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| 2010 HoopHall Classic: Top Prospects |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President, Joseph Treutlein - Assistant Director of Scouting |
| January 20, 2010 |
Cory Joseph, 6-3, Point Guard, Findlay, 2010
Committed to Texas
Joseph Treutlein
Skyrocketing up the 2010 point guard and overall rankings in the past year, Cory Joseph (#22 Scout, #7 Rivals, #30 ESPN) just continues to play better and better, showing off his extremely advanced skill level and feel for the game.
Joseph came out the gates extremely aggressive in this game, over-dribbling the ball on nearly every play and either attacking the basket or giving the ball up at the last second. While it didn’t look pretty to start, the results were undeniable, as he scored at will over and around opponents, showing off incredible body control and touch in the lane, scoring on all kinds of moves, be it floaters, reverse lay-ups, spin drives, or pull-up shots. He’s incredibly smooth with the ball in his hands, can hit pull-up jumpers going left or right, has range to the three-point line and then some, and can finish with either hand at the basket. From a pure skills standpoint, there’s nothing Cory Joseph doesn’t have.
As a point guard, some questions can certainly be made about Joseph’s approach, as he’s clearly a shoot-first type player who loves having the ball in his hands, but it’s hard to argue with the results, as Findlay has only lost one game in the past two seasons. Projecting to the next level, as long as Joseph adjusts to a more balanced offense in terms of touches, he should be an exceptionally good college player, though there are still some questions about how his physical tools will allow him to project to the NBA level. Regardless, it’s early in his development, so it’s tough to say anything finite on that front just yet.
Kyrie Irving, 6-1, PG/SG, St. Patrick, 2010
Committed to Duke
Jonathan Givony
Having only gotten some fleeting glances at top prospect Kyrie Irving (#5 Scout, #9 Rivals, #6 ESPN) in our somewhat limited exposure to the high school scene, the St. Patrick point guard was obviously high on our list of players to evaluate. What we got was a bit of a mixed bag, with one very poor half followed up by one very strong one.
Irving’s physical tools do not appear to be overwhelming on first glance relative to most top point guard prospects, as he sports average size and good, but not incredible athleticism. He’s a quick guy with solid change of speed ability, but is not incredibly fluid and struggled badly trying to stay of the extremely aggressive Cory Joseph.
Where Irving clearly shines is as a scorer, displaying impressive instincts and a very complete game for a player so young. He’s extremely aggressive in transition, making quick, strong moves to the basket any time he sees even a hint of daylight and doing a good job finishing at the rim.
He can also create in the half-court, looking like a dangerous threat on the pick and roll with his ability to slash to the basket or pull-up off the dribble. Irving has a terrific shooting stroke both in catch and shoot situations or elevating off the bounce, showing a real knack for throwing the ball in the basket in some very tough situations. He also appears to have very nice court vision, threading the needle with some very difficult passes at times.
On the downside, Irving is at times overly aggressive looking for his own offense and tends to freeze out his fellow teammates, something that is not rare in the least bit from a talented scorer at the high school level. He tends to over-penetrate at times and run into brick walls in the process, and heaved up a couple of extremely bad shots from the perimeter with multiple defenders draped all over him.
Irving is another player that we need to see a few more times before we’re able to get a more accurate read on. He plays a very frenetic style of basketball that probably will have to be toned down under his coaching staff at Duke next season, but obviously has some terrific gifts that clearly can’t be taught. He’ll surely be invited to all the major events on the high school all-star circuit this spring, which should give us a much a better opportunity to evaluate him.
Michael Gilchrist, 6-7,SG/SF, St. Patrick, 2011
Undecided
Joseph Treutlein
In the first few minutes of #1 ranked St. Patrick’s game against #3 ranked Findlay, Michael Gilchrist re-aggravated a leg injury, as he started severely hobbling around the court. His coach pulled him out of the game immediately, but he demanded to be put back in within minutes. For the rest of the game, Gilchrist refused to leave the game, despite seemingly bruising another part of his lower body every time he attacked the basket. Still, he consistently ran the floor and fearlessly took the ball to the hole, dead set on doing everything he can to help his team win, playing 29 of 32 minutes.
From a scouting standpoint, not much can be taken away from this game in terms of Gilchrist’s skills or athletic ability, as he was clearly playing at nowhere near 100%. Before re-aggravating his injury, he made one nice baseline drive to the rim, and seemed to show good body control for most of the game, but he got by purely on heart and determination, scoring 19 points and pulling in 8 rebounds while getting to the free throw line 10 times.
In terms of his shooting, Gilchrist has a noticeable hitch in his mechanics, which is very problematic when he’s pulling up. His motion is consistent and accurate, though, as evidenced by his 9-for-10 shooting at the line. Honing his perimeter shooting ability will be the next step in Gilchrist’s development, but he still has plenty of time to work on that.
The biggest thing to take away from this performance is how rare of a competitor Gilchrist truly is, especially for a player of his caliber. The logical thing to do for the #1 ranked junior in the country to do in a fairly meaningless regular season high school game would be to not risk getting hurt any worse, but Gilchrist would have none of that. Instead, he fought extremely hard on both ends of the court, risking his body on every play.
Kendall Marshall, 6-4, Point Guard, Bishop O’Connell, 2010
Committed to North Carolina
Joseph Treutlein
This wasn’t the greatest game for the UNC-bound point guard, as his team was severely overmatched in talent and his teammates did little to help him out, but there was still reason to be impressed with what Kendall Marshall (#21 Scout, #32 Rivals, #19 ESPN) brought to the table.
Offensively, it’s much the same story from the last time we profiled Marshall, as he has a tremendous feel for the game along with good ball-handling skills with either hand. What really stands out about his game, though, is his ability to pass the ball, as he frequently makes all kinds of advanced passes, be it no-look passes, one-handed passes with either hand, cross-court passes, or some combination of the three.
If anything, he seems to rely on these things a little bit too much, favoring making many of his passes in mid-air when it’s not necessary, but that should be something he adjusts early on in his college career. Marshall’s biggest problem in the game today was that his teammates either couldn’t finish his passes or couldn’t catch them, with a few bounces off the chests and hands of his teammates, leading to him tallying just 1 assist against 7 turnovers.
From a scoring perspective, Marshall is less impressive, mainly due to his perimeter shot, which is just respectable at best. He has no problem launching away from three-point range, and his shot appears to be on line most of the time, but he suffers from a lack of arch, leading to some line drive misses.
He’s more impressive attacking the basket, where he can take advantage of his strong frame and creativity, finishing on an array of impressive moves here, be it floaters or reverse lay-ups. He’s extremely crafty with the ball, both handling and scoring in the lane, and he definitely has a very advanced feel for the game in general.
Marshall clearly has the attitude and approach of more of a glue type player than an alpha scorer, and that was definitely evident here, where his team needed more of the latter against the vastly more talented St. Benedict’s. This’ll be much less of a problem at UNC, where he will fit in very nicely as a complementary player, and should be able to contribute from day one.
Myck Kabongo, 6-2, Point Guard, St. Benedict’s, 2011
Committed to Texas
Jonathan Givony
One of the most highly touted point guards in the 2011 class, Myck Kabongo did a very good job of showing his strengths here in Springfield, while also leading his team to victory.
Kabongo has a good physical profile, standing 6-2, with a nice frame, long arms, and solid athleticism. He’s not overwhelmingly quick or explosive at the moment, but is still extremely young and has plenty of time to reach his peak physical potential.
The type of player most college coaches would love to have running their team, Kabongo is clearly a pure pass-first point guard with strong intangibles and a pretty well-rounded all-around game. He likes to operate in transition, but is also pretty solid in the half-court, having a good understanding of how to play the pick and roll and create scoring opportunities, but mostly preferring (at times overly so) to drive and dish to teammates rather than looking to shoot the ball himself. He clearly favors driving to his left, and like all young guards, needs to continue to develop his advanced ball-handling skills.
Kabongo is also a pretty good shooter, showing awkward, flat-footed mechanics, but seeing good results from 3-point range nonetheless. He needs to continue to work on his pull-up jumper, though, particularly from mid-range, where he’s not nearly as effective.
Defensively, Kabongo had his hands full with one of the top point guards in high school basketball, Kendall Marshall, but clearly got the better of him in this game. He did not leave him for an instant when the two were on the court at the same time, sticking to him like glue and then putting excellent pressure on the ball when he was finally able to initiate the offense.
Its pretty clear what the recruiting services like so much about Kabongo’s game, as it’s rare to see a players at this level show the type of unselfishness and pass-first mentality he does, let alone one who is only a junior. In order to emerge as a top prospect down the road he must continue to work on his offensive polish and hopefully develop that extra gear that most great guards have.
Mikael Hopkins, 6-8, Power Forward, DeMatha Catholic, 2011
Jonathan Givony
A very raw, but fairly intriguing big man who is clearly in the very early stages of development, Mikael Hopkins is definitely someone that catches your eye on first glance. Sporting a terrific (but currently underdeveloped) frame, long arms (and neck) and solid athleticism, Hopkins has all the basic physical tools you would like to see from a young prospect.
He also displays some budding skills on the offensive end, knocking down a couple of mid-range jumpers, showing nice mechanics and touch, and making some intriguing moves with the ball both facing and with his back to the basket. Hopkins has soft hands, nice footwork and has some solid spin moves in his arsenal, even if he’s clearly very raw at this stage and isn’t immune to getting ahead of himself and turning the ball over. He looks a bit clumsy at times and somewhat passive in others, like many young big men do, but will do enough things over the course of a contest to keep you coming back for more.
Defensively, Hopkins is a presence with his size and length, but needs to get tougher and continue to work on his fundamentals, particularly on the glass. The game moves a little too fast for him at times, but his intangibles look fairly solid on first glance. Outside of that, it’s best to just wait and see how he develops over the next few years before drawing any long-term conclusions. With his physical tools and the pedigree of playing at one of the most respected high schools in America, he’ll surely have most of the top college coaches in America ready to offer him a scholarship.
Gilvydas Biruta, 6-8, Power Forward, St. Benedict’s, 2010
Committed to Rutgers
Jonathan Givony
One of the most pleasant surprises to emerge from the HoopHall Classic, Lithuanian power forward Gilvydas Biruta did an excellent job of asserting himself and showing his potential as a high major sleeper.
6-8, with long arms, a big frame that is currently lacking definition, and athleticism that initially appears to be below average, Biruta doesn’t overwhelm you on first glance. He’s a tough guy, though, and a better athlete than he gets credit for, running the floor well and getting off the ground for a couple of impressive finishes in transition and put-back dunks.
Biruta produced in this fashion, and also stepped outside and knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, which is a nice skill to have from your big man. On the downside, he doesn’t appear to be a great rebounder and is a bit limited on the defensive end with his average lateral quickness. While his potential probably isn’t off the charts, Biruta looks like a nice pickup for Rutgers, and will likely develop into a solid Big East player.
Tristian Thompson, 6-9, Power Forward, Findlay Prep, 2010
Committed to Texas
Jonathan Givony
This surely wasn’t the most impressive performance of the season for Thompson (#6 Scout, #17 Rivals, #11 ESPN), partially due to foul trouble, so it’s probably not wise to read too much into it and instead wait for better opportunities to evaluate him.
What we could see was that Thompson has shed most of the baby fat he was surprisingly sporting last summer and has worked on chiseling up his outstanding frame. He’s still the same long and athletic forward with outstanding rebounding skills—coming up with some monster boards out of his area in traffic in this game, and being pretty active in general getting his hands on loose balls.
Offensively, Thompson continues to look fairly limited, as he doesn’t sport much in the ways of ball-handling skills or perimeter shooting ability, and didn’t make much of an effort to assert himself in the post considering the size advantage he enjoyed on his matchups. He did have one terrific drop-step move, which was unfortunately called off due to a dubious traveling violation. Ultimately he remains the type of player who needs shots created for him around the basket beyond the points he gives you in transition or on the offensive glass.
Beyond that, it’s better to wait for the high school all-star game circuit to formulate a better opinion on his long-term potential.
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| 2009 National Prep Showcase: Best of the Rest |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President, Joseph Treutlein - Assistant Director of Scouting |
| November 25, 2009 |
DraftExpress was in attendance at the National Prep Showcase this past weekend in New Haven, Connecticut where many of the nations finest prep schools were in action. We take a closer look as some of the other highly regarded prospects, including Khem Birch, Naadir Thorpe, and J.J. Moore, amongst others.
2009 National Prep Showcase: Elite Prospects
Khem Birch, 6-9, PF/C, Winchendon School, 2012
Jonathan Givony
One of the most athletic players in New Haven, Canadian Khem Birch (? Scout, ? Rivals, #11 ESPN) did not take long to leave a very strong impression regarding the type of player he could develop into down the road.
Currently standing around 6-9, Birch possesses a superb wingspan and a very lanky frame that he still has plenty of time to grow into. He’s a very bouncy young guy, running the floor extremely well and looking extremely quick getting off his feet.
Birch doesn’t possess much in the ways of offensive skills at this very early stage of his development, but he does find plenty of ways to impact the game, mostly through the work he does on the offensive glass, where he is an absolute menace going after loose balls well out of his area. Rarely do you see this type of aggressiveness out of a player so young, which combined with his terrific physical attributes and soft touch, leaves a lot of room for optimism regarding his future. He’s an excellent finisher on top of that, running the floor well and presenting himself as a terrific target on the fast break for easy looks around the rim.
Defensively, Birch is limited by his lack of strength, but is still quite an impressive presence around the basket as a weak-side shot-blocker with his superb length. He’s very intense as a man to man defender as well, not backing down from players older and stronger than him, really competing and showing nice toughness.
Birch is mostly all upside at this point, with some very clear-cut strengths and a bundle of weaknesses that hopefully will work themselves out as he matures. Our enthusiasm is slightly tempered by the fact that he has academic issues and is a year or two older than most players in his class, having recently turned 17 in September, but there is no denying the potential he possesses. Will he grow another inch or two over the next year or two? Will his narrow frame be able to carry much more weight, particularly in the lower body? Will his perimeter game and post-moves develop? These are the things we’ll have to wait and see about in order to get a better gauge for his true potential.
Naadir Tharpe, 6'0, Point Guard, Brewster Academy, 2011
Joseph Treutlein
Naadir Tharpe (#62 Scout, #80 Rivals, Unranked ESPN) was one of the more effective players at this level we saw this weekend, and he appears to have all the tools to see that translate to the next level as well, this all while still just a junior. Listed at a generous 6'0, Tharpe doesn't have much bulk to him, and his length might be below average, but he's a quick point guard with a good feel for attacking the basket, and plays with a high motor to boot.
Tharpe is very good getting into the lane, where he shows good ability to adjust, being able to go all the way to the rim or make the dump-off around the basket, where he frequently finds open teammates. At the rim, he shows the ability to put up lay-ups with both hands, though had some trouble finishing with the left here, even though he had some good attempts. He's good in both transition and the half-court, keeping his head up with the ball and making pretty good decisions, though he can over-dribble at times.
Tharpe showed some excellent ability from the perimeter, hitting smooth pull-up jumpers from two-point and three-point range, including one very big pull-up 18 footer with a hand in his face down the stretch. He's solid on the defensive end as well, being attentive and playing pretty solid perimeter defense, taking a charge on one nice play in his lone game this weekend.
It's tough to project much for the long-term at this stage, with him being only a junior and a bit undersized, but Tharpe has all the tools, physical and skill-wise, to be a very successful high level college point guard, and just needs to continue developing his game and playing strong two-way basketball.
J.J. Moore, 6-6, Small Forward, South Kent Prep, 2010
Committed to Pitt
Jonathan Givony
A talented player with intriguing physical tools, J.J. Moore (#75 Scout, #107 Rivals, Unranked ESPN) shows excellent size for the wing position to go along with a sturdy frame, a nice wingspan, and explosive leaping ability.
Moore is a raw player with plenty of potential who will probably need some time to adapt to playing in the Big East under Jamie Dixon, particularly on the defensive end. He’s capable of making a barrage of shots from anywhere on the floor, although his shot-selection looks average at best and he tends to hunt his shot a little too much. His ball-handling skills are not up to par with his athleticism, making it difficult for him to create shots for himself at a very high level at this juncture.
His feel for the game in general needs some work, even if there is no question that the talent is there and then some. He’s someone we may need to keep track of down the road, although he reportedly has a lot of work to do academically to qualify to play at Pitt next year.
Shaquille Thomas, 6'6, Small Forward, NIA Prep, 2010
Joseph Treutlein
Shaquille Thomas (Unranked Scout, #77 Rivals, Unranked ESPN), nephew of NBA player Tim Thomas, has some great raw tools, being a long, smooth, and athletic wing who appears to have some good natural ability as well. He's very skinny right now, and doesn't have the biggest frame, but he does look like he'll be able to add more strength as he develops.
Thomas shows flashes of a lot of offensive skills, be it pull-up jumpers with range to the three point line, finesse moves in the post, or dribble-drive moves in isolation, but his biggest problem right now is he can often disappear for about 10 minutes at a time, just going through the motions and not looking to put his stamp on the game. The fact that his team lacks much size, forcing him to play in the pivot very often, where he doesn't really have the skills or size to do much damage, definitely doesn't help matters, but Thomas' lack of assertiveness is still largely concerning.
He did still have some good plays on the weekend, however, being able to elevate around the rim and finish, getting out ahead in transition, and making some good individual moves on occasion as well. Unsurprisingly, he struggles with contact as of now, not really having the strength to power through defenders, and he also doesn't seem to react very well to double teams, especially when posting up.
Looking forward, this is clearly a player with a lot of raw potential, but given his casual demeanor on the court a lot of the time, and his unpolished game, it's really hard to say anything definitive about his long-term potential, though he's clearly someone we'll be paying attention to in college as he develops.
Shawn Kemp Jr, 6'10, Center, Hargrave Military Academy, 2009
Committed to Auburn
Joseph Treutlein
The son of the former NBA player of the same name, Shawn Kemp Jr (Unranked Scout, #105 Rivals, Unranked ESPN) definitely looks the part of a basketball player, standing at a well built 6'10 with good length and athleticism to boot. He came off the bench for Hargrave this weekend and probably played about 20-25 minutes combined between his two games, but he looked like a good complementary player in his time on the floor, finishing on some athletic transition plays, playing good post defense, and hitting a nice turnaround jumper in the post on one occasion. It's tough to draw many long-term conclusions about Kemp given the limited action we saw, but he clearly has the physical tools and potential that makes him someone we'll be following as he develops in college.
Mardracus Wade, 6-2, Shooting Guard, Hargrave Military Academy, 2010
Committed to Arkansas
Jonathan Givony
One of the glue guys of this very talented Hargrave team, Mardracus Wade (#94 Scout, #103 Rivals, Unranked ESPN) shows below average size for the shooting guard position and a narrow frame, but makes up for that with strong athleticism and a terrific motor.
Wade’s calling card right now is on the defensive end, where he shows excellent lateral quickness and terrific intensity staying in front of his matchup and putting pressure on the ball. He’s an unselfish player who is willing to make the extra pass and do the dirty work for his team, but is a bit limited on the offensive end. Wade sports inconsistent shooting mechanics and a very flat looking stroke, being capable of making spot-up jumpers from time to time, but not looking all that confident in his ability to do so. He has very nice quickness in the open floor but could definitely stand to improve his ball-handling skills and shot-creating ability in the half-court.
Wade looks like a good fit for the style of play that is typically found in the SEC, and should develop into a nice role player for the Razorbacks.
Colton Christian, 6'7, Power Forward, Hargrave Military Academy, 2009
Committed to Tulane
Joseph Treutlein
One of the most effective players at this level in all the games played this weekend, Christian was super involved in most of his team's plays, showing an extremely high motor on both ends of the floor. At 6'7, Christian is an undersized 4 who unfortunately doesn't appear to have much length or strength to compensate. That said, he's a solid athlete with a good second bounce around the basket, and he constantly puts all his physical tools to work with his relentless style of play.
Christian does the majority of his damage on the defensive end, attacking the glass, hustling back in transition, attacking passing lanes, and playing strong, fundamentally sound post defense. Offensively, he appears a bit limited, not showing much prowess on his perimeter shot, and relying mostly on a turnaround jumper in the post, which he has limited success with. He is good on the offensive glass and finishing around the basket on cuts, but he clearly has a ways to go here.
Word around the gym was this was the best most people had ever seen Christian play, so maybe it was somewhat of a fluke occurrence, but if he brings this kind of energy level to Tulane, he should be a very effective hustle player for them, as based on what we saw here, he looked like he could be a rotation player for a high-level D1 school.
Russell Smith, 6'2, Point Guard, South Kent, 2010
Committed to Louisville
Joseph Treutlein
Russell Smith (Unranked Scout, Rivals, ESPN) is a very quick and athletic point guard with a lot of shot creation skills, something that was definitely on display this weekend. He appears to be a player who needs the ball in his hands, not doing much damage off the ball and not showing much in terms of a spot-up outside jumper. Off the dribble, he has a great first step and shows creativity in the lane, being able to draw contact and finish in a variety of ways. While he shows good vision at times, he appears to be more of a scoring point guard at this stage of his development, though he did have some nice drive-and-dishes. He also might be generously listed at 6'2, though he plays very big, not being afraid of attacking hard around the basket.
Antonio Barton, 6'2, PG/SG, Notre Dame Prep, 2009
Committed to Memphis
Joseph Treutlein
Antonio Barton (Unranked Scout, Rivals, ESPN) is a very talented combo guard, having very good athleticism, good size for a point guard, and a lot of scoring ability, but he doesn't always play the most under control game, and he appears to have quite a few warts at this stage of his development.
Attacking the basket, Barton shows very good ability to adjust and nice creativity around the rim, but he relies way too heavily on an up-and-under finger roll move, going to it on almost every drive to the basket, leading to high difficulty attempts that lead to some bad misses. On the perimeter, he has good range, capable of hitting threes pulling up, spotting up, or coming off screens, including one very impressive buzzer beater in his first game of the weekend.
He doesn't show much point guard prowess at this stage of his development, not looking for teammates much, preferring to create his own shot, and being very turnover prone, though he did have once nice alley-oop assist between the two games. |
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jonathan@draftexpress.com joe@draftexpress.com |
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| 2009 National Prep Showcase: Elite Prospects |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President, Joseph Treutlein - Assistant Director of Scouting |
| November 24, 2009 |
DraftExpress was in attendance at the National Prep Showcase this past weekend in New Haven, Connecticut where many of the nations finest prep schools were in action. We take a closer look as some of the elite prospects, including Will Barton, Andre Drummond, and Lorenzo Brown, amongst others.
Will Barton, 6-6, Shooting Guard, Brewster Academy, 2010
Committed to Memphis
Jonathan Givony
Mixed emotions is what we came away with watching extremely highly regarded recruit Will Barton (#8 Scout, #11 Rivals, #5 ESPN) compete twice at the National Prep Showcase in New Haven, at least from the standpoint of evaluating an elite prospect.
On one hand, the tools he displays are undeniable, with his excellent size, outstanding wingspan, and very nice athleticism. Barton is a scorer through and through, showing great instincts in this area, a real hunger to put the ball in the basket, and the type of swagger and competitiveness that most great players do. He has solid court vision, making some very intelligent passes in drive and dish situations in both the half-court and in transition, as well as a jump-shot that he should be able to develop into a terrific weapon down the road.
Barton displayed the ability to create his own shot and make pull-up and spot-up jumpers from beyond the arc as well as from mid-range, showing supreme confidence in his ability, probably to the point that he was forcing the issue somewhat.
Defensively, Barton has both the tools (size, length, lateral quickness) and the willingness to make his presence felt on this end of the court. He gets down in a stance and will play tough, intense, in-your-face pressure defense looking to shut-down his matchup, showing that same competitiveness that has made many a recruiting analyst fall in love with him on the AAU circuit.
On the downside, Barton has a ways to go before he can be considered the type of teammate others would like to play with, and has a few noticeable holes in his game which could very well become more of an issue against higher level competition.
His ball-handling skills first and foremost need plenty of work, as he shows very little ability to operate with his left hand and struggles in general to create his own shot in the half-court and get all the way to the basket. His decision making and shot-selection were very questionable throughout the course of the weekend, particularly when his team started falling behind and they needed him to make good decisions. He did not look like a particularly efficient scorer in the games we saw, being quite turnover prone as well.
Barton’s body language was probably the biggest turnoff from watching him play, as he seems far more concerned with getting his own shots than he is helping his team win games. He would visibly pout and even proceed (on multiple occasions) to chase after his teammates following plays and yell at them for not passing him the ball, even on possessions that his team scored regardless.
Barton is obviously a much better player than he was able to show here in New Haven—he didn’t look like he had much to prove here--but he’s clearly not a finished product either. He needs to make sure not to let all the accolades he’s getting go to his head, because the NBA is still a long ways away at this point. We’ll surely see Barton again over the course of the year on the Prep School or All-Star game circuit, and are anxious to see him play up to his true potential.
Andre Drummond, 6-11, Center, St. Thomas More, 2012
Jonathan Givony
Already considered by many as the top prospect in his high school class, Andre Drummond (Scout ?, Rivals ?, #1 ESPN) has garnered an incredible amount of attention for a player only 16 years old.
Drummond was actually a member of the 2011 class, but elected to reclassify before he blew up on the national level, as he was seen as a major project on and off the court who could use another year of high school basketball playing close to home before leaving for college. There is apparently some thought to move him back to his original class to allow him to participate in the McDonald’s All-American game and give him the benefit of competing against stronger competition in college that crucial year of development, but no final decision has been made at this point.
From a physical standpoint, it’s not difficult to tell why Drummond is as highly touted as he is. He stands a legit 6-11, with a massive wingspan (rumored to be somewhere around 7-5) and a huge frame that will have no problem carrying all the weight he needs at any level of competition. His body is well proportioned and he appears to be about as fluid and coordinated as you could expect a 16-year old to be.
Athletically, Drummond is very solid, running the floor like a deer and looking very quick getting off his feet. He’s not what you would call a freak athlete, but certainly will not be held back by his mobility from what we could tell, and probably has not reached his full athletic potential at this point in time. We should also keep in mind that Drummond was just coming off recovering from a stress fracture that put him out of commission to start the season, and probably affected his conditioning.
Offensively, Drummond shows excellent potential, but is still a fairly limited player as you can probably imagine considering his age. He sports big, soft hands which allow him to catch pretty much everything thrown his way, and has the type of frame needed to be an outstanding presence inside the paint. His touch looks outstanding, particularly on the series of jump-hooks we saw him score with, and he seems to have some potential as a mid-range shooter as well based off what we saw in warm-ups. Drummond shoots the ball from his chest, something that must be corrected eventually, but the fact that he’s already making shots from distance leaves a lot of room for optimism regarding the future.
On the downside, Drummond is still very much a raw prospect who would clearly struggle against high-level competition at this juncture. He has very little idea how to establish position in the paint and use his amazing body to his advantage, lacking a great deal in the ways of footwork and post-moves and struggling with basic concepts like passing out of the post and respecting the spacing of his team’s half-court offense. He doesn’t appear to be the type of player whom everything comes naturally for, sporting somewhat of an average IQ that is likely further accentuated by his lack of experience and all-around polish.
Defensively, we find much of the same. On one hand, Drummond has incredible potential due to his phenomenal physical attributes, something that already makes him a huge asset even in his current raw state. He can block shots with either hand and is a massive presence in the paint thanks to his terrific length and solid timing, contesting pretty much everything that comes his way and being extremely difficult to post up with his sheer girth.
On the other hand, Drummond’s fundamentals are incredibly poor, looking fairly clueless at times while roaming around aimlessly, and being extremely foul prone on top of that. He’s not the toughest or most reactive guy or you’ll find right now—something to keep an eye on as he gets older—and has all kinds of issue stepping out onto the perimeter and trying to move his feet out and react to quicker players attacking him off the dribble.
Something to keep in mind is that all these issues are highly correctable and are very much to be expected from a player at his stage of development. Drummond must realize that though and continue to work on his all-around game exhaustively if he’s to reach his full potential. The good news is that, despite being a little on the immature side, Drummond is supposedly a very high character young man with a strong support system around him. He looks like a good teammate on top of that from what we could tell in the two games we saw him.
Drummond has a long road ahead of him to making the NBA, but he’s obviously off to a great start. We’ll have to wait and see how things turn out from here, starting in college. The favorites to land his services at this stage are clearly Jim Calhoun and the hometown UConn Huskies, which, if history is any indication, wouldn’t be a bad place for a big man to get ready for the NBA.
Lorenzo Brown, 6-4, Point Guard, Hargrave Military Academy, Class of 2009
Committed to N.C. State
Jonathan Givony
After failing to qualify with the rest of his 2009 high school class, extremely highly touted Lorenzo Brown (#28 Scout, #37 Rivals, #29 ESPN) was forced to take his game to the prep school ranks, where he’s currently part of a loaded Hargrave team.
With starting point guard Isaiah Epps (committed to Pitt) not making the trip to New Haven due to undisclosed reasons, Brown was forced to man the point guard spot for Hargrave full time, giving us a terrific chance to evaluate his potential at what many deem to be his future position. Brown did not disappoint in the least bit, looking incredibly natural running the show for his team.
Showing terrific size for the point guard position, Brown stands around 6-4 with big shoulders and a frame that should be able to carry plenty of weight. His wingspan is fairly poor, though, unfortunately, something that is only accentuated even more by the lack of effort he often displays on the defensive end. Athletically, Brown can be described as being more smooth than explosive, showing a nice first step and good change of speeds and hesitation moves.
The best part of Brown’s game is the terrific swagger in which he plays with, looking extremely natural with the ball in his hands and the confidence to do pretty much anything he wants on the basketball court.
He’s a terrific ball-handler, capable of creating his own shot and especially play pick and roll, an area he truly excels in. Brown sees the entire floor at all times thanks to his terrific size and court vision, reading his options and whipping the ball all over the floor without hesitation, the way only a true point guard can.
Brown uses bounce passes and lobs equally well, and is absolutely dynamite finding streaking teammates in drive and dish situations, often in highlight reel fashion. He’s also more than capable of making the simple play, though, whether its moving the ball ahead intelligently in transition, making a fundamentally sound post-entry pass, or finding the open man spotting up on the perimeter. More than anyone we saw in New Haven, Brown is the type of player who plays the game at his own unique pace, never letting opposing defenses speed him up or slow him down.
The biggest problem with Brown is that his swagger and casual demeanor on the court seem to translate into cockiness, giving off an impression that he’s too good for this level. He looks very wild at times with his decision making, turning the ball over excessively, something that has been an issue for him throughout his career reportedly. In other times, he seems to lose his intensity level completely, giving off a “too cool for school” attitude, showing very little focus, no urgency in his play, and seemingly just going through the motions.
The place this shows up the most is on the defensive end, where he tends to play in a very upright and nonchalant manner, rarely getting into an actual stance. What’s ironic is that Brown is actually a terrific defender when he puts his mind to it, as he’s capable of absolutely smothering opponents with his terrific size and quick feet. He proved that on numerous possessions by getting in the passing lanes, coming up with blocks and generally locking up his man late in games when his team really needed a stop. We’ll have to see if Sidney Lowe can get him playing with that type of intensity on a regular basis.
Being a year removed from his high school class, and 19 years old, Brown is one of the few (probably the only) players in the prep school ranks who is both good enough and eligible to get some looks from NBA teams in this upcoming draft, if things didn’t work out for him academically once again with N.C. State.
Right now, though, Brown is “doing well academically” and is “on track to qualify,” according to his coach Kevin Keatts, further stating that his plan right now is definitely to enroll at N.C. State. From what we saw in New Haven, that seems to be the right call, since Brown could clearly use some time in the ACC to continue to polish up his skill-set, even if he’s obviously a big-time talent.
Dominique Ferguson, 6-8, Power Forward, Hargrave Military Academy, 2010
Committed to Florida International
Joseph Treutlein
Isiah Thomas appears to have gotten a very good recruit relative to the competition FIU faces, and Dominique Ferguson (#35 Scout, #40 Rivals, #46 ESPN) showed some of his intrigue here. Ferguson is very long and fairly athletic, with a solidly built frame for his size. He's a bit stiff in some of his movements, but still shows good ability to elevate and is a rangy athlete with his offensive moves.
On the offensive end, he shows flashes from everywhere on the floor, hitting some perimeter shots, facing up with the ball, and doing damage in the post. His shooting form is decent, while he shows range to three-point land, but it still appears like this is an area of his game that could improve. Taking his man off the dribble, he uses long strides and can switch hands with the ball when finishing, but he doesn't appear to have much in terms of advanced moves and probably isn't much of an isolation threat.
In the post is where Ferguson shows the most potential for the college level, but he's simply not assertive enough with the ball, playing soft at times, despite showing the strength to establish great position on occasion. He shows flashes of hook shots and up-and-under moves, but he just isn't as effective as he could be here due to his lack of toughness and aggression.
On defense, Ferguson is a very capable shot blocker with his length and athleticism, sending back quite a few shots in his two games this weekend. His awareness looks questionable at times, but he has tools to make up for some of his lapses, and he should be a good interior defender against FIU's competition.
As an NBA prospect, there really isn't a great deal to say about Ferguson at this point. He may not have the elite explosiveness, skill level, or aggressive mentality to make it as an undersized four in his current state, and doesn't appear to have the shot creating skills or perimeter defense to be viewed at as a small forward prospect. That said, he's obviously still incredibly young and there's no telling what can change in the next few years. For now he looks like a phenomenal prospect for the Sun Belt Conference.
Gerard Coleman, 6-4, Shooting Guard, Tilton Prep, 2010
Committed to Providence
Jonathan Givony
The National Prep Showcase is always a nice place to get introduced to future college stars, and one of the best first impressions we had came from Providence commit Gerard Coleman (#65 Scout, #51 Rivals, #72 ESPN).
Not particularly big at 6-4, with a poor wingspan and a very narrow frame, Coleman doesn’t jump off the page at you on first glance. He is a solid athlete, though, extremely quick off the dribble, and fairly explosive around the rim.
Where Coleman impresses you the most though is with his scoring instincts, aggressiveness and all-around feel for the game. He’s an outstanding shot-creator, able to play the pick and roll the way few guards are capable of at this level, either to get to the rim or find teammates with heady drive and dish passes. Despite the fact that he’s a high-level scorer, Coleman is not a selfish player in the least bit, as he displays both excellent court vision and the willingness and knowledge of how to operate in a team setting, always looking to make the extra pass.
What probably will get Providence fans most excited though is the slashing ability that Coleman displays. He has very nice ball-handling skills and a wide array of change of speeds and hesitation moves, being extremely aggressive looking to make things happen off the dribble and finding a great deal of success at this level. His perimeter jump-shot is still far too streaky (probably his biggest weakness) because of the awkward hitch he sports, but he shows intriguing shot-making ability from mid-range and probably should be able to figure out this part of his game in time if he’s willing to put the work in.
Showing a frenetic energy level and constantly looking to make plays all over the floor, Coleman is a very active defender who displays great instincts and competitiveness. He came up with a number of blocks and steals in the game we took in, showing a real commitment to getting the job done, which is impressive considering his “star status” and the heavy load he’s forced to shoulder offensively. Coleman will need to continue to play this way in college as he doesn’t possess the best physical tools (size, length, strength).
It will be interesting to see how Coleman’s game translates to the college level, particularly as he continues to fill out his frame, as he appeared to be one of the most complete players we watched in the three games in New Haven. His recruiting rankings don’t back that up, though, leaving you to wonder if he’s a little bit underrated right now. Only time will tell, and the truth will surely come out soon enough playing in the ultra-competitive Big East. |
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jonathan@draftexpress.com joe@draftexpress.com |
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| 2009 National Prep Showcase Preview |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| November 20, 2009 |
This weekend DraftExpress will convene on New Haven, Connecticut to take in some of the top players the world of prep school basketball has to offer. This event, organized by Adam Finkelstein, has treated us well over the past few years, allowing us to get invaluable early glimpses at players such as Michael Beasley, Tyreke Evans, Devin Ebanks, Craig Brackins, Avery Bradley and others. This will be our fourth consecutive year in attendance.
Most of our intrigue will revolve around 6-10 man-child Andre Drummond, regarded by many as the top prospect in the high school class of 2012, and swingman Will Barton, a consensus top-10 recruit according to most scouting services.
Beyond Barton and Drummond, there will surely be other prospects catching our eye. Here are some of the main ones we’ll be looking at, along with the school they are committed to, as well as the schedule. Unless noted, players listed are members of the 2010 high school class. Some teams play twice, but their prospects are listed only the first time they play.
Friday, November 20
-12:00p.m. St. Thomas More School (CT) vs. Lee Academy (ME)
Andre Drummond (2012, top-5 recruit)
-1:45p.m. Notre Dame Prep (MA) vs. Hargrave Military Academy (VA)
Antonio Barton (SG/PG- Memphis)
Cleveland Melvin (6-7 PF, UConn)
-3:15p.m. South Kent School (CT) vs. Mack Academy (NC)
Dominique Ferguson (FIU, top-50 recruit)
Lorenzo Brown (NC State, top-25 recruit)
Isiaiah Epps (Pitt, top-100 recruit)
Shawn Kemp (Auburn, top-100 recruit)
Mardracus Wade (Arkansas, top-100 recruit)
JJ Moore (Pitt, top-100 recruit)
Jesse Morgan (Seton Hall)
Russ Smith- (Louisville)
Tahj Tate (Undecided)
-5:00p.m. Winchendon School (MA) vs. Massanutten Military Academy (VA)
Markus Kennedy (Villanova, top-100 recruit)
Angel Nunez (2011 top-50 recruit)
Khem Birch (2012, top-10 recruit)
-6:30p.m. Proctor Academy (NH) vs. Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA)
Grandy Glaze (2011 top-100 recruit)
-8:00p.m. Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) vs. Fork Union Military Academy (VA)
Saturday, November 21
-9:00a.m. Lee Academy (ME) vs. Massanutten Military Academy (VA)
-10:45a.m. St. Thomas More (CT) vs. Fork Union Military Academy (VA)
-12:30p.m. Bridgton Academy (ME) vs. Hargrave Military Academy (VA)
-2:15p.m. Winchendon School (MA) vs. Mack Academy (NC)
-4:00p.m. New Hampton School (NH) vs. NIA Prep (NJ)
Evan Smotrycz (Michigan, top-50 recruit)
Shaquille Thomas (6-7 SF/PF, top-100 recruit)
-5:45p.m. Notre Dame Prep (MA) vs. Champlain St. Lambert (CAN)
-7:30p.m. Brewster Academy (NH) vs. Worcester Academy (MA)
Will Barton (Memphis, top-10 recruit)
Naadir Tharpe (2011 top-100 recruit)
Richard Peters (Oklahoma, 2011 top-100 recruit)
C.J. Fair (Syracuse, top-100 recruit)
Maurice Walker
-9:00p.m. Maine Central Institute (ME) vs. Kiski School (PA)
Sunday, November 22
-10:00a.m. Brewster Academy (NH) vs. NIA Prep (NJ)
-11:45a.m. Bridgton Academy (ME) vs. Tilton School (NH)
Gerard Coleman (Providence, top-50 recruit)
-1:30p.m. Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) vs. Maine Central Institute (ME)
-3:15p.m. South Kent School (CT) vs. Champlain St. Lambert (CAN)
-5:00p.m. New Hampton School (NH) vs. Kiski School (PA)
-6:30p.m. St. Andrew’s School (RI) vs. Blair Academy (NJ)
Mike Carter Williams (Syracuse, 2011) |
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| Boost Mobile Elite 24 Player Scouting Reports |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| August 29, 2009 |
Scouting reports of select high school players seen at the scrimmage leading up to the Boost Mobile Elite 24 game in New York City last week.
Harrison Barnes, 6-7, Small Forward, Ames High School, 2010
Although we just wrote about Barnes (#1 Scout, #2 Rivals, #1 ESPN) a few weeks back, it should be noted that he did nothing in New York to dispel the notion that he’s the #1 player in the 2010 high school class. For starters, he appears to be far more athletic than most analysts (including us) give him credit for, as he seems to be the type of player that doesn’t feel compelled to show off his explosiveness at all times, but still has all kinds of natural tools he can go to when needed. Barnes did a little bit of everything in the scrimmage we saw, playing very unselfishly, making shots from the perimeter, attacking the rim, weaving in and out of traffic, crashing the offensive glass, and making some excellent passes. Some of his finishes around the basket were extremely impressive, and he always looked calm and under control, refusing to get caught up in the playground type atmosphere that usually typifies these all-star events. His perimeter shot was a bit streaky, but this seems to be a part of his game that will develop into a great weapon for him in time. Barnes’ counterparts will be breathing down his neck all season long, but he seems to have the goods and then some to hold onto his status as the consensus top recruit in the country.
Joe Jackson, 5-11, Point Guard, White Station High School, 2010
One of the top point guards in the 2010 class, Joe Jackson (#17 Scout, #12 Rivals, #21 ESPN) is also one of the more productive players you’ll find. He’s a very undersized point guard with a frail frame, but compensates for that with tremendous athleticism, showing a terrific first step, impressive speed in the open floor, and excellent leaping ability.
Jackson is about as aggressive a point guard as you’ll find, as he’s constantly looking for an angle to get to the basket. He’s outstanding in transition, but is also a terrific shot-creator in the half-court, showing tremendous ability to change speeds, and excellent ball-handling skills on top of that. He can get to almost anywhere he wants on the floor, driving either left or right, and being extremely flashy with the ball, often finishing with pretty floater or an emphatic dunk. He is clearly one of the premier scorers at the high school level, and should be able to translate that to the college level as well thanks to his athleticism, instincts and skill-level.
Jackson’s aggressiveness looking for scoring opportunities comes at a cost, though, as he appears to have a serious case of tunnel vision once he starts driving the lane, and often looks quite selfish ignoring open teammates. He goes through too many possessions where he is the only one on his team touching the ball, and is prone to taking some very bad shots. He’s clearly much more of a combo guard at this stage than a true point, although you can’t argue with his productivity.
As a shooter, Jackson is somewhat of a mixed bag, as on one hand he shows an excellent mid-range game, pulling up sharply off the dribble, but he’s quite streaky with his feet set from the perimeter. He’ll need to improve this part of his game at the college level, as he won’t be able to make a living at this diminutive size as a slasher the way he does in high school.
Defensively, Jackson can be an absolute pest when he puts his mind to it, moving his feet exceptionally well and doing a great job staying in front of his matchup. He comes up with plenty of steals and even a handful of blocks, showcasing just how impressive an athlete he is. His poor size and frail frame limits his potential somewhat long-term, though, which is something we’ll have to keep an eye on moving forward.
Talent-wise, there is no disputing the things Jackson brings to the table, although there are some question marks about whether or not he has the mentality to transition into being the type of player who makes his teammates better. Super athletic scorers like him are definitely en vogue these days, though, as players like Aaron Brooks and Louis Williams can confirm. He’s rumored to be leaning strongly to committing to his hometown school of Memphis, which would unquestionably be a huge get for incoming head coach Josh Pastner.
Kendall Marshall, 6-4, Point Guard, Bishop O’Connell, 2010
Committed to North Carolina
”The best passer in the 2010 class” many a recruiting analyst has told us, and Kendall Marshall (#23 Scout, #32 Rivals, #19 ESPN) did not disappoint us in the least bit in the Elite 24 scrimmage we took in.
Marshall is a point guard with very distinguished strengths and weaknesses. On one hand he has great size at around 6-4, but at the same time, he has an “old man’s” body and a very poor wingspan. Marshall’s feel for the game is off the charts, though, as he plays the game at an extremely unique pace, nothing like you would expect a 17-year old to. He shows outstanding court vision and creativity finding his teammates in transition and in the half-court, operating masterfully on the pick and roll, and being a very talented ball-handler. He’s a very sneaky slasher, showing very little in terms of explosiveness, but regardless able to get to where he needs to on the floor thanks to his terrific sense of timing and his understanding for how to utilize angles effectively.
Marshall shows a pretty ugly, flat-footed stroke from the perimeter, which has traditionally made him a very streaky shooter, but he seems to be able to just throw the ball into the basket thanks to his excellent touch. The progress he makes with this part of his game will likely go a long ways in deciding how good of a prospect he ends up being long-term.
Defensively, Marshall doesn’t have much lateral quickness to speak of, but he again knows how to use his tremendous smarts and timing to get the job done.
It will be fascinating to see how Marshall’s game translates to the college level, as it appears that he has a chance to be a very special player for Roy Williams at North Carolina, especially as he approaches his upperclassmen seasons. Marshall may not have the athleticism or upside to jump to the NBA as early as some of his counterparts in this class, which will probably be just fine by the Tar Heel faithful, and actually makes him a much more valuable get in the long-term. Watching him practice and interact with his teammates, it appears that Marshall has an excellent work ethic and all-around outstanding intangibles, which only adds to the picture.
DaJuan Coleman, 6-8, Center, Jamesville-Dewitt, 2012
One of the youngest players in attendance here, having just finished up his freshman year of high school, DaJuan Coleman is already ranked as the #1 player in his high school (according to ESPN). This is a fairly dubious distinction considering that almost every player his age is currently playing Junior varsity at this point, but it’s obviously worth noting.
Coleman stands out first and foremost thanks to his massive frame, which looks a lot more like that of a 25-year old than someone who is only 15. He’s carrying quite a bit of baby fat on him at this point (not a surprise considering his age), but is clearly a presence on both ends of the floor thanks to the natural strength he brings to the table. Coleman has excellent hands and pretty nice touch around the basket, showing a solid feel for operating inside, and not really looking out of place against (very highly touted) players who are two years older than him. He’s not much of an athlete at this point, lumbering noticeably up and down the floor, and not possessing much lift around the rim.
What’s interesting about Coleman is that he appears to be a very serious, intense young player, which really bodes well for his future. He competed extremely well and didn’t back down from anyone, running the court as hard as he could, and really trying to throw his body around in the paint. It’s still way too early to draw any long-term conclusions from what we saw, but if Coleman continues to grow and maintains that same intensity level we saw both here and at the LeBron James Skills Academy, he could have quite a future ahead of him.
Roscoe Smith, 6-7, SF/PF, Oak Hill Academy, 2010
Long, lanky, active, athletic combo forwards are all the rage in today’s NBA, which is what makes Baltimore native Roscoe Smith (#31 Scout, #31 Rivals, #16 ESPN) an interesting prospect.
Smith has a very narrow frame, but brings tremendous energy and solid athleticism to the table, being the type of player who fills up the stat-sheet with blocks, steals and offensive rebounds, while picking up plenty of baskets in transition in the process. He has excellent lateral quickness, allowing him to switch onto perimeter players with ease guarding the pick and roll, while also attacking the passing lanes and getting his hands on pretty much everything in his area. Clearly he’s the type of player who has a nose for the ball.
Offensively, Smith likes to play primarily facing the basket, where he can attack his matchup with a very quick first step from the perimeter, getting to the rim with some very long strides, often to finish with a dunk. He fancies himself as being more of a small forward than a power forward at this point, and shows some questionable shot-selection forcing things somewhat from the perimeter, mainly in the form of hurried shots off the dribble. He does have decent form on his jumper, though, and should be able to develop his range in time.
Smith needs to continue to improve his ball-handling skills as well, as he at times looks a bit out of control with his dribble. His lack of strength also makes it difficult for him to finish around the basket on occasion. At times you’ll see Smith post up his man on the block somewhat , mostly to shoot turnaround jumpers or turn and get by his man thanks to his quickness.
On the other end of the floor, while Smith clearly fills up the stat-sheet, he often does it at the expense of his team’s defense, as he tends to bite on pump-fakes and gambles excessively in the passing lanes. His fundamentals on this end could clearly stand to improve. He plays with a frenetic energy, though, which clearly rubs off on his teammates, and was about as vocal as you’ll find in the games we saw him play—pounding his chest after every big play. No one is going to need to tell him to play hard once he gets to college, which is definitely a big plus.
A couple of the recruiting analysts we spoke with pointed out some concerns about potential red flags surrounding Smith’s character, which may not be that much of a concern considering his age, but could be something to look out for moving forward.
Tony Wroten Jr., 6-4, PG/SG, Garfield, 2011
We had numerous opportunities to evaluate the progress of Tony Wroten (#4 Scout, #9 Rivals, #5 ESPN) this summer, be it at a number of AAU games in Las Vegas, the Adidas Nations camp in Dallas, or the Boost Mobile Elite 24 scrimmage in New York. He’s a pretty tough nut to crack from what we can gather, as his play seems to vary radically based on the setting.
When at his best (such as at an epic showdown with the incredibly deep and talented Mac Irvin Fire AAU team, or against an equally imposing Memphis Magic Elite squad), Wroten looks like a can’t miss prospect, one of the smartest and most creative prospects we’ve ever evaluated at the high school level. He sees plays developing on the court that many NBA point guards would miss, and surprises his teammates on a regular basis with incredible passes right into the heart of the defense for easy baskets.
On more than one occasion you’ll watch Wroten thread the needle with a bullet pass that doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to anyone on his team, only to see a streaking teammate emerge at the very last moment to grab the ball and calmly lay it in. This ability to anticipate is an extremely special quality that could hint at a very promising future for this 16-year old, and probably shows up most often right now with his ability to get in the passing lanes, which he does at an amazing rate.
In addition to being able to make these magical plays on a whim, he is unique in the way he’s able to make simple plays as well. When truly dialed in, Wroten plays the game at an outstanding pace, passing the ball ahead unselfishly in transition, making terrific post-entry passes, reading the floor constantly, and just showing a savvy that belies his age. His IQ is simply off the charts, as everything comes so easily for him, which may be part of the issue.
Mixed in with the good were plenty of bad moments this summer as well, which surely contribute to the general lack of enthusiasm you find amongst many recruiting analysts regarding his development these days. Wroten clearly isn’t the most athletic guy in the world, and he could definitely stand to put in some work in the weight room in order to maximize his conditioning level.
Far more concerning though is the general apathy he shows in many games he participates in, particularly those where there isn’t as much at stake. Wroten loves to compete under the bright lights, but when he’s playing in just another ordinary game, he can look extremely average. In these moments he’ll try to do far too much with the ball in his hands, going one on one excessively and exposing his somewhat mediocre first step and near-non-existent right hand in the process. There are some concerns that he may have gotten too much hype too early in his career, which may be causing some red flags to emerge.
More than anything, though, Wroten needs to work on his shooting mechanics significantly, as he shoots a very flat, ugly jumper that gets very poor results. He can make some spot-up jumpers from time to time, but really doesn’t have much of a mid-range game, which is sure to emerge as a much bigger issue later in his career as the competition stiffens.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how Wroten’s game continues to evolve over time, as there are many who feel like he’s not improving at the same rate as some of his counterparts, which has caused him to drop somewhat in the recruiting rankings as of late. We personally can’t ignore the amazing feel he brings to the table—showing passing skills reminiscent of Deron Williams at times—but it’s not hard to see where the criticism is coming from. Wroten cannot buy into his own hype at this stage in his development, as he still has a great deal of work left to put in before he reaches his full potential. It will be fascinating to evaluate his progress a year from now.
C.J. Leslie, 6-8, Power Forward, Word of God Christian Academy, 2010
One of the biggest revelations from our perspective to emerge out of the Boost Mobile Elite 24 scrimmages was the play of C.J. Leslie (#13 Scout, #14 Rivals, #9 ESPN), clearly one of the most naturally talented prospects in the 2010 high school class. He made quite an impression in the scrimmage we saw, doing pretty much everything out on the floor, looking like arguably the player with the most upside of anyone on the court.
Leslie has elite physical tools at his disposal, as he is a freakish athlete with length who is extremely versatile and active. He regularly outquicks opponents to the offensive glass, bouncing up and down off the floor like a pogo stick before anyone else can react, and making his presence felt as a shot-blocker as well for these same reasons. Leslie will grab a rebound and take the ball coast to coast himself, weaving in and out of traffic impressively in the process. Without the ball, he’s capable of beating the entire opposing team up the floor in transition, only to finish with an emphatic jam at the rim. His body control and overall fluidity is extremely impressive, and definitely puts him in an elite class as far as physical attributes are concerned.
Leslie showed a propensity to post up his man in the paint, not displaying any incredible footwork, but looking quick and aggressive enough to get the job done. He played extremely hard throughout the scrimmage, something that has reportedly been an issue for him in the past, but looked like anything but in the short time we were able to evaluate him.
Leslie isn’t a great shooter, but he does show potential in this area—if he continues to improve on this part of his game, he could be downright scary. Right now he’s clearly stuck between the 3 and the 4 spots, but considering the direction the game is headed in, that’s really not that much of an issue in this case. More concerning are the red flags that many recruiting analysts warn of, though—he’s reportedly not the smartest, serious or most focused guy in the world, but that is supposedly improving. Hopefully that’s indeed the case, as his upside is truly off the charts if he can keep things together. It will be very interesting to see how things play out.
Josh Selby, 6-3, PG/SG, Lake Clifton, 2010
Fresh off decommitting from Tennessee just a few weeks back, we made it a point to go out and take another look at Josh Selby (#10 Scout, #4 Rivals, #8 ESPN) in both Las Vegas and at the Elite 24 scrimmage. Our impressions were mostly in line with the last time we saw him much earlier in the year.
Selby is a scoring machine of a combo guard—think of a cross between Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless-- showing a narrow frame and somewhat short arms, but making up for it with tremendous athleticism and scoring instincts. He is about as intense a player as you’ll find on the offensive end, showing an insatiable hunger for putting the ball in the basket. He is a terrific slasher and shot-creator, possessing terrific speed in the open floor and excellent leaping ability, as well as great body control and the ability to change speeds and directions on the fly.
He can create his own shot at a very high level, and does a great job creating separation from his defender with his excellent pull-up jumper, also showing 3-point range on his shot. His mid-range game is extremely advanced for his age, and is indeed one of his best attributes. He creates and makes tough shots off the dribble with the greatest of ease, and also has a very nice floater in his arsenal he likes to go to if he can’t just cram a dunk down the throat of his defender. He even showed a little bit of a post-up game, just further emphasizing his versatility as a scorer.
Selby is a tough guy who doesn’t take no for an answer, playing the game with a chip on his shoulder, as if he has something to prove every time he steps on the court. While that is a great quality to have, it also gets him into trouble at times, as he tends to play by himself far more often than you’d like. Selby tends to run into brick walls fairly regularly, being somewhat turnover prone and at times looking downright selfish. While billed as a point guard by most of the scouting services at this stage, he is clearly far more comfortable looking for his own shot than running a team, and probably would be better served playing off the ball at the college level if winning games is what his coaching staff is most interested in.
Selby can drive and dish and shows some raw ability to find teammates with nifty passes, but that’s obviously not what he’s most interested in doing. He shows questionable body language and distinct immaturity at times when he goes a possession or two without touching the ball, something that many have raised question marks about, as he’s a fairly emotional guy and may be a little rough around the edges. That’s the kind of stuff you may be able to live with considering how talented a scorer Selby is, but is something to look out for moving forward.
Selby was initially committed to Bruce Pearl at Tennessee, but decided to reopen up his recruitment shortly after the LeBron James Skills Academy. He claims to be wide open at this point, with schools like Kentucky, Louisville and UConn rumored to be some of his most noteworthy suitors. |
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| Adidas Nations Tournament: High School Prospects |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| August 24, 2009 |
Scouting reports of the top high school prospects (2010 and 2011) seen at the Adidas Nations tournament in Dallas earlier this month.
Marquis Teague, 6-2, Point Guard, Pike High School, 2011
Currently the #1 rated point guard in the 2011 class, Marquis Teague (#6 Scout, #2 Rivals, #4 ESPN) was the main engine running his US team in the Adidas Nations tournament.
Extremely fast, shifty and explosive in the open floor, Teague is a terrific athlete who gets to almost anywhere he wants on the court, particularly in transition. He’s also an excellent ball-handler on top of that, looking extremely fluid and highly capable of changing speeds and directions on the fly, which makes him even more difficult to stay in front of. He’s got great natural instincts as a lead guard and shows flashes of potential on the pick and roll and drive and dish, but still has quite a few issues to work through, which isn’t a shock considering his age.
Teague is much more of a scorer than a distributor at this point, but is very much prone to pounding the ball and looking for his own shot, often to the detriment of his teammates. He has a little bit too much flash to his game at this point, often appearing more concerned with making himself look good than trying to make the correct basketball play. He forces the issue on a regular basis, driving head-first straight into the teeth of the defense, only passing the ball when he’s absolutely exhausted all other options.
More concerning was the body language Teague showed at times, particularly when faced with adversity. He didn’t appreciate the tough, physical defense that the South American team (particularly Christian Cortes) was playing on him, and seemed to completely lose his cool. When scored on, he made it a point to try and “get back” at his matchup with a little mano a mano, and then proceeded to visibly pout when things didn’t go his way. Interestingly enough, this is almost the exact criticism we often heard about his brother Jeff (drafted by the Atlanta Hawks) throughout the draft process this summer.
Teague can make shots from the perimeter, but he sports a fairly ugly, flat-footed jumper not all that unlike his brother’s. He can defend exceptionally well when he puts his mind to it, moving his feet swiftly with his terrific lateral quickness, and absolutely smothering opponents with his length.
All in all, Teague is clearly an elite-level talent who has quite a few things he needs to iron out before he can reach his full potential. Players with his natural speed and shot-creating ability are about as rare as you’ll find, and are extremely coveted in today’s NBA thanks to the rule-changes regarding hand-checking. Teague has a chance to develop into an even better prospect than his brother when it’s all said and done, as he appears to be light years ahead of where Jeff was at the same age. We’ll have to see over the next few years how much his weaknesses are due to his age, and how much they are just things teams will have to accept as being part of the overall package.
LeBryan Nash, 6-7, SF/PF, Lincoln High School, 2011
”Artest” as he was affectionately coined by the NBA scouts in attendance here in Dallas, no player showed better long-term potential than the extremely impressive forward LeBryan Nash (#11 Scout, #5 Rivals, #10 ESPN).
Put together like an NFL linebacker, with a great frame, long arms and excellent hands, Nash was pretty much an unstoppable force when he decided to take the ball to the rack. He has an amazing knack for creating his own shot, regularly handing the ball coast to coast, and being almost unstoppable as a slasher in the half-court as well. A good (but still improvable) ball-handler, Nash can create with either hand and is just far too strong and explosive for most defenders at this level to stay in front of. He has excellent footwork and is extremely aggressive, having no problems whatsoever spinning into the lane and then finishing through contact with his NBA-caliber body, often drawing a foul in the process.
Nash also showed a solid perimeter jumper, making a number of 3-pointers and pull-ups from mid-range, even if he sometimes has a tendency to shoot the ball on the way down. His jumper is normally fairly streaky, so improving this part of his game could be a major development moving forward. He can also use his big body to post his man up inside, even if he looked more interested in facing up from the perimeter.
As a defender and rebounder is where Nash might have the most potential, as beyond his outstanding physical tools, he’s also an extremely tough player who isn’t afraid to mix things up inside. He was productive on this front in Dallas, but should be able to improve considerably in these areas under the right college coach, which would make him a very interesting all-around player.
Watching Nash play, it’s hard not to wonder if we’re looking at a future star in the making. There was some talk about amongst the scouts about his attitude and whether that might be an issue down the road, which is something we’ll have to study more in the future. He did look very comfortable playing in his hometown of Dallas, and was clearly the most impressive prospect we saw at this event. He could be a power forward at the college level if his team needed him to, but his long-term future is clearly at the 3.
Rakeem Christmas, 6-9, PF/C, Academy of New Church, 2011
A consensus top-5 recruit in the 2011 high school class, it’s easy to get enamored with Rakeem Christmas’ (#5 Scout, #4 Rivals, #7 ESPN) upside. He passes the look test and then some on first glance, showing decent size, a good frame, long arms and downright freakish athleticism. Christmas (no relation to ex-Temple swingman Dionte Christmas) jumps out of the gym, runs the floor like a deer, and is extremely quick off his feet.
Offensively, Christmas is extremely limited at this point, which probably isn’t a huge surprise considering the stage of development he’s currently at. He gets most of his offense by running the court in transition, presenting himself at the rim for easy finishes, and crashing the offensive glass. On the block, he has very little in the ways of footwork or post-moves, and doesn’t seem to be all that interested in scoring actually. Disinterested is a word that seems to come up a little more than you’d hope when it comes to Christmas, as he doesn’t always seem to be competing all that hard, looking fairly apathetic at times and not really putting his terrific tools to good use.
Defensively, Christmas has huge potential, and he already can be very effective as both a shot-blocker and man to man defender when he puts his mind to it. His length and terrific leaping ability allows him to establish himself as a major presence rotating from the weak-side, and we saw him send back quite a few shots while watching him play, sometimes in emphatic fashion. His lack of strength makes it difficult for him to avoid being posted up by stronger big men, but his length and lateral quickness can be extremely bothersome, leaving a lot of room for optimism in this regard as his frame continues to fill out. He can already step out and hedge screens on the perimeter quite effectively, which is a nice asset to have from your big man.
Christmas is someone that obviously jumps off the page immediately right now thanks to the undeniable potential he possesses, mostly thanks to his terrific physical attributes. He’s still got quite a ways to go obviously, though, especially in terms of the effort level he displays.
Rodney Hood, 6-7, Small Forward, Meridian High School, 2011
Although he was nowhere near as polished as most of the other high school prospects in attendance, there was still a lot to like about the long-term potential that Rodney Hood (#28 Scout, #91 Rivals, #40 ESPN) displayed.
Showing good size for a wing player at around 6-7, with a terrific wingspan, a nice frame and solid athleticism, Hood clearly has ample physical tools. He’s a heady, unselfish player who made some very smart passes, especially on the pick and roll, and also knocked down a couple of pretty mid-range and long-range jumpers, even off the dribble at times. He can get to the rim, but doesn’t have much of a left hand, and seemed to struggle finishing through contact due to his lack of strength. He seems to have a nice feel for the game, though, and appeared to be a good teammate.
Hood is a raw player all in all, as his ball-handling skills are still a work in progress, his shot a bit streaky, and he goes through long stretches of unproductiveness, looking too passive trying to make his presence felt on the court. Regardless, he’s an interesting guy to keep tabs on in the future.
Kevin Ware, 6-4, Shooting Guard, Rockdale County High School, 2011
A player with clear-cut strengths and weaknesses, Kevin Ware (#34 Scout, #22 Rivals, #28 ESPN) started off this camp in rocky fashion, but eventually settled into his role. Ware is a 6-3 wing (although he’s oddly listed as a point guard by some services) player with tremendous length and athleticism, showing a great first step, excellent quickness, and the ability to play above the rim.
He was most useful at this camp on the defensive end, where he brought a frenetic energy that really sparked his teammates and gave his team a big lift. Ware puts great pressure on the ball and is extremely intense trying to shut down his man. He plays extremely hard and is ultra-aggressive all in all, which can clearly work to his detriment at times, particularly on the offensive end.
Ware is an extremely poor shooter at this stage, but you would never guess that based on some of the shots he took. Early in the camp, he insisted on heaving up brick after brick, almost damaging the backboard in the process on a few attempts. Not the world’s greatest ball-handler, Ware can regardless get to the rim thanks to his tremendous first step, although he doesn’t have much of a mid-range game and can eventually get out of control. Ware has a raw all-around game, but clearly has a lot of upside, as he still has plenty of time to round out his offensive arsenal, and always has his tremendous natural tools and terrific defensive ability to fall back on.
Jared Sullinger, 6-8, PF/C, Northland High School, 2010
After thoroughly evaluating him last summer, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of new information to add to Sullinger’s (#4 Scout, #3 Rivals, #2 ESPN) profile one year later. He’s still the same extremely intelligent, ultra-productive big man, showing amazing hands in the low-post and some of the best rebounding skills we’ve seen at this level. Sullinger was a man in the paint throughout the Adidas Nations camp, establishing deep position in the paint time after time, and showing great wherewithal operating inside and finding ways to create shots for himself with his amazing touch, often through contact. He’s truly a natural scorer with his back to the basket, which is quite a rarity at this level, as well as in the NCAA.
Sullinger’s conditioning looks a lot better than it did a year ago, but there is still more work to be done on his body. Considering that he’ll always be a below the rim type of player, it’s imperative that he gets himself into the best shape possible in order to maximize his athletic potential.
On the offensive glass is where Sullinger may have made the strongest impression at this camp. He was absolutely ferocious moving opponents around with his strong body, and shows great timing going after loose balls, using his smarts more so than his leaping ability to come up with extra possessions. With that said, he did surprise us at times with his ability to get off the ground and hammer home some emphatic put-back dunks.
Sullinger didn’t show much of a face-up game, but to his credit, he really didn’t have to with how poor his team’s spacing was and how much of an advantage he enjoyed in the low post. His free throws weren’t really falling for him at a great rate, which is probably a sign that he needs to continue to work on his jump-shot. Defensively, there will be some adjustments he needs to make once he gets to college, but considering the effort level and basketball IQ he shows, that shouldn’t be that much of an issue.
Sullinger is going to be a fantastic addition to Ohio State’s lineup, but it’s still a little too early to gauge how good of an NBA prospect he is, since he doesn’t possess the same blend of size, athleticism and upside you typically look for in a top-5 type recruit. Some will compare him to Lonny Baxter and some will say he’s the next Paul Millsap. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Joshua Smith, 6-9, Center, Kentwood High School, 2010
Not much has changed since the last time we evaluated Joshua Smith (#8 Scout, #19 Rivals, #10 ESPN) in the summer of 2008. He’s still the same undersized and extremely overweight center (probably more-so now), displaying flashes of great talent from time to time, but also leaving a lot to be desired in regards to his approach to the game.
Smith put in a pretty lackluster effort in most of the games we got to see him play this summer (in Las Vegas, at the Adidas Nations camp, and at the Elite 24 scrimmage). He struggles to get up and down the floor, and barely puts any effort in whatsoever into things like boxing out his opponent for rebounds, setting screens, or attempting to step out and hedge a screen guarding the pick and roll. There were far too many possessions we saw this summer where he just flat out looked lazy.
Offensively, he’s capable of establishing position inside the paint at will, and has terrific hands, agile feet and outstanding touch to go along with that, but he is often ignored by his teammates (excluding Tony Wroten) at the high school level and doesn’t seem to really mind that from what we saw.
Smith appears to play below the rim, but he actually gets off the ground fairly quickly, looking very natural operating on the block. The fact that he can move so well despite the fact that he’s carrying an extra 30-40 pounds tells you quite a bit about the natural talent he possesses. Outside of his ability to score inside, though, Smith doesn’t seem to have progressed on some other key areas, mainly his face-up game, his free throw shooting, his left hand, and his fundamentals on defense.
For now, Smith remains a big-time talent with some major question marks surrounding him, leading many casual observers to throw out comparisons to Mike Sweetney. Right now most indications are that Smith is leaning towards committing to Ben Howland and UCLA, which would probably be the best possible thing for him considering the things he needs to work on. Lorenzo Romar and Washington reportedly aren’t far behind though.
Ryan Harrow, 5-11, Point Guard, George Walton Comprehensive H. S., 2010
Committed to N.C. State
Harrow (#28 Scout, #24 Rivals, #48 ESPN) came into the Adidas Nations camp billed as one of the top point guards in the 2010 class, but he was not quite able to justify that with the way he played.
Harrow is a small and extremely skinny point guard with tremendous athleticism. He’s extremely quick and explosive, which at times works to his detriment. He appears to be more of a scorer than a distributor from what we could tell, looking for any opportunity possible to clear out his teammates and go one on one by himself. Harrow had major issues trying to organize his team in the half-court, pounding the ball incessantly and making some truly baffling plays. He tried to get flashy at all the wrong times, leaving a distinct impression that he was far more interested in making a big play than making the right one.
Offensively, Harrow can get to the rim very effectively thanks to his extremely quick first step, but he has problems finishing at the basket at times due to his lack of size and strength. He showed some ability to knock down floaters in the lane, but will need to continue to work on his mid-range game if he wants to be effective as a scorer at the college level. Harrow made the occasional spot-up 3-pointer, but looked very streaky all in all as a perimeter shooter, looking very limited in this regard at times. Defensively, Harrow has quick hands and can put solid pressure on the ball, but his size will always be a major concern.
Harrow is committed to N.C. State, and has a chance to develop into a solid ACC point guard if he learns how to slow down and rounds out his all-around game. Players with his quickness can be quite an asset in today’s basketball, he just needs to gain more experience and learn how to use his athleticism more effectively. |
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jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Initial High School Player Scouting Reports, Part Two |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| August 22, 2009 |
Perry Jones, 6-11, Power Forward, Duncanville High School, 2010
Committed to Baylor
Simply put, no prospect in the 2010 high school class displays more NBA potential than Baylor commit Perry Jones (#12 Scout, #6 Rivals, #3 ESPN). Right off the bat, Jones wows you with his terrific physical attributes—standing 6-10 or 6-11, with a great frame, long arms and incredible athleticism. Jones runs the floor like a deer, explodes off the ground as if he has a personal trampoline at his disposal, and is extremely fluid and reactive to everything that goes on around him.
Skill-wise, there is quite a bit to like here as well. We regularly saw Jones grab a rebound and then handle the ball up-court himself, often weaving in and out of traffic before dishing off a perfectly timed no-look pass right into the path of a teammate streaking towards the basket. He also has a very nice jump-shot, showing streaky range out to the 3-point line, but with the type of touch and mechanics that lead you to believe that he can develop this part of his game into a real weapon in time.
When attacking the rim in the half-court, Jones displays an excellent first step and is capable of getting to the basket in two long strides, sometimes mixing in some very nice spins and pivot moves, often starting off a sharp crossover. Once he’s inside the paint, he finishes with the greatest of ease, typically in highlight reel fashion. Jones is certain to be a fixture many a highlight reel, as he has slamdunk contest-caliber leaping ability. His teammates regularly just throw lobs in the general direction of the rim, knowing that Jones will find a way to go get the ball and hammer it home.
In terms of weaknesses, there are a few you could point towards. One would be his complete lack of a back to the basket game, something you’d like to see him develop considering the quickness and nifty footwork he displays. He needs to get stronger in the lower body first, and probably quite a bit tougher in the paint as well.
Jones doesn’t always seem to be as focused or intense as you might hope, as it’s not rare to see him check out of a game mentally, at times for long stretches. He seems to get down on himself from time to time, not being aggressive at all, and playing with too little energy if he’s not directly involved in everything going on around him. This shows up on the defensive end and on the glass in particular, where he tends to rely too much on his athleticism and displays just average fundamentals. That athleticism does come in very handy in the form of steals and blocked shots, though, which he gets plenty of.
He also doesn’t always box out for rebounds, and is way too upright trying to guard the post, often just waiting for an opportunity to go and chase a blocked shot, rather than trying to deny position and play solid man to man defense. These are not very rare things for a big man this young, especially one who is a very late bloomer, like Jones clearly is, having experienced a late growth spurt that saw him shoot up dramatically over the course of a few years.
Despite the criticism, you’d be hard pressed to find a player with such an impressive combination of natural tools and skills as Perry Jones displays. His ability to create his own shot from the perimeter and find the open man with impressive passing skills is extremely unique at this level, and should make him a very popular prospect amongst NBA scouts in the 2010-2011 season. If he continues to progress and play like he did in Las Vegas when we saw him this summer, it’s going to be tough to envision him staying in school very long, as he could be a very very high draft pick.
Adonis Thomas, 6-5, Small Forward, Melrose High School, 2011
One of the more enjoyable prospects to watch on the AAU circuit in the class of 2011 was Memphis Magic wing Adonis Thomas (#15 Scout, #11 Rivals, #9 ESPN). We’re talking about a real junk-yard dog here—a long-armed, strong and extremely athletic forward who was easily the best defender we saw this summer. Thomas plays with unbelievable energy and was constantly making an impact on the game every time we saw him—be it running the floor, grabbing offensive rebounds, coming up with blocks and steals, and just sticking his nose in all kinds of places. He uses his length, strength and lateral quickness exceptionally well on the defensive end, getting low in a stance and absolutely smothering his opponents, never taking a single play off.
Offensively, he appears to be a raw prospect on first glance, showing underdeveloped ball-handling skills and an inconsistent stroke from the perimeter, although we did see him heat up from time to time and show nice potential on this end as well. At this level he can make his presence felt well enough just by being tougher and more athletic than everyone else, and he seems to do the job quite well. He draws a lot of fouls and will post up from time to time, even showing some nice passing skills from time to time. He never seems to get rattled and shows exactly the type of demeanor you want to see from a player who is only 16 years old. If Thomas continues to develop his all-around skill level, and maybe even grows another inch or two, while still playing with that same chip on his shoulder, we could be looking at a very interesting prospect down the road.
Fab Melo, 7-0, Center, Sagemont School, 2010
Committed to Syracuse
This probably wasn’t the ideal time, nor place, to evaluate Brazilian center Fabricio Melo (or Fab Melo, or Fabricio de Melo). After sitting out the entire high school season upon transferring to South Florida from his home country of Brazil, Melo (#5 Scout, #16 Rivals, #20 ESPN) looked out of shape and quickly became winded in every game we saw him play. On top of that, the AAU setting just isn’t a great place to take in a big man of this nature, as the games are incredibly up-tempo, the referees blow the whistle any time anyone breathes on someone, and guards rarely look (or know how) to get the ball inside. It’s safe to say that he’s never (or rarely) competed in a setting like this before.
Regardless, it isn’t hard to see what the recruiting services like about Melo. A true 7-footer with an NBA caliber frame and a great wingspan, Melo has better size than pretty much any big man taken in this last year’s draft, outside of Hasheem Thabeet. His body is extremely loose at the moment—it doesn’t look like he’s spent much time, if any, in the weight room, but with a good conditioning program, Melo could look like a stud in no time if he wanted to.
Athletically, Melo is average at best by our standards. He runs the floor pretty well, but is definitely on the lumbering side, not showing great quickness and seemingly playing below the rim (although his length helps him tremendously as a finisher). He does have very agile feet, though, especially stepping out and covering ground surprisingly well on the pick and roll, and it’s tough to gauge how much his lack of athleticism is due to conditioning issues. He looks like he’ll be a major shot-blocking presence at the collegiate level regardless, thanks to his outstanding wingspan and impressive timing.
Offensively, Melo was not productive at all in the games we took in, but still showed flashes of potential in many key areas. He seems to have very nice touch facing the basket, making a number of jumpers in warm-ups and even swishing a 3-pointer in an actual game. His low-post moves are raw and underdeveloped, but he did show some decent footwork from time to time, and definitely wasn’t afraid to throw his body around in the low post. On the other hand, he struggled to make clean catches on a regular basis, looking somewhat uncoordinated at times, and blew a number of easy opportunities in the form of open layups and dunks. He clearly has a long ways to go on this end of the floor.
Despite looking winded, Melo seemingly wants to play hard for the most part, and he also appears to be a pretty good teammate. He communicates regularly and definitely seems to care about whets going on on the court, which is always a good sign. Most indications we’ve received are that his work ethic is strong and he is an extremely high character person off the court.
As far as first impressions go, this one wasn’t the strongest, although we must take into account how highly most well-respected people who have seen him quite a bit more than us think of him. There are some question marks about how interesting these type of lumbering, old-school big men are for teams in today’s NBA, but there is no doubt that we’ll have to keep a close eye on Melo over the next few years. What's ironic is that we and many others saw Melo playing at the Adidas Nations camp one year ago and barely noticed his presence, as he was extremely out of shape at that point and almost a complete non-factor.
Dominique Ferguson, 6-8, Power Forward, Hargrave Military Academy, 2010
Committed to Florida International
Dominique Ferguson (#16 Scout, #40 Rivals, #46 ESPN) created quite a buzz last week when he decided to commit to Florida International and their extremely high-profile head coach Isiah Thomas. That’s obviously a huge get for Thomas and certainly a commitment worth following to see how things shake out.
Ferguson’s lofty recruiting rankings stem mostly from his upside from what we can tell, as he was not all that productive in the games we took in. He has average size for the power forward position, but seems to have a good frame, long arms and nice athleticism.
Offensively, Ferguson likes to face the basket, where he can make shots from the perimeter on occasion, but is better served using his physical tools around the rim at this point in time. He plays pretty hard in the paint, is a presence on the offensive glass and seems to have solid touch on his short-range shots, not possessing great strength or very advanced post-moves, but still being capable of making his presence felt from time to time.
Ferguson seems to fancy himself as a bit of a small forward, which is something we’ll have to continue to study over time. Despite showing a very nice first step slashing to the basket in a straight line, his ball-handling skills look very raw and he clearly lacks experience and polish. He makes quite a few unforced errors, seemingly lacking some focus and not really knowing his limitations at this point. He struggled in particular on the defensive end, looking out of place and not very fundamentally sound, even if he was able to change some shots around the rim with his length.
Ferguson should be able to dominate the Sun Belt conference with his superior physical gifts, but he needs to be coached up significantly before he can be discussed further.
Wayne Blackshear, 6-5, SG/SF, Morgan Park High School, 2011
It was tough to tell too much about this very highly touted young wing player in the AAU setting, as his team plays way too fast for their own good, and Blackshear (#12 Scout, #18 Rivals, #17 ESPN) looked pretty comfortable taking a backseat to some of his older teammates.
Blackshear has prototypical physical tools for a wing player, which is where most of the intrigue around him likely stems from. He’s extremely smooth in the open court, showing nice ability to change speeds and get to the basket, where he can absolutely explode and throw down some monster dunks. Combine that with his good size and a frame that will put on weight, and you have a pretty interesting prospect.
Offensively he shows a very nice stroke from the mid-range area, pulling up smoothly off the dribble, and creating great separation from his defender. He loses accuracy when he steps outside the 3-point line, though, and will settle for bad shots from time to time. He made some very nice passes in the games we saw, but have been a little too passive at times, looking far too comfortable blending in, and showing a distinct lack of aggressiveness. He made some extremely impressive plays from time to time, but then disappeared for long stretches.
Defensively, Blackshear has all the tools to be very effective, and should be able to develop into a very good defender at the collegiate level, as long as he’s willing to put the effort in, which wasn’t always the case when we saw him.
Jereme Richmond, 6-7, Small Forward, Waukegan High School, 2010
Committed to Illinois
Despite being one of the more highly touted players we took in on the summer circuit, it was tough not to come away disappointed by the play of Illinois commit Jereme Richmond (#6 Scout, #36 Rivals, #17 ESPN).
Richmond clearly has elite physical tools with his superb size at 6-7, to go along with an excellent wingspan and terrific athleticism. The problem is that he rarely utilized it in any of the three games we saw him, being almost a complete non-factor on the offensive end. Richmond’s ball-handling skills are poor and he lacks great range on his shot, often shooting the ball on the way down, which makes him fairly streaky. His feel for the game looked somewhat average, and he didn’t seem to be playing very hard either. Defensively he did show serious potential with his excellent natural gifts, though, and he did come up with some very athletic rebounds. He also made a couple of very nice passes, but still struggled to stand out for the most part.
Richmond has fallen a bit in the recruiting rankings as of late, likely because of some of the same issues we saw this summer. He obviously has quite a bit of talent, and we’ll have to wait and see what kind of college player he ends up being at Illinois. It’s not out of the question that he was just in an extended funk when we saw him, because clearly all the accolades he’s received didn’t come for nothing.
Ray McCallum, 6-1, Point Guard, Detroit Country Day School, 2010
One of the better pure point guards we saw this summer, Ray McCallum (#26 Scout, #60 Rivals, #36 ESPN) might not blow you away initially with his NBA upside, but he is sure to, at the very least, emerge as an outstanding college player.
Standing somewhere around 6-1, with a skinny frame and above average athleticism, McCallum’s best natural asset is his mind, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that his father is an NCAA head coach. He’s extremely poised, smart and mature, already showing excellent leadership skills, and being a very good decision maker for his age. He knows how to run a team and get all of his teammates involved, and should benefit tremendously from the experience he garners at the college level.
McCallum is not exceptionally quick, but he knows how to get to the rim thanks to his strong ball-handling skills, where he sometimes has issues finishing due to his lack of strength and leaping ability. He can make shots pulling up off the dribble, and seems to have improved his long-range jumper from what we’re told, even if it still seems prone to streakiness at times. Not a big-time scorer, McCallum will need to continue to hone his 3-point shot and in-between game if he’s to reach his full potential as a point guard. Defensively, McCallum doesn’t have great natural tools, but he does put the effort in, which is more than enough to get the job done at this level when you add in his excellent feel for the game. Whoever lands McCallum (all the top programs, including Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Louisville and others are after him) will be getting a player who is ready to contribute right away. |
Feedback
for this article may be sent to
jonathan@draftexpress.com |
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| Initial High School Player Scouting Reports, Part One |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| August 14, 2009 |
Michael Gilchrist, 6-6, Shooting Guard, St. Patrick’s High School, 2011
It would have been nice to see a lot more of Michael Gilchrist, considered by many to be arguably the best long-term prospect in high school basketball. Unfortunately we’ll have to stick with an initial first impression after seeing some small glimpses. Thankfully for us, though, Gilchrist is only 15 years old, meaning we’ll have plenty of opportunities to evaluate him down the road.
Gilchrist passes the eye test on first glance, showing great size for the wing position at 6-6 to go along with an excellent frame and a reported 7-foot wingspan. He doesn’t wow you with his athleticism initially (clearly he is still growing into his full athletic potential at this point), but seems to be a very smooth player overall and displays excellent body control, which helped him make a couple of very impressive plays, though.
Gilchrist has an extremely versatile game for such a young player, as he can do a little bit of everything at this point. He appears to have some point forward skills, showing nice court vision and an excellent feel for the game. He can post up his man but also break down the defense off the dribble, being capable of making shots from the perimeter, despite sporting a slow, fairly ugly release on his jumper. His ball-handling skills are improvable as you might imagine considering the stage of development he’s currently at.
Defensively, Gilchrist is extremely active and competitive, which is not something you find in most young star players this age, and leaves a lot of room for optimism regarding his future development. He seems to have a great demeanor on the court, not being afraid to step up in important situations, but also not trying to impose himself excessively on the game. He seemed to take pride in crashing the offensive glass in the games we saw.
Talent evaluators seem to unanimously agree that Gilchrist is an extremely special prospect with tremendous natural gifts. The challenge for him now will be to continue to play with the same type of fire that has allowed him to rise to the top of his high school class, and continue to work on his all-around game. That’s not going to be easy considering how early the spotlight came for Gilchrist, as history hasn’t always been all that kind to prospects who were “discovered” so early. We’ll have to see how he continues to develop, and we’re sure we’ll be talking plenty more about him in the coming year.
Justin Anderson, 6-4, Shooting Guard, Montrose Christian, 2012
While obviously it’s way too early to be talking about a player who just finished his freshman year of high school, it was tough not taking notice of the talent that Justin Anderson displays. Not only does the lefty bring great physical tools to the table, highlighted by a great frame, wingspan and athleticism, but he also looks to be a very smart, tough, active player with a pretty nice stroke. He competed non-stop, defended extremely well and also did a great job crashing the glass. Already ranked by ESPN as one of the top five players in the 2012 high school class, Anderson has quite a future ahead of him if he continues to work hard and doesn’t let the hype go to his head.
Terrence Jones, 6-8, SF/PF, Jefferson High School, 2010
One of the fastest-rising players in the 2010 class based on his play this summer, Terrence Jones (#34 Scout, #15 Rivals, #16 ESPN) didn’t disappoint in the least bit when we went out to see him in the GBOA tournament in Las Vegas.
A 6-8 tweener forward with solid athleticism and a nice frame, Jones does a little bit of everything for his team. He likes to play primarily facing the basket, where he shows a nice first step and the ability to attack his man off the dribble going either left or right. Not blessed with great advanced ball-handling skills at this point—he’s mainly a two-dribble guy without much of a mid-range game—Jones does an excellent job using shot-fakes to create space and takes the ball very strong to the rack.
Capable of knocking down a barrage of 3-pointers when he gets hot, Jones is still a bit on the streaky side from the perimeter and tends to fall in love excessively with his jumper at times. He has a slight hitch in his shot which takes away from the fluidity of his release. Although he’s very much capable of posting up, and actually shows nice footwork on occasion down in the paint to go along with his strong body and excellent size, he doesn’t seem to do so enough, looking more concerned with bringing the ball up the floor in transition himself and trying to show off his small forward skills. He’s not a selfish guy, though—he seemed very willing to make the extra pass and all in all looked like a pretty good teammate.
Defensively, Jones shows average fundamentals and toughness and doesn’t always look all that focused on this side of the floor. He can get in the passing lanes and make plays rotating from the weakside, but doesn’t always seem to show much hustle getting after the glass, although he can clearly make his presence felt here when he puts his mind to it.
Jones has a rep for being fairly inconsistent from game to game, as you never quite know what you’ll get from him on any given night. This is not that much of a shock considering the stage of development he’s currently at, and it will be interesting to see whether his games blossoms moving forward. He has a lot of tools at his disposal and is an extremely versatile all-around player, even if he hasn’t quite found a position for himself just yet.
LaQuinton Ross, 6-8, Small Forward, Murrah High School, 2011
One year after evaluating LaQuinton Ross for the first time, we haven’t seen a great deal of change in his game. He’s still the same ultra-sized and very smooth wing player with unremarkable athleticism, and he’s still extremely skilled for his age. Ross has solid ball-handling skills for his height, yet they are still improvable. He’s capable of pulling up smoothly off the dribble from mid-range when the situation calls for it, and has a very nice stroke from beyond the arc as well, even looking adept at coming off screens. His shot-selection left something to be desired, but he did make some nice passes at times and generally looked more mature.
Ross doesn’t know how to use his size to post up smaller players, though, and seems to show a very concerning lack of aggressiveness in general on the offensive end, looking far too passive at times and way too content just letting things come to him. He surely lacks a bit of fire and toughness to his game.
Defensively, Ross’ fundamentals are still fairly poor, although he does seem to be putting in slightly better effort than we remembered. He gets beat off the dribble fairly easily still, though, and it’s not quite clear what position he’ll be able to defend at the collegiate level, although his length and excellent instincts getting in the passing lanes do help out.
Ross was a very highly touted player from an extremely young age, but there are some concerns that he’s not improving as quickly as some of his peers and that his mentality leaves something to be desired. He’s still far too young of a prospect to write off, and we’ll have to see what he looks like after another year of high school basketball next summer.
Keala King, 6-6, Shooting Guard, Mater Dei, 2010
Although we only had one opportunity to see Keala King (unranked Scout.com, #35 Rivals, #54 ESPN) in action, it didn’t take more than that to come away thoroughly impressed.
A 6-5ish ultra smooth combo guard in the Evan Turner mold, King is an extremely creative player who excels on the pick and roll. He is very aggressive putting the ball on the deck and trying to get to the rim, showing nice ball-handling skills and the ability to create for both himself and others. He’s a very good passer, particularly on the drive and dish, and has a knack for finding teammates in stride for easy baskets, thanks to his high basketball IQ.
King has good, but not great athleticism, which coupled with his narrow frame makes it difficult for him to finish in traffic at times, and in turn makes him a bit turnover prone. His perimeter stroke is a bit on the shaky side, something he’ll have to work on if he’s to reach his full potential. He passed up a couple of open looks in the game we saw, instead opting to drive into the crowded paint, which led to mixed results. He seemed to get a bit rattled at times when things didn’t go his way, complaining excessively to the referees and losing his focus somewhat, which may be more a product of his age more than anything.
With his excellent instincts and aggressive mentality, King is the type of player who always seems to be around the ball, which often manifests itself in the form of steals and rebounds. He seems to take pride in the effort he puts in on the defensive end, and indeed guarded everywhere from the 1-4 spots in the game we took in. He appears to have a fairly poor wingspan, though, which may hurt his potential on this end of the floor in the long-term, especially when coupled with his narrow frame.
King is a very nice prospect for the collegiate level, as his size and ability to create for himself and others will allow him to play 2 or 3 positions when it’s all said and done. If he develops a steadier jump-shot, he could become a very interesting prospect.
Josh Hairston, 6-8, Power Forward, Montrose Christian, 2010
We had a chance to get an extended look at Josh Hairston (#42 Scout, #55 Rivals, #28 ESPN) this summer, as he played at the GBOA tournament we attended, as well as the Adidas 64 in Las Vegas and the Adidas Nations event in Dallas.
Hairston is an undersized power forward at 6-8, who does not possess great athleticism, but is smart, fundamental and versatile enough to emerge as an excellent college player at Duke.
Not overly skilled in any one area at this point, Hairston shows glimpses of potential in a number of different parts of his game, all of which can become weapons in the future if he continues to add polish. He likes to play primarily facing the basket, where he shows a very nice (although sometimes a bit flat) stroke knocking down 3-pointers, and is even capable of pulling up off the dribble from mid-range. He likes to take his man off the dribble from the perimeter, where he is an excellent mismatch threat, and shows very nice footwork and interesting pivot moves in the process, being capable of finishing with either hand around the basket.
When given the opportunity, he will not shy away from taking his man down to the paint and showing somewhat of a post game, although he doesn’t possess great strength or many advanced moves down there. He’s also a solid passer (especially on the outlet after a defensive rebound) thanks to his nice feel for the game, he seems to have a good demeanor on the court and is clearly a good teammate.
This same feeling is also transmitted to the defensive end, where Hairston shows good activity level, and is not afraid to stick his nose in and take a charge. He plays hard and puts a very good effort in on the glass, getting his hands on all kinds of loose balls, and even coming up with the occasional block or steal. As it currently stands, he may need to bulk up somewhat to avoid being posted up by the stronger power forwards he’ll inevitably run into in the ACC, as he clearly doesn’t have the lateral quickness to be effective enough defending small forwards.
Hairston epitomizes the direction many teams and coaches are moving towards these days in terms of how they expect their power forward to play, and is therefore a great get for Coach K and the Blue Devils, especially when you add in the fact that he’s a seemingly very high character guy. His NBA potential may not be as high as other power forwards in this class, but that probably only makes him a more attractive option for most colleges.
Tarik Black, 6-8, PF/C, Ridgeway High School, 2010
Not a big time prospect by any stretch at this point, Tarik Black (#57 Scout, #43 Rivals, #55 ESPN) regardless managed to emerge as one of our favorite players to watch this summer.
Black is an undersized PF/C with a good frame, a nice wingspan and excellent athleticism. He runs the floor extremely hard, gets off the floor with authority, and simply plays harder than everyone else.
Very limited offensively, Black was his team’s 5th option for the most part in the games we took in, mostly being relegated to catching and finishing around the basket. He still found ways to be productive, be it running the floor in transition, crashing the offensive glass with tenacity, or making some very basic spin moves in the post. His feel for the game, particularly his ability to pass out of double teams, needs work.
Defensively is where Black is probably at his best at the moment, as we could clearly see from the very strong outing he had against top-rated big man Joshua Smith, where he thoroughly frustrated him with his toughness and peskiness. His length and athleticism allows him to emerge as a very effective shot-blocking threat rotating from the weak-side, and he’s agile enough to step out and hedge screens out on the perimeter defending the pick and roll.
Every college team needs at least one Tarik Black in their frontcourt rotation, and thus it’s no surprise to see the type of offers he’s getting at the moment. After all, long-armed athletic big men with a heartbeat don’t exactly grow on trees. If he continues to develop his all-around polish as he fills out and gains more experience over the next few years, we might be able to talk about his pro potential as well.
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| LeBron James Skills Academy Player Profiles |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| July 13, 2009 |
NCAA Player Evaluations
-Cole Aldrich- Similarly to the way he played at the Adidas Nations Camp in Dallas last August, Aldrich again did very little to justify his status as a potential top-5 draft pick. It’s likely that he’s just not the type of player that stands out in these settings, as he seems to look very uncomfortable for the most part outside of Kansas’ system. Aldrich’s skill-level offensively looked very limited in the drills and five on five action, as he has average footwork and touch around the rim and appears pretty mechanical when trying to create his own shot. Defensively his terrific frame and freakish length allows him to be quite a factor when he puts his mind to it, but he often looked tentative and lethargic trying to make his presence felt.
-Al-Farouq Aminu- Although he showed flashes of great potential, Aminu was somewhat of a disappointment here, looking quite limited offensively and only amplifying that initial impression with the way he repeatedly forced the issue.
Aminu seemed to have his heart set on trying to prove to the scouts in attendance that he’s a legit small forward prospect, but he only appeared to do exactly the opposite. His jumper looked quite poor in the drills, showing poor footwork coming off screens and a very slow release, leading to extremely inconsistent results. He was able to make some open mid-range jumpers, but looks a long ways away from becoming a reliable threat from the college 3-point line, let alone NBA range.
Aminu shows a great first step beating his man off the dribble with his left hand, but struggles trying to utilize his right hand or create shots in pure isolation situations. Defensively, he did a great job guarding both forward positions, using his outstanding length and athleticism to emerge as an extremely disruptive presence.
With Jeff Teague and James Johnson off to the NBA, Aminu will have to show that he can shoulder a much larger offensive role than he did last season, and it will be interesting to see how efficiently he will be able to do so. No one will deny the upside Aminu possesses at this point in time, but potential is only going to win Wake Forest so many games.
-Manny Harris-One of the most athletic players in attendance, Manny Harris showed a lightning quick first step and terrific leaping ability. While Harris’ narrow frame and poor wingspan aren’t going to help him out much on the defensive side of the ball, he did show the ability to make tough shots, which he seems to settle for quite often. An extremely talented scorer regardless, Harris is likely to emerge as one of the top players in the Big 10 this year, even if his NBA potential is still a matter of debate.
-Jordan Crawford-The Indiana transfer and current Xavier player looked extremely hungry after sitting out all of last season, and was able to make his presence felt from time to time with some big plays. The most impressive one came in the evening session of day two, where he showed no shame using a slick cross over to unbalance none other than LeBron James, and then proceeded to drive to the rim and cram an emphatic two-handed slam right in King James’ face. Needless to say, the crowd was pretty impressed by Jordan Crawford. He also made some shots from the perimeter, crashed the offensive glass, and even played some tough defense. We may have to check back on Crawford’s progress this season at Xavier at some point…
-Jerome Jordan-Seeing is believing when it comes to Jerome Jordan, as there might not be a player in this year’s draft class who makes a stronger initial impression on first glance. His physical tools are amazing, starting with his legit 7-feet size, his excellent frame, or his pterodactyl 7-6 wingspan. When it came to the actual games or drills, though, it was a whole different story. Jordan showed flashes of potential with the way he finished around the rim, but for the most part he looked clumsy or not focused (depending on your perspective) trying to make catches with his so-so hands, and also seemed very lethargic in the competitive part of the drills. He may be a little bit too laid back for his own good, prompting one scout in attendance to go as far as to call him “a less athletic Patrick O’Bryant.” We wouldn’t go quite that far, but Jordan definitely needs to show a higher intensity level if he wants to justify passing up being the 2nd or 3rd best center in the 2009 draft by returning to Tulsa for his senior year.
-Larry Sanders- Another player that evokes some pretty strong reactions on first glance, Larry Sanders may have helped himself as much as anyone just by showing up for this camp. Measuring 6-10 in shoes, with a freakish 7-6 ½ wingspan and a frame that should put on weight, Sanders probably would have been a first round pick solely based on upside had he decided to enter the draft this year. He’s also a pretty athletic guy, as he showed repeatedly by running the floor and going well out of his area for impressive rebounds on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he was an incredible presence at times, changing absolutely everything around the basket just by putting his arms in the air. He needs to do a better job not biting on pump-fakes, but his potential in this area is obviously considerable. Offensively, Sanders is extremely limited at this point in time, looking mechanical in his movements and showing a very low-skill level. He did attempt some mid-range jumpers, but doesn’t seem to have the greatest touch.
-Willie Warren- Offensively, there wasn’t a more impressive player in attendance, as few possess the shot-creating tools that Warren does from the perimeter. His combination of athleticism, scoring instincts and aggressiveness made him quite a force here, as his shiftiness with the ball and long strides allow him to get nearly wherever he wants to go. When he wasn’t creating angles for himself to get to the rim, Warren showed an advanced ability to make contested shots from the mid-range and beyond the arc. On the downside, Warren measured in shorter than advertised at just 6-3 ½ in shoes with a 6-6 wingspan, and didn’t look anything like the point guard some experts have billed him as. It’s pretty clear that he’s most comfortable first and foremost looking for his own shot, as he seems to get tunnel vision once he starts driving down the lane. The coaches that worked with him raved about his attitude, which seems to be a constant theme.
-Kyle Singler- Singler barely touched the ball in the five on five action we were able to see, but he did show a really versatile skill-set in the three on three and two on two action we took in. He looked extremely competitive getting after guys and trying to make things happen, showing a really nice feel for getting his shot off using head fakes and other crafty moves. His body is looking better and better these days, even if he didn’t shoot the ball as well as we may have hoped in the drills.
High School Player Evaluations
Note: While we were able to get a first look at a large amount of players at this camp, we’d prefer to wait on evaluating most of them until we get another impression from watching them play in Las Vegas at the end of this month.
Harrison Barnes, 6-8, 209 pounds, 7-0 ½ wingspan, Class of 2010
 | | Kelly Kline/Nike |
Considering his status as the number one recruit in the country according to both Scout.com and ESPN (#2 on Rivals after Brandon Knight), Barnes is long overdue for a write-up on this site, despite the fact that he’s two years away from being draft eligible.
Showing prototypical physical tools for an NBA wing player, including excellent size, length and a frame that will fill out nicely in time, Barnes passes the look test and then some on first glance. Maybe not as freakish an athlete as some former #1 overall recruits, Barnes is still no slouch in that category, showing excellent fluidity and overall mobility, to compliment his excellent scoring tools.
Still an improving ball-handler, Barnes is already able to get to where he needs to on the floor thanks to the shiftiness he shows with the ball, combined with his long strides and ability to change directions quickly. He did a good job creating shots for himself in the mid-range area, and was able to convert some extremely difficult shots thanks to his excellent touch. From the perimeter he has a nice stroke and clearly possesses 3-point range, but he seemed to get a bit streaky from time to time.
Not afraid of contact in the least bit, Barnes showed no qualms about utilizing his size inside the paint by posting up the very highly touted Dashaun Thomas time after time. He was incredibly active on the offensive glass as well, making an absolute living by being the first player going after loose balls, showing an impressive work ethic in the process.
His demeanor on the floor is excellent at this point in time, which probably makes high school talent evaluators all the more comfortable in his lofty projection, as he’s all the more likely to continue to work on his weaknesses. He displayed a very nice mix between being aggressive in looking for his own shot and not forcing the issue, which is not an easy thing to do at a camp like this.
Obviously we’ll be talking plenty about Barnes over the next few years. According to Scout.com, his lengthy recruiting list includes the likes of Duke, Kansas, Florida, Iowa State, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Carolina and Oklahoma. The scuttlebutt seems to indicate that Kansas is in the lead at this point.
Andre Dawkins, 6-4 ½, 196 pounds, 6-8 wingspan, 2010
The crown jewel of Duke’s 2010 recruiting class, Andre Dawkins (#22 Scout, #16 Rivals, #10 ESPN) acquainted himself nicely with this camp from the first moment we saw him, looking extremely aggressive right off the bat. Dawkins shows average size for his position, but makes up for that with solid athleticism, an excellent frame and a long wingspan. His basketball IQ is immediately evident when comparing him with his peers, as he seems to have excellent fundamentals and really looks serious about the game, which is a very nice sign. He’s a confident kid who showed no shame in attacking the defense in transition or taking shots from the perimeter, showing a really nice stroke from the perimeter, solid ball-handling skills and the ability to find the open man. His mid-range game seems to need some work, as he’s not nearly as effective pulling up off the dribble as he is with his feet set.
J.T. Terrell, 6-3, 185, 6-9 wingspan, 2010
Although not the most highly touted player in attendance by any stretch of the imagination, Wake Forest commit J.T. Terrell (#76 Scout, #84 Rivals, #65 ESPN) was regardless one of the more productive, looking extremely confident in this setting and having no problem making his presence felt.
Undersized for the shooting guard position at just 6-3 in shoes, Terrell makes up for his lack of height with a huge 6-9 wingspan and excellent athleticism. He’s a slippery guard who shows very nice change of speed ability and big-time leaping ability, throwing down a number of impressive dunks. Terrell has great scoring instincts and seems to be very creative on top of that, constantly looking for ways in which to get his shot off, but also appearing to be fairly unselfish trying to create for others. He was very effective in transition and showed a pretty flashy game, which goes along with his flat-top that makes him very convenient to spot at all times. Terrell struggled with his mid-range game in the action we took in, and looks to be an improvable defender on top of that. Sometimes his flashiness lead to turnovers, but you couldn’t fault him for trying to make things happen in this setting. Terrell looks like a nice get for Wake Forest, and will likely be around in college for a while.
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| LeBron James Skills Academy Recap |
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| by: Jonathan Givony - President |
| July 8, 2009 |
With the 2009 NBA Draft in the rearview mirror, it’s time to start thinking about 2010 and beyond, which prompted us to spend a few days at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio. We were able to take in a number of top high school and college prospects, many of whom will be featured prominently on this site in coming years. In this initial report, we talk about who made it out to the camp and what they worked on, while our second report will feature evaluations of those who stood out the most.
Top College Prospects
The LeBron Camp has slowly gained in notoriety year after year as a hotspot for future NBA lottery picks, to the point that nearly every NBA team now sends a representative. This year’s edition was no exception, even if there were no incoming college freshman in attendance, which is a departure from years past.
The top college prospects, with their ranking on our preliminary DraftExpress 2010 mock draft in parenthesis:
Willie Warren (#3)
Cole Aldrich (#4)
Al-Farouq Aminu (#8)
Devin Ebanks (#11)
Kyle Singler (#16)
Jerome Jordan (#20)
Larry Sanders (#25)
Chris Wright (#34)
Kalin Lucas (#37)
Manny Harris (#39)
Malcolm Delaney (#40)
Greivis Vasquez (#59)
Between this, the USA Basketball Under-19 World Championship Tryouts, and the World University Games Tryouts, we’ve now been able to take in a pretty solid chunk of the players that will make up the 2010 NBA draft.
Measurements
Alongside the names and colleges of the NCAA prospects on the roster list, we also find measurements done by the Nike people here at this camp. Despite the fact that we’re always skeptical of measurements conducted outside of the NBA pre-draft camp setting, on first glance these appear to be quite realistic, and indeed cross-referencing the listing of one NBA combine participant in attendance here, Greivis Vasquez, yields a similar impression.
Some of the more notable figures include:
Cole Aldrich- 6-11 in shoes, 242 pounds, 7-6 wingspan
Al-Farouq Aminu- 6-8 in shoes, 218 pounds, 7-0 wingspan
Devin Ebanks- 6-7 in shoes, 204 pounds, 6-9 wingspan
Yancy Gates- 6-9 in shoes, 274 pounds, 7-3 wingspan
Manny Harris- 6-5 ½ in shoes, 183 pounds, 6-6 ½ wingspan
Jerome Jordan- 7-0 ½ in shoes, 245 pounds, 7-6 wingspan
Kalin Lucas- 6-0 ½ in shoes, 186 pounds, 6-1 ½ wingspan
Larry Sanders- 6-10 in shoes, 217 pounds, 7-6 ½ wingspan
Iman Shumpert- 6-5 ½ in shoes, 211 pounds, 6-9 wingspan
Kyle Singler- 6-7 in shoes, 222 pounds, 6-9 ½ wingspan
Greivis Vasquez- 6-6 in shoes, 200 pounds, 6-7 wingspan
Willie Warren- 6-3 ½ in shoes, 196 pounds, 6-6 wingspan
Chris Wright- 6-7 in shoes, 217 pounds, 6-7 wingspan
Top High School Prospects
Obviously much more than just an exposure camp for NCAA prospects, the LeBron James Skills Academy featured 93 of the top high school players in America. Being here for just two days didn’t allow us to get a great handle on most of the players here, but it did give us (and the NBA talent evaluators sitting alongside us) an opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the newest names that will be rolling off our tongues in coming years. This is mostly about first impressions, putting faces to the names of the very top prospects, eyeballing their physical tools, taking stock of their skill level, and making note of things to look for in the future.
It was interesting to hear the philosophies of the various NBA types in attendance regarding the value of scouting top high school prospects at such a young age. Some clearly were taking the task seriously, taking meticulous notes which they say they will later refer back to for comparison when they reevaluate these prospects for the draft, while others said they see no value in such a setting at all.
Top 2010 High School Recruits in attendance:
Harrison Barnes
Jared Sullinger
Jereme Richmond
DeShaun Thomas
Dominique Ferguson
Kyrie Irving
Andre Dawkins
C.J. Leslie
Will Barton
Reggie Bullock
Perry Jones
Doron Lamb
Dion Waiters
Terrence Jones
Kendall Marshall
Tobias Harris
Ray McCallum
Roscoe Smith
Josh Selby
Adreian Payne
Jelan Kendrick
Trey Zeigler
Many more…
Top 2011 High School Recruits in attendance:
Michael Gilchrist
Austin Rivers
Marquis Teague
Johnny O'Bryant
Rakeem Christmas
Myck Kabongo
Many more…
There was even one lone international prospect in attendance, a 6-3 Chinese point/combo guard by the name of Guo Ailun (or as the roster says, Aliun Guo), by way of Liaoning. Guo showed impressive quickness and ball-handling skills, looking very confident pushing the ball up the floor in transition and even pulling off a very nifty spin move and finish off the glass in traffic on one occasion. He showed the ability to create his own shot and find the open man off the dribble, but looked a bit out of control at times trying to make things happen. Guo is bound to draw comparisons to fellow flashy Chinese combo guard Chen Jianghua in coming years, but hopefully for him he is able to develop his fundamentals a little bit better.
The Skills Academy
Those decrying the state of American basketball, particularly the often dodgy world of AAU and summer basketball would likely have been pleased to see the amount of time Nike is devoting the development aspect of this camp. Very little time early on was dedicated to competitive five on five action, with the counselors appearing to put great emphasis on the Skills Academy portion of the camp.
We saw the players being put through hours of drills filled to the brim with personal instruction and concepts revolving around skill development, both individual (shooting, ball-handling, post moves, etc) and team oriented (off-ball defense, spacing, off-ball movement).
The coaches here made it a point to take the players out of their comfort zones and force them to work on things that they may not be accustomed to—their off-hand, passing, the full-court press, etc. Guards were shown the nuances of posting up, while the big men were asked to shoot jumpers.
An added perk for the campers was the fact that none other than LeBron James was participating in some of the drills for wing players on the second day, before taking part in five on five action alongside the likes of Danny Green, Tarence Kinsey, Christian Eyenga and his high school teammate Romeo Travis against the college prospects in the evening.
Tomorrow: High School and NCAA player evaluations. |
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