Words. Lucas Shapiro

With big men nowadays, you are either a Dwight Howard (someone who focuses on blocking shots and grabbing rebounds) or an Andrea Bargnani (someone who can step outside to shoot and present mismatch issues on offense). It is rare that you can find a mix between these two. That is why Isaiah Austin, a 7-foot, 200-pound rising senior at Grace Preparatory Academy (Arlington, Texas) could become a special player.

Etop Udo-Ema, Austin’s AAU coach with the Compton Magic, still recalls a time when he saw the soon-to-be superstar. At the time, Isaiah was only in middle school and stood at 6-3. The next year, Udo-Ema ran into him again and he was standing at 6-10.

“You’ve got to realize, this kid has serious genes,” says Udo-Ema. MORE >

Words. Lucas Shapiro

Rene Castro of Beaver Country Day School (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) is one of the best point guards in the Class of 2013. His throwback game fits in well in almost any offense, and he has a great balance between being a scorer and a distributor. Playing AAU ball this summer with the Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC), check out some highlights I cut together.

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Words. Lucas Shapiro

The dream of every young athlete nowadays is to play a Division I sport. Everybody wants that scholarship, but so few are willing to do what it takes to earn it. Philadelphia native Warren Gillis, a 6-3 shooting guard, had the same dream as every other young athlete. After his senior year at Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.), a school known for pumping out Division I athletes, Gillis only had a few Division II offers in football and basketball and the dream did not look like it would ever materialize. He had planned to play football at Millersville University, but something did not feel right. That is when he contacted Vin Sparacio, the head coach at Rise Academy. MORE >

Words. Lucas Shapiro

Most 16-year-old boys are known for either playing sports or sitting at home playing video games. Alex Kline, however, is not your typical teenager. Alex runs TheRecruitScoop.com, writes for Adam Zagoria’s blog and has a huge following on Twitter. He is a great resource for players and college coaches that are looking to improve their stance. We had to opportunity to catch up with Alex to get to know how it all started and some of his opinions on the basketball world. MORE >

Words. Lucas Shapiro

When hoop fans hear the words “basketball prodigy,” many instantly frown or cringe. Some will think of the likes of either Kwame Brown or O.J. Mayo and shake their heads. Every once in a while though, a story comes along of a “basketball prodigy” that can make one smile. That is the story of fourth-grader Jordan Montgomery. MORE >

Words. Lucas Shapiro

Monday’s action at the finale of the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., had some of the best matchups of the weekend. We saw some pretty amazing performances that will have many players’ rankings shoot up the charts.

Rather than simply reading the scouting reports, we decided to talk with some of the players and coaches to get their perspectives on some of the day’s top performers. Here is what they had to say: MORE >