Myles Turner and Ben Bentil happy with his passing. The opposing guards thought they could take advantage of Haws with their quickness but he was able to stay in front of his man defensively while also getting by their pressure on the offensive end. He produced a modest stat line during the camp, but ran the point against some of the top players in the country and did so with a limited amount of turnovers all while looking like a natural point guard.

In the upcoming July time frame, Haws will suit up for the Las Vegas Prospects and compete in tournaments in Long Beach, Milwaukee, and Las Vegas before returning back to Utah. 

When asked about a four-peat, Haws said “We have a pretty good chance. We won’t be able to compete on a national scale like we did last year, but we should be alright in Utah. We have some players ready to step up along with a transfer from Lehi (upcoming sophomore guard Frank Jackson who scored 30 on Lone Peak this past year).”

In the upcoming season, Haws knows that he will need to shoulder the scoring burden along with a fair amount of ball-handling duties. We already know that the scoring burden won’t be a problem for the prolific scorer, and after his play at the NBPA Top 100 camp playing point guard won’t be much of a problem either. Already a top 50 player in the country, Haws is putting in the work during the off-season to improve his game in and close out his run at Lone Peak with a fourth state title.