By Dane Carbaugh

The 2015 Les Schwab Invitational was supposed to have the No. 1 recruit in the country on the court at Liberty High School. Harry Giles, Oak Hill Academy’s star power forward, tore his ACL just a few minutes into his senior season.

With the Duke recruit now out for the year, fans at one of the West Coast’s best high school tournaments have to look for their future college and professional thrills elsewhere.

Good thing the LSI is absolutely stocked.

The tournament not only boasts top programs Oak Hill, Garfield and DeMatha, but at least three of the Top 50 players from ESPN’s high school ranks.

Let’s check out three players to watch out for in Oregon, and what we can look forward to from them as competition ramps up in late December.

Markelle Fultz

Markelle Fultz is No. 12 on ESPN’s Top 100 and for good reason. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound five-star senior from DeMatha (MD) thrives in transition, runs off screens and shows consistent vision in looking for his teammates.

Feltz has signed with Lorenzo Romar and the Washington Huskies for 2016 after receiving offers from Arizona, UConn, and North Carolina, among others.

Fans at LSI should be looking for Fultz in two capacities: on the fastbreak and off screens.

Transition

Fultz looks most comfortable in this stage of his development as an attacker in transition, both as a ball handler and as an efficient mover of the ball from the wing.


With the ball in his hands, Fultz often successfully attacks the rim despite lacking favorable support. Due to his length, athleticism and natural instincts with lateral movement at or just below the free-throw line, it is often difficult for defenders to stop him from getting to the cup.

This is to say that Fultz will still go right at big men -- vertical helpers -- if he sees just one guard and one forward in front of him in these situations, even with unfavorable numbers.

If there is a way to stop him, it’s finding a way to trap or block his path before he gets to the arc.

Off ball movement

DeMatha’s offense utilizes a lot of professional sets, and Fultz is often running block-to-arc off pin downs, stagger screens, and to the basket on dive and deep cuts.

While he’s not a prolific 3-point shooter, his up-and-down jumper and smooth release will likely have him taking shots over smaller defenders at LSI.


In the example above, Fultz runs up on a delayed screen as the strong side action with the ball shifts the defender at the free-throw line to shift right-to-left. That pins Fultz’s defender to both Fultz and his screener at the elbow.

Look for Fultz to take advantage of less athletic teams by losing them and shooting over them on multiple screens.

Creativity in the lane

Perhaps one of the most useful part of the senior from DeMatha’s game is his unconventional creativity at or around eight feet.

Fultz loves to drive the lane, but his shots come from all over the floor off penetration. He loves to use a one-dribble right-to-left spin move to get himself floaters, and he uses circle cuts in a way that’s advanced for his age.


Washington fans may liken him a bit to Brandon Roy in this regard, where his unconventional movement and crafty shot selection will catch defenders off guard several times per game.

Other strengths

Fultz has multitude strengths outside of these areas. He will hustle in defense against the transition, so look for some chasedown blocks. Fultz also enjoys looking for others, so don’t expect him to always finish off the dribble. Finally, due to his size it’s possible we see Fultz on the block a couple of plays. Whether called by head coach Mike Jones or not, Fultz will try to quick post at the beginning of sets to test his position.

Mario Kegler

Mario Kegler is No. 32 on ESPN’s Top 100 list and has committed to Mississippi State. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior has recently transferred to Oak Hill Academy (VA) and is looking to prepare himself for a wing scoring role before he heads to college.

With plenty of opportunity at LSI, don’t be surprised to see a game or two where Kegler either beasts a team physically or goes off on them from beyond the arc.

3-point shooting

As an underclassman, Kegler was not a very good 3-point shooter. However, he shot 36 percent from deep for Team Rose at the adidas Nations tournament this summer and it’s something he’s trying to push as he prepares for Mississippi State.


He’s got a very repeatable load up in his shot to compliment his range. He loves to shoot off the dribble, and often sways from left-to-right.

In fact, watching game tape of Kegler shows that if he’s dribbling to his right from the left wing without a solid pick, his next look is to look at the hoop.

That said, at Arlington Country Day last season, Kegler ran along the baseline on many sets. Playing for coach Steve Smith, we’ll get to see whether he will be utilized in many of the same catch-and-shoot situations.

Power dribbling

Kegler is a big body, has already grown into himself and should be able to use that to his advantage consistently at LSI. He’s not blazingly quick, but his long strides make his movements deceptive at speed.

He does a good job of guarding the ball in his gather, and likes to use his elbows to shrug defenders off for good looks at the basket.


Depending on how tight games are called at LSI, there’s a good chance we see Kegler have at least one outing where he gets to the line simply due to defenders not being able to handle his physicality.

Look for him to go baseline, where he thrives in protecting the ball and using the backboard to shield his shot.

Other strengths

Kegler is a decent passer, and can run the break well. His exceptional footwork should see him post up more against smaller opponents, but it’s unclear whether that will be a part of Oak Hill’s plan for him offensively.

Payton Pritchard

Payton Pritchard is well known to the fans at LSI, and for good reason: he’s homegrown. The senior from West Linn (OR) has captured three straight OSAA 6A state titles and recently committed to play for Dana Altman at the University of Oregon.

Pritchard, No. 42 on ESPN’s Top 100, is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior with incredible handle, deep range and a knack for finding unique ways to get his teammates the ball.

He’s a surprisingly good scorer for his size, and that’s due to his strengths being highly complimentary. Pritchard is going to stand out on the court in any game
he’s in at LSI.

Exceptional vision

Pritchard is one of if not the best passer at LSI. His ability to find holes and angles for his teammates is what makes him a special player at the point guard spot.

Due to his dribbling acumen and propensity to shoot from anywhere on the floor, Pritchard finds easy layups for his big men often.

LSI is well seasoned with performances by Pritchard from years past including no-look, behind-the-head, and cross-court passes. It’s hard to find just one example of Pritchard’s ability since it’s essentially any time he’s on the floor.


This one ought to do.

Ambidexterity

Pritchard can dribble the ball with either hand at a high level, something you don’t often see in high school. He stays low and dribbles at the knee, and uses the behind-the-back dribble both as protection from reaching defenders and as a weapon.


He loves to use head fakes and shoulder shimmies to go in either direction off the bounce, so Pritchard’s defenders will be best to keep their hands to themselves lest they open up opportunities for the aforementioned passing lanes and easy buckets for West Linn.

Shooting

The Oregon commit has exceptional range, spotting up off the dribble or in catch-and-shoot situations. Pritchard will shoot from 2-3 feet behind the 3-point line, so opponents must guard him starting at the timeline.


Another area where Pritchard excels is at or below the free throw line. His jerky-jerky dribbling moves keeps defenders low and in their defensive position anywhere outside of six feet.

One of Prichard’s favorite weapons is spinning or fading midrange shots where he can hang in the air thanks to defenders having to be on guard and in their stance.