The NCAA and USA Basketball held the College Basketball Academy this past week at the Rock Hill (SC) Sports and Events Center. The event is invite only and is a select group of college basketball prospects and coaches from around the nation. The event had players mostly from the 2025 and 2026 classes. However, there were some 2027 and 2028 class players on display.
Several players from the Upstate and surrounding areas were on display at the event. Also, a coach with ties to the area was selected to coach in the event and helped led his select group to the Academy Title.
Coach Jeff Williamson got his 1st head coaching job back in 2014 at Tamassee-Salem High School (which would close after the 2016 academic year). The West Virginia native had been an assistant at the small college level prior in West Virginia and Ohio. Williamson left Tamassee-Salem after the plans were announced to close the school after the 2015-2016 academic year.
Since then he has grow into a successful head coach. Williamson's stints include 20+ win seasons at Woodward High (Oklahoma), Garden City High (Kansas) and a State Tournament appearance at Logan High (West Virginia). He now finds himself going into his 1st year at Dodge City High (Kansas).
Williamson teamed with an old friend and WVU grad Chris Richardson who currently is the Head Coach at Wheeling University (DII) at the Academy. Those two led their squad to the Academy Championship after losing a couple of games in pool play. The event is an all star select type where the players are split up with the idea to create parity and see some of the top guys from all over country compete against each other.
Leading the way for the Title Team was Damon Friery. He's a class of 2025 6ft9 Forward from Ohio, who can shoot it from deep and guard multiple positions. Friery has offers currently from Arizona State, Akron, Dayton, DePaul and others.
Also, part of the team's major 1-2 offensive punch was Class of 2026 California based prospect Brayden Kyman. He's a 6ft6 wing who can create shots for himself and others. Kyman displayed ability to shoot off the dribble and get to the rim. He has offers from Washington State, Morgan State. His stock is on the rise, after he showed the ability to defend his position. His offers I imagine will start to flood in between this fall and next summer.
Roswell Georgia native Kiwane Garris Jr was also on that team. Garris is a 6ft4 Combo Guard in the 2025 class. He holds offers from Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Kennesaw State. Also, another standout on that squad was Kellen Hampton of California. He's a 6ft6 Wing in the class of 2025 from California and has offers from Mississippi State, Creighton, Cal and St. John's.
As for the players from around this area in the showcase. We will start closest to home with South Pointe High standout Tre Raymon. He's a 6ft 7 class of 2026 wing. Raymon has offers from Coastal Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri State and others right now. Mississippi State is his only high major offer right now, it'll be interesting to see if Clemson, South Carolina and other high majors get in on him in next year. He's got a blend of size, fluidity and shooting ability that make him seem like a prospect that will garner more interest going forward.
Charlotte based prospect Markus Kerr (Chambers High) also impressed. The 6ft 5 Class of 2026 Guard holds offers from Charlotte, App State, Charleston and recently garnered an offer from Mississippi State as well. He is ideally suited to be a 2 guard but can also move to the point. If Kerr can prove himself more at the point spot, his stock will shoot up the board. He has the ability to create off the dribble, knock down outside shots at a solid clip and defend multiple spots.
There's a lot of buzz surrounding a recent transfer to Providence Day in Charlotte by the name of Zeke Battier. He's a class of 2027 6ft 6 wing and is the son of Duke standout and NBA World Champion Shane Battier. Zeke Battier is an intriguing prospect due to his size and fluidity and being still two years from his graduating class. Battier can hit the 3 ball and defend multiple spots reminiscent of his father. By the time his Senior year rolls around Battier will likely to be able to have his choice of most any school. He was one of just a few 2027 and 2028 prospects invited.
Melvin Teal from Summerville High had a solid showing at the Academy. The 6ft 2 rising senior Point Guard came into the event with his only D-1 offer being NC A&T. The Aggie coaching staff was on hand to see him play. Teal has a quick first step, is a floor general and has somewhat surprising athleticism. He picked some momentum and interest at the event from mid and low-major schools.
Robert Moore is a 6ft 6 wing that plays at Porter-Gaud School in Charleston. He's playing for the same program that produced Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers and JJ James who has been a standout at the University of Tennessee. Moore is a 2025 prospect. He's not as athletic as Nesmith or as strong or versatile as James but is a tremendous prospect in his own right. His offers as of right now include Coastal Carolina, Charleston, GA State and Grand Canyon among others. Coastal and Charleston had coaches at the event to see Moore play. He has a blend of size, shooting ability and fluidity that make him a prospect who I could see going to a mid-major and standing out but also possibly transferring to a high major after a couple of years in a college system.
Elton Smith Jr. of Columbia's Cardinal Newman played in the Academy, he's a 6ft 7 2026 Forward. Smith right now only has D1 offers from Radford and Queens (Charlotte). As Queens has made the move to D1 in recent years they are really trying to keep some of Charlotte's top prospects at home. We will see if they are able to do that? If Smith adds range and more of a face up skill set, his stock will rise substantially in the next year.
Class of 2025 Wing Joe Ahart is an interesting prospect. He's 6ft 7 and is a Greer native, who plays at Christ School in Western North Carolina. I believe Ahart started his high school years at JL Mann. He's got tremendous length, so he projects to be a multi-spot defender. He also can shoot from the outside. Ahart in my mind is a little overshadowed and doesn't have great scoring numbers due to being at Christ School. The Greenies program is known as a place that D-1 prospects come from and Ahart doesn't get as many shots as he would at a public school with fewer prospects.
Ahart has been garnering attention and especially since the Academy. Furman, Western Carolina, Winthrop, and Kennesaw State are all showing interest.
Luke Wiersma is living in the Electric City of Anderson and plays his high school ball at TL Hanna. He's a 6ft 7 Post in the class of 2026. I wasn't able to find any D1 offers for Wiersma, doing research. He is a skilled post player with good footwork. In watching his film, Wiersma mostly operates around the bucket. He will have to expand and display his ability to stretch the floor by knocking down outside shots and making plays from the high post. However, he has time to pick up those facets of the game. If he does that or has one more growth spurt of 3-4 inches then he can be a mid-major prospect.
Byrnes has been experience a basketball renaissance this past year. Part of that is due to Class of 2027 Guard Colton Fowler. He's undersized at 5ft 10 but being two academic years from graduation, Fowler could well hit a growth spurt. He's a typical coaches kid type of Point Guard with a high IQ and floor general skills. He will be a prospect to track and watch his progression over the next couple of years.
Fort Mill native and Nation Ford High standout Caden Giles was at the camp, as well. He's a class of 2025 6ft9 Post, Giles holds offers from McNeese State ad DII Chowan. Some upper body mass, weight and strength are what separates him from several more offers at the mid and low major levels. He did show himself at the Academt to be a good rim protector with good timing in shot blocking.
Sam Mills is an intriguing 2027 Post prospect from Lexington High (SC). He's already 6ft 10 and has a frame that can easily add weight. One more small growth spurt and you're looking at a 7 foot traditional type of big man. Because he's a rising Sophomore, the offers are yet to come. Depending on his growth physically and/or expansion of his skill set on offense, he should well be a sought after high major prospect as 2027 moves closer.
I will mention in closing, an international prospect who I think is headed for the NBA draft in about 3 years. Yakhya Diop is a class of 2025 7 footer from Senegal. He really impressed me with his rim running speed and fluidity in transition. He is a defensive dynamo as it comes to shot blocking and virtually shut off the lane in almost every half court possession. Diop controlled the glass as well. His offensive skill set is still a work in progress in terms of his shooting and range and playmaking from the high post. However, he is a tremendous rim running/lob target who can block shots and rebound.
The Academy was a tremendously well organized and executed event. It featured a "who's who" in college basketball. Some of those attendance included te previously mentioned Shane Battier, former St. Joe's Head Coach Phil Martelli, former NBA player and Coach John Lucas II and Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter, just to name a few.
College Basketball programs included everyone from the low majors in the region to the high majors from all over the country. Clemson, South Carolina, Coastal, Winthrop, Wofford and and other local programs had coaches at the event.