December hit list: Five players I must see this month
December is always a busy month in the life of a basketball scout. Heavy-hitting events spanning from coast to coast. Moving in and out of airports and living in various hotels is the December life we have signed up for. We are not yet halfway through the month, and the On3 basketball team has spent time at events in North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Arizona, and DC.
Organization is key for such a heavy dose of travel and events, and the busy December is no different. As I go through my schedule for the next two weeks, I am taking a look at players I need to put eyes on. In the scouting industry, information is king, and you cannot beat a live viewing of a player. We update a class ranking on the first Monday of each month, so the information is very fluid, trying to get eyes on players as much as possible.
There are always players who you need to get updated looks at. For whatever reason, maybe they’re late bloomers or were having a bad day the last time you saw them, but there are always guys you simply need to keep seeing.
I will be in Las Vegas later this week at the Tarkanian Classic. Among the hundreds of teams that will be in attendance are the NBA Academy teams, NBA Africa, NBA Global, and NBA Latin America. These are always great experiences because it is one of the handful of times these players will play in the U.S. I am not including these players in this writing as they are an experience of their own.
However, he is my December hitlist, players I am planning my schedules around to get eyes on.
Four-star PF Jarin Stevenson
Height/Weight: 6-9/210
Class: 2024
High school: Pittsboro (NC) Seaforth High
On3 150/On3 Consensus: No. 34/No. 19
Event: One-off high school game
Jarin Stevenson was one of the most efficient players on Nike’s EYBL 16u Circuit this Summer. He has also started his high school season on a tear, averaging 23.0 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks. I need to sit front and center to see where his frame and athleticism are currently at.
Four-star C Dennis Evans (Minnesota)
Height/Weight: 7-1/210
Class: 2023
High school: Riverside (CA) Hillcrest
On3 150/On3 Consensus: No. 89/No. 43
Event: Tarkanian Classic
There might not be a prospect with a more wide-ranging scale of thoughts within the industry than Dennis Evans. He is one you simply cannot get enough viewings of. My last look came at the USA Basketball minicamp in October.
NR SF Tyran Stokes
Height/Weight: 6-7/215
Class: 2026
High school: Napa (CA) Prolific Prep
On3 150/On3 Consensus: NR
Event: Tarkanian Classic
This will be my first live viewing of Tyran Stokes. He is only a freshman, so we will not rank him for a few months, but he is a player who instantly pops on film. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, there is already top-prospect talk brewing.
NR SG Dontae Russo-Nance
Height/Weight: 6-3/195
Class: 2024
High school: Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy
On3 150/On3 Consensus: No. 25/NR
Event: The Bash
Dontae Russo-Nance played in the New Zealand NBL last season, averaging 15.4 points and 4.4 assists. He arrived in the U.S. in October and was almost immediately injured. Russo-Nance has been playing for two weeks, and those performances have been up and down.
Five-star SG Karter Knox
Height/Weight: 6-5/185
Class: 2024
High school: Tampa (FL) Catholic
On3 150/On3 Consensus: No. 9/No. 7
Event: Beach Ball Classic
Karter Knox, the younger brother of Kevin Knox, was lights out this summer. First with the gold-medal winning USA Basketball u17 team, then playing up on the Nike EYBL 17u Circuit. The industry was pretty divided on him coming into the summer. It is always best to get multiple viewings of players in multiple settings. Eager to get a look at the high school version of Knox.