Who are the top Canadian high school basketball players?

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:04] Speaker B: Basketball show your go to spot for the latest news, stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host Lee Ban Osmond. On today's episode, I'll be previewing and analyzing some of the top K high school basketball players. Right now I have Wes Brown of the Monday Morning Scouting Report, our current guest joining me as we go through some of the top names but programs and what we can expect from this high school season. After Wes, I'm joined by a rising prospect in the class of 2026. His name is Yousef Ahmed of King Heights Academy, nickname Wemby. You'll get to learn a little bit about his story growing up in Moss park, traveling over an hour and a half just to chase his basketball dreams. If you've listened to this podcast before, you know I've talked a lot about him. He's a player. I expect to have his recruitment pick up. This episode, though, is honestly for the high school basketball nerds like myself that enjoy following and tracking the next generation of players coming up. When I started this podcast, I said I wanted to cover the talent coming up and I think this episode honestly does a really good job in just covering names you should know in depth. And honestly, I think it does a better job than anything I've ever listened to or read. Not just to pat myself on the back, but I think we do a good job just giving you names that you should know coming up. If you're not familiar with a lot of the young players coming up, we're going to be name dropping a lot of guys. So just wait. This also thinks a good opportunity for for those that don't know to learn about these players that you're probably going to be hearing a lot about in the next few years in college and potentially in the NBA. We'll go through names in the high school class of 2026, 2027 and 2028 names that I like and I've heard a lot about from coaches scouts. But I want to keep this in mind while we're going through all this kind of stuff. This is not a definitive list. I'm not a scout. I don't claim to be, but I do follow and track a lot of a lot of the players coming up, mostly for my personal work. And I think as a member of the media, it's better to get to know these players and their stories before they end up as potential top draft picks. That's a lot of stories that I do covering high school, college and the draft. But like I said, if you're A player listening to this podcast and wondering where your name's at. This means absolutely nothing, I promise you. Me and Wes probably could have gone for like two hours naming players and and there are some guys I honestly wish I mentioned but didn't get the chance to do so. But this is not the only podcast we'll be doing covering Canadian talent, so stay tuned for that. I also feel like I haven't talked to y' all in a while. Just about where the podcast is heading, plans that we have going forward. I've been scheduling a lot of good guests. Don't want to tease too much, but we'll have some Canadian NCAA coaches on the podcast, college players in the next month or so potentially too as the seasons get started in November. So stay tuned for all of that and follow us on IG@ the Canadian Basketball Show X at the CBS Pod TikTok, the Canadian Basketball Show. We post a lot of great clips on ig, so that's where we're mainly at. But also send us an email atthecanadian basketballshowmail.com if you love the show, want to get involved in some way or have ideas, thoughts, just hit us up. Everything is down in the description below. Give us a rating too. A like five star rating. That helps a lot with the podcast. And enjoy this episode analyzing some of the top Canadian high school players in Canada. Welcome back to the Canadian Basketball Show. I got my guy, Wes Brown, third time guest. [00:03:36] Speaker C: Yes sir. [00:03:37] Speaker B: No one's ever come on his podcast. [00:03:39] Speaker C: I think I was the first, second and the first, first, third. [00:03:41] Speaker B: I think you might be the most recurring guest I will have on, especially with your insight. But obviously I want to bring you back in to preview and analyze the upcoming high school season. I'm excited, man. I was just at the Blue Arrow, Jamal Murray's classic thing. I know you're calling games there, but how you been? I know you've been. I've been watching your ig. You've been in, I feel like every gym. [00:04:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:03] Speaker B: Going from prep school to prep school, checking out the talent. What's that been like? Keeping busy? [00:04:09] Speaker C: Yeah, it's been good. It's always fun. As the new season starts, you hear hype, you hear about a player moving, but until you see them there, you don't really know who's where. So it's good for, for me, the fun in all of it is always like finding that hidden gem and you know, seeing who stands out. And you know, you see a guy kind of stand out under the radar a few times in a row and you know, you have a pretty good idea that they're good. So going to try to find those guys, so. So I love it. Yeah, I'm. I'm excited for another season and ready to get back after it. [00:04:39] Speaker B: Yeah, you're obviously calling games at that, that Jamal Murray event. Yeah. What was that like and who impressed you? [00:04:44] Speaker C: It was good. I mean, luckily I had Drew Banks beside me, like he was carrying the action and I was just, you know, kind of giving some basketball insight. But it was good. Yeah. Obviously a lot of talent, some good prep schools from here and then all those Bella Vista guys who are really good. There were tons of guys that caught my eye. I mean, Code Academy had a few bigs that were really impressive. Obviously Bella Vista has some huge names like Miles Sadler, Apollo Ceri lyrics, Robinson, who I love. Von Carvala, who I think they recruited last year, who was awesome. So there was a lot of pretty high end talent. And then Marcus Spears, who's the number one prospect in 27 in America. He's pretty impressive and he's still not a polished product, so he's got really high upside. [00:05:30] Speaker B: Yeah, it was cool seeing Jermaine o' Neal coaching that. [00:05:32] Speaker C: He's the real deal, man. He can really coach. Like sometimes there's, you know, guys, former players that you think, you know, maybe they're just kind of using their name almost. His guys are incredibly accountable on both ends. They really defend, they play smart on offense. Any guy that you get from that program, you know they're going to be ready to play and win. So that was really impressive. [00:05:51] Speaker B: You mentioned Miles. I feel like any podcast that we start talking about high school players coming up, I feel like he has to be near the start when we talk about guys. For sure, he might be, I think the best prospect out of Canada going in will likely be a McDonald's All American, likely make it to the Hoop Summit this year. What are you expecting from Miles Saller this year in his high school this senior year? [00:06:11] Speaker C: I mean, I, I think it's more of the same, to be honest. Like Miles has been so polished these last few years. He was, I think like the top scorer on UIBL when he was 15 or so, you know, and even though he was always undersized, he, he could get by anyone at will. So I expect him to have a great year. Like you said, I expect him to be one of the best players. And North America, he was awesome the other day when I saw him. He just knows how, what to do, how to continue to put pressure on the rim. He's fearless. He can create for himself, he can create for others. He creates easy baskets for his teammates and everything can run through him. So it's hard to find point guards like that and especially at his size. But he, he, he's an amazing talent. I mean, you know, he's an NBA talent. You know, the only thing you can imagine stopping him would be the size. [00:07:00] Speaker B: I was going to ask you, obviously watch guys like Ryan nem hard Andrew Nemhard of the world. Like, where does he compare to those guys? Because he has a different style of play. I feel like he does. But how would you compare him to those like true point guards? [00:07:11] Speaker C: Yeah, Ryan would be an interesting comp as another guy who you know is quote unquote undersized. I mean, he's maybe 6ft different kind of player. Miles is more score. I think both of them really were downhill guys that would create. I think Ryan is more of a pass first guy. And what ended up getting him to the NBA, I think was his ball screen decision making. And he's more of a reader. And Miles is more just aggressive, I think. And Ryan was that and has adapted it. So I think that's a great comparison, to be honest. I think just naturally Ryan is more of a playmaker and Miles is more of a scorer, but I think they have maybe similar paths. And that's the part about Miles that's so interesting to me. Like he can do it all. How is he going to adapt? What is he going to be asked to do in college to end up making it? And we saw what Ryan had to do. And Ryan, I think was more of a scorer before and then, you know, adapted to being more of a passer or not more of a scorer, but just more of an attacker. And now he's, you know, his reads are elite. And so what's Miles going to be required to do? But nobody has been able to stop him yet. So it's, you know, is anybody going to stop him in college? It's, it's so interesting. And that's part of what's hard, like from doing, you know, my job. Some of the hard parts is figuring out how those guys are going to project, Especially when size is an issue or, you know, if it was athleticism or one like, whatever it is, how is it going to translate? [00:08:47] Speaker B: Yeah, I asked Miles, how tall are you now? Like, have you grown? And you know, he was kind of making it. He's like, with shoes, I might be six one, you know, six foot, you Know whatever they want to say. But I asked him just about his recruitment. Where's that at right now? He told me. Went on a visit recently to Tennessee. Told me that was great. Was there for about two days. And funny things too is Tennessee was in the building for the final game of the Blue Arrow Classic. One of the coaches was sitting there. So they're hard. They're recruiting him hard. So they're in the building. He told me he's going to be visiting Oklahoma on October 15th to the 17th. UCLA is also in the works. He has like 20 plus offers. [00:09:21] Speaker C: Like he go to UCSB too, I think. [00:09:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:09:24] Speaker B: So West Virginia also, you know, Yusuf Ali, he's hard on him. I think when you, whenever you chat with Yusuf, he tells you, tells you that that's his favorite point guard, you. [00:09:32] Speaker C: Know, if he's better than him. Yeah, I wouldn't usually say. [00:09:35] Speaker B: Yeah, so, yeah, he's. I think he's hoping to make a decision maybe like around January, February, like it might, he might be waiting it out just to see how things go, but he has his pick of the litter. And like I said, we're gonna watch him probably at Hoop Summit. I think the team that he's on, he could potentially lead to like a Chipotle Nationals, like in that tournament. Be. Be in the mix for that. [00:09:53] Speaker C: Really good. [00:09:54] Speaker B: I think he got stronger too. I don't know. I've just saw him. I feel like in the past few months, like he's gone about a bit stronger and yeah, I'm excited just to see the progression and then the next step in, in college. But what school would you pick? [00:10:09] Speaker C: It's hard to say. And it's hard to know what the real background information, like what the information is. You know, they're pitching him directly. They're not publicizing. Right. It's up to him. I think opportunity should be number one. And sometimes that means bringing in not necessarily a lower level school, but somewhere that's not, you know, one of those, those top schools. I mean, Tennessee, you have to make sure that you're the man. Right. If you're not, you're probably coming off the bench. If what he wants most is the opportunity to play and play through mistakes and get some freedom, then maybe you got to find somewhere else. But Tennessee has also had a great history of success with smaller guards. Yeah, they just had Zakai Ziegler. Yeah, they've had other guys, you know, so. And they've had great point guards and guys that have gone drafted in the first round. So it's it's hard to say and I think he'll be fine again. He's just such a good talent that we'll see. [00:11:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:09] Speaker B: Paul Surui, number one prospect out of can 2027 class. I believe ESPN has Mike third. What's your impressions of him and where he's at with his? Mind you, he's also coming off a, I think shoulder last few months been dealing with that and he told me, I asked him like how's that been dealing with that? He told me he wasn't fully healed until like early September. But what are your impressions? [00:11:30] Speaker C: Watching him this past week, really talented has all the upside in the world. I think he's still relatively early in his development. I think he shows flashes of being able to do a lot of things. I think he's one elite skill is rim protection. When I saw them in eybl, I think it was Memphis. He had a game where he just, he just, you know, he's everywhere. I mean he's a man child. He's 6, 9 with 6 10. Whatever he is, you know, strong shoulders, perfect build, long arms. Like he's got all the physical tools and athletic. So it's just about polishing his offensive game. And again to some degree when he goes to college, what are they going to allow him to do and what are they going to turn him into and can he be elite at that one skill? You know, like he's, he's probably not big enough for a five. May maybe, you know, in the NBA. [00:12:20] Speaker B: He told me he's like six, ten and a half, still growing. [00:12:23] Speaker C: Okay, so like that's, that would be fine. But is he a 4? Is he a 5? You know, if he's asked to be a 4, okay, become an elite, you know, stretch shooter, corner shooter. If he's a five, become an elite rebounder and elite rim protector. And that's all, you know, you need to do to, to make it to that level with his body. So it's just about polishing his offensive game. But he can do a bit of everything. You see flashes of a jumper, a three, a post move, whatever. [00:12:49] Speaker B: So even the passing I feel like has gotten better. Like it's very underrated. I was kind of shocked watching it this weekend. I'm like, wow, he can make some passes. But like you said, one of the most talked about prospects. I asked him like, how many offers do you have now he's told me 35 plus. Now Kansas is offered, Houston has offered, Arkansas and Duke are now talking to him. So I feel like, that's a long process that eventually might lead to an offer. Yeah, I mentioned also Syracuse, Virginia, Oregon, like, he's going to have the pick, whatever he wants, this program that he wants to go to, as long as it's the right fit. And, and, but yeah, NBA. I feel like that's when people ask me who's potentially the next NBA guy in the next few years out of high school, I often refer to him and yeah. What are your thoughts on that? [00:13:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, he should make it again. It's about figuring out what he is and seeing how quickly he'll adapt to college. But yeah, I mean, he looks like a lottery pick physically. So it's just about just developing offensively and, you know, his motor being there all the time and figuring it out. But, but yes. [00:13:59] Speaker B: Yeah, we talked about Miles, we talked about Paul. I want to ask you, just ESPN obviously puts out the rankings. There's only two Canadians that are ranked on ESPN's top 100 in the class of 2026. Miles Salah, like we mentioned Aziz Elijah 1, the son of Hakeem Elijahan, which is a crazy story. If you guys are trying to wonder, are wondering, like, what's the relation to that, go read my story in Toronto Star, quick little plug about the relation between that. But Aziz is from Toronto. He was born here. Do you feel like there should be more? [00:14:29] Speaker C: Yes, I, I, I think to some degree you have to be playing in America to be included. I think that's what's been the general. I'm not sure if that's, you know, a black and white rule, but that, that has been what it has. But, you know, and I remember, like, when Leonard was coming up, eventually, I think he cracked it. [00:14:50] Speaker A: He did. [00:14:50] Speaker C: But there's, there's not enough eyes and respect on the Canadian scene and all of that, you know, and I don't even think we get considered at the same time. The rankings don't mean anything. You know what you're doing? [00:15:06] Speaker B: I was going to ask you that. What's your opinion on rankings? Like, do you not subscribe to that especially? I've seen some rankings in Canada come out, that kind of stuff. And I personally, like, people ask me, like, who do you, I'm like, I, I don't see, I hate putting pressure on kids. You know, it's like, this is what the rankings are, this. And then also, like, most kids sometimes are not there and they feel defeated, you know, but what are you, what are your thoughts? Because you're in the scout business and I'm guessing you have your own, but I've never seen you like kind of release it in a way too. Tell me about that. [00:15:32] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, first things first. Like, I think it's good to. It's good to have ranking. [00:15:38] Speaker A: Sure. [00:15:39] Speaker C: You need it. I mean my, my whole database, my job is having rankings of every player every year. At the same time, if a team needs a shooting guard and my number one guy is a center and my number two guy is a shooting guard, it doesn't matter. They're going to go for the shooting guard even though they're not the number one ranked guy. So that's where you know, it doesn't really mean that much. But also there is so much politics and other things involved with espn with any of it that I've seen guys that I love that are highly underrated that might have made it or whatever. I mean again, she's. Leonard is an easy example. Like I knew he was better than a lot of these guys in the top 20 or whatever it is. But you have to wait till the hype builds. Like there's a certain level of hype and, and noise and offers and things like that that have to go with a lot of it. But if you're asking like me if I pay attention to any of it, like zero, like means nothing, absolutely nothing to me. Any of it. You have to kind of trust your eye and know what you're doing. And like from my perspective, I have my own rankings and nobody else's opinion is going to change what I think. And see if you go do the work you're entitled to whatever you want to think. [00:16:54] Speaker B: I love that. I might have to sneak a peek afterwards after this podcast is done. Check it out. We mentioned Aziz Elijah one, he just committed to Stanford. What's your impressions of him? Because obviously he was a kind of an unknown talent. [00:17:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:06] Speaker B: A few years back and just popped out of the scene. Played feeble United with Canada basketball. I think think shot the ball really, really well. I watched him at uibl. I don't know if you also got a chance to see him. What do you impress from. [00:17:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:17] Speaker B: Times you saw him play? [00:17:18] Speaker C: Yeah, I've actually seen a Z's a good amount over the last like year at MBPA 100. I think he was there at EYBL all over. Obviously watch those Canada games. I saw him at their practices a. [00:17:30] Speaker A: Little. [00:17:33] Speaker C: Looks like, you know, high upside 3 and D guy. Obviously I think it was just that first game he had a bad game and, and shot poorly for Canada and I think shot pretty well the rest of the way. In my other experiences live, I thought he was again, a really good three and D guy. Doesn't try to do too much with the ball, can, you know, attack and transition. But really good spot up shooter, big, strong body, switchable defender. I think things are going to, if he's, you know, going to be an NBA player, a few things are going to have to go right. I don't think he's like the greatest offensive talent, but I think he knows who he is. He doesn't need the ball. He's happy to space the floor. He's aggressive, you know, within the offense. He can get to his spots a little and make jumpers. So he's a good shooter. And it's just going to be about his role and situation and how he develops offensively. I think if he develops a little more game than just being, you know, a spot up kind of guy or a transition guy. But I think he's a winner. I think he's a good player. I think he's a winner and we'll see how much more they can kind of squeeze out of him. [00:18:37] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:38] Speaker B: Going to IMG Academy this year. I know you usually go out to Hoop Hall Classic. You'll be there this year. I might have to tag along with you. Go check it out. The schedule's free. Yeah, but as he's a name, I think a lot of people are eager to watch just to see his development to younger brother too. That's gonna likely play for Phoebe U18. So a name to watch also. [00:18:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:18:58] Speaker B: Um, who, who do you feel like is the most underrated Canadian player maybe in high school basketball right now that you, they, you're like, why isn't this guy getting buzz? Or you've watched him play and you're like, this guy's underrated. [00:19:08] Speaker C: Well, I think like the name I always have, like my guys, like that's my guy. I'm pushing him behind the scenes or whatever. The guy I would have said I, I've done that recently is Malachi Richmond. Like a six three or so point guard. Yeah, in Calgary, but he's from Vancouver. His dad's actually American, so he's a dual citizen. He's a guy that to me has all the tools to be special. He was the guy that I was really pushing behind the scenes that I thought was an awesome talent going under the radar and I know what from dealing with the American teams for this long, I know what they want. They want a guard with swag with the it factor. They want a vachon olette. That's what they all want. So you have a guy here that's got some of that but also some like natural feel, some cerebral, like playmaking off the balance with both hands. You know, he can find guys he can create for himself. He's got the body, the size, the athleticism. So I think he was a little, you know, not as efficient maybe as he could have been for Genesis on Eycl and maybe that deterred some people. But I sent guys their way and a lot of guys seem to like him and ended up committing to Eastern Washington recently. And everybody think. Seems to think that's a steal. So I'm really excited, like Edge is going to be a top team, I think. And I'm excited to see. I mean we'll get to see him at Battle in the Ford in two weeks or next weekend. How polished he looks, how he does leading a top team and how they look as a team because they could beat anyone, I think. [00:20:41] Speaker B: Yeah, big matchup against Royal Crown, right? [00:20:43] Speaker C: Friday or Saturday night? [00:20:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I think Friday night I'll probably go out for. For a weekend game. Check it out. Battle on the four. We'll talk about that in a bit too. Yeah, but you mentioned Edge talked about Royal Crown. What high school programs would you say we should watch out for? Like the top programs? [00:20:59] Speaker C: I mean, the same old. You would think right now Royal Crown and for Erie are as usual, near the top of it. Royal Crown's done a good job. They brought in Jacob McGregor. They got Kamani Walters, you know, at the point. They have a great backcourt. They brought in Max kx, so they've retooled nicely. Fort Erie brings back a lot of the same guys. Dang and Gore. Now a top prospect in Canada. Maybe the top guy in Canada. [00:21:29] Speaker B: What are you saying? [00:21:31] Speaker C: Really good. [00:21:32] Speaker B: What's his jump too? Because like I feel like he had a really good. I feel like summer with Alberta. No lead into a gold medal at the summer games, I believe. So tell me just about him. What's the. What's the word on Dang Nigor? [00:21:47] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean I think he's developed offensively. Long athlete with a motor, just looks the part on both ends. Not, you know, a natural kind of three level scorer, but a guy that's putting it together. Really good defender, can just, you know, block shots and be everywhere. Like a. A 6, 7 dynamic high motor athlete like that that can make an open shot get downhill. They're just hard to find, you know, any. I was Just talking about him with a coach and he reminds me of like an omax prosper in that he can be a 3 and D and then do a little more and he's probably got a little more offensive tools that he can unlock. But yeah, just a unique kind of size athlete motor, all that stuff putting together with development and as he continues to develop, you know the. There's NBA upside there for sure. [00:22:39] Speaker B: He talks a lot of trash too, which I love. Like, you know, like he'll hit a basket, start clapping in your face. I remember like him talking a lot of trash to AJ Dabanza and like that you could just in fort you beat them in Toronto twice. They beat him twice even in grind session too. And I think he was probably a huge part of that. So for sure. Dang. A name to watch. Let me go through names that I like. [00:22:58] Speaker C: Okay. [00:22:58] Speaker B: And get your thoughts and prefaces for people listening. I'm not a scout. I'm not in the gym analyzing these guys 247 I get. So that's all right. I know some stuff but like I watch these guys probably laid it down in the process and I'll watch some clips, I'll watch some games and I usually obviously do stories when guys are in college, that kind of stuff. [00:23:19] Speaker C: So. [00:23:20] Speaker B: But let me give you some names that I like. Nice. Bakari. Hopefully I'm pronouncing that right. [00:23:26] Speaker C: Nice. [00:23:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:23:26] Speaker B: Nicey. I think, I think he looked amazing at the Blue Arrow Classic this past weekend. Reup went his recruitment I believe and I think I watched him first time at the EYBL this past summer and I think he was one of the most efficient like shooters I believe. What are your thoughts on him? Because I think he exploded for 44 points in one game and there was one moment in the game I watched on Sunday where he dunked it, but it looked like he floated in the air. What are your thoughts on Nice. [00:23:56] Speaker C: Nice. He's a really interesting guy. He in grade 8 or 9 had sides 17ft so everybody started to recruit him heavily and he was a really hot name in the scene. He never grew oddly but he still developed athletically and everything. So. Yeah, exactly like you said. Honestly 65 plus. His athleticism and his shooting are unique. You know, he's an excellent shooter, a smart shooter, efficient like you said. And when he gets downhill, he's efficient as well and really a dynamic athlete that can play above the rim. So his scoring tools are really, really good. Maybe he still has a growth spurt in him. So he's a really interesting prospect. I think he fits. It's. It's rare, I would say, to find a shooting guard like that that has the scoring and the dynamic athleticism off the bounce. That's not like a tough shot creator in their bag, all that kind of stuff. So he actually like officially can fit in an offense at whatever level because he can fit athletically and he can shoot the ball. So he's a really intriguing guy. You know, it's hard not to like his talent level. And we'll see. I mean, he's. He's in a good place. We'll see how he does. [00:25:10] Speaker B: Yeah. Going to be playing grind session with Bellavista's team. The way he shot the ball too. Quick release and like, he doesn't need the ball like you just talked about. Like, he can. He's playing off the ball. Another name I'm going to mention too, but off, off, off those guys at Bella Vista and like, he doesn't need the ball. Just attacks, close out and like, that's kind of what you need in the league. You know, guys that can just fill a role and, and do that kind of stu. The extra, the bag work, that kind of stuff gets added later on, you know, development. [00:25:35] Speaker C: And for me, like, I, I love guys with high floors. Like, if I'm betting on you, I need to know that at least this is what you can give me, you know, in an offense where the ball's not in your hands. And so for a guy like him, that's. That's perfect, right? I know he can space the floor. I know he's athletic enough to guard and get downhill off a closeout or whatever. And that's all you need to be able to do. [00:25:57] Speaker B: Yeah. Keeping things on the class of 2026, Jordan Charles, I feel like he was probably one of the most underrated guys in the last year or so. [00:26:04] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:26:05] Speaker B: Had a real impressive summer with Canada Basketball, FIBA U19. I feel like, shocked a lot of people. And then his offers are starting to pick up now. What's impressing the Jordan Charles and yeah, he's also on that Bella Visa team playing grand session. [00:26:16] Speaker C: I love Jordan. Always love Jordan. I mean, his Alpha, you can't teach his. His mentality and his production. He always produces. Always, always, always. And I mean, even the game that I went to on Saturday, that I called on Saturday, I don't think he shot the ball particularly well, which is maybe the first time I've ever seen him not shoot it that well. But he won player of the game. Why? Because he Created opportunities for his team and he got in the lanes and I mean he showed he has great kind of feel for jumping the lane and you know, creating easy baskets for himself, especially if his shot's not falling. And he's just a winner, man. He's, he's a producer. No matter what team or what situation you put him in, you saw he was fearless against America. He's going to make stuff happen, he's going to create for himself and others and he's, he's, he's a winner. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:07] Speaker B: What do you think the hesitation? Is it the size? Because he's like, oh, that's the biggest thing. [00:27:11] Speaker C: As a great example. I mean look, and his, his recruitment picked up a lot and he's going to be totally fine. But a team I was talking to last week was just mentioning like, yeah, just his, his body like scares them and. Okay, I get it. Like teach their own. If your coach wants guys with ready bodies for day one, especially defensively, like, okay, there's nothing you can say, but he's a, he's a great talent. [00:27:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Rakim Green, another name that I kind of like to. Not your ordinary like point guard, more of like a mid range, like assassin. I would describe it. What are your thoughts on what? [00:27:42] Speaker C: Great three level scorer, great shot maker. He's a, I think they've tried to probably make him a two, make him a one, but he's really a two. Great shooter, great floor spacer. That can also, you know, get in his bag like you said. I mean the only thing limiting his upside is just his size and like athleticism. He's, he's a good athlete, but he's not a freak. And he's, you know, only 62, 63, whatever he is. So he's a little undersized for what you want, but he, he's an efficient shooter and he's a great shooter and every time I go see him, he makes shots and the way he's able to counter defenders and get to spots, stuff like that. He's awesome. So we'll see kind of where he goes to and you know, the opportunity gets in situation. But he's got a rare bag of shoot, of shooting shot making that you just don't find. [00:28:31] Speaker B: Last guy I'm going to mention to you from the class of 2026, Eli Jolin, committed to Santa Clara and playing for Fort Erie. What are your thoughts on him? Because I've watched him and he's kind of looks like this off ball guy that can shoot the ball. But tell Me. What have you noticed from him? [00:28:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, part of the. All the scouting is you have to see guys in different settings, like Eli sometimes came off the bench, I think, or a lot of the time came off the bench last year for Fort Erie and struggled to find his rhythm and footing. You know, especially for some guys their first year in prep and when they don't get a chance to play through mistakes, it's really hard to figure things out. But before then, and then this past summer at Brookwood, He's a great shooter. He's pretty dynamic off the bounce. He's fearless and he's tough. Like, he's got this killer mentality that you can't teach, and he's like, kind of able to run a ball screen and make decisions as well and create for himself. So another guy that's a shot maker, but he's super long and he fits again as a baseline, as a shooter, that's really tough, but he's also got the ability to create for himself, to. To create out of a ball screen. So, you know, everyone's looking for long shooters with skill. And he's got size and skill at 6, 6 with his shooting. He's an intriguing guy. Really high upside. [00:29:55] Speaker B: Excited to watch him at Fort Erie battle the Fort, right? [00:29:58] Speaker C: Yes, sir. [00:29:58] Speaker B: He'll be there. Another name? I lied to you. I was gonna say 20. 26. I'm gonna mention my dog, my young boy, Yusuf Ahmed. King Heights Academy. I feel like he's kind of an underrated prospect coming up. Not. Not really known. Yeah. To many people until, like, maybe the last year, Jenny Finch Classic. I watched him go up against those Bella Visa guys, and he was doing his thing against Miles. Against Paul, Not Paul against Jordan, Charles. All those guys, and he held his own. [00:30:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:30:23] Speaker B: What are your. Yusuf, I'm guessing you've. You've been to some of the practices, got to see him in person and. [00:30:28] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:30:28] Speaker B: What are your thoughts on him? [00:30:29] Speaker C: Yeah, like, I was just talking about with Eli, size and skill, impressive vision, really good shooter. You know, he can post up smaller guys and he can play outside. I love his feel for the game. That's the thing for me that stands out. And again, when I'm projecting guys, like, I want to be able to know that they'll make good decisions even if they're not given tons of opportunity. And he's a guy that I think in any situation is looking to make the right read, could space the floor. He has a little more size than Eli. You know, he's maybe six, seven, plus, and, you know, we'll see how he adapts. I think he's got to get a little stronger and tougher. [00:31:02] Speaker B: I've been telling him that in the gym, man. [00:31:04] Speaker C: Yeah. But other than that, he's. He's skilled. [00:31:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:31:08] Speaker B: Yeah, he's been in the gym, I think with a lot of like Andrew Nemhar. He's been in the gym with the. Kill those guys. [00:31:13] Speaker C: Nice. [00:31:14] Speaker B: So he's. I think it will be a big year for him in terms of his recruitment potentially picking up for sure. So, yeah, we'll get to watch him eventually soon. Moving on to the 2027 class. We talked about Paul, so we don't have to get there. Max Meyer, prospect out of Quebec. I feel like he just released his top six and he's a prospect that. When I talked to coaches at Canada Basketball that were there for the Fiber U19, they raved about him. They're like, this guy you need to watch out for. His top six includes SMU, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Ohio, Michigan State, Saint Mary's. What's your thoughts on Max? Seven foot one, I believe. [00:31:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I think he reclassed 26. Yeah, I think he's going 26. [00:31:55] Speaker B: 26, I think. Okay. [00:31:59] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, when you look at NBA tools, Max is seven feet. Great hands, instincts as a rim protector. His mobility and size are just really unique. And if you watch flashes, like, if you watch the candidate games, he. He might catch a low roll pass and be able to fluidly catch it and dunk it, which you don't throw low passes to these seven footers. Right. But he's able to, you know, have the coordination kind of and the mobility and the timing then defensively. So he's a really rare, unique mix of prospect. And he's still thin. He needs to put on a lot of weight. He's not a guy you throw it into. But that's not going to be his role at the highest level. His role is going to be to rim run and roll and. And, you know, I spoke to the IMG coach not long ago at. At the Under Armour circuit and he was saying, you know, he can shoot the 3 2, so we're going to allow him to play on the outside and initiate and stuff like that. You know, like Marcus saw with the Raptors, that kind of stuff. Think about that. Right? An offensive big that can roll, that can pop and that can protect the rim. Like that's everything you want. So. And. And he's really gone on like the NBA radar recently, so he's not a Guy that's going to necessarily pop in every game you watch, but just his tools are really intriguing. [00:33:21] Speaker B: Nice. I'm gonna watch him. I feel like IMG now I'm gonna watch more often with him and Aziz over there. [00:33:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:26] Speaker B: Two Canadian guys. So, yeah, I just wanted to mention him because I know he's a name that every single person I talked to just raised about him. So next guy talk about is Lewis Robinson. I feel like a guy that's. His pops is Canadian, a legend in the Toronto basketball scene. If you know Jerome Robinson. Yeah, I didn't really realize he was Canadian until one of the ey sessions. He's not. He's from Houston. But, like, he's. He's Canadian. [00:33:50] Speaker C: We're giving it. We're giving it to him because I spoke to his dad recently and he said he's. He's not actually Canadian. Yeah, but we're. We'll give it. [00:33:58] Speaker B: We'll give it to him. [00:33:59] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:59] Speaker B: 20 plus offers. The way I watch this guy jump just for rebounds, the athleticism is there. What are your thoughts on him? Just, I feel like he's been a. [00:34:08] Speaker C: Rising prospect, one of my favorite prospects. That's a situation where, again, the rankings and whatever, I don't need the rankings. I mean, that kid is going to produce wherever he goes, and he's got upside to boot, you know, and if you watch, he's been on some teams with ball dominant guards or whatever it is, and he's still able to score 20 plus without needing touches or whatever. He makes open shots. He's great in transition. The. The skill for him, that stands out to me above all else, that's rare, I'd say, is the rebounding. I mean, he's. He's a really underrated athlete and he's an awesome rebounder. And not only does he create second possessions for his team, but, like, he doesn't go back up and try to make stupid plays because he's gone and earned that rebound. [00:34:53] Speaker A: He. [00:34:54] Speaker C: He resets the offense and everything. So. And I. I tell him, and I texted Jerome the other day, like, I want to see him be more aggressive. I want to see him hunting his shot more, trying to get in his bag a little more. But the, you know, and the way Jerome talks about him, he's such a. Not obedient, but he's such a good kid that wants to fit in and will make stuff happen for himself, which is so hard to find. And that's why he was, I think, like the fourth most efficient guy or third most efficient. Guy on the uybl. He's a winner. I love him. I think he's got all the upside. That's. That's my favorite. That's one of my favorite guys. [00:35:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I just wanted to mention him because, like, watching him for the first time just popped to me. I was like, wow, this guy is. I don't want to put. I hate putting expectations on guys and that kind of stuff, but he's got a chance, man. He's got a chance. He's got a chance. Let's move on to 2028. [00:35:38] Speaker A: Any. [00:35:39] Speaker B: Anybody else in 2027 that you like or names that you. I should mention or talk about? [00:35:43] Speaker C: I mean, there's tons of guys I could go over, but we've. We covered the top few guys, I think. [00:35:48] Speaker B: Perfect. And let me give you another name that I like. 2028. Liam Mitocaro. We talked about him in our FIBA U16 preview episode. Yeah, I watched him play recently, like the Blue Era Classic. He's playing up with the team. Miles and those guys playing off the bench as a point guard. What are your thoughts on Liam? [00:36:05] Speaker C: Really talented, has a great bag of skills. I think, you know, he, he's not ready for the prep level that he's going to be thrown into. But they kept him out on the. Him out on the floor a lot, I think, because defensively he was giving it his all. He's got to get stronger. He's going to struggle a little bit with initiating and making decisions with the pressure that's going to be on him from, you know, 2026. You know, senior guards that are athletic and, you know, dogs in America that'll get after him. But his, his skill set as a point guard is a lead. And I mean, he's got as much chance as anyone to make it. When he was, when he was here, he was incredible. You're not going to see the same thing from him when he goes and plays for Bella Vista because he's just being asked to initiate and it's going to be good for him. Like, he, he's an elite talent still, but he's got to get used to it. The ball is going to be in Miles hands at this point. You know, do what you're asked and then eventually he'll get, you know, the starting role and get to be the man. But he's. He's another guy that's a great talent and has all the chance in the world. And he's just going to be strung along to, you know, until he gets, you know, until he's ready. [00:37:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:20] Speaker B: It's good to learn from miles too, right? 100 behind him, 100%. Probably the biggest name in the class of 2028. You know who I'm about to say? [00:37:27] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:37:27] Speaker B: Isaiah Hamilton. I heard from just people he had offers to go to Mount Vert. Schools were reaching out. I think every school probably in North America was trying to get in contact with this guy. He had I think by far the most impressive summer in terms of that class, especially at the FIBA U16. [00:37:45] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:46] Speaker B: I hope he didn't get hurt against before that USA game, but it would have been nice to see him against this competition. [00:37:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:52] Speaker B: Decides to stay in Canada at Crestwood. Gonna be there this year. [00:37:55] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:56] Speaker B: What are your thoughts on that? Staying in Canada and then what can we expect from him this year? [00:38:00] Speaker C: I love it. I mean, I want everyone to stay in Canada. Obviously. It helps me to having talent here. We have to build up the scene, you know, and some. And it's hard to blame kids, you know, they see all this hurrah in the States and you know, there's more and more developing here. But I want to see best on best Canadian talent. And if everybody starts staying, they'll get challenged and get better and everyone gets better as a result. So I love seeing a top prospect stay here. I think there was some program there that his dad likes that he's in. So I think that's partially why Crestwood's gonna be really interesting. I mean, they have him and Isaiah Clark and a bunch of other guys there. Some good young prospects. We'll see how they mesh. You know, I think it's going to be a lot dependent on their guard play, how well their guard, you know, guard play develops and how much they adapt to understanding too. You got to get the ball to a guy like that. You know, when I went to their practice recently, honestly, Isaiah Clark was the most impressive guy. He was awesome. Hamilton's obviously got more upside, but Clark is really ready. Even though he's young to play, he's physical, he's got the body already. He's aggressive, he's got a real motor. You can play through him a little bit. He could stretch the floor. And then obviously, I mean, Hamilton is just that rare, you know, above the rim. NBA athlete with shot making as well. So we'll see how he looks. I think it's going to be a challenge for him to adapt. I think he's got to improve his ball skills and kind of toughness on. On the ball if he's going to Be asked to be the creator. We'll see how that goes. But it's a necessary learning curve for him to make it. [00:39:49] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:39:50] Speaker B: Excited to watch him play, especially. I think he'd be playing that battle on the floor. Right. So he's a top prospect. [00:39:56] Speaker C: We got him matched up with Daniel Gore, which will be great. Yeah. Top 2027. 3. In the top 2028. 3. [00:40:03] Speaker B: You guys cooked with that schedule, huh? It's probably got a good schedule, man. I'm excited to see that. Who do you feel like is the best shot maker in Canada? Like, if you had to bet your money right now on the high school level, best shot maker. I know you mentioned Malachi. [00:40:18] Speaker C: I think one guy that. That stands out. I think the most efficient shooter I saw last year, I would say is Caleb Roberts at Ridley. [00:40:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:25] Speaker C: They won the osba. That's the first name that stands out. And you know me, I'm not like outlandish and I'm not doing social media just for like clicks. [00:40:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:36] Speaker C: But I remember tweeting like, Caleb Roberts is the best shooter in Canada. And look, it's not me deciding this. The ball goes in or the ball doesn't go in. And with him, the ball went in an unbelievable amount of times. So that's the first name really, that stand that kind of comes in my head. [00:40:55] Speaker B: And he led them to OSB championship this past year. So excited to watch really, a lot of the same guys returning. We mentioned Den Nigor, we mentioned Malachi. What's happening in Alberta? I want to ask you that, cuz, like, what's cooking? There seems to be a lot of talent coming out of there. [00:41:12] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:41:14] Speaker B: Why is Alberta producing so much good talent right now? [00:41:16] Speaker C: Yeah. And they got T.J. wall at Western Canada Prep, who's like a 65 do it all guard. He just had a 50 point game. I think just like in Ontario, there's develop. There's, you know, a lot of prep schools popping up. Right. You've got wcpa, Edge and others that are there to locate the talent and develop the talent early. I guess the basketball scene has, you know, developed much like it has here. Whether or not they have an NBA team. Like, there seems to be like a love of basketball there. Every time I'm there. I think those top prep schools are doing a really good job of. Of developing those guys. I think honestly, immigration to some degree, like there's all in Edmonton, there's always these players that are coming from South Sudan or wherever that are talents. I mean, you know, T.J. wall is a great example. I'm not sure what his background is exactly, but he's an awesome talent. Dang and Gore are the same thing, you know, and they've produced over the years. Like I think, you know now just thinking about it, clearly they've produced over the years a lot of these, like long African, three fours, whatever. But now the guys are probably getting the higher level reps at a younger age. And so those guys who were raw before that were maybe fringe D1 guys are now getting the development to be a real dude, you know. So that's where you see a guy like Waller, guy like Dangan Gore becoming polished, you know, guards or wings and then look like they, they had been in the mix for a few years now. Like the fact that they won isn't really a surprise to me. I mean, I always think if, if Ontario put out their actual top, top pair of guys, they would be the favorite. [00:43:02] Speaker B: Oh, so you think that Summer Games wasn't Ontario's best roster? [00:43:05] Speaker C: No, no, it never is. Yeah, I mean, Max Meyer could have played like they could have put out a crazy team, I think. But Miles. Yeah, like I remember Miles last time sat out. [00:43:15] Speaker A: Yeah, he was, I think he was. [00:43:16] Speaker B: Dealing with an injury. [00:43:17] Speaker C: York. Yeah. [00:43:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:43:18] Speaker C: So. So. But nonetheless, that's not to take anything away from them. They've been in the mix. What I was saying, they've been in the mix for a bit and you know, they were them or someone was else was probably due for a championship. So, you know, it's a, it's a number of things. [00:43:31] Speaker B: Yeah, I think immigration is a big point too, cuz Mariel headed to Texas. Texas from there. [00:43:35] Speaker C: Exactly. [00:43:36] Speaker B: A lot of South Sudan players coming from there. So Alberta, man, I think they might be creeping up with Quebec. Man, I, I don't know what it is. What would you rank it in terms of talent? Because I'm. I think it's obviously Ontario. [00:43:48] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:43:49] Speaker B: And I don't know after that. [00:43:51] Speaker C: I think we got to still give it to Quebec for now. Yeah, we're waiting on the next wave of guys, but they haven't come, so we'll see. Yeah, but like, even if the top guy is coming from Alberta or something. Well, I'm saying we're saying Ontario is the top because of the number of guys that come out. And that's why Quebec, I would still say Quebec. The number of guys is still higher than Alberta. [00:44:14] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:14] Speaker B: Quebec. I still like guys like Eli. Kamai Samuels, I like him. Promise. And Landu. Those guys I like. So Quebec still has Some talent, yeah. How would you describe just like, the current state of basketball? Canada? Do you feel like we're in a good place? Like, what's your excitement level too, for this year when it comes to like, just. I feel like the amount of talent in Canada, it might be. I don't know, because you've been in the game longer than me. Obviously you've been watching this talent. But do you feel like there's more talent staying in Canada than maybe priors? [00:44:43] Speaker C: I mean, yeah, it feels pretty good this year. It feels like there's a lot of parody. I mean, I haven't seen everyone yet, but it does feel like there's a lot of parody and that there's prospects all over, which is what I love, like, going to uncover and find those guys. So, yeah, like we said, you know, there's guys in Alberta, there's some sleepers coming up in B.C. there's talent in Quebec. Some of those, you know, some of those C. Jep schools are really good. And there's some intriguing guys, you know, coming up there as well. You know, Ontario, all over. You know, CTA got Anthony Najeea for like a 6, 9, really intriguing forward that's, you know, got really high upside as well. So, you know, the, there's, there, there's, you know, the, the classics of the schools that are always good here. I just saw Hodan, like a guy like Dante Jones, you know, this is his senior year. I think he really looked awesome the game I called on Saturday. So there's always those sleepers too. So, yeah, it feels like there's a lot of talent all over and I'm excited to just go try to find those guys. [00:45:38] Speaker B: Are you expecting more, like, NCAA programs to come to Canada this year just from, like, conversations you've had with, with scouts? [00:45:43] Speaker C: Yeah, I think things are changing, honestly, it feels like at least because I've been involved in battle on the fort. We have a lot of coaches that are going to come. [00:45:51] Speaker B: How many you expect in a row? [00:45:53] Speaker C: I. I want to give you a number. Let's say 50. [00:45:55] Speaker B: I don't know, because there was a lot last year. There was a lot. [00:45:57] Speaker C: Yeah, there was a lot last year, but I think it's getting better. And I only know based on the teams that are getting my service, and my service has grown and it feels like recently, like this year of all years, random teams are putting more of an emphasis on Canada. [00:46:13] Speaker B: Why do you think that is? Do you feel like it's a Shea. [00:46:15] Speaker A: Effect. [00:46:17] Speaker C: To some degree? And I was like, funny, Like, I remember, what was it a few years ago, I got a call from a team, like, right, oh, the Raptors won the championship. And you get a call from a team just because they thought of Canada. Right. Let's be honest. One guy, right. It's not like he's. But yeah, you know, there's, I think it. In America, the, the recruitment is a lot of following. If you see, you know, your rival, go get a great Canadian kid. You're probably prone to. But if you don't, maybe you're just closed off on it or you don't think you have the relationships and things like that. And so it's really been hit or miss. But enough guys, I guess by now have seen a Canadian succeed in some way or another in their league or whatever it is that, you know, they're thinking, okay, we got to keep uncovering that or keep that pipeline going. So it's growing. There's a lot of talent. And yeah, it's, it's. I think it's, it's in a good place. [00:47:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Tap into Wes's work because I feel like if you want to know the prospects coming up and he's got it all down. I want to get your thoughts on. In terms of high school basketball right now, which position do you feel like is the deepest? The guards, the wings, the bigs? [00:47:27] Speaker C: Guard, by far. [00:47:28] Speaker B: By far. Guards, by far. What do you feel like is last? Is it a bigs? [00:47:33] Speaker C: You know, I was, I was thinking about this. I don't think it's stacked on wing or big, to be honest. Big is usually the weakness in Canada. But there's so many guards. 26. So many guards. Yeah, there's so many young guards. If you saw team Ontario's under 15 team, there's four dudes there, like, dudes, you know, Mateo Moyes, who I think came late, maybe was hurt or something like that, did barely even played. I mean, he's a little undersized, but he's a special talent. I mean, he's a real three level scorer. If he grows a few inches, like, there's no limit to how good he can be. So there's a lot. In Ontario, there's a lot of really good young guards and like, probably more than one of them will be an NBA player. [00:48:17] Speaker A: Wow. [00:48:18] Speaker B: If you could build a starting five, I'm going to put you on the spot right now. [00:48:22] Speaker C: Okay. [00:48:22] Speaker B: If you could build a starting 5 of Canadian high school players who would be in it from point guard to center. Let me hear your five. [00:48:31] Speaker C: I think I Made some notes about it. Let's see. Okay. My. My one would be Miles. I think. Dang. Would be my three. Godson would probably be my four. Godson. A Coco at Iowa. Max Meyer would probably be my five. But this is in terms of, like, prospects, not in terms of, like, winning today, necessarily. You know, Max isn't necessarily a guy that's ready to, you know, win a chance, like, win at a high level today. But I think he's the guy, like, he's got a real chance and then a Hamilton. So I would say Sadler, Isaiah Hamilton, Dangan Gore, godson of Coco, and Max Meyer would probably be my five. [00:49:17] Speaker B: Nice. We mentioned Godson. I feel like another big in that mix with Max, with Paul that's been kind of rising. I think he has, like, a T. Has a ton of offers, too. What are your thoughts on Godson? [00:49:28] Speaker C: Yeah, he's. He's really intriguing. Has kind of the size and physical tools. I was impressed how well he kind of rebounded and did more than just scoring for Team Ontario this summer. Good. Not great shot. I think the shot needs some work. But his physical tools, I mean, he's. When he was younger, he was kind of gangly, and now he's a fluid athlete. So I think he really fits at the highest levels as a power forward. It's just going to be about his shot, I think, just continuing to develop a consistent shot because he's pretty talented as a scorer. He's a great athlete. He's coordinated and he can defend and move his feet pretty well and rebound pretty well for the four. So I think it's just about how well he shoots it. But he's. He's an excellent prospect. I mean, He's a top 100 level guy. [00:50:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:50:18] Speaker B: I'm forgetting where he's playing at this year. [00:50:19] Speaker C: Iowa United. [00:50:20] Speaker B: Iowa United. Godson. Name to watch. I've obviously thrown a lot of names at you. [00:50:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:50:26] Speaker B: So if any players are listening to this podcast, you're like, why is my name not here? I'm not as tapped in. We could go on for, like, five hours. He can name drop everybody, but those are just names that pop to me that I've seen, that I've kept an eye on. So, hey, don't send hate to this. There's just names I'm throwing out west. But talking on that point, what's your advice to see some, like, young player coming up right now that wants to be an All Canadian make it to the quench game. That's in April. What's your advice? To them, especially this year, if they're looking. Eyeing that as. As a player, as a goal. [00:51:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:03] Speaker C: I mean, the. The same things I always tell guys, like, if you're. If you're good, we'll find you so you don't have to force. Play your game. Play within yourself, play hard on both ends, make the right plays, and me and the other scouts and, you know, media and everything will find you. You know, when. When guys try to do too much or try to, you know, not to be themselves or whatever. When, you know, if me or scout shows up, it's obvious to us. So my advice is always to play your game, you know, and there's guys who have averaged 12 points a game in high school that made the NBA. So you just gotta be yourself. But, you know, the two things I always harp on are motor and iq. Play hard at all times and make the right plays. You know, pick your spots, play your game, and we'll find you. And you don't have to worry about, oh, the box score, how many shots did I make? Or, you know, it's. It's really just about playing smart, being yourself, and. And again, someone will see you. [00:52:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:03] Speaker B: Events or showcase, you're most excited for this year. We talk about battle for. What days are those? [00:52:08] Speaker C: That is October 2nd to 5th. [00:52:11] Speaker B: This podcast will be coming out on September 30th, so if you're not tapped in, there'll be live streams. I'm guessing, too, to watch those games if you have the time. Even though it's a long drive and I complain about it, I might. I might hit you up west to get a drive over there. To be honest to Fort Erie's insane. Like, it's. Man, but they got. I haven't tried it yet. Probably the best chicken parm out there. [00:52:33] Speaker C: I know. We got to go to that spot. No, we got to go to that. We should do that one. [00:52:36] Speaker B: I'm hit you, Rizzo. [00:52:38] Speaker C: We got to do. [00:52:39] Speaker B: I'm gonna make some calls, try to get a reservation before we should book. [00:52:41] Speaker C: Out the whole place for coach. [00:52:42] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. Right? That'll be cool. That'll be cool. Maybe go out there this. That weekend. I know I've heard of some coaches that are gonna be coming out there. So battle for any other events that you look forward to that are. [00:52:52] Speaker C: I mean, it's hard to know, like, at this point, and people think, like, I'm planning way ahead. I'm not, honestly. We have OSPA showcase this weekend. There's a Top Gun Tournament in Ottawa in November that I want to go to, usually CTA west and some other teams that, you know, I don't get to see as often coming out. Hoden always has a good tournament in December. There's a SUN youth tournament in Montreal in December as well. So try to go to all those and then, you know, the usuals, the championships, MPA championships, OSBA championships, and then all Canadian game. But there will be tournaments here and there. But I kind of cross that bridge when I get there. I'm not that worried about, you know, six months from now planning it all out. [00:53:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:53:31] Speaker B: What you got cooking, though? New hat. I'm wearing it right now. And I'll give you this. I don't wear snapbacks. I hate snapbacks. But this, yeah, certified. I'll give you that. [00:53:39] Speaker C: Good. [00:53:40] Speaker B: Tell me just about the process and making this. These are unreleased yet, right? I got the ones. [00:53:44] Speaker C: Unreleased? Yeah, yeah. Unreleased. Oh, actually, I think the one I'm wearing is too. [00:53:47] Speaker B: So when's it coming out? [00:53:49] Speaker C: These two? Probably in the next month. [00:53:51] Speaker A: Okay. [00:53:51] Speaker C: We have a lot of drops and we're trying to plan it out. The Jays need to win some damn games. Oh, that would have been Jay's hat. [00:53:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:53:58] Speaker C: And if they are in the wild. [00:54:00] Speaker B: Card, I feel like you could still drop it. [00:54:03] Speaker C: We have no choice. But we had a whole NFL collection drop this week. Monday hoopsclub.com. honestly, we have the hottest hat in sports right now. I mean, I grew up just as a, you know, basketball nut that was hardcore into fashion. And so this is kind of my way to get the best of both worlds. So we have Monday Hoops Club hat brand. We've got it on Donovan Mitchell. We've got it on tons of NBA players. It's blowing up now on socials and everything. And actually Guy just post today. He's got like 1.7 million followers. [00:54:33] Speaker A: Wow. [00:54:34] Speaker C: And this like, green and yellow one. Yeah. And then you start seeing sales of it, so it's pretty cool to see. [00:54:38] Speaker B: Where could people get it? [00:54:39] Speaker C: Monday Hoops club dot com. [00:54:40] Speaker B: Monday Hoops club dot com. I stamped it. If you care about my opinion. I'm wearing this everywhere I go. I have like three or four now, so. Stacking them up. I'm stacking them up. Going to be wearing it every day of the week even though it's not Monday. [00:54:52] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. [00:54:52] Speaker B: It's always Monday. [00:54:53] Speaker C: Always Monday. [00:54:54] Speaker B: Wes, I can't thank you enough for your insight, your knowledge, anything else you're you got going on excited for? [00:54:59] Speaker C: No, I think we touched on Pretty much everything. Yeah. Just check me out on IG Monday scout and Monday hoops club. [00:55:06] Speaker B: Ig, tap in with Wes to find out everything about the upcoming prospects in Canada. And yeah, stay tapped in. After this break, I'll have a rising prospect from downtown Toronto, Yusuf Ahmed Wemby. That's what we call him. One of the prospects in the class of 2026. I feel like people should know about his story, his journey, but Wes can't thank you enough. And we'll be right back after this break. [00:55:31] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:55:41] Speaker B: Welcome back to the Canadian Basketball Show. We're previewing and analyzing this year's high school season in Canada and the States. Players, you should know. And if you've been listening to this podcast religiously, you've heard me name drop a young prospect from the downtown area of Toronto. I'm a little biased because I know him, but I do think with his size, feel for the game, he's one of the top prospects in the class of 2026. We call him Wemby Yusuf Ahmed of King Heights Academy. Welcome to the show. [00:56:09] Speaker D: Thanks for having me, man. [00:56:11] Speaker B: Wemby, the nickname. Tell me where that's originate for people that don't know. [00:56:15] Speaker D: So actually a guy from the neighborhood, some older guy, he actually around when Wemby was getting drafted to the league. He see me play at some league and he's like, yo, you really play like him. He's like, yo, we're gonna start calling you this. He started calling me it. I didn't think he'll catch on. And then eventually everyone's like, yo, Wemby, Wemby, Wemby. So I'm like, yeah, you know, it wasn't a bad name. Yeah, yeah, I like it. [00:56:36] Speaker B: Yeah, the whole hood calls you that. But what do you claim, though? Moss park or Esplanade? [00:56:40] Speaker D: Nah, Moss park, baby. [00:56:41] Speaker A: Man. [00:56:42] Speaker D: Moss Park, Mossberg, baby. [00:56:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:43] Speaker A: Really? Yeah. [00:56:44] Speaker B: That's crazy. But playing at King Heights, tell me how that happened. The journey, getting to there and final year. Right. Heading there. [00:56:51] Speaker D: So actually I knew this guy. He's actually. He lives in my neighborhood. He lives in Moss Park. He goes over there. He used to go over there to train with some trainer over there. And these times I was really looking for a school when I was starting to take ball serious. And he's like, yo, I got a school. So I'm like, yo, this. These times school started already, so I was like, very late. So I ended up going there one day after. After, after school. Like at the school I was before and from there, I guess I just started going there again and again and again. I liked it. I liked the program. Started getting better and better, and then, yeah, I just ended up being there. [00:57:31] Speaker B: I feel like you're one of the more, like, underrated talents. Like, people didn't really know who you were until maybe the summer at the Jenny Finch Classic, where you went up against those Bella Vista guys and put on a show. Tell me why you feel like people are just trying to figure out or, like, trying. Starting to realize who Wemby Yousef Ahmed is. [00:57:48] Speaker D: I mean, I put in the work. It was a lot of work. I put in the work and it's showing. So. Yeah. [00:57:54] Speaker B: Yeah, tell me just about the work. You talk about going to King Heights. You're from downtown. [00:57:58] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:57:59] Speaker B: Tell me about the distance to travel to get there. [00:58:01] Speaker D: Oh, it. It takes a while to get there. It takes about an hour and 40 minutes. When I first started going there, I used to hate to travel. Taking the transit, you got to take a bus, switch lines, take the train, take another bus. Like, it was a lot. It was a lot. It was a big change for me. Like, I wasn't used to that. Like, going to the other school I used to go to, it was like 10 minutes from my house. So going. Switching over there. It was a lot. But I figured eventually, like, I got used to it. Still pretty long, but I got used to it. [00:58:32] Speaker A: And. [00:58:32] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, just to play basketball, which is kind of crazy, to traveling an hour and 40 minutes, that's like African distance, you know, to catch a core and play. To play hoops. [00:58:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:58:41] Speaker B: You talk about growing up in Moss Park. What was that like, growing up in Moss Park? [00:58:45] Speaker D: It was. It was hard. Honestly, it's. It's not the best community, but, yeah, it was really hard. I seen. I seen a lot of bad stuff around there. There's a lot of. Excuse my language. A lot of crackheads over there. There's a lot of bad people. Not bad people, but people that are lost around that area in the buildings and stuff. And you see it as a kid growing up, like, just like, you don't want to end up like that. And everyone around, like, even my friends, everyone around me, they're just like. They're all. We all on the same ball path. And then eventually we kind of like. I don't explain it. It's hard to explain, but, yo, it's just. It's a bad area. I'll be honest. [00:59:27] Speaker B: So what got you kind of, like, focused on basketball? And I've always kept you away from that kind of stuff. [00:59:34] Speaker D: I've always actually loved the sport. We used to play. There's a ball court over there we used to play as a kid. [00:59:38] Speaker B: What ball court? [00:59:39] Speaker D: By Moss Park. There's a basketball court. So we used to play a lot over there. And that's where I kind of developed like, the love for the game. So I used to play a lot there with my friends. I remember we used to play twos, threes, one on ones for hours. And from there, that's kind of where it started. And eventually I started playing, playing, playing a lot. Comes around grade 10 these times I was. I wasn't really taking it serious. I thought I was decent at the game, but I wasn't really taking it that serious until I met these certain people from a neighborhood, these older people. They're kind of like mentors to me. And they are the ones who kind of started pushing me to take it serious. And that's when, like, I really started taking it serious. [01:00:18] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:00:18] Speaker B: And I feel like a lot of people working there. We'll talk about, obviously, you working out with the kill, Alexander Walker, Andrew Nemhard. Let him know. Those guys who have kind of like, I feel like, take you kind of under your wing, seeing the potential in you. But tell me about the growth sport, too. Six, seven, right? [01:00:31] Speaker D: Yeah. So actually grade eight, it's pretty crazy, honestly. Grade eight, I was five, seven. Shorter than me. [01:00:39] Speaker B: Yeah, shorter than me. [01:00:40] Speaker D: Five, seven, five, eight. [01:00:41] Speaker B: On a good day, I'm like six foot, you know, I like to say, but yeah. [01:00:44] Speaker D: And then comes grade nine, I grew to like six foot. [01:00:48] Speaker A: Okay. [01:00:48] Speaker D: And this is when I really started picking up the ball. Like, I really started playing a lot more because I know high school is a big, kind of a big change from middle school to high school. So then I remember I played Jarvis basketball. Grade nine, I was like six foot. And then comes grade ten. I didn't realize. I didn't realize it. Like, you never realize yourself, like, you know, you're getting tall. But grade 10 comes six, three. Playing more and more. Comes again. Grade 11, I'm six, five now. Yeah, I thought I was done because them times I was like the same height as my brother. Then comes grade 12, I grew another two inches. And now I'm here, my six, seven. [01:01:24] Speaker B: Did you have, like, leg issues? Like, you know what I'm talking about? When. [01:01:27] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. I used to have knee pains. I used to have pain in my ankle. Like, my legs weren't the strongest, you know, because I was growing. So it wasn't like, like it was Hard, honestly. [01:01:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:01:39] Speaker B: You spent a lot of time, John Innis. Yeah, those runs, Moss Park's right next to it. No, tell me about that, John. [01:01:44] Speaker D: And it's a legendary spot, actually. I used to go there. My older brother used to take me there. I used to play these runs against these older guys. It was 11 to 14 years old. That was age. I remember. I think I was 9. And I used to go there and watch all these older guys play. And I really wanted to join. And then one day I did join. I played. I did so bad. I remember this vividly. I did so bad. And I was like, damn. Like, oh, I got it. Like, I gotta get better. So then I started playing. That's when I, like, I started playing a lot these times. Like at the court, the Moss Park. I was playing. I was playing. I used to go there every Saturday. Remember, they used to provide us food and everything. I went one day, I. I played good. And that's when, like, I really thought, like, I could, you know, I kind of play ball. Like, that's when I kind of figured out, like, I was, you know, it's kind of decent. [01:02:28] Speaker B: How'd you end up? You were at, what, Jarvis? [01:02:30] Speaker A: No. [01:02:30] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah. Jarvis Collegiate. [01:02:32] Speaker B: What was that like now? Transferring all over to a prep school. What's the difference between Jarvis and King. [01:02:38] Speaker D: Heights is like, they don't like Bass. It's just a regular school. It's more academic based. Like, it's more about, like, the actual academics. And so transitioning over to there was a lot. Like, I wasn't used to having morning practices, practicing late at night, like, playing that much basketball. So, yeah, it was a big change. And the travel as well, too. [01:03:00] Speaker B: Yeah, focus more. Focus more on, like, academics, I'm guessing, right? [01:03:04] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:03:04] Speaker B: So when did. You're like, yo, I'm actually, like, pretty nice. And, like, I could Potentially get a D1 scholarship. Play basketball at the highest level. When did that start to click to you? Or was it more recent? [01:03:13] Speaker D: It was grade 11. In my grade 11 year. So I remember we started when I first came. Our team was pretty bad, I'll be honest. [01:03:20] Speaker B: King Heights. I hope King Heights people are not listening to this. [01:03:23] Speaker D: We were pretty bad. We would get smacked by teams all the time, but we put in the work. Put in the work. Comes around the end of the season. It was our quarterfinals game. [01:03:32] Speaker A: We're playing. [01:03:32] Speaker D: We were last seed, playing the first seed. We beat them. I had 40 that game. Oh, I look back at the game film. Like, I. That game was amazing. I look back at the game film I'm watching that was like. I think that was when I realized, like, yo, I could really go somewhere. And then people were telling me my ear, like, yo, you're actually, like, really good this and that. You need to tighten up a few things, and you could really go far. So I kind of, you know, took them for the word, started really going hard. [01:04:00] Speaker B: What was the thing you need to tighten up? [01:04:02] Speaker D: It was the two main things that they used to tell me was it was a strength issue, and it was being able to, like, be low while you're playing. And I feel like at my height at six, seven, if you're able to be low, dribble the ball, shoot the ball, then, you know, that's pretty. That's pretty crazy. [01:04:21] Speaker B: Would you weigh back then? [01:04:23] Speaker D: Oh, back then I was 160. [01:04:27] Speaker B: I was 6, 7. [01:04:28] Speaker D: Yeah, 160. [01:04:29] Speaker B: What are you at now? [01:04:30] Speaker D: I'm at 185. [01:04:31] Speaker B: 185. Okay. Still progress. Something to add some muscle. [01:04:34] Speaker D: We're working up there. [01:04:35] Speaker B: Get you to the YMCA a bit more often. Play at King Heights. So we talked about it. I know this summer you had people reaching out potentially to go play in the States. What was that like when schools are reaching out, saying, I want to have you come over to taste, play for our prep team, play over here, Obviously, more attention over there, more scouts, potentially. But you obviously decide to stay in Canada. A lot of guys have stayed. Like, Jamal Murray stayed, Leonard Miller for Erie. He came back to play in Canada. What made you want to stay in Canada? And tell me, what was that process like in deciding to stay? [01:05:09] Speaker D: I think the main thing was, was that I wanted to build this program that I was. And I wanted to build it up and kind of give it a name. And I felt like I had the potential to do that. And that's what I'm currently doing right now. So, yeah, that was, like, the main thing. I think that was. That was the main reason why I stayed. [01:05:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [01:05:32] Speaker B: I was gonna say to King Heights. I did not hear or I didn't know he was in school until you went over there and played over there. What was that like, too? When you got to King Heights, did you know much about the program? [01:05:43] Speaker D: I didn't know much, but as I got into the program, as I started learning, like, more about, like, in the basketball community, like, when tell people, yo, I go to King Heights, people, like, people say, yo, what is that? I'm like, yo, it's this place over here. No one heard of it. Until eventually like we like couple guys on a team, me included, kind of put that team on the map. And now I, I say we're pretty big time school. [01:06:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:05] Speaker B: Where you guys work out is David An. So a lot of runs happen over there. [01:06:09] Speaker D: Yeah, over there. [01:06:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:11] Speaker D: College guys come. Division one guys come in the summer. I've actually seen an NBA player there before too. [01:06:17] Speaker B: Like who? [01:06:18] Speaker D: I've seen Eugene over there. [01:06:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:19] Speaker B: Eugene Marie. [01:06:20] Speaker D: Yeah, he's. He was over there one time playing Other NBA players were over there. I've seen old videos and pictures, but I wasn't there for that. [01:06:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:30] Speaker D: But yeah, those runs are actually really good. They've really helped me my game too. It's kind of like getting your reps in, right? [01:06:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:06:35] Speaker B: What have you been holding in on heading into your final year, like skill wise? [01:06:41] Speaker D: Yeah, I think the main thing I've been focusing on recently is my post game, honestly. [01:06:49] Speaker B: Okay. [01:06:49] Speaker D: You got a little post, I think. Yeah, that's like the big thing right now. Like for me, if I'm able to play in the post and play on the perimeter, it's going to be really hard to stop me. [01:06:59] Speaker A: Yeah, any. [01:07:00] Speaker B: Any players you watch that, that you like to mimic or model your game after. [01:07:05] Speaker D: Yeah, I watch a lot of Shade, Gilgamesh, Alexander. Honestly, like I like that big guard able to get to spots, playing the post strong, could shoot it capacit. And he plays the right way too. [01:07:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:07:18] Speaker B: I see you added that little bump too. Yeah, that he has. [01:07:21] Speaker D: That was. That's. That's also a little Andrew Nemhardt too. Yeah, a little bit of that too. [01:07:25] Speaker B: Yeah. You spent time with, with Nemhardt. Tell me about how that workout came to be and what was like working out with him. [01:07:31] Speaker D: Honestly, working out NBA player. I mean it was a great experience. But the thing I took away from them was like how intentional they are. Like they're very serious and very focused and very intentional about what they're doing. They're working on specific things that I see them doing. Game like Andrew was working on that bump when I was with him and I see it like it's very like it works. So yeah, that was like the biggest thing, like the intentionality. [01:07:58] Speaker B: Could you guard the bump? [01:08:00] Speaker D: Yeah, I could guard it. [01:08:02] Speaker B: How about Nikhil? You've been in the gym with him. What was that like and how did that happen? [01:08:08] Speaker D: Nikhil, actually a friend kind of plugged me in with him actually. So first I played on this team last year. It was like a Au. It was au tournament. It was like our Team was called Nikhil. Like team Nikhil Alexander Walker. And he came and that was when I first met him. And then I end up seeing him later that summer in these runs. I end up playing with him. [01:08:33] Speaker B: And. [01:08:33] Speaker D: Then fast forward, whatever he remembered me. My. That same friend was like, yo, I could plug you into a workout with him. Like, you know, he remembers you, he likes you a lot. So I said, you know, let's do it. So then I ended up doing it and it was a great experience. And I feel like with him too, it's intentionality, but he's a lot more. He's a lot more serious. I think he's a lot more serious and that's why he succeeds in the league. He knows his role and that's what he works on. He shoots a lot in the workouts. [01:09:10] Speaker A: He. [01:09:11] Speaker D: He does some defensive stuff in the workouts and. Yeah, and I really like Nikhil too, because he's also advising me mid, like, workout. He's telling me what he thinks I'm messing up on, and I'm really trying to correct that. And it was working for me in the workout. [01:09:26] Speaker B: What was the biggest thing he told you you're messing up on? [01:09:28] Speaker D: He said, I have this bad habit of like, kind of fading away when I shoot. [01:09:32] Speaker A: Okay. [01:09:33] Speaker D: And that really, like, I didn't realize how big of like, like how, how much is messing me up until like, I started shooting with my back more straight and I started like knocking down shots like, like his water. And then that was the biggest thing. And he, like, he could shoot like he was hitting like 9, 10, 11 threes in a row. Like it's nothing. [01:09:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:09:52] Speaker D: So, yeah, that was, that was pretty big for me. [01:09:53] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:09:54] Speaker B: Shout out to Nikhil. Just got paid with the Atlanta Hawks. Leonard Miller, another guy you also worked out with, what was the big singular for him too? [01:10:01] Speaker D: Leonard Miller, because he's a guy that. [01:10:02] Speaker B: Stayed in Canada, right. So you could probably. You probably relate to him a lot more too, right? [01:10:06] Speaker D: Leonard Miller, he's more. I like him a lot too, because he's more of like a big guard. The guy's like 6 11, but could literally play like a guard. Could dribble, shoot it, pass it. The biggest thing, like, he, he kind of like, he didn't. He didn't. Yeah, he didn't really tell me much about basketball, but it's more like what I've seen from him, like the way he plays. He doesn't have like the most orthodox based style. [01:10:35] Speaker B: He's a unicorn. [01:10:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:10:36] Speaker D: Yeah, man. The guy, the guy Is strong, tall, shoots it. I mean, he's special still. He's special. [01:10:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:10:45] Speaker B: North Pole Hoops just released their rankings. The class of 2026, 2027, 2020, a bunch of rankings and you're in the top five for class of 2026. When you saw that, what was your reaction? [01:11:00] Speaker D: Honestly? Like, I wasn't. I wasn't surprised. Yeah, I put in the work and I believe that I should be even higher on that list. [01:11:06] Speaker B: Where do you feel that you should be? Let's hear it. [01:11:08] Speaker D: I think I should be first, honestly. [01:11:09] Speaker B: First. [01:11:09] Speaker D: First. [01:11:10] Speaker B: First on the list. [01:11:11] Speaker D: On that list. [01:11:12] Speaker B: I love the confidence. [01:11:12] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [01:11:13] Speaker B: You pay attention much to that, though, to the rankings. Rankings, that kind of stuff. [01:11:18] Speaker D: I'm not really that big on it. I'm more of like, let your game show. Which is kind of like my thing. Like, I wasn't. I was like a nobody until, like I started proving myself. So, yeah, I'm not really that big on it. [01:11:28] Speaker B: What's it like, though, to get that recognition finally, especially, like, being where you're from? I feel like a lot of. There's not a lot of players that come out of. I don't know if there's ever been a player that's come out of Moss park that I feel like has the potential that you do. Do you feel like it's kind of like, are you sort of like paving away maybe for people that there's no. I'm trying to think of the last inner city kid that came out, maybe Delano Banson, like actual inner city kid. When I say that to you, like, what do you think about especially being on a ranking like this? Because a lot of times the guys that are on these rankings are from the middle of nowhere, to be honest. The London, Ontario's, the Hamiltons, like, you know, that kind of stuff. So what does it mean for you to be on a rank? [01:12:03] Speaker D: I mean, like, it's easy to get. It's easy to let it get to your head. But, like, coming from where I come from, like, that's. It's not enough. Like, rankings are not going to get to me, you know, I need to go further than that. [01:12:15] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. [01:12:16] Speaker B: Tell me about the latest in your recruitment. How many schools have offered. Interested. You are interested in you? Tell me about the. [01:12:23] Speaker D: I currently have three offers right now and I got a lot of interest. I think the big schools are Stanford, St. Louis, Bond, Adventure. These are ones just on my head. [01:12:34] Speaker B: Tulsa, what do you like about your game? [01:12:39] Speaker D: They love that. Like, the one thing that was in common Was that they tell me I play the right way. That was like, I think the biggest thing, I play the right way and to find a player, what they tell me is to find a player as tall as you are that can dribble, shoot and pass is very rare. They actually, one of them, they gave me a name. They called me a mismatch Nightmare, something like that. [01:13:07] Speaker B: Who called you that? [01:13:08] Speaker D: It was. Which university. I forgot. [01:13:10] Speaker A: Oh, man. [01:13:11] Speaker B: We'll come back to it. [01:13:12] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:13:12] Speaker B: Mismatch Nightmare. [01:13:13] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. I love it. [01:13:15] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:13:15] Speaker D: See, you're a smaller guy. You can take him down low, post them up, get to a quick bucket. If it's a big guy, blow by him. You know, that type of stuff. [01:13:25] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:13:25] Speaker B: You also, like, we talked about it, being around the kill those guys. Andrew Leonard, I feel like a lot of times in the summer, you spend your time working out with pros. I think you played in Toronto, Pro am also, too. What's that like for you, being able to play against guys that some of them are in the pros, overseas, playing professionally. What does that do for you and how's it helped you? [01:13:47] Speaker D: It helps. Like, it helps. It's more of a mental thing. Like, I'm watching these guys, the pace they play at, it's going. Sometimes it's fast, it's boom, boom, boom. And sometimes it's very controlled. I think it's more of the mental thing, and I feel like it helps me, like, the reads that they make. Like, these pros are no joke. I'm not gonna lie. I think, like, it really helps me. And what I try to do is I'll see guys or pros do, like, these type of, like, they make good reads and all that stuff. And I'll, like, I'll try to implement in my game at these runs at my school. And that's where, like, I feel like I'm. I start getting better. Like, I see all the stuff and I have the chance to go rep it out at these runs against, like, not like, close competition. Like, these guys are pros as well. [01:14:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:14:31] Speaker B: Who's the toughest player you guarded? Like, maybe in a pro setting that you had a chance to match up with the toughest. [01:14:37] Speaker D: Honestly. [01:14:37] Speaker B: Or you're like, this guy's getting buckets. And it's like, I think I talk about in the pro, in a prom, just in general. [01:14:44] Speaker D: So actually, when I. When I went to this workout with Angie Nemhard, we actually played some ones. [01:14:48] Speaker B: Okay. [01:14:49] Speaker D: And, yo, that guy is strong. [01:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:14:51] Speaker D: So I couldn't. I actually couldn't Keep up with him physically. [01:14:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:14:54] Speaker D: So he would bump me away if I waited for him. Try to. Try to brace for the contact. He's going right by. He just, like, he's making these reads off the fly, and he's getting me every time. He's beating me to the spot. So, yeah, it was pretty tough to guard him, honestly. [01:15:08] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:15:08] Speaker B: Nemar just played, obviously, in the NBA Finals. Gonna have a big role with the Indiana Pacers. We talked about your recruitment, but what are you looking for in a school D1 program when. When you're chatting with coaches and, like, how you fit in a system and how you want to be used? [01:15:25] Speaker D: There's a couple things I think. Fit. [01:15:29] Speaker A: Okay. [01:15:30] Speaker D: Like. Like you said, fit is very big the first year, being able to play as well. For me, that's what I'm looking for. I'm also looking for a loving coaching staff, good community over there, great teammates, like, off the court and on the court, like, everything that just puts a good team together. [01:15:52] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:15:52] Speaker B: And tell me the first D1 offer you got. What was that? [01:15:56] Speaker D: It was Long Island University. [01:15:59] Speaker B: Shout out to Dalmar. We're gonna have on a podcast soon. He's been heavily recruiting a lot of Canadian talent. Where were you when you got that offer, and what was your reaction? [01:16:07] Speaker D: I was actually, with Uplay this AAU season. It was. It was in Augusta, I remember. Yeah. And he was watching me courtside, and I had. I had a pretty decent game that game. And after the game, he came up to me and told me, yo, I love the way you play. I think you. You could really go far. And from there, that's kind of where the offer came from. [01:16:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it's. It's unfortunate because you play the season and you're injured, which is kind of tough. Tell me about that. You're out for. For a bit. No. [01:16:39] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:16:39] Speaker D: It was pretty frustrating, like, coming. Like, I was thinking, yo, it's my last year, but I'm injured. Like, what. But it's like, what could I do? So I had to really just get healthy, put in, like, I really put in a lot of overtime just to get to that last session. And, yeah, I killed it that last session. [01:16:56] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:16:56] Speaker B: And I think that's where the steam and a lot of. Yeah, that's where people start to recognize and see, like, this guy has potential. The size, the. Yeah. Just tell me now, obviously, heading into your final year, what's your goals for this upcoming season that you have for yourself? [01:17:12] Speaker D: The main goal I have from. I want to put. I really want to Put King Heights on the map. That's doing whatever I have to do to put them on the map. Winning games, getting. Getting everyone looks, whatever it is. My goal is to put King Heights on the map and go as far as I can. [01:17:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:31] Speaker B: What can we expect from King Heights this season? [01:17:33] Speaker D: Oh, we're gonna do. We're gonna be really good this year. [01:17:35] Speaker B: What do they rank you? I think North Polyps has you like six. I don't know where on point has. [01:17:39] Speaker D: You, but something like that. Yeah, well, we're better than that. [01:17:42] Speaker B: We're better than that. [01:17:43] Speaker D: We're better than that. We got some guys, man, on our squad. [01:17:45] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. [01:17:46] Speaker B: Okay. I'm excited to watch this season. What do you feel like is the most underrated part about your game, though, when, like, people, if they watch you for the first time, they're not noticing? [01:17:56] Speaker D: I think it's. I think it's. I really. I feel. I really believe I play the right way. I make the. I try to make the right reads. I believe I do. And I'm not selfish. Like, people tell me always, you'll take the ball more, but it's like, you know, I. I take the ball sometimes, but I got to get people involved as well, too. [01:18:14] Speaker A: Right. [01:18:15] Speaker D: Like, that's my position. I play the point guard position, so that's kind of where it comes from. I think that's like the most underrated part. [01:18:21] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:18:21] Speaker B: I'll be honest. I'm one of those people. I'm like, you should be taking up 20 plus shots a game, but that's not your game. Sometimes, like, you know, you can take that. You can take over at moments, but. [01:18:30] Speaker D: Some games, yeah, you got to mix it up. Some games, I'm taking a lot of shots, I'm having a lot of points. Guys are. Now I'm playing the next team. Guys know the scouting report, they're waiting for me. And now, next thing you know, everyone else on my team has 15, 20 points. [01:18:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:18:42] Speaker D: So, you know, kind of throws them off. [01:18:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:18:45] Speaker B: How do you feel like your game translates to the college level? [01:18:49] Speaker D: I feel like all the skills that I have right now, basketball wise, track, like, just my shooting, I feel like I have. I shoot at a pretty good clip. My ball handling is pretty good. Being able to play in the post and on the perimeter, just kind of being a combo guard, being like, who wouldn't want somebody that can facilitate and can score and his talk. I could guard one through five. I try to do it all, man. Honestly. [01:19:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:19:18] Speaker B: Do you like, what's your position? Do you feel like, are you a point guard? You said combo guard. Like what do you feel like your position is? [01:19:25] Speaker D: I'm more of a point guard. Ideally though, I want to be a point, like a combo kind of like a combo guard. Ah, actually, yeah, like kind of like. Yeah, I want to be able to, to really score it and if they're over helping, I'm able to play make. [01:19:40] Speaker B: Is there any players that you kind of like when you. When I talk about that? The six, seven point guards. Because there's like the Lucas of the world, those guys did that kind of like be like, okay, I can be a big point guard. Like what made you want to like handle the ball, work on your. Work on that part of your game and then like see the floor and also just like kind of like game manage. [01:19:58] Speaker D: You know, honestly, it was just natural. Like it was just the way I played. I was a lot more passive though before. But then eventually I met the right people who steered me in the right track and they were telling me what to do when like, you know, when you should like score. Because before I remember I used to be very passive and that would kind of like throw off my game. People know I'm gonna pass. But eventually I started scoring. I started mixing it up and people were kind of lost. So it was more like the, the Lucas, the Shays. Those type of guys are kind of the ones who inspired me. [01:20:27] Speaker B: Yeah, you said one of the top guys in the class of 2026. Working people. Tell me about the schedule coming up. Were you playing grind session? [01:20:35] Speaker D: Yeah, we're in the grind session this year. Yeah, we're gonna be playing in the npa. [01:20:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:20:39] Speaker D: Shout out North Pole Hoops. Yeah, we're gonna be in a bunch of tournaments going on the Hodan Classic. A bunch of tournaments. I can't remember off the. [01:20:47] Speaker B: How much you dropping though? [01:20:48] Speaker D: Well, we need 30 a game, man. Yeah, if you. [01:20:51] Speaker B: Hey man, if you're that aggressive, I'd love to see it. Where can people find you though? [01:20:56] Speaker D: You can check out my Instagram @Y O U5AF underscore. Ah, my Twitter is the same as well. Yeah, man, you can find me at David Athletic center, man. [01:21:08] Speaker B: That's where you hoop, huh? Yeah, that's where I am 24 7, man. I feel like your recruitment is about to pick up a lot, especially with the season about to start. A lot of college coaches are going to probably get into the mix. I feel like very soon. We talked about some Ivy League schools that are also in chatter with you too. We talked about Stanford. [01:21:25] Speaker D: But I do have some Columbia. [01:21:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:21:28] Speaker D: Cornell. They've also reached out to me. [01:21:31] Speaker A: Who else? Cornell. Yeah. [01:21:35] Speaker B: Other schools too, but it's just a start, man. Yeah, I'm excited just to see your final year and obviously noticeable who's put you at top five. We'll see if that changes. You think it's going to change by end of year? [01:21:46] Speaker D: Oh yeah. It's gonna just go up and up and up. [01:21:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:21:50] Speaker D: All right, we got to get to one, man. I gotta get to one. All right, man. [01:21:53] Speaker B: We'll see, man. Excited for your senior year, my guy Yousef. Thanks for joining the podcast, man. And yeah, a name that I've talked about, if you heard me on the podcast that you should be following, that you should be tapped into and I think will be a high level college player. And yeah, if you are trying to figure out who this guy is, man, now, you know, tap in, follow his career and this is what I kind of want to do on the podcast, highlighting prospects that are coming up, especially a guy that I know for a while now and a name I think you should know. So tap in with Yusuf and yeah, it's been the Canadian Basketball show your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. My guy Yusuf, thanks for joining. [01:22:32] Speaker D: Appreciate you having me, man.