Scouting Notes: The Collision (NY)
Live notes from MADE Hoops' "The Collision" event in Queens.
FLUSHING, NY — I was live at Queens College for The Collision to get a look at an incredibly wide variety of U-16 and U-171 prospects.
These four prospects, all currently based in the Northeast, stood out to me the most.
Coaches, agents, etc. can get in touch at wilkomartinez@gmail.com for more detailed notes.
🇳🇬 Isaac Olaniba (2028)
HEIGHT: 6-foot-8 (looked maybe an inch taller)
TEAM: Team New England 15U (AAU) / Mt. St. Charles—RI (HS)
FROM: Nigeria
Isaac Olaniba is a constant double-double threat who plays with power on the glass and deceiving touch around the midrange. The Nigerian forward was my favorite prospect at the event and looked like a future D-I power forward.
Olaniba hit short jumpers from the free throw line or elbows, and he looked comfortable playing out of face-ups and jabsteps. The 2028 prospect also had some decent passes from those aforementioned areas — nothing to write home about, but he kept things ticking.
Olaniba was always a factor on the glass; however, he could’ve attacked the rim more often as a scorer. It sometimes felt like he settled for those in-between shots, although he can make them. Developing Olaniba’s handle will be a necessity if he is to keep operating in the high post. He’d probably only really need to use 1-2 dribbles.
On defense, the Mt. St. Charles forward dominated from a physical standpoint. So much so that it didn’t really feel like Olaniba was challenged on this end. He moved fluidly, even blocking a three on a closeout, and ran the court well.
Olaniba told me that he started playing basketball in 2021. He didn’t play any other sports growing up.
🇳🇬 Abraham Taiwo (2028)
HEIGHT: 6-foot-8
TEAM: Riverside Hawks 15U (AAU) / Long Island Lutheran—NY (HS)
FROM: Kebbi, Nigeria
Miracle Abraham Taiwo looks and moves like a future D-I wing, but he’s so green that he remains more of an overall athlete than a basketball player.
Taiwo is very active with an always-running motor, two-way physical tools, and flashes of spot-up shotmaking. He’ll get his buckets in transition, on the glass, or by broadly being more athletic and stubborn than his opponents at this level.
Occasionally, Taiwo will make a stationary three. His shot only works when he’s open. It doesn’t look busted, but the Nigerian wing is effectively a non-shooter right now. Mostly, Taiwo is a play finisher. It will be interesting to track his development at LuHi over the next few years to see how/if his on-ball repertoire expands, even if just as a slasher.
Defensively, the scouting report on Taiwo is similar. He’s disruptive with his athleticism and length, smothering pull-ups, getting to every closeout with his twitch, etc. The 2028 prospect is still raw, so his positioning might be off, his engagement might disconnect for a split second, or he might pick up an avoidable foul.
Being at LuHi gives Taiwo a great chance of being a D-I wing, but what level he gets to depends on becoming more than an athlete on the court. Taiwo was rostered at 1 of 1 Academy (NC) last year before joining LuHi in September.
The Nigerian wing reminds me a bit of Canada’s Bubu Benjamin (started at Tarleton State, now at George Washington).
🇳🇬 Modu Abdulrahman (2028)
HEIGHT: 6-foot-7
TEAM: Team New England 15U (AAU) / South Kent School—CT (HS)
FROM: Borno, Nigeria
Modu Abdulrahman is an undersized energy big who feasts on smaller and less athletic defenders, but needs to keep polishing his overall game. Abdulrahman was Isaac Olaniba’s frontcourt partner a lot of the time at The Collision.
Right now, the Nigerian forward is almost only a play finisher. He is reliant on his motor and athleticism to score, usually out of cuts, in transition, or putting back misses.
If Adulrahman stays 6-foot-7, then he’s going to be a 4 with only okay positional size or an incredibly undersized 5. I lean more towards the former. Modu’s “bag” on offense is pretty limited, but he can probably add decent defensive versatility with hedges and switches as he continues to learn the game.
Still, those smaller tweener forwards who truly thrive tend to have connective skills with bruising physicality. Abdulrahman’s balance tilts almost exclusively towards the latter right now. Once in a while, he can have a nice drive or maybe make an open spot-up.
He has what it takes to be a D-I player, although at a low-major level at first.
🇧🇧 Kadian Brathwaite (2027)
HEIGHT: Looked to be around 6-foot-7
TEAM: Team New England 16U (AAU)
FROM: Barbados
Kadan Brathwaite is a green, lanky 4-man who flashes leveraging his athleticism as a play finisher and shotmaker, but who still needs a ton of development.
The Barbados-born prospect is productive when engaged, but his motor flips on and off too often. Still, Brathwaite’s flashes are enticing. He hit a few stepbacks from two and three, and even had a few blow-bys past defenders where he got to the rim in 1-2 dribbles and used his length to finish.
Then, there were other occasions when Braithwaite got yelled at for holding onto the ball too long or for taking an unnecessary risk. The key will be ensuring that the 2027 forward’s on-switch is flipped all the time, because he more than has the tools to be a decent player. This is the case on both ends of the floor. Braithwaite’s natural level of skill was higher than his frontcourt partner Sanni Oluwasegun’s2, but the latter played much harder.
At this stage, the JUCO route or an adjacent pathway seems more achievable than D-I for Brathwaite.
Earlier in his career, he was at Calusa Prep in Miami, FL. The school has a large international roster. Brathwaite was briefly based in New York between Barbados and Calusa, according to his former coach.
Birth dates not publicly available. Please contact me for more details if interested.
Also at Mt. St. Charles, like Olaniba. Nigerian-born, previously played in Japan.
Don't know if you've been watching EYBL, but i'm honestly a bit in the middle with how tyran stokes played, specifically in memphis. He showed much more skill and pace, more counters, but his decision kaing and his 3pt shot is still streaky. Many times where he forced jumpers, and with the added skill he has, i feel like he lost some of the oomph he played with earlier, relying on skill too much instead of the nice physical tools he has. In kansas city he went back to normal though, finished in transition, high level dunks, shot was hittting (had some mid range shots, a nice 3 off the bounce, 30 vs jet academy)., also had a couple nice passes vs #1 Baba Oladunate. Looked pretty much like the #1 prospect in KS. His skill level has taken leaps, and he's still a solid passer. Some concerns with jason crowe Jr. as well. He can score, but he took so many shots. I'm waiting for caleb gaskins to take the next step as a creator, his handle is functional for what he does as a 4, but IMO he should move to the 3 to maximize his upside. Strong frame, good mid range game, but he dosent take much 3s and tends to blend in for nightrydas. He has the tools, showed some power on his drives too. If he can tighten his handle and increase his 3pt volume he's gonna be good. Needs more assertiveness though.