Sunday, January 17, 2010

Muncie Central @ Noblesville

I went to this game to see Muncie Central. I have already seen Noblesville twice this year so I knew what to expect from them. I have only seen Munice Central sophomore Nick Osborne once and I wanted to see him play in a full game. I wanted to see how Jeremiah Davis was doing as well.

Noblesville played zone pretty much the whole game and Muncie Central just could never get anything going. They had to work very hard to get anything to fall and couldn't string consecutive possessions together.

Noblesville ended up winning in a low scoring affair 49-41. Muncie Central was always in the game, but could never make a run to take the lead.

Jeremiah Davis 6'3 junior Muncie Central did not start the game and played limited minutes throughout. He is up to 195 pounds and looks good physically. He didn't do much of the ball handling for MC as Adam Botts handled that. Overall, not much to report because he didn't play many minutes.

Nick Osborne 6'8 sophomore Muncie Central struggled to get open shots inside against Noblesville's zone defense. I liked how he moved offensively and he is strong for a 6'8 (probably closer to 6'7) sophomore. He didn't have many one on one opportunities in the post to show his post moves. I'm not sure how good of jumper he is. He never skyed well above the rim at any point. Osborne did go down with an injury in the 3rd quarter and didn't return so I got a limited viewing of him as well. Definitely D1 potential...how high is the question.

Adam Botts 6'0 sophomore Muncie Central is a solid point guard that is going to take care of the ball, lead his team, and hit open shots from the outside. He is quick, but not lightning quick. Probably a low D1 prospect, but I will need to see him more.

North Montgomery @ Westfield

North Montgomery dominated the whole game. They played a 2-3 zone to collapse on Westfield big man Jeff Howard. North Montgomery looked very good offensively but that is easy to do when you make shots. They had a lot of ball movement and set a lot of flare screens. Westfield struggled to get around screens.

Westfield made it a game late by picking up the defensive pressure. North Montgomery did not handle it well. Freshman Ajay Lawton keyed the defensive pressure while Austin Brengle hit some big 3's in the fourth quarter.

In the end, Westfield's run came up just short and they lost by 3 points.

Colin Maltsberger 6'3 senior North Montgomery hit 6 3's on the night. He has good elevation on his jumper. He's strong with the ball...looking to drive when defenders close-out too aggressively. He was very active defensively helping to double team Jeff Howard most of the game. He looks like a very good D2/NAIA player and possibly a low D1 prospect.

Jeff Howard 6'8 senior Westfield was the main reason I went to watch this game. He struggled with North Montgomery collapsing on him and even double teaming him away from the ball. He does post aggressively and really gets after rebounds. He is also pretty good laterally for a 6'8 kid, but he does not jump very well. His shooting form was pretty good except he didn't have any arc on his shot. He ended up going 4-12 from the line and 4-11 from the field. I think he would be a stretch for a low D1 to take him, but I think he could be very valuable for a D2/NAIA school.

Maurice Fuller 6'3 junior Westfield showed a solid knack of getting to the basket. Decent athlete, good first step. Shot seemed above average although he struggled from the outside.

Ajay Lawton 5'10 freshmen Westfield showed great quickness and was very good defensively. He got after the North Montgomery guards pressuring them full court one on one. He missed all of his 3pt. shots, but was able to get to the basket a few times. It seems like he has some potential with his quickness.