Grassroots Glimpse: Team Herro (WI) versus Team Takeover (DC) Scouting Notes

Notes and takeaways on the standouts from the Nike EYBL Indianapolis matchup between Team Herro and Team Takeover

In the opening night of Nike’s EYBL Indianapolis session, Team Herro matched up with Team Takeover in one of the better matchups of the session. With high level prospects on both sides, Team Takeover emerged victorious in a tightly contested game, 63 to 58. Let’s take a look at the scouting notes and top performers.

Jordan Smith Jr. (Team Takeover)

• Missed a couple of dunks, but showed why he’s one of the best athletes in the class. It’s not just his pure athleticism and mature frame, but his ability to functionalize his physical gifts to impact both ends. 
• Two hand, two footed dunk off vertical in traffic. Transition push into rim finish. Drop off dunk finish in transition. On ball block to force turnover. 
• Energy and effort plays leading to production. Multiple efforts on offensive glass into and one finish. Chased down a long offensive rebound then split the pick-and-roll to find Lewis in the strong side corner for a catch-and-shoot three. 
• Shooting and ball skills are the key areas to watch.  
• More playfinisher than play creator at this stage? 

Derek Dixon (Team Takeover) 

• Beautiful display of three level and off ball scoring. 
• 3-point shooting versatility and slashes to rim scores. Leveraging shooting gravity with effective shot fakes to create space and get to the pullup. 
• Tough contested finishes on multiple drives including curling into an off hand layup.
• Showed an understanding of how to navigate screens and get open. A ton of off ball stuff ran for him, especially baseline out of bounds plays. 
• Couple of playmaking glimpses: live dribble off hand to Smith Jr. coming off the flat screen and a transition drop off to a Smith Jr. dunk after going behind the back to beat the defender. 
• How much lead guard can he play at the next level? 

Nyk Lewis (Team Takeover)

• Thrived off the bounce, getting downhill to his midrange spot or getting all the way to the rim
• Soft touch on floater over. Followed up later with a baseline pullup and an euro and one finish
• Catch-and-shoot corner from Smith pick-and-roll split kickout
• Wins with a blend of quickness, handle, craft and touch with strength sprinkled in. Has the frame to continue to add strength and create advantages with it on both sides of the floor 

Austin Williford (Team Takeover) 

• Impacted the game with connective, role player stuff. Saves ball from going out of bounds that leads to points, rebounds in traffic, effective ball pushes and movement. 
• Closeout attack into contact finish at rim. Easy lift off the floor. 
• Hits the biggest shot of the game. Corner catch-and-shoot three with 35 seconds left to extend the lead to 62-58. 

Zack Kinziger (Team Herro)

• Struggled with his shot in the first half, but the misses seemed to still be on target. You could tell he was right there. Mostly missed in and out or short. 
• Shooter’s mentality. Wasn't affected by his misses, stuck with it and went on a second half heater that showcased his pure shooting ability and self creation flashes.
• Movement shooting, catch-and-shoot threes, contested and uncontested threes, a pick-and-roll pullup three, grab-and-go pivot fadeaway, crossover into the off hand euro finish to avoid the helping big (Gurdak). Got so hot that he even banked one in from the wing. 
• Similar to Dixon, Kinziger thrived operating off the ball and leveraging his shooting gravity to attack off the bounce. Team Herro played to his strength, consistently running him around off ball actions and sets for him. 
• Consistent high arc on ball with a quick release and solid base. 

Davion Hannah (Team Herro) 

• Profile and skill set for a 3-and-D Plus wing. Positional size, ball skills, shotmaking and defensive tools.
• Catch-and-shoot wing three alongside intriguing self creation. Highlighted by a face up into between the legs attack and contested scoop finish. Missed an euro finish after a smooth in and out into the spin drive.
• Active defensively with his length and ranginess. On ball block on Lewis and a passing lane steal into a dunk. Pressured the inbounder to force a five second violation with under 20 seconds left. 

Xzavion Mitchell (Team Herro)

• Length and wing size immediately stood out. 
• Leveraged tools to finish plays and be disruptive defensively.
• Help strip in post, on ball deflection and block.
• Hit a catch-and-shoot three, but mechanics need to be smoothed out to buy the shooting long-term. 
• 3-and-D role tools for the collegiate level. 

Myles Herro (Team Herro)

• Didn't have it as a scorer in this one and really didn't look to shoot much. 
• Focus was on facilitating the offense, getting the team in their sets and making plays. for others. Solid overall job running the point.
• Feel and flash as a playmaker.
• Notable playmaking moments: offensive rebound into lookaway assist, live dribble off hand passing, wrap around assist to Mitchell’s dunk and a transition assist after swiping an off ball steal in the passing lane. 

Jalen Wilson (Team Herro)

• Projectable frame with positional size, length and big calves
• Footwork and touch flashes on a roll catch into baseline jump hook. 
• Missed a couple of 3-point attempts, but possesses a fairly smooth stroke with workable mechanics. Shooting foundation is there, but how will he progress? 
• More big than a wing?

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