RecruitLook Hoops Omaha Showcase - Top 20 17U Games to watch

RecruitLook Hoops is hosting their Omaha showcase this weekend in Elkhorn. Here’s a look at some of the top games of the weekend.

Friday 5:50 PM UBTSC Court 6: Team Factory 17U Gold vs OSA Crusaders National 17U Porter

These 2 teams were 3rd and 4th place in River Cities last week, and only by slim margins. OSA National 17U Porter gave OSA 17U Adidas, widely considered the top AAU team in the state of Nebraska, all they could handle, losing 61-56. And Team Factory Gold 17U was no different. They faced off against Factory’s top 17U squad, Team Factory 17U UA Rise, and also gave them everything they could handle. Factory Gold jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, and after falling down 68-52 with under 6 minutes to go, they battled back to make it a 1 possession game in the final minute. They would end up losing 77-72, but both programs' 2nd teams are very good teams. OSA Porter currently has 5 guys with scholarship offers for basketball and 1 with offers for football. Factory Gold has 1 player with a basketball scholarship offer, but they have some very underrated talent on their team.

Friday 5:50 PM UBTSC Court 1: Team Factory 17U UA Rise vs Jimmer Elite 17U

Team Factory 17U UA Rise is well known for being one of the elite teams in Nebraska the past couple summers. Led by Wisconsin commit Chucky Hepburn, Factory has height, skill, and coaching to win a ton of games (which they’ve done). 6 Players on their team hold college scholarship offers for basketball, including 2 players with Division 1 offers (Hepburn and Frankie Fidler). Jimmer Elite 17U, formerly the Utah Mountain Stars, hold a pretty good prospect of their own. Fousseyni Traore is a 6’7, 235 lbs forward who attends one of the best high schools for basketball in the nation (Wasatch Academy). He currently holds offers from BYU and Seton Hall. He was a member of the Mali National basketball team. He should be a key player to watch for this game.

Friday 8:00 PM UBTSC Court 1: Jimmer Elite 17U vs Team Young & Reckless 17U

Team Young & Reckless is coming off a strong showing at the Prep Hoops Rumble Up North, where they lost in the championship to a really really good Team Buddy Buckets 17U (OK) who I’ve covered before. Julius Rollins holds multiple LM D1 offers, but I have a feeling more coaches will be contacting him shortly. Darrell Reed holds an offer from Alabama State. Jakobi Heady holds an offer from Chicago State. John Poulakidas has 16 D1 offers, including TCU, Minnesota, and Butler just to name a few. I watched Kimahri Wilson at the Prep Hoops HardworkSzn Classic a few weeks ago, and he is smooth with the ball and a highlight reel player.

Saturday 10:40 AM UBTSC Court 2: Iowa Barnstormers 17U Gold vs Young & Reckless

We’ve already mentioned the talent level that Young and Reckless has, and the Iowa Barnstormers have quite a bit of talent too. Emarion Ellis is a Texas basketball commit that has great athleticism and skill. Jaren Marshall landed his 1st D1 offer Wednesday night and has a high basketball IQ with an efficient 3 point shot and quick handles. Landon Wolf is an elite shooter with good size (6’5 with a 6’8 wingspan) who holds 3 LM D1 offers. Landon Eiland landed his 1st offer from Truman State (D2) about a month ago. He has a high IQ and a pretty looking shot that goes down more often than not. John Miller is one of the best defenders I’ve seen play this summer. He makes a lot of little things happen that go a long way for the Barnstormers.

Saturday 10:40 AM UBTSC Court 3: Team Factory 17U UA Rise vs Marcus Denmon Elite 17U UA Rise

This is a rematch of the 2019 Under Armour Rise 16U Championship that saw Marcus Denmon winning 78-62. Factory’s talent has already been spoken of. Brennan Watkins is one of the best shooters in Missouri. He has D1 interest. Liam Weaver is quite the package. Speed, explosiveness, scoring ability, leadership, and defense. This rematch should be a very good one.

Saturday 11:45 AM UBTSC Court 1: Team YOBO 17U vs OSA Crusaders 17U Adidas

Omar Stanley holds 2 LM D1 offers as well as an Ole Miss offer for Team YOBO 17U. Team YOBO is solid all around and will surprise some people. For OSA 17U Adidas, they have a ton of star power. Hunter Sallis is a top-10 player in the nation who holds 30 D1 offers. Tucker DeVries is an elite shooter but is not a one trick pony. He can score at will whether it’s a post up, a catch and shoot, or a drive and layup/dunk. Jadin Johnson is a strong point guard who just recently committed to Old Dominion. Saint Thomas is a good finisher around the rim, efficient with the ball, and tough in transition. He holds 10 D1 offers including, TCU, Virginia Tech, and Mississippi State. Lucas Vogt is an extremely smart floor general who knows what it takes to win games.

Saturday 12:50 PM UBTSC Court 2: Pure Prep 17U vs Out Train The Game 17U

The key matchup for this game will be Pure Prep’s Trey Lewis vs OTTG’s Damion Byrd. Trey Lewis, playing up a grade, stands at 5’9 but possesses a ton of skill. Shooting ability is very good, and his speed with/without the ball is phenomenal. Byrd, also playing up a grade, has good drive and kick abilities with high level decision making. He’s a reliable shooter as well.

Saturday 1:55 PM UBTSC Court 1: Lincoln Supreme National 16U vs Jimmer Elite 17U

Lincoln Supreme National 16U will be playing up with the 17U teams for the 2nd weekend in a row. Last weekend they played in the Prep Hoops Rumble Up North against some elite competition such as D1 Minnesota Adidas, Alabama Celtics, Wisconsin Crusaders, and Team Young and Reckless (The same team that is mentioned throughout the article). They are led by Top-100 prospect Isaac Traudt. He holds 17 D1 offers including Stanford, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame just to name a few. Cale Jacobsen is a strong player who somehow only holds 1 college offer (Nebraska-Kearney) but has a couple D1 schools interested.

Saturday 3:00 PM UBTSC Court 1: Team Young and Reckless vs OSA Crusaders 17U Adidas

If both teams in the matchup have been covered earlier in the article, I wasn’t planning on saying anything else about the matchup. But this one is different. This is the game I have circled on my schedule as the potential game of the weekend. This is the one that I am most excited to see, and I think this will be one of the most attended games of the tournament.

Saturday 6:15 PM UBTSC Court 1: OSA Crusaders 17U Adidas vs Jimmer Elite 17U

Saturday 6:15 PM UBTSC Court 3: Pure Prep vs OSA Crusaders National 17U Porter

Saturday 7:20 PM UBTSC Court 5: Team YOBO 17U vs Team Young and Reckless 17U

Sunday 8:30 AM UBTSC Court 1: Powerhouse Hoops 17U Skierka vs OSA Crusaders 17U National Porter

Powerhouse Hoops 17U Skierka has a few notable prospects. Faisaun Germany is a stat-sheet-stuffer. I’ve gotten to see this Powerhouse team play 3 times, and in those games Germany has averaged 23.0 points, 13 rebounds, and 8.7 assists. This includes a 27-point, 22-rebound, 12-assist performance, as well as a 13 point, 7 rebound, 7 assist, 7 steal game. Lukas Kocher averaged about 16 points a game when I watched him and was an efficient shooter. Dominic Humm has one of the nicest looking forms in the state, and his shot goes in a lot. He has quick handles and it is clear that he loves the game of basketball.

Sunday 8:30 AM UBTSC Court 3: Hoffman Hoops Academy 17U Brian vs OSA Crusaders 17U National Roubicek

Both of these teams made it to the Platinum Bracket of River Cities last week, with Hoffman Hoops Brian losing to OSA 17U Adidas and OSA Roubicek losing to eventual runner-up Team Factory 17U UA Rise. Derrick Merwick and Luke Skar are a really good 1-2 punch for Hoffman Hoops. Merwick has a little bit of everything you’d want in a point guard. His fundamentals are very sound and he plays confidently with the ball. Skar is an efficient big with great interior moves that allow him to get easy layups. I haven’t gotten the chance to see OSA Roubicek this summer, but I know the Aidan Graham is a quick point guard who will outwork everyone else on the court.

Sunday 9:35 AM UBTSC Court 2: Team YOBO 17U vs Lincoln Supreme National 16U

Sunday 9:35 AM UBTSC Court 4: Pure Prep vs Lincoln Supreme National 17U 1

Lincoln Supreme National 17U 1 has a couple talented pieces on their roster. Pierce Bazil is really talented on the offensive end. He holds a D2 offer from Wayne State. Kwat Abdelkarim is a good shooter with quick moves. Carter Glenn is a great all-around point guard who really needs to be getting more college coaches attention. He isn’t flashy or eye-popping, but he really gets the job done.

Sunday 11:45 AM UBTSC Court 1: Marcus Denmon Elite 17U UA Rise vs Team Young and Reckless

Sunday 12:50 AM UBTSC Court 2: Team Factory 17U UA Rise vs Team YOBO 17U

Sunday 12:50 AM UBTSC Court 3: Powerhouse Hoops 17U Skierka vs Team Factory 17U Gold

Sunday 12:50 AM UBTSC Court 6: Team RWA 17U vs Lincoln Supreme National 16U

I watched Team RWA 17U at a Prep Hoops event a couple weeks ago and really liked what I saw. Everyone on their team can play well, but the standout to me was 2023 PG Jeremy Fears Jr. He normally runs with Bradley Beal Elite of the EYBL, but has played a few tournaments with RWA this summer. His Twitter name says “The Floor General” and he isn’t lying. He is one of the best pure point guards in the nation in his class, and he holds offers from Missouri, Iowa State, and Illinois among others. He runs RWA’s offense really well, and was a big reason why they were so successful when I saw them play earlier this summer.