Changing Locations: A Look At Rising Prospects At New Hardwood Homes
Jermel Thomas, OSL (NY) 2026:
In a growing portent of his sustained all-around development, Class of 2026 Jermel Thomas has been on a dogged tear this summer. Thomas’ pinpoint passing and adroitness in picking apart a defense, delivering dimes all over the court and locating cutters, was evident throughout his play during the annual SMARTBALL in Harlem. Thomas is an innovational scorer in his jaunts to the rim, where he finishes in crafty fashion and through traffic.
The Bronx-bred guard grew incrementally in all areas of his game as a sophomore, one year after playing sparingly on a highly recruited Hayes team that leaned on the likes of acclaimed national talent such as Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Elijah Moore (Syracuse), and a proficient finisher in 7-foot, 240-pound mountain man Steven Solano (St. Joseph’s). Now, like Jackson and Moore before him, Thomas will play under OSL coach Pete Wehye in the prestigious Overtime Elite League, teeming with talent.
Buoyed by a devilish handle that enables him to swiftly change directions and elude defenders, Thomas has incorporated a smooth floater into his repertoire.
As he’s shown on some of New York’s hostile, hothouse proving grounds this summer, Thomas is machinelike with his stepback and adept at creating scoring opportunities and point-blank buckets for guards and interior pieces flanking him.
Thomas has become a lengthy guard whose steady evolution has added to his positional versatility, as he had multiple games of 10 or more rebounds this past season.
AJ Williams, DME Academy (FL):
While he was relegated to the role of spectator this summer on the AAU circuit due to injury, Williams possesses a multifaceted repertoire. He’s attractive to college coaches due to an imposing two-way presence that aligns with today’s high-major game. Defensively, Williams emphasizes his pterodactyl-like wingspan in guarding the 1-4.
He’s able to trigger the up-tempo attack fresh off a defensive board, putting the ball on the deck comfortably at his size and getting downhill with relative ease. His ability to suddenly go airborne on the break and in traffic with his prodigious leaping ability has resulted in many momentum-bolstering plays.
The Class of 2026 Williams exploits mismatches in the low post, dragging smaller defenders to the rim and deftly drawing fouls amid hard contact.
With a smooth stroke, Williams creates mismatch issues for defenses with his knack for corner 3-pointers. Beyond his delicate touch and status as a reliable kick-out shooter, Williams is able to attack the baseline for up-and-under finishes and methodically levitate above rim protectors.
The aspect of his game that tends to get undersold is his ability to defend the rim. Williams was a consistent shot-blocker at Bergen Catholic this past season, making it hard for guys to score between him and the basket. He utilizes his athleticism and instinctive timing, as he came up with several one-handed swats last season.
Al-Hassan Jallow, Our Savior Lutheran (NY):
The 6-foot-8 wing has innate talent in his plentiful scoring acumen. As he showed this summer on various outdoor proving grounds, the former Monroe HS focal point, who also gathered multiple games of double-digit rebounds, the Class of 2025 recruit is wired to score. Jallow is routinely skyward bound on the break, scores proficiently via the pick-and-roll, and can swoop in for stickbacks. Playing for Road 2 Riches on the summer circuit, Jallow has been a one-dribble, attack-the-rim threat. The unique issue he poses for defenders is with his 18-20 foot jumper and ability to spread everyone out with a reliable outside touch.
The post-graduate year will allow Jallow to pack muscle onto a spindly frame and handle the rigors of the next level, where there will surely be 7-footers awaiting his surges to the rim. Jallow has been effective with his knack for using angles within the post and powering up, a component of his game that continues to bubble as he embraces contact in the trenches.
Brooklyn Jelinsky, Wayne Hills HS (NJ):
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard will have a hand in a significant amount of Wayne Hills’ offensive input this season.
The incoming Class of 2027 transfer gives them an experienced 3-point ace capable of spreading the floor and sticking shots from way beyond the arc. Jelinsky has good concepts of the game, can shoot on the move, and bring bigger defenders away from the rim with his patented 18-20 foot jumper.
Though he’s just a sophomore, anticipate Jelinsky seizing the leadership reins from the very beginning this season.
He brings positional versatility on both sides of the floor, as he’s able to guard multiple positions, neutralize high scorers, and clamp down on smaller guards.
Jelinsky has a beyond-his-years frame, as his physicality and ability to rebound out of the box have been noteworthy.
Suddenly one of the top underclassmen to keep tabs on in 2027, Jelinsky has piled up five Division-I offers already.
He’s shown an adeptness for drawing fouls around the rim. Being a coach’s son, his free throw shooting percentage hovered around 88-90 during his most recent AAU season with Eddie Lau Elite.
Dylan Mann, S4G Academy (NC):
With a game previously cloaked in obscurity in the homeschool leagues, the 6-foot-9 Class of 2025 Mann is an embodiment of a late bloomer. He devours mismatches in the low post, dunking with authority and also scoring with his back to the rim like an old-school center. Of course, given the position-less basketball concept embedded in today’s game, Mann fits the next level with his long-range game.
He’s able to catch, seize a bird’s-eye view of the rim, and fire in from downtown with consistency.
While shouldering a high-order commitment to making the game a livelihood, especially during high-intensity workouts at S4G Academy under longtime head coach Kyle Solomon, Mann is beginning to play possessed. He has a guard-like fluidity with his mobility and ability to put it on the deck and engineer the transition game fresh off a defensive board. He’s developed a mid-post game, cashing in elbow jumpers and bringing bigs outside of the paint with a feathery touch.
He has played the five at the AAU level, albeit Solomon feels he’s most translatable to the next level as a stretch four.
A 30-point game against the Chatham Thunder last season was a portent of his growing versatility and surging leaping ability, as he had a pair of in-traffic two-handed sledgehammer dunks that put an exclamation point on the performance.
Solomon was quick to cite Mann’s shooting as the bedrock asset of Mann’s game. He envisions the rapidly growing (he went from 6-foot-5 to 6-9 in less than a year) player evoking mismatch headaches at the prep level this season.
Gray Cable, S4G Academy (NC):
With prodigious leaping ability and a knack for finishing in ways only rarefied athletes are capable of, Cable is tracking as a veritable super sleeper.
Playing in various exposure-heavy environments should help him ramp up his visibility among college coaches.
A well-built 6-foot-4 guard who slashes into traffic gracefully, Cable has a game predicated on grit and a nose for the rim.
He’s finely tuned his ball-handling, as he can operate offense and play off the ball.
With significant elevation on his fluid mid-range touch, he possesses the tools to be a focal point on a revitalized S4G Academy squad in 2024-25. Cable has steadily become a hounding defender, catalyzing S4G with his on-ball defense.
He’s got a knack for deflections, has shown a pattern of disrupting passing lanes, and quickly converts live-ball turnovers into ferocious leak-out dunks. With his college-ready physicality and engine, Cable is able to tear down boards and outduel bigger players for 50-50 balls.
His adept feel for the game continues to develop as he’s grasped a feel for his teammates’ tendencies.
Cable can be employed at multiple positions on both ends of the floor, as his sneaky, vertically explosive style allows him to block shots and contest point-blank attempts in stealthy fashion.
The North Carolina native has established his own lofty set of expectations and has managed them in a way that won’t temper them one single iota.
He will orchestrate a go-go, lungs-burning attack while also handling the chore of stymieing ball-dominant scorers and contesting shots with hard closeouts.
Ben Cassano, First Baptist Academy (FL):
The 6-foot-6 flamethrower has surfaced as one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, having piled up 71 treys with his pure stroke and quick release during his sophomore season.
As a junior, Cassano fired in 55 3-pointers on 41 percent shooting while transforming his entire offensive repertoire with slashing and baseline attacking.
A high-academic prospect, Cassano is coming off a season in which he averaged 22 points and six boards per game.
While his range extends out to 30 feet, Cassano has become a vertically explosive finisher with a knack for getting above the rim with relative ease. He’s shown this recently during Palm Beach Atlantic Team Camp, as he took off from 2-3 feet away from the rim and levitated above big rim protectors.
His unwavering form showed out last season, as he was able to stick long straight-on 3-pointers and bag opportunistic treys from the corner.
His poise enables him to stick opportune shots, trigger and cap vital runs that have a lasting impact on the game.
Cassano has quickly grown into a college-ready 190-pound frame, as he’s more prone to attack, finish in crafty fashion, and earn trips to the free throw line. Cassano boasts a 4.4 grade point average, with a chock-full of advanced-level courses and college credits already under his belt. He has an ACT score of 34.
Julian Desir, Lawrence Woodmere Academy (NY):
The 6-foot-7 Desir got a piece of the action last season at Christ The King, with the Class of 2026 wing-forward playing some meaningful minutes even with a front-loaded frontline that featured a skilled 6-foot-10 Class of 2024 behemoth in Qin Pang.
Now Desir is Long Island-bound, where he will play for legendary NYC coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton.
Desir was productive in his time on the floor, with some promising play during the Royals’ matchup at the County Center during the Prep vs. Public School Showcase.
Desir scored 19 points (8-for-12 FG, 0-1 3FG, 3-3 FT) and tore down 11 rebounds during the Gauchos’ southern swing that featured a stop in South Carolina this summer.
With his leaping ability, ability to get off the floor quickly, and proficiency around the rim, Desir has unique attributes that will pay dividends for Joe Arbitiello’s program during the 2024-25 campaign.
Desir is a high-end open-floor finisher. He’s developed ambidextrous finishing around the rim and a dependable shallow-water jumper. He’s able to make authoritative blocks around the rim, an aspect of his game that was noteworthy last season.