Wednesday evening tipped off the annual NY2LA Sports Summer Jam. This annual event has garbed national attention from teams, media, scouts and college coaches all over the country. Regarded as one of the premiere events in the nation regardless of the period, the opening night of the 2016 NY2LA Sports Summer Jam impressed once again.

Here are a few of the day one standouts from day one.

2018 G Tyler Herro – Wisconsin Playground Warriors – Herro is a capable combo guard and a confident scorer. He showed he could shoot it off the bounce and knock down the perimeter jumper. The most impressive part of his game is his ability to take contact and finish at the rim. While he isn’t the most explosive player off the dribble, Herro understands how to get to his spots and make the most of his looks at the rim.

2018 G Jordan McCabe – Wisconsin Playground Warriors – McCabe had a tough shooting night on day one. However, McCabe made it clear that he understands how to find open teammates as a slasher. This is clearly the part of his game where he brings the most value. McCabe is capable of scoring at all three levels, but he’ll have to be mindful of his shot selection and not forcing shots when they’re not falling. 
The McCabe/Herro backcourt is full of potential.

2018 F J’raan Brooks – Dreamvision – Brooks was impressive just on the flashes of his upside alone. He has a good foundation physically. As a rebounder, Brooks is solid at getting the ball off the glass in his area. The San Diego native even showed he could make a mid-range jumper out to 16 feet. He runs the floor and can finish strong above the rim as well. All in all, Brooks is a high-major prospect whose interest should turn into offers in the near future.

2018 G Max Watson – Dreamvision – Watson connected, unofficially, on at least six threes by my count against Wisconsin Playground Warriors. His shot is consistent and has range. At 6’4” Watson has solid positional size, was engaged on defense and played well within the team’s offense.

2018 PG Courtney Ramey – JETS/Ramey United – What didn’t Ramey do is the question. Ramey came out looking to prove he had a complete game at both ends. Scoring from all over the floor, Ramey was especially deadly from the perimeter. At one point, Ramey was outscoring his opponent, UPlay Canada EYBL. In addition to being a scorer, Ramey showed court awareness, vision and passing ability to get his teammates involved, making them better. I can’t imagine anyone making a better first impression on opening night than Ramey.

2018 CG Khaleem Bennett – UPLAY Canada EYBL – Bennett had a solid outing for UPLAY on night one. Right now he’s more of a combo guard and has a ways to go as an on-the-ball guard. He has a slight hitch at the top of his shot that needs to be worked out as well. Despite needing plenty of polish still, he has time to develop. Bennett has a thick frame that he used to draw contact. Additionally, Bennett was able to knock down threes off the catch and showed flashes of a mid-range game as well. Overall, Khaleem showed enough to make him an intriguing prospect to watch this week.

2018 F/C Kaosi Ezeague – UPLAY Canada EYBL – Ezeague is a long, thick framed paint presence. He communicates well on defense and right now is best as a rebounder. There is so much to his game that is undeveloped right now that it’s tough to really comment on him after just one showing. However, with the size, mobility and rebounding instincts that he has, Kaosi is intriguing simply based on raw skill alone.

2017 6’ CG Trey Buchanan – Kingdom Hoops Elite – Buchanan is a scoring guard for Kingdom. He likes to slash to the rim and showed quickness and fearlessness in doing so. He has the upside to be tough in transition as well. Given his size and frame, Buchanan sorely needs to develop his on-ball skills so he can become more of a point guard than off guard. He certainly has the ability to get into the lane, now adding facilitator to his list of traits is most important to see a bump in his stock. Adding a more consistent jumper would help as well. Despite the flaws, Buchanan led Kingdom with 19 points in a win over Wisconsin Playground Warriors.