Storm Classic: Recruit these pool games

Grand Rapids is once again home to the Storm Classic, the most prestigious travel basketball tournament in Michigan.

The Grand Rapids Storm Classic is open to all college coaches except D1. Combine that setup and what continues to be a very deep 2018 class, there will be some serious GLIAC, MIAA, WHAC and juco recruiting being done outside of the super pool games. Below are some pool games ripe with college prospects that coaches should check out. All are in the senior-to-be division.

Click here for the full schedule.

MBA vs. Parallel 45 (White), 6:15 pm Friday Ct. 5: MBA will have a mixed group due to spring break, including Muskegon Heights junior DeCarri Brown, 6-5 East Kentwood junior D’Avery Moore, 6-3 Rockford junior Ty Thiel, 6-9 Harper Creek junior Ryan McCafferty, Portage Northern sophomore guard Devin Marshall and Luke Maranka, a 6-8 home-schooled sophomore from Hudsonville. For P45, D2s will be all over one of the state’s most productive inside-outside forwards this winter, 6-7 Walled Lake Northern junior Ethan Ancick. His teammates are deep at guard, including four who just played at the Breslin Center, Buckley juniors Denver Cade and Joey Weber in the Class D final, and Manton juniors Jayden Perry and Hunter Ruell in the Class C semifinals.

North Oakland Wolfpack vs. The Francise, 8:45 pm Friday Ct. 5: The Wolfpack were a top 10 in-state team at both the 16U and 15u levels, and add some new blood to that original core. There are a number of Clarkston state champions in the mix, most notably junior point guard CJ Robinson whom GLIAC schools will be looking at here. Their top newcomer is 6-6 L’anse Creuse junior Davion Moore, a bull around the basket. The Franchise has one of the state’s most attractive unsigned senior recruits in Southfield A&T’s Brandon Rucker, given his athleticism at 6-7 and good grades.

Grand Rapids Storm (George) vs. Michigan United, 9:15 am Saturday Ct. 1: United likes to play a zone but for how long when the Storm can counter with Forest Hills Central junior Tyler George shooting deep and 6-4 Jenison junior Colton Ritsema in the short corner? The Storm’s top prospect is Forest Hills Central junior Ryan Dunn who is 6-5 and can play the 1, 2 or 3. Small schools will want to check out United’s center Kyle Hensley, a 6-7 junior from Parkway Christian with a strong base, who walls off well on D and hits shots going either way in the lane.

West Michigan Lakers vs. Detroit Spartans, 9:15 am Saturday Ct. 6: The Lakers have their first D1 guard prospect since Korey VanDussen. Like KVD, Coloma’s Zach Goodline will play up on 17U as a sophomore. The Lakers always seem to come up with size for their 17U team that wasn’t there the previous spring. That’s the case again with 6-8 Spring Lake junior Sam Johnson and 6-9 Watervliet junior Dan Cluster. The Spartans rarely play in-state, so this will be a good chance for their players to be seen by schools that actually recruit Michigan.

Michigan Playmakers vs. Parallel 45 (Green), 10:30 am Saturday Ct. 1: The Playmakers may wear green are always one of the most blue-collar outfits in the state. 6-6 Cass Tech junior Randy Gilbert has a plethora of offensive tools and is poised for a breakout summer. 6-5 Detroit King junior Antonio Marshall is a tough, versatile wing defender. Junior guard Tavares Oliver was the sixth man for Class B state champion New Haven. What P45 lacks in size they make up for with passing and shooting, the cornerstone of 75 wins for the core of this group at the 16U and 15U levels. They feature a two-headed point guard in Frankfort junior Jaylon Rogers and Marine City Cardinal Mooney junior Daniel Everhart. 6-3 junior Austin Harris gained GLIAC favor with his performance for Buckley in the state finals and 6-3 Frankfort junior Matt Loney turned heads last week with his defense against Hazel Park all-state guard Carl Bow. 6-4 junior Seth Mann is a coach’s dream, lights out shooter with Petoskey toughness and a 4.0 gpa, bookending as a wing who can play big with athletic 6-4 Boyne City junior Mason Gardner.

Elite Nation vs. TEAM Basketball, 3:30 PM Saturday Ct. 2: Elite Nation returns most of the key parts from what was one of the state’s top 16U teams, and add 6-6 DeWitt junior Luke Hyde and Goodrich guard Carrington Wiggins. EN’s top prospect is 6-7 junior Mason Pline, who didn’t dominate like his physical tools would suggest in the winter for Fowler, where he could be a Class D Charles Barkley, but perhaps has a game best-suited for AAU. He’s a D2 lock with the possibility to move up. TEAM Basketball was also very good at the 16U level and are built around triumvirate of scholarship guards 6-3 point Justin Fischer from Warren De La Salle, 6-2 slasher Nate Davis from Rochester Stoney Creek and 6-4 marksman Jason Dietz of Troy. Also from Troy 6-6 junior Danny Sully is a long-armed athlete whom coaches will hope matches up with the versatile Hyde though he may have to defend up against Pline and 6-6 junior Josh Perkins from Ypsilanti.