Buckeye Prep Charging Thanksgivings Shootout Preview (3rd/4th Grade)

When the Buckeye Prep Charging Thanksgiving Shootout tips off tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio the competition in the 3rd and 4th grade divisions promises to be intense. Case in point, in the 4th grade division, heavy hitters like #13 Team BNU, Develop, #17 Flint Flames and #9 Team Charging Elite will be taking the court.

In addition to the team talent, a number of nationally ranked kids will match up for an early season brawl. Not only will there be team talent across the board, but there will be several rosters assembled especially for this event. Some of the top 2031 kids coming to Columbus include: #1 David Ice (BNU), #2 Terry Holt III (BNU), #5 Trice Carter (BNU), #6 Josh Anthony (Develop), #10 Zander Pughsley (Develop), #27 AJ Davenport (Charging), #28 Landon Miller (Charging), #37 Marion Matthews (BNU), # 28 Landon Miller (Charging), Rocket Williams (Flint Flames), Rush Anstine (Charging), Anthony Burns Jr. (Develop) and Jack Shaker (Charging).

Some intriguing 2031 team matchups include a Friday night clash between Develop and Team Charging Elite. That game will feature several of Ohio’s top kids. Although the Buckeye State will be more represented with Team Charging and their roster of nationally ranked guys (Miller, Anstine, Davenport and Shaker), Develop will counter with Zander Pughsley, one of the top 2 or 3 players in the state in the class of 2031 and Louisville, Kentucky’s Joshua Anthony. Early Saturday morning action will feature Team Charging Elite and the Flint Flames. Flint plays excellent team basketball and a dynamic backcourt, which includes Rocket Williams. At last year’s event Flint came down Columbus and shocked some highly rated teams. The game of the day will probably pit Develop against Team BNU. That roster will have the #1 ranked player in the class in David Ice. Throw in Top 5 ranked Trice Carter and Terry Holt III for BNU and you can see why this game could be a banger!

The 3rd grade division has its own elite level teams with the #8 Buckeye Prep Hoopsters, #12 NYBL Elite, #11 Team Charging Elite, 15 Team BNU and All-Ohio Red. Some of the key matchups in that division include the #8 Hoopsters versus #12 NYBA Elite. The Tennessee-based NYBA is powered by 2 highly ranked guards in Cavali Glodthreate and Keylon Thomas, both of whom can go get a bucket. Also, from we understand, NYBA has acquired a talented big man since last season. NYBA should be well coached and tough to beat.

Although the Hoopsters have 3 nationally ranked players of their own in David Johnson II, Jordan Taylor and Carter Watson, the Columbus, Ohio-based Hoopsters get it done through more of a total team effort, excellent help-side defense and solid ball movement. Simply put, the Hoopsters tend to “out team” their opponents. The team to beat in the 3rd grade division is clearly Team BNU, who will arrive in Columbus with a virtual all-star team. With nationally ranked players like Aydin Garth, Chase Williams, Penny King, Chris Downing Jr., David Perry and Maddox Perry, realistically, we expect BNU to run the table. It will be interesting to see what All-Ohio Red has, as this team will be new to the scene. All-Ohio should be headlined by Jedi Haynes-Lee, who has apparently moved on from Team Charging Elite, and Jase Owens, who has done the same from the Hoopsters.

A few of the nationally ranked players in the class of 2032 includes: #2 Aydin Garth (BNU), #4 Penny King (BNU), #6 Chase Williams (BNU), #8 Cavali Glodthreate (NYBA), #15 David Perry (BNU), #18 Chris Downing Jr. (BNU), #22 Keylon Thomas (NYBA), #23 Jedi Haynes Lee (All-Ohio), 28 David Johnson III (Buckeye Prep), #30 Jordan Taylor (Buckeye Prep), #33 Maddox Perry BNU), Carter Watson (Buckeye Prep) and Jase Owens (All-Ohio).

With all of the team and individual talent in the gym, it’s important that the action be documented. To this end, there will be several national media outlets covering the event. Specifically, in addition to the Buckeye Prep Report, Ty Kish and MSHTV will be in the house creating highlight videos and recruiting players for their very popular MSHTV camps. In addition, Terry Holt and his T3TV machine will be checking out the action as well. Finally, Top 25 Scout, who only recently revised their national player rankings, will be taking notes for their next round of updates. Although the team numbers are small, the Buckeye Prep Charging Shootout will pack a powerful punch! Stay tuned for our post-event reports.

Nationally Ranked Players Participating in the Event (per Top 25 Scout)