City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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SCRANTON — The third annual KYDA Invitational took place this weekend at multiple venues in and around the Electric City, with several sneaker-backed programs joining other strong regional grassroots squads for a pre-April live period warmup. 

Spent the weekend up there watching a number of the K-Low Elite, WeR1 and East Coast Power squads as well as a bunch of those from around the region, talking to rising seniors and juniors about their recruitment, development and more:

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KYDA Invitational Day 1 Standouts
KYDA Invitational Day 2 Standouts

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Adrien Stevens (2025 | WeR1 16U)

Stevens is quickly making up for lost time.

The 6-4 wing missed his entire freshman year at the Bullis School (Md.), undergoing knee surgery in Nov. 2021 to repair some loose cartilage. He made his way back over the summer and played a key role this winter, playing as Bullis’ sixth man as the Bulldogs went 26-5, beating a local powerhouse in the George School as well as plenty of programs from the DC/MD/VA area. 

For his contributions, he was named to the All-IAC team, which had 12 honorees from six schools but didn’t have divisions for first or second team.

“It felt great, especially coming off the bench,” he said. “I just always had to have the spark. Coach [Bruce] Kelley, I love coach Kelley, he was always looking for me to get the team to the next level coming off the bench. So it was good.”

A 6-foot-4, 195-pound wing, Stevens already has an advanced physique for his grade, which helps him put up some solid numbers in both the scoring and rebounding column in 16U action. He’s not an elite shooter just yet but he’s got a smooth-looking jumper, and he was effective from the mid-range and in multiple watches this weekend, with his head up in transition.

He’s one of a number of intriguing high-ceiling wings on the WeR1’s 16s, a roster which includes players from the DMV area all the way up Northeast Pennsylvania, from where Gabe Tanner hails.

“I really like our camaraderie, I feel like we’re all brothers here,” Stevens said. “A lot of people make a commitment to drive up to Delaware, drive down to Delaware. Me and two of my other teammates are from the DMV so that’s like a two-hour drive to practice and I just love [that] everyone’s committed.”

Stevens already picked up his first Division I offer, from NJIT, this season, and said he’d heard from the likes of Virginia and Virginia Tech as he goes into his first live period action this upcoming weekend in Arizona for the first Under Armour Association stop. He said he’s hoping to show coaches that he’s becoming more efficient with his dribbles and touches, and his ability to make plays for himself and his teammates.

As he chases his Division I dreams, it helps that he’s being coached by Mark Bass, who was a longtime assistant under Phil Martelli at Saint Joseph’s, where he also played in the mid-1990s.

“Coach Bass is really experienced, he brings that to the table,” Stevens said. “When we’re in practice, he points out stuff that some of us don’t really see, and it’s eye opening. We all want to get to that Division I level so the stuff that he says, we take it and apply to the game, so it’s really good to have him as a coach.”

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Erik Oliver-Bush (2023 | K-Low Elite 17U)

Oliver-Bush only got one year in the Philadelphia Catholic League, but he made the most of it.

The former Trenton Catholic (N.J.) wing spent his senior year at Roman Catholic, where he was a starter on the Cahillites’ Catholic League championship squad, playing a key two-way role during one of the most memorable PCL title games in recent memory.

It was one of the best feelings ever, just winning that, the atmosphere, all our students coming on the court with us, celebrating it,” he said. “And because of how hard we practiced all year, [it] felt like we deserved it.”

Due to PIAA transfer regulations, Oliver-Bush and fellow senior Jermai Stewart-Herring had to sit out the district and state playoffs, watching from the sidelines as Roman made it all the way to the championship game in Hershey before falling just short to a powerful Reading squad.

The two spent the days in between working out and preparing for a key April, where they’re each playing grassroots ball; Oliver-Bush with K-Low and Stewart-Herring with Philly Pride. 

A 6-5, 188-pound wing, Oliver-Bush does have a pair of Division II offers, from Holy Family and Bloomfield (N.J.), as well as one from NAIA powerhouse Peru State (Neb.), but he also is considering a year of prep school. At the moment he said he’s still “looking for more opportunities,” that it doesn’t have to be at the Division I level.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” he said. “I want to be somewhere I feel comfortable and I can see myself playing there for an extended period of time.”

At the moment, Oliver-Bush said he’s likely leaning towards the prep route, giving him that extra year to develop into being a ‘2’ guard, working on his outside shooting and ball-handling.

“I might fully commit to doing a prep year [sooner than the end of April],” he said. “It’ll depend on where conversations are at.”

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AJ Rodriguez (2024 | NY Gauchos 17U)

Still only 17 years old, Rodriguez had a pretty easy decision when it came to the end of his senior year at Iona Prep without a scholarship offer in hand. So he’s doing a post-graduate year at St. Thomas More (Conn.), where he’ll play for legendary coach Jere Quinn at the long-successful New England prep program.

“I feel like by going to St. Thomas More, I already spoke with the coaches, I know a couple of the guys over there, so I feel like that’ll help me better improve my game, all aspects of the game,” he said. “Inside, outside, defense, whatever.” 

Rodriguez said he’d been hearing from a number of high-academic schools during his time at Iona Prep, located just outside of New York City in Westchester County, including Dartmouth, Harvard, Columbia and Boston University. The reaction to his doing another year, he said, was positive.

“They all think the move is best for me as it’ll help me better develop my game and stuff, and they’ve been in contact, so we’ll see where that takes me, we’ll see what happens,” he said.

A 6-5, 195-pound wing guard, Rodriguez showed his scoring abilities with a total of 43 points in two games while playing with the Gauchos, making six 3-pointers between the two as he went for at least 20 both teams against high-level competition. He’s got a smooth, easy stroke from beyond the arc and a solid handle, not trying to do anything too fancy but put the ball in the bucket or keep it moving. 

“I feel like I can shoot pretty well, I feel like I can get to the rim here and there, I play defense at a decent level,” he said. “I feel like I’m a good playmaker, I try to get my teammates involved, not only myself.”

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Qin Pang (2024 | NY Renaissance 17U)

Though the NY Renaissance 17U rotation was only seven deep this weekend, it was a loaded group indeed; five-star prospects Naas Cunningham and Dylan Harper, both in the top 10 in the senior class, are the headliners, but that’s no insult to the other five, who are all high-major prospects in their own right. 

That includes Pang, a 6-9, 240-pound combo forward from Shenzhen, a city of more than 17 million people in Guangdong, a province in Southeast China. He’s been playing ball in the U.S. for the last three years, going to Christ the King (N.Y.) as he chases his dream of playing in the NBA.

First will come a stop in college, where he’s got 17 offers from a bevy of high-major programs. He said that Michigan, Rutgers and Oregon have been talking to him the most, but also heard from his coaches that Kentucky had started to get involved. 

It was clear in watching him why he’s got so much collegiate attention; Pang has a smooth 3-point jumper, which he said has always been his strength, but he’s got a tremendously strong frame with tree trunks for legs, which makes it tough to move him off the block or stop him from finishing inside, and he’s got the finesse to finish around the rim with great touch.

“I think (I need to work on) my feet, need to slide my feet, play some defense,” he said.

For now the focus is on doing well on the EYBL circuit and getting to Peach Jam in July, where all the Nike-backed squads will fight it out for the most coveted prize in grassroots hoops.

“We just keep being better and play together and play hard,” he said. “I think we’re ready.”

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Javoy Thompson (2023 | WeR1 17U)

One eye-opener this weekend on a deep WeR1 17U squad was Thompson, a Bronx native who played at Redemption Christian in Troy (N.Y.), near Albany, and is just finishing up his senior year. The 6-6, 205-pound ball-dominant wing guard was powerful and athletic, getting to his spots and hitting shots from all over, and he played at a high energy level whenever he was on the court.

“Right now I feel like I can play the ‘1’ to the ‘4’,” he said. “I can post up, bring it out, mis-match nightmare, in a way. I can dribble, come off screens, look for guys, hit shots off the screen, and I can play great defense.”

Thompson said he’d heard from a variety of Division I programs during the last year but didn’t have any offers to his name; he had NJIT and Austin Peay but coaching changes at both schools took them off the table. He’s hoping to pull in some opportunities over the next two weeks during Under Armour stops in Arizona and South Carolina.

“I just want to show them how I can defend, because my defensive effort’s kind of raised up,” he said. “I knew that I needed to do better at defense, I’ve been working on it a lot, I just want everyone to see I’m coming to play defense.”

Though he’s hoping to end up on a college roster this summer, Thompson is also open to a prep year if need be.

“Whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I’m just going with the flow right now.”

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Jacob Wallace (2025 | WeR1 16U)

Wallace has spent his first two years at DeMatha learning and growing, from the JV team as a freshman to a bench role as a sophomore, knowing he’s at a place that’s produced a ton of NBA talent. He’s personally met Jerami Grant and Markelle Fultz when they’ve come back to talk to the squad, and is set up to be oe of the next D-I guards from the DMV-area powerhouse.

The 5-11, 165-pound point guard has offers from Hampton and NJIT as he enters his 16U offseason, still a ways away from even thinking about where he’ll be going for college but with the optimism that there’s more to come in the future. 

“It’s a great confidence boost,” he said of having the offers. “My teammates push me, my coaches push me, so it’s all good.”

A tough on-ball defender, Wallace was forcing all sorts of turnovers in multiple watches this weekend, and he was a strong rebounder and distributor. The next step is becoming a true three-level scorer, as point guards need to be able to defend and stretch the floor at th next level.

“I’m working on my pull-up jump shots and my 3-ball,” he said. “It’s going to get better as I keep working.”

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Jalen Lyn (2024 | Wiz Kids 17U)

Playing on a squad with two five-star guards, it can be easy to overlook Lyn, but the 6-4, 175-pound point guard is no-doubt Division I prospect in his own right, an attack-style point guard who’s great off the bounce and with the ball in his hands.

Lyn, who goes to Tennessee Prep (Tenn.), already has five offers in his pocket: FIU, UAB, Manhattan, Central Arkansas and Bethune-Cookman, but said he’s been hearing from Memphis, Syracuse and Miami, high-majors starting to come on board as the summer approaches.

“They just want to see me keep dominating at this level,” he said. “I’m playing with two top guys in the nation [...] it’s great, it just makes it easier for me, so I make it easier for them.”

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