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NeXT Basketball 8th Grade Summer League: Weeks 3 & 4 Top Performers

By Trevor Grady, 06/25/21, 6:45PM EDT

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We take a look at the top performers of Weeks 3 & 4 of the NBL

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Weeks three and four of the NeXT Basketball 8th Grade Summer League concluded on Thursday night, and lots of familiar faces came to play once again. Here are the past two weeks top performers.

Levi Davis (G / Olentangy Berkshire / 2026): Levi Davis is going to be a force in Central Ohio basketball for years to come. For a kid his age, he has the intangibles of a veteran high school player. He is able to make complicated reads on defense quicker than most, and jumps passing lanes extremely well. He has the confidence to shoot the ball from anywhere at any time, but it never feels like he is forcing his own shot. Davis and his squad went 4-0 these past two weeks, and remain undefeated for the entirety of the league thus far.

Mathiu Kanu (F / Worthingway / 2026): Mathiu Kanu is one of the biggest players in the summer league, and in this week's action he was able to establish himself in the paint early and often, grabbing a lot of strong rebounds. Kanu finished multiple buckets with defenders hanging on his arm. He has very impressive instincts and had a multitude of ferocious blocks in his team’s 48-38 loss to Olentangy Shanahan last week.

Riku Nishikawa (G / Dublin Davis / 2026): Riku Nishikawa played extremely well for the Irish this past week in their game against Dublin Sells. He was instrumental in getting his team a 34-27 lead  with under eight minutes remaining. Sells finished the game on a 19-4 run to get the 46-38 victory. Nishikawa played outstanding defense picking up his man full court for most of the game and forcing multiple turnovers.

Kaden Gebhardt (SF / Olentangy Shanahan / 2026): Kaden Gebhardt led his team to a 38-28 victory on Thursday night. He was the floor general for his squad facilitating most of their offensive buckets. He is an extremely hard worker, and that was evident the way he was fighting for rebounds from start to finish. Gebhardt also knocked down a key three pointer in the second half.

Alex Smith (F / UA Jones / 2026): Alex Smith had another fantastic week rebounding the ball. Smith and his team fell in a hard fought battle to Olentangy Berkshire 38-31 last week, but he had lots of spurts where he would take over the game on the offensive side of the ball. Whether it be fighting for position inside, finding his teammates, or finishing strong inside, Smith showed it all. He and his squad bounced back this week with a 61-46 win over Big Walnut on Tuesday. and Smith had his work ethic on display once again.

Jamarcus Jones (F / Harvest Prep / 2026): Jamarcus Jones is another player that has some very advanced skills for his age. His quickness is often unmatched in transition and he uses that to his advantage. The biggest sign of basketball IQ from Jones was on the defensive side of the ball. He was able to read off-ball screens like it was nothing and come up with steals with ease.

Treyton Schroeder (PG / Olentangy Berkshire / 2026): Treyton Schroeder just continues to impress. When watching him play you find yourself expecting him to get a steal if he hasn’t had one in a few minutes of game time. Schroeder showed off his exceptional guard play in all four games these past two weeks. He was a big reason why his team was able to cap this week off with a 79-22 win over Worthingway.

Cooper Craig (G / Dublin Grizzell / 2026): Cooper Craig is a steady force for Dublin Grizzell, and he is able to keep the offense flowing at the pace it should be. When he gets into the open floor he is very dangerous, knowing just when to pass and when to finish strong through contact. It is evident that his teammates look to him for their confidence in the important moments of games.

Brylan Brown (G / Worthington McCord / 2026): Brylan Brown played some great basketball again this week. He has a knack for drawing fouls when he drives towards the rim, and he is able to finish strong even with bigger defenders on him. Brown is the clear leader at the guard position for his Worthington McCord squad.

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