The Queen City Showcase gave us plenty of talent to watch and BMaze 2022 was one of those teams that had a few intriguing players that should have the attention of many.
2022 6’1 Jakobi Gillespie and 2022 6’0 Micah Simpson were two that put on a show for their program in Rock Hill.
Simpson led the way scoring-wise, averaging nearly 19 points per game. The guard created a lot of havoc on both ends of the floor, showing his quickness and scrappiness on the floor. Offensively, he attacks the rim well but also showed his range, hitting 10 3-pointers during the weekend. As his coach said, he is a scorer that can flat out fill up the stat sheet, continuing to show what he was able to do this past season at Morristown East.
Watching Simpson in action, Khalil Shakir had this to say about his performance:
“Really attacks the rim well and can finish. Plays very well in transition. Showed the ability to also create for teammates. Plays the game with an edge and dictates the game with his on-ball defense. A very tough defender who takes pride in sitting on ball handlers.”
Gillespie wasn’t far behind Simpson, averaging just over 16 points per game. He is a guard that has an athletic background, showing the ability to create and knock down shots from multiple levels. It was our second viewing of Gillespie’s game, as he showed similar qualities in his game at the Tennessee Phenom 150, where we had this to way.
“He’s a fairly quick guard prospect that always seems to position himself for success, both in transition and the half-court. Gillespie is able to pile on points from all three levels with or without the ball in his hands. He also proved to be an excellent rebounder for his size/position and pushed transition play at every available opportunity.”
Right now, Lipscomb and Liberty, along with several other Division II schools have expressed interest their way, and the list continues to expand each month. But these two players put on a show at the Queen City Showcase, just continuing what they showed this past season in high school.