The first weekend of AAU Season is back and we covered Marcus Sloan’s OTR Takeover event. This event had teams from all over the state including Brownsville, Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Over 300 kids were participating, and while we didn’t see all of them, let’s point out the players we noticed.
Corey Syon (2025) – A true Point guard who led his team to the Tapps State title was back on the court picking up where he left off.
Nick Zarate (2027) was one of my most impressive players all weekend. He plays for a Brownsville Texas team Called Only Fear God and Nick played that way. He scored on all three levels and should be a top player in the state for the class of 2027.
The two most impressive players I saw all weekend were Freshman, Nick Zarate and this Kid Deshawn Dillion (2027), Dillion is a 6’4 freshman who can jump out of the gym and has a beautiful jump shot from long range. He was playing the Houston Raptors but is from Jackson Mississippi. He is not only elite on the basketball court but also an all-state wide receiver.
Jose Martins -Empowering Others Preparatory – 2026 // Martins could be the best shooter in Texas. He is around 6’0 and only needs an inch of daylight to get a shot off. He’s the main reason why Team Temple 2026 beat Cooz Elite Pro16 and One Time Ledgens 3SSB this weekend. This kid will play college basketball somewhere because everyone needs a shooter.
Daylen Dalcour – Iowa Colony – 2025 // is a good clean-up man who can guard 1-5 if need be. He was a walking double-double for Iowa Colony and has continued improving his skills 15 feet and in.
Daniel Green – Shadow Creek – 2027 // Green will be the reason why One Time Ledgens 3SSB could be a problem on the Adidas circuit this summer. Green is a stoic sharpshooter who kept defense pressure on rotations every time he touched the ball.
Other Standouts from The TakeOver
2025
Noah Neumann – Shooter 📸
Chase Garcia – Shooter
Cam Newsome – Three-Level Scorer
BJ Gill – Natural Point Guard
2026
Jeremiah Sims – High IQ and Defender
Quentin Steward – Leader with Vision
Mohamed Ndao – High Energy Defender
Jakendrick Clevenger – Natural Point Guard
Lee Poncil – Strong Athletic Defender 📸
Elijah Hart – Strong Rebounder and Defender
2027
Fernando Camareno – New Caney – Strong Three-level Scorer 📸
Jon Bracey – Cy Ridge – Fearless Scorer and defender
