It has been a busy summer for three Black Hills High School boys basketball players.
Talon and Quinton Morrill plus James Morgan have gone across the nation to various basketball tournaments and camps.
They jump-started August by being invited to a top-100 showcase from West Coast Elite in Los Angeles that took place Saturday and Sunday.
Finishing a stretch where they — plus teammate Peyton Faught — were in Las Vegas for the Bigfoot Hoops Tournament, then California and finally Auburn, Washington for summer basketball.
A day after being in Auburn, Talon and Quinton were told they were invited to the showcase. James was invited soon after.
The Morrill twins, both juniors-to-be, were quite impressed by the talent they were surrounded by in LA.
“It showed me how good I was compared to other good players,” Talon admitted.
“We got people from Boston, Oklahoma, Colorado, we’re getting a taste of the whole nation,” Quinton said.
The first day was primarily a skills workout with what Morgan called run by “high-level trainers.” Day two was tournament style, starting with pool play then bracket style. The Morrill brothers were on one team and Morgan on another.
Quinton and Talon combined for 26 points in a loss to Bucket Squad Elite. Morgan’s group also was knocked out in the opening round.
“You can tell they practice day and night,” Quinton said. “It is fun playing against good teams like that and it shows where our skill level is at.”
Morgan’s big takeaway from the outing was gaining the experience as the sophomore-to-be is coming off all-league honors, as are Talon and Quinton.
“I was one of the youngest out there,” Morgan said.
The Morrills’, Morgan and Faught all played up a level in Vegas and won the 17U bracket. It was the second straight year the quartet competed at a higher level on their team.
“It didn’t really surprise us,” Morgan stated. “Our chemistry has grown a lot. Been together everyday training, getting shots up. We know what our strengths and weaknesses are.”
As for what the summer still has in store, Morgan said maybe a couple camps or tournaments might still be on the schedule.
Still, the Wolves have a core group of returning players that they believe are primed for a breakout winter once official practice starts in a handful of months.
“We’re very talented,” Quinton said. “Everyone that comes in our path, we’ll blow by them. We believe in our team. Our mentality is to kill you if you’re in front of us.”
