McDonald's All American Game Interviews/Practice Highlights, Part Two April 15, 2011
[Read Full Article] Mcdonald's All-American Week Player Evaluations April 5, 2011 Amongst the more impressive physical specimens at the McDonald's All-American game, Branden Dawson (#18 Scout, #13 Rivals, #20 ESPN) exceeded expectations with his bruising style of play throughout the week.
Jim Hlavac / DraftExpress
An exceptional run-jump athlete with a sturdy frame, long-arms, and giant hands, Dawson has physical attributes somewhat similar to those of Kawhi Leonard. He shares Leonard's tremendous rebounding ability too, looking extremely good crashing the glass on both ends for a future small forward.
On the offensive end, Dawson is still clearly a work in progress. He's very capable of finishing above the rim, but is still developing the perimeter shooting, ball-handling, and passing to ease his transition to the wing at Michigan State. Dawson showed improvement in each of those areas this week, and was one of the few players able to contain Austin Rivers in practice on the defensive end thanks to his blend of length, lateral quickness, and intensity.
Dawson has impressive role player potential, and with continued development as a perimeter scorer could be a big piece of the puzzle as Michigan State looks to retool. He certainly fits the mentality Tom Izzo looks for. [Read Full Article]
2011 McDonald's High School All-American Dunk Contest Videos April 1, 2011 Future Michigan State Spartan Branden Dawson was in the contest but did not advance to the final round.
Branden Dawson tosses it to himself from behind the arc and then catches it off of the bounce, grabs it two-handed before giving a slight windmill and dunking with both hands.
Branden Dawson quickly shoots it from behind the 3-point line and then catches it on the bounce and dunks it one-handed just before his time expires. [Read Full Article]
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