On Thursday, Phenom Hoops traveled to Reidsville, North Carolina for another evening of quality high school basketball between the hometown Rams and the visiting Morehead Panthers. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the gym, as the city of Reidsville certainly seems to show out for their team. So far this season, the Rams (8-5) have been playing primarily through sophomore point guard Breon Pass, but have also embraced the team concept quite well from top to bottom. Coach Curtis Pass has done a great job with this group and has coached them into quality high school contributors. Meanwhile, Morehead (9-6) has maintained a more evenly spread plan of attack and are able to throw out a variety of different lineups, but have mainly played through the junior trio of Shytiek Lampkin, Jarrett Stewart, and Jevan Chandler.
This contest opened up in a hurry and Reidsville quickly established themselves as the dominant team by getting out to a double-digit lead before the end of the first quarter. However, Morehead simply refused to go away and seemed to fight back every time Reidsville would start to gain true separation. The first half could've been referred to as 'the Breon Pass and Justin Lowe show,' as they combined for thirty of the Rams' thirty-five total points at the break. Morehead continued battling in the third quarter; Chandler and Stewart were able to get going and make this a decently competitive second half. Coach Pass released the dogs in the fourth quarter and showed their ability to ruthlessly close out a game, winning 89-67 over the Morehead Panthers.
Reidsville:
6'0 '21 Breon Pass
The point guard continues to solidify himself as one of the most impressive sophomore prospects in the state of North Carolina. He's so electric and really understands how to overwhelm opponents with his innate shiftiness and blindingly-quick first step. Pass is very intelligent and it's glaringly obvious in the way that he manages a game. He's able to assert himself as a scorer and creator within his team's first possession, but also displays a clear willingness to set up teammates and make plays for others. Pass is such an incredibly efficient scorer and possesses legitimate thirty-foot shooting range, which forces opponents to pick up early or send hard double-teams. There's just nothing that makes him uncomfortable on the court, as he plays an excellent brand of calm, reliable, nearly mistake-free basketball. He controls the game extremely well at all times. Pass didn't place much emphasis on rebounding in the first half, but still ended up with double-digits in that category, which goes to show how easily he can impact the game. He locked up his assignment on defense and has great anticipation instincts for jumping into passing lanes. College coaches have been wise to go ahead and lay the groundwork for Pass, because he's already beginning to emerge as a special type of recruit. Final stats: 21 points (8-13 FG, 4-8 3FG), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
6'4 '19 Justin Lowe
We expected to be impressed with Pass, but the performance that Lowe enjoyed was almost unbelievable. The unsigned senior has the look of a basketball player, but hasn't been overly efficient on offense this year. That being said, Lowe was nearly unstoppable on Thursday night and could be worth looking into as a college-level prospect. The lefty wing is strong, athletic, and plays with a terrific two-way motor. He pursues the ball exceptionally well as a rebounder while showcasing the ability to contain his matchup on defense. Lowe scored the ball phenomenally well, but it was honestly'how'effortlessly he scored that stood out to us. He hit turnaround jumpers, three-pointers, second-chance buckets around the basket, and even a few emphatic dunks. If Lowe were to perform like this on a regular basis, he would absolutely be a high-level D2 prospect, but should still be one for college coaches to check out this season. Final stats: 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
6'0 '21 Carter Wilson
Into the second half, Coach Pass began to unload his bench and unveiled Wilson, who would step in and hit one shot after another. He scored in the first half, but was able to tack on an additional 15 points after the break. Wilson hit all of his free-throws and posed a massive spot-up threat whenever he was on the floor. Final stats: 17 points
Morehead:
6'1 '20 Jevan Chandler
The guard prospect was arguably the most reliable all-around performer for Morehead, as he led the team in scoring and rebounds. Chandler is a fairly well-rounded guard that can toggle between playing with and without the ball whenever necessary. He showed the ability to enter the paint and draw fouls at a pretty solid rate, which is where he netted 10 of his 14 points. It was somewhat surprising that he didn't start, as Chandler was certainly capable of emerging as a leader. Final stats: 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals.
6'4 '20 Jarrett Stewart
The long, wiry forward prospect was also quite effective throughout this contest, able to consistently utilize his length to alter shots and rebound the ball. Stewart will need to continue adding strength in order to become a truly reliable offensive threat, but scored well from within the paint and showed some semblance of a workable midrange jumper. It'll be interesting to see how much stronger he's able to get over the next six months or so, because he has the potential to be among the most talented guys on this roster. Final stats: 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block.