With his scoring repertoire as a creative, persistent, undersized wing who is able to get defenders to bite on head fakes, Class of 2025 St. Raymond's prospect Brandon Stores Jr. continues to draw comparisons to legendary NBA forward Adrian Dantley, who is etched in big league lore as a Top-10 all-time scorer. Similar to Dantley, Stores has a bullish 6-foot-5 and 205-pound build, capable of muscling his way into the rim and bulldozing defenders inside.
He's increased his overall game with his reliable shooting touch, as he's able to connect on 15–18 footers and straight-away 3-pointers while transforming his make-up as one of the best players in the talent-rich CHSAA "AA" and New York City.
Stores has an offensive uniqueness in his ability to catch and face from 10–15 feet out. He's known for fall-away jumpers, a fluid mid-range game, and an array of back-to-the-rim moves. With his significant size advantage on smaller defenders, he's been able to repeatedly exploit mismatches in the post. As an evolving high major recruit, however, Stores has become lighter on his feet and more bouncier. He's developed into more of a long-range trigger man.
Yet in performances like last week, during a loss against Stepinac, the puzzling threat he poses for defenders was quite evident. He's able to really utilize his size advantage with a bird's-eye view of the rim and stick jumpers with a low degree of difficulty. He's an active ingredient on the glass while becoming more comfortable putting the ball on the floor. While Syracuse has been active with the Class of 2025 big guard-wing for some time now, there has been hearsay that Rutgers is in heavy pursuit of Stores and making recently gained traction.
Rutgers, of course, owns one of the country's most prized 2024 recruiting classes with 6-foot-5 point guard Dylan Harper and 6-foot-9 jack of all trades Airious"Ace" Bailey. A thunderous above-rim finisher with the rarefied ability to put the ball on the deck like a point guard, stick perimeter shots and operate a high octane offensive attack. Bailey thrived during the Slam Summer Classic Volume 5 at Rucker Park back in August. Bailey's high end athleticism and ability to play and guard nearly every position has enabled him to thrive at national power McEachern (GA). Harper, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-5 high scoring guard with a tremendous green light and a creative, prolific left handed scoring skill set. He's able to really carve out space with his handle and draw away defenders with a wealth of stepbacks, pull-ups, and twisting layups in traffic. As he proved this summer while playing on the EYBL circuit with the New York Rens, he's plenty capable of hitting those timely, opportunistic 3-pointers.
While he's not knockdown shooter by trade, Harper has been able to stick go-ahead three-pointers and decisive 3-pointers during crucial junctures of a game. He's a major presence in the running game and plays. With a mindful awareness, hitting teammates on the run and also creating perimeter shots while feeding the post. With him being left-handed, with the ability to guard the 1-4 with his college-ready build, Harper has all of the intangibles translatable for a titanic freshman season. While he may not be a one-and-done NBA prospect at this stage of his development. He certainly has the wealth of talent and advanced tool-set to help pioneer Rutgers to unprecedented NCAA tournament territory alongside Bailey next season.
Stores is on a major upward trajectory as one of the most prolific scorers on both a local and national level. The numbers are both staggering and convincing. He's had multiple games of 25+ points already this season, establishing himself as an alpha scorer who can deliver during heightened moments. At the next level, Stores has the potential to be an old school scorer with a knack for getting open looks and reviving the mid-range, with shallow water jumper.
Haisi Mayben (Green Tech HS, NY ’25) Mayben has been authoring a tear this season at the Albany power. He recently came to the Bronx to gauge his grit against high-level Division-I talent, during a 66-65 loss at Cardinal Hayes HS last week Thursday. Mayben is a shifty, slick passer who engineers the attack and the high low game for Green Tech. He's developed into a reliable 3-point shooter who can stretch defenses out and pile up points when he hits consecutive shots.
The Class of 2025 Mayben catalyzed Green Tech during their sectional championship as a sophomore, pouring in a game-best 17-points en route to garnering Tournament MVP honors. Mayben is still a relatively young Class of 2025 recruit, so the possibility of a re-class would soar his stock should he utilize a prep year. He's a crafty finisher who utilizes a space-creation skill set and knows how to carve routes to the rim. He also displayed tools such as a turn-around jumper and a deft transition passing arsenal.
New York basketball junkies may recognize Mayben's name. He is the son of former Troy HS (NY) superstar Emmanuel "Tiki" Mayben, an once No.1 nationally ranked point guard who played with a sense of flash, slickness, and scoring spurt-ability. Tiki Mayben grazed the cover of SLAM magazine before he turned 17 years old and was a prodigal type of schoolboy talent upstate. He wound up committing to Syracuse early on in his career but wound up playing at both UMass and later at Binghamton University. Mayben was a central figure in leading Binghamton to its first-ever America East title and tournament berth during his heyday, and he culminated his journey ride of a collegiate career with 13-points and seven assists against Duke in the Big Dance.
While the elder Mayben never truly matriculated to the hype which once surrounded him and the wealth of natural ability he possessed. He's been instrumental in coaching up his son and imparting his own wisdom and know-how in the burgeoning combo guard talent. Currently averaging 19-points, eight assists, and four rebounds, Mayben exemplifies a whiff of swagger and toughness which is similar to his old man.
Jayden Ramirez (Christ The King HS, NY '25)few players have improved their overall stature on a loaded team as the Class of 2025, Ramirez has. While he showed flashes last season, he's become a vital element in CTK's sharpshooting attack. Ramirez stuck open 3-pointers, finished in transition, and finished through hard contact en route to scoring a 21 points, on the strength of five treys, during Christ The King's 81-52 mauling of East Catholic during the Hoophall Classic. Ramirez is reaping the rewards of a long summer in which he invested in the workload, bought in as a supplemental scoring piece and rugged defender, and prepared himself for a vastly bigger role after CTK that lost Devin Vanterpool (Florida Atlantic University), Brandon Gardner (USC), Brandon Williams (UCLA), and several others from last year's team. He's evolved with his offensive role by thriving in the catch-and-shoot game and finding innovative ways to score.
Markell Alston (Christ The King HS, NY '25)Alston brings the most veteran experience and proven, know-how on this side of Iowa State commit Dwayne Pierce for Joe Arbitiello's team. He's bettered his game by becoming more assertive as a scorer, developing shot consistency, and taking it upon himself to pull the big shots during crunch time. Stronger and more explosive, Alston scored 24-points on a scintillating 11-for-13 from the field during CTK's aforementioned 81-52 thrashing of East Catholic during last week's Friday Hoophall Classic. Alston was sidelined for much of the second semester last season for disciplinary issues, following his role in an ugly melee that spilled into the stands during an absolute fracas in last year's heated matchup against Molloy. This season, he's done a commendable job of not only making amends for lost time but spearheading the team as a powerful lead guard with adeptness of decision making. Against East Catholic, Alston was able to get any look he wanted and really thread through defenders. The sheer clinic he put on entailed strong glides to the rim and ambidextrous finishing. Crafty finishes through and around defenders, transition leak-out buckets, as well as a pair of 3-pointers. He added five assists. Christ The King appears to have gained a significant edge over much of an evenly matched CHSAA "AA," with considerable guard depth.
They've been led by a bullish, 6-foot-6 big guard in the prolific scoring Dwayne Pierce. Arbitiello has said Pierce, who committed to Iowa State as a junior. He is having one of his best senior seasons as anyone he's coached in the past 16 seasons. CTK has also discovered an eruptive assailant's instinct in 6-foot-10 Qin Pang, another highly recruited Class of 2024 forward-center who has taken over games with multi-faceted scoring. Pang is a floor spreader with a heady offensive tool set and has been an active lob finisher while powering up and using his massive, college-ready 6-10 and 240lb-pound frame.
