Last night we were treated to a great rivalry matchup between Millbrook High School and Leesville Road High School. Both of these teams are loaded with next level talent, program history, and unbelievable fan support. It was a matchup of the elite guard play of Carter Whitt and the brute force and size that Millbrook brings to the table. Millbrook walked away with an 84-76 victory. Let’s take a look at the magical five performers.
6’9 2021 Eric Van Der Heijden: Millbrook High School (21 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 5-7 3FG, 6-8 FT)
Eric Van Der Heijden is the newest addition to this Millbrook roster but he’s already cemented his status among this talented group. He’s the kind of forward that can benefit any roster due to the fact that he does a lot of different things well. He’s a high IQ combo forward that displayed the ability to shoot the ball with a ton of confidence from beyond the arc off the catch or dribble and made great decisions while handling the ball in pick and roll situations. He’s definitely gotten stronger since the end of the summer and he hasn’t lost any of the mobility that made him such a valuable guy on the defensive end. He has the size and agility to guard multiple positions on the floor and as he continues to be more confident finishing at the rim, his game will only open up even further. This is a buy stock now prospect that has a chance for a big season on a special team.
6’8 2021 Will Felton: Millbrook High School (19 Points, 15 Rebounds, 7-10 FG, 3 Blocks)
Felton epitomizes the kind of consistent production you want out of a feature post player. He’s an elite rebounder that gets better as the game progresses on both ends of the floor. He’s incredibly difficult to stop 1v1 on the block at the high school level and does really good job of working the offensive boards. Defensively he’s a great positional defender with a college ready frame and a very good shot blocker that does a great job of not trying to jump on absolutely everything. He has multiple go to moves on the block and did an excellent job of finding shooters when the double team came. As Will continues to produce at a super high level and win a lot of basketball games, expect his offer list to continue to grow. If he can become more explosive and get a little more confidence in his free throw line jumpers, that offer list could skyrocket.
6’4 2020 Jalen McCoy: Millbrook High School (17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 2 Steals, 6-13 FG)
McCoy is a true wing that has had to fill in some of the ball handling duties with the absence of Nolan Dorsey. He did a nice job of initiating the offense but was excellent when slashing from the wing. He’s a vital piece to this team on both ends of the floor, doing a great job of using his size to impact opposing guards on the defensive end. McCoy is a perfect piece to this Millbrook team due to his two way versatility and high effort level. Expect him to play a huge role and gather attention from scholarship coaches throughout the season.
6’3 2021 Carter Whitt: Leesville Road High School (22 Points, 8 Assists, 1 Turnover)
Carter Whitt showed everyone in attendance last night why he’s ranked at or near the top by absolutely everyone in North Carolina’s 2021 class last night. He did an unbelievable job coordinating with his teammates on overcoming Millbrook’s pressure (for the most part) and showed excellent trust in his teammates while running the team. He has special vision with the ball in his hands to go with the ability to finish at the rim in traffic. He can make shots from the outside off the catch or dribble and has incredible timing on the offensive end in every way. He’s a good athlete and is becoming a better defender in every viewing, doing a great job forcing deflections and turnovers within the zone last night. He was often the guy sent to double Will Felton whenever he touched the ball and did a nice job not letting him get his shot off. He will continue to be recruited at a very high level.
6’4 2020 Deon Daniels: Leesville Road High School (18 Points, 7 Rebounds, 4 3s Made)
Daniels did an excellent job for Leesville last night with his spot up ability and willingness to battle on the defensive end. He found a way to secure some rebounds over some larger guys and came up with some timely jump shots for Leesville to keep them in the game until the very end. He came out on fire in the 1st quarter where he hit three from beyond the arc with the defense honing in on Carter Whitt. He’s a next level prospect that should garner attention from college coaches should take notice of.