Finally some size: class of 2022

[Hair Canada]

Canadian Class of 2022

The class of 2022, together with the class of 2023 (next), will form the basis of the next cadet team for the U16 FIBA Americas in summer 2019. And yes, it’s really early to say anything with certainty. But my sense is that the talent level in these two classes might be similar to what we had in the excellent 2015 FIBA Americas cadet team, the one that almost upset the Americans in the finals (this team included, among others, Barrett, Simi, Nembhard, Brezdaikis, Carr, Kirkwood, and Llewellyn, all class of 2018).

From the class of 2022, I see three who seem especially promising at this point:

Caleb Houstan (a 6’7 or 6’8 wing). From what I’ve seen so far, the most talented player in this class. Great size for a wing payer (will likely end up around 6’10 or maybe even 6’11, so might be able to play PF as well). Excellent feel for the game. Can do many things – shoot from the perimeter, penetrate efficiently and finish above the rim, and grab rebounds and finish around the basket. Also has good court vision and he’s a willing passer. Still quite thin, but is not overpowered by older guys. Also doesn’t seem like an explosive athlete, but it might be too early to tell. I really like what I’ve seen from him so far. Plays with St. Marcellinus high school this year and might already be the best player on the team, despite being much younger than the others. Very smooth and plays with confidence. Seems to me like the talent level could be that of a top-10 in North America, although obviously I’m not familiar with all of the American prospects in this class.

Ryan Nembhard (6’1 PG). Andrew’s brother and a very similar type of player. Pure PG – pass first. Very mature game. Shoots and penetrates well. Good athlete – nice speed and lift. I might be wrong on this, but seems to me a bit more assertive than his brother and looking some more for his own shot, not just setting others. Plays with Vaughn prep. Gets a lot of minutes, and from the games I’ve seen, already one of their best players, although he’s 4-5 years younger than the others. Will likely be the floor general of the 2019 Cadet team, similar to what his brother did on the 2015 team.

Jayden Webley (6’10 Center). A physical specimen. Still very young. I believe he’s still 13 or maybe only just turned 14, but he’s already 6’10 and has the body of a 20 year-old. Wide frame and shoulders (around 260 pounds!), Long arms, and big hands. If he follows a normal growth curve, he’ll probably end up at around 7’2 or 7’3. Saw very little of him in action. But he seems to be a decent athlete and doesn’t seem awkward or too heavy on the court, like some might expect from someone that big at this age. Left a mark at the Made Hoops circle, finishing at least one of the games with a triple double in points, rebounds and blocks. Just the fact that he’s already so big and strong makes him a very intriguing prospect.


More generally, unlike previous classes, this class seems to have some very good size. Caleb Atewe (6’8), playing for Vaughn, Ebube Agbaji (6’8; Uplay), and Rory Stewart (I think around 6’7) can all get to around 6’11 or 7’0 by the end of their development. All of them already seem to have fairly strong frames. At this point, Stewart seems the most offensively skilled of this bunch, but it’s still very early and not sure he’s the one with the best long term potential, as he’s not a great athlete right now. Atewe actually seems to have quite good potential – excellent frame, moving well on the court, and already quite good on defense, although still shows very little offensively. Together with Houstan and Webley, we might finally have a class that will produce one or two bigs for the national team.


In terms of guards, there are also quite a few players in this class with good potential. As always, I’ll only mention the ones I’ve had a chance to watch a bit:

• Jaiden Langley-Thomas. PG with good size (around 6’1 or 6’2 I think) and athleticism. Really took a step forward over the last year and looks like a very solid future PG with potential for the higher levels. Excellent frame and strength, plays aggressively, with a tight handle and can score in multiple ways: a nice developing outside shot, using floaters and stop-and pops (strong legs), or finishing nicely around the rim.
• Javier Glasgow. A 6 foot PG. Very skilled. Plays with a lot of confidence for Thornlea’s high school prep. Good shooter and slasher. Not afraid of the moment.
• Kymani mignott. An athletic guard; scores on both outside shooting and drives. Haven’t seen him play enough to say more.
• Cole Scott. Another fairly athletic guard who’s a very good scorer at the junior levels. Will need to improve his PG skills, as he does not look very tall.
• Noah Ngamba. Guard/Small forward with good size (6’3 or 6’4) and excellent outside shooting. Not very athletic though from what I’ve seen.
• DJ Jackson. Another guard with very good scoring instincts and a clean shot. Not exceptionally strong, tall or athletic at this point I think. Again, haven’t seen him enough to judge.


Other classes:

2017-18:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1643672
2019:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1644140
2020:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1644482&p=60956369#p60956369
2021:
viewtopic.php?t=1644845
2023 + :
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1645754

[Hair Canada]

Canadian Class of 2022

Classes of 2017-18:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1643672
Class of 2019:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1644140
Class of 2020:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1644482&p=60956369#p60956369
Class of 2021:
viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1644845


The class of 2022, together with the class of 2023 (next), will form the basis of the next cadet team for the U16 FIBA Americas in summer 2019. And yes, it’s really early to say anything with certainty. But my sense is that the talent level in these two classes might be similar to what we had in the excellent 2015 FIBA Americas cadet team, the one that almost upset the Americans in the finals (this team included, among others, Barrett, Simi, Nembhard, Brezdaikis, Carr, Kirkwood, and Llewellyn, all class of 2018).

From the class of 2022, I see three who seem especially promising at this point:

Caleb Houstan (a 6’7 or 6’8 wing). From what I’ve seen so far, the most talented player in this class. Great size for a wing payer (will likely end up around 6’10 or maybe even 6’11, so might be able to play PF as well). Excellent feel for the game. Can do many things – shoot from the perimeter, penetrate efficiently and finish above the rim, and grab rebounds and finish around the basket. Also has good court vision and he’s a willing passer. Still quite thin, but is not overpowered by older guys. Also doesn’t seem like an explosive athlete, but it might be too early to tell. I really like what I’ve seen from him so far. Plays with St. Marcellinus high school this year and might already be the best player on the team, despite being much younger than the others. Very smooth and plays with confidence. Doesn't shy away from contact. Seems to me like the talent level could be that of a top-10 in North America, although obviously, I’m not familiar with all of the American prospects in this class.

Ryan Nembhard (6’1 PG). Andrew’s brother and a very similar type of player. Pure PG – pass first. Very mature game. Shoots and penetrates well. Good athlete – nice speed and lift. I might be wrong on this, but seems to me to be a bit more assertive than his brother and looking some more for his own shot, not just setting others. Plays with Vaughn prep. Gets a lot of minutes, and from the games I’ve seen, already one of their best players, although he’s 4-5 years younger than the others. Will likely be the floor general of the 2019 Cadet team, similar to what his brother did on the 2015 team.

Jayden Webley (6’10 Center). A physical specimen. Still very young. I believe he’s still 13 or maybe only just turned 14, but he’s already 6’10 and has the body of a 20-year-old. Wide frame and shoulders (around 260 pounds!), Long arms, and big hands. If he follows a normal growth curve, he’ll probably end up at around 7’2 or 7’3. Saw very little of him in action. But he seems to be a decent athlete and doesn’t seem awkward or too heavy on the court, like some might expect from someone that big at this age. Left a mark at the Made Hoops circle, finishing at least one of the games with a triple-double in points, rebounds, and blocks. Just the fact that he’s already so big and strong makes him a very intriguing prospect.


More generally, unlike previous classes, this class seems to have some very good size. Caleb Atewe (6’8), playing for Vaughn, Ebube Agbaji (6’8; Uplay), and Rory Stewart (I think around 6’7) can all get to around 6’11 or 7’0 by the end of their development. All of them already seem to have fairly strong frames. At this point, Stewart seems the most offensively skilled of this bunch, but it’s still very early and not sure he’s the one with the best long-term potential, as he’s not a great athlete right now. Atewe actually seems to have quite good potential – excellent frame, moving well on the court, and already quite good on defense, although still shows very little offensively. Together with Houstan and Webley, we might finally have a class that will produce one or two bigs for the national team.


In terms of guards, there are also quite a few players in this class with good potential. As always, I’ll only mention the ones I’ve had a chance to watch a bit:

• Jaiden Langley-Thomas. PG with good size (around 6’1 or 6’2 I think) and athleticism. Really took a step forward over the last year and looks like a very solid future PG with potential for the higher levels. Excellent frame and strength, plays aggressively, with a tight handle and can score in multiple ways: a nice developing outside shot, using floaters and stop-and pops (strong legs), or finishing nicely around the rim.
• Javier Glasgow. A 6 foot PG. Very skilled. Plays with a lot of confidence for Thornlea’s high school prep. Good shooter and slasher. Not afraid of the moment.
• Kymani mignott. An athletic guard; scores on both outside shooting and drives. Haven’t seen him play enough to say more.
• Cole Scott. Another fairly athletic guard who’s a very good scorer at the junior levels. Will need to improve his PG skills, as he does not look very tall.
• Noah Ngamba. Guard/Small forward with good size (6’3 or 6’4) and excellent outside shooting. Not very athletic though from what I’ve seen.
• DJ Jackson. Another guard with very good scoring instincts and a clean shot. Not exceptionally strong, tall or athletic at this point I think. Again, haven’t seen him enough to judge.

[MavCarter]

Any of them 5 star recruits?

[lolwut]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

[MavCarter]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

[lolwut]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

[Mikistan]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

I'm not a politician, does that mean I should not vote?

[MavCarter]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

I mean i see no problem with op giving us some info on potential canada basketball players. We're all basketball freaks here

[lolwut]

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

I'm not a politician, does that mean I should not vote?

I don't see how that's remotely similar. You're gonna have to help me out here.

[duppyy]

LMAO

Why are we even talking about the class of 2022? These kids are what...13 or 14 years old right now? They're not even done growing yet. Chances are, a majority of these names will be irrelevant in 2022.

At what age do you think scouts start tracking these guys?

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

It's a discussion forum about basketball. There are some people on here that like doing their own scouting as a hobby or like learning about the new wave of Canadian talent down the pipeline.

Just cause you don't care about it doesn't mean other people don't.

[PhilBlackson]

It's nice to know there's good Canadian talent being produced but nonetheless it's so far out and sooo much can change between now and then, ask Seventh Woods lol

[macNcheese3]

Canada is definitely shaping up some nice future players.

[WuTang_CMB]

lebron james jr or gtfo

[Mikistan]

Probably even younger, but that's beside the point because we're not scouts.

I'm not a politician, does that mean I should not vote?

I don't see how that's remotely similar. You're gonna have to help me out here.

you don't need to be actively employed in the field to have the skills and ability to pass judgement with a high success rate.

your comment that "we aren't scouts" adds nil value to any discussion and undermines OP and anyone who shows an interest.

[mojo13]

Great stuff Hair - you probably know more about this class than most scouts anyways (prior classes too for that matter).

These posts on all the classes are great prep material for watching the FIBA u17 WC and u18 Americas tournaments this summer.

Please repost something like this on the guys they end up naming to the teams. It would be extremely helpful this summer.

[beanbag]

This thread is mad problematic. Why do you know who these children are?

[Mikistan]

This thread is mad problematic. Why do you know who these children are?

now this is in an interesting discussion topic

on, the one hand, these scouts and sport industry in general as a profession turns children into money - either as players cultivated for earning potential or children hooked as fans of a sport who will spend money and time their entire lives to support a likely broken system. even the purity of competition in the olympics is a sham

on the other hand, someone putting names of clearly basketball-pursuing teens on the internet may actually increase the chances of them getting noticed -- it may be that he saw them play at various torunaments in the GTA area, that sell tickets for people who want to watch -- all his analysis is strictly potential and basketball focused from what i read -

but, there is also child privacy at stake...

hmmm

[lolwut]

I'm not a politician, does that mean I should not vote?

I don't see how that's remotely similar. You're gonna have to help me out here.

you don't need to be actively employed in the field to have the skills and ability to pass judgement with a high success rate.

your comment that "we aren't scouts" adds nil value to any discussion and undermines OP and anyone who shows an interest.

Yeah...except my point wasn't that we shouldn't care because we're not professionally qualified to make judgments.

The point was that this draft class is so far out that all of the information is essentially irrelevant at this point. The only reason professional scouts care is because it's their job to update this information as time goes on to ensure that they become more and more relevant down the road.

Talking about the draft class of 2022 is about as meaningful as talking about who you plan on supporting for in the 2022 election right now. Do you even know who will be running?

[flipside21]

This thread is mad problematic. Why do you know who these children are?

now this is in an interesting discussion topic

on, the one hand, these scouts and sport industry in general as a profession turns children into money - either as players cultivated for earning potential or children hooked as fans of a sport who will spend money and time their entire lives to support a likely broken system. even the purity of competition in the olympics is a sham

on the other hand, someone putting names of clearly basketball-pursuing teens on the internet may actually increase the chances of them getting noticed -- it may be that he saw them play at various torunaments in the GTA area, that sell tickets for people who want to watch -- all his analysis is strictly potential and basketball focused from what i read -

but, there is also child privacy at stake...

hmmm

As a former High School stand out (football) that played on a team with a number basketball stand outs - I can tell you that any recognition, discussion or citation in a public forum would have been taken as an awesome, inspiring and ego developing event for any of us. Suppose there are a lot more avenues for this to happen now days - probably much less notable, you don't have to make the papers to get called out.

Child privacy seems like one hell of a stretch. You gotta WOOORK for this to be a potential safety / privacy concern - and so long as we're strictly talking ball, I would chalk any concern on that front to a society falling farther and farther down the powder puff politically correct rabbit hole . . .

9th graders be running around telling all their friends that realGM has a discussion forum they made - seems cool to me.

[Mikistan]

I don't see how that's remotely similar. You're gonna have to help me out here.

you don't need to be actively employed in the field to have the skills and ability to pass judgement with a high success rate.

your comment that "we aren't scouts" adds nil value to any discussion and undermines OP and anyone who shows an interest.

Yeah...except my point wasn't that we shouldn't care because we're not professionally qualified to make judgments.

The point was that this draft class is so far out that all of the information is essentially irrelevant at this point. The only reason professional scouts care is because it's their job to update this information as time goes on to ensure that they become more and more relevant down the road.

Talking about the draft class of 2022 is about as meaningful as talking about who you plan on supporting for in the 2022 election right now. Do you even know who will be running?

Well maybe this dude just really really wants to be the guys that says "i said that guy would be good 5 years ago"
kind of like, "I knew about that band 5 years ago"

Spoiler:

i just think if someone clearly has a passion and has gone through the effort to CREATE something, you dont get to just shoot it down and be rude