San Antonio, TX-

In what was the fifth year of our I-35 High School Showdown, the competition, teams, and talent, continue to keep growing and led to an action-packed Saturday.

If you weren’t engaged watching the talent on the floor, there was certainly some nostalgia for the basketball die-hards seeing home-grown Tri-Region basketball royalty with the likes of Ray Jackson (Austin LBJ/1991), Tony Crocker (Warren HS/2005), Devin Brown (West Campus/1998), and Robert Bell (Fox Tech/1997) all on the sidelines with a close eye on the action.

When the gym lights dimmed Saturday night, nine programs out of the 40-team field went unblemished. Credit to Pleasanton, Central Catholic, Southside, SA Veterans Memorial, Killeen Ellison, Stony Point, Smithson Valley, Boerne Champion, and Wagner, for all taking care of business going undefeated.

Our staff dives a little bit more into the details of Saturday's action. Here are some quick hits on the talent that was front and center from the I-35 HS Showdown:

Zayden High (Smithson Valley/2023), best ‘23 prospect in the #210
At 6’8”, his game has continued to improve and for those that haven’t seen his outside jumper, it’s become deadly with accuracy beyond the arc. If he wasn’t draining from outside, his ability to attack off the dribble and finish with authority above the rim multiple times, was eye catching. He dropped 29-, 31- and 36-point performances on the day.

The Top wing hails from Central Texas
Just up the road on I-35, 6’6” freakishly athletic Malik Presley (San Marcos HS/2023) has asserted himself as the best pure 2023 wing in the State of Texas. Length, quickness and jumping ability that are in a class of their own, similar to High, he’s added a smooth three-point repertoire to his game. Time after time, defenders sluffed off, daring him, and Presley made them pay from all over the perimeter when he wasn’t hammering the rock down on defenders’ heads.

Looking the Part
Chris Adamek and his Boerne Champion Chargers are a talented and deep squad. Fall ball leaves no guarantees, but it’s a snapshot as to where the team is at heading into the upcoming season. Champion faced all 6A schools and beat all opponents (Cy Lakes, Clemens, Brennan) by at least 20 points or more. The line-up of Dakari Hodge (2023), Braden Baum (2023), Jesse Peart (2022), Braxton Burdick (2022), and Charlie Georgelos (2024) will be a tough out for anyone in Region IV 5A.

Top 2022’s in San Antonio
There is no doubt, they’ve shown it all spring, summer, and now heading into the fall, Jordan Mason (Clark HS/Texas State Commit) and Austin Nunez (Wagner HS/Arizona State Commit) are at the top of the ’22 class and it’s not close. Both are next level athletes at the point guard position, and their speed and ability to change gears in mid-stride is next level. Many on-lookers took in a treat when the pair went head to head.

CenTX Combo to look out for
The chemistry and feel between Hudson Johnson (Stony Point/2022) and sophomore Josiah Moseley (Stony Point/2024) was impressive. It’s as if the pair has been playing together for years. On several occasions Johnson would find the 6’6” big man with pinpoint passes and continued to feed off of each other. The duo was the key reason why the Tigers went 3-0 on the day.

Don’t let the records fool you
We never sugar coat it, so for those that see Jefferson’s 1-2 mark and Cole’s 0-3 finish, and already start with the banter of how these teams will not be the same this year, simply don’t understand. The Mustangs were 9 seconds away from shocking 6A Warren, and went toe to toe with 6A Smithson Valley before running out of time. They have arguably the most under-recruited prospect in the city in guard Aaron San Miguel and you can bet Coach Vela will have the Mustangs ready come November.

Additionally, 3A Cole did not back down from the heavy schedule, facing two 6A schools and a prep team. They were a few late buckets away from stunning Clark and ran out of gas to much deeper Judson and Strength & Motion teams. It’s a bold statement, and we stand by it, expect the Cougs to be right there in the Alamodome come March, fighting to hoist another 3A State Championship.

New Faces and New Places
Some new prospects who are at new schools and will be worth keeping an eye on. Shane Perales (2022) has transferred to Somerset HS. Max George (2024) is now setting up for Steele HS. 6’8” post man Nehikhare Igieon (2022) has moved down I-35 and is now a Clemens Buffalo. Another post prospect, Robert Jackson (2023) is now eligible to play at Brennan HS after waiting out the transfer rule from Brackenridge after his freshman season. All four looked to be ready to help their teams in just a few weeks.

One more Top Prospect, best PG in 2023
The talent just continued pouring out onto the floor all day during the I-35 HS Showdown, and Jamyron Keller (Killeen Ellison/2023) was no exception. The 6’1” linebacker built floor general was on full display. Using his quickness to blow by defenders, strength to finish at the rim, leaping ability on follow up dunks, and his perimeter game was as good as we've seen recently. He’s another CenTX prospect with mid to high major mid interest.

Quite a few 2025’s impressed
Incoming freshman will not have logged a single minute of UIL competition until November, but there were at least 4-5 prospects that we'll be dropping in a few weeks in our Initial Public Offering Report, aka “The IPO Report.” You won't wanna miss it, so be sure to check back.