Season in Full Swing

Well it is December and basketball is officially in full swing. I finally made it to my first few high school games this past weekend. I have been preoccupied with my season to make it to many high school events.

I went to the Hinkle Showcase Saturday night. I was in attendance for the Zionsville game against Guerin Catholic and also the Lawrence North/Brebeuf game.

Zionsville returned basically everyone from their 18-3 team last year. Senior Jack Isenbarger led Zionsville to victory 80-70. The 6'3 point guard is as steady as they come. He can get to the rim while also having good range. He is their leader and is rarely out of control.

Chris Welker is a 6'5 senior who is committed to Army. Welker is very polished in the paint with a variety of moves. He has range, but it is usually of the catch and shoot variety...not off the dribble or coming off screens. He is solid and should be a good player for Army.

Guerin Catholic was scrappy and fought Zionsvile down to the end. The Rapp brothers really stood out. Jordan Rapp is a 6'4 lanky senior. He showed a full game from posting up to shooting the 3 to crashing for offensive rebounds. He looks like he could be a solid NAIA player. Riley Rapp is a 6'0 sophomore that can really shoot the ball. He drove only a few times, but it looked like he was quick enough to do it more and a good enough ball handler to do it more. I would like him to become more of a point guard that shoot than a shooter that can handle it if needed.

In the second game, Brebeuf battled Lawrence North for 3 quarters before LN pulled away. Brebeuf was definitely undersized in the match-up but they put a good effort out.

Mike Lenz is a 6'1 sophomore guard for Brebeuf. He really impressed me with his ability to drive and finish in the lane against LN. He is very thin right now and needs to put on some muscle. He showed toughness and good quickness.

Aloyis Gray was out with an injury which was disappointing. I wanted to see what he could do against the talent of LN. Gray is a 6'3 sophomore.

Brad Altum and Alex Kugar both looked like NAIA/D2 prospects. Altum is a 6'3 senior guard that showed a good dribble pull up game. While Kugar is more of an undersized post that battles and competes.

Saying Lawrence North is talented is like saying the sky is blue. The question is if they will play well as a team or play hard enough to win big games.

They have two Louisville commits in 6'5 Ryan Taylor and 6'10 Michael Chandler. Taylor is transitioning from a power forward to a small forward for college and it is still a work in-progress. Chandler runs very well for a guy nearly 7 feet tall. He also has good timing for blocking shots. He has a soft shooting touch although he is on the block most of the time.

Farooq Davis might give LN the needed guard play they need to go along with their talented big men. He showed very good lateral quickness hounding Brebeuf ball handlers all over the floor. He also knocked down a couple 3's and if he can do that all year LN will be really tough.

Zionsville Open Gym

I've had a chance to see a couple of Zionsville open gyms this week as I will be coaching in their program this year. Here are some of the observations that I had during the open gyms.

Chris Welker 6'5 has great footwork in all parts of the offensive game. Welker is really strong, can shoot it well to 22 feet, is a great leader, and has a very good basketball IQ. He verbally committed to Army over the summer and is planning on sticking with that. If he decides to change after the coaching change is determined, I would get on him if I was a mid-major or lower.

Demetrius Lawson 6'1 is a strong, combo guard at this point but I think he can make the transition to point guard in the future. He has great form on his outside shot and is a good athlete. He plays the game very unselfishly. Lawson is a sleeper at this point, but will probably have a big year for a very good team.

Reed McLaughlin 6'5 is an inside/outside threat from the 3/4 spot. He is really good from 3 when he gets his feet set. He is a a good small college prospect. Right now, his favorite is Williams College on the east coast for their high academics.

Will Dixon 6'1 freshmen is long for his height, good shooter from the outside, handles it and creates well for others, good defensively for his age. A very smart player for a frosh.

Andrew Dakich 5'11 freshmen is a heady, crafty, smart player. He can shoot it a little bit but in a program of good shooters he can make them look good by creating for them at this point. I think he will be more of a scorer once he grows a little bit more.

Zionsville has a very good looking freshmen class. It will be interesting how they develop over the next few years.

Jack Isenbarger (mid-major recruit), Chris Roberts, Blake Luers (football recruit) all play fall sports.

Crews Out at Army

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports is reporting that Jim Crews will part from Army. Crews played under Bob Knight at Indiana and also was the head man at Evansville for many years. Crews always used his Indiana ties to recruit Indiana. This summer he picked up a verbal commitment from Zionsville's Chris Welker. So, Welker's recruiting might re-open depending on the outcome of this situation.

Another player has transferred out of Indiana from the class of 2010. Power guard Kennis White from South Bend Washington has moved out of state. The 2010 class has been depleted from transfers and people moving out of state. Hopefully, this trend does not continue with future classes.

Recruiting News

There have been some recruiting happenings in the last week or so. I have not confirmed any of these things myself, but are assumed to be true through good sources.

Dee Davis 5'10 PG Bloomington High School South committed to Xavier this past week. Davis should be a good fit into the Xavier system as long as Coach Mack plays the same style as Coach Sean Miller did in the past (and he is expected to).

Donnie Hale 6'7 PF New Albany committed to Purdue although Purdue has no open scholarships for the 2010 class...it is assumed that JaJuan Johnson will leave early for the NBA next year. Hale was offered by Purdue long ago, but others took the open scholarships.

Austion Etherington 6'6 SF Hamilton Heights has picked up a few scholarship offers recently from Oklahoma State (who is rumored to have never seen him play in person) and Indiana University. Those go along with his previous offer from Xavier.

Julian Boatner 6'3 SG Bloomington High School North recently committed to William & Mary. Jon Holmes, the son of Bloomington South, coaches at William & Mary and is trying to build a pipeline from Indiana to William & Mary.

Chris Welker 6'4 SF Zionsville committed to Jim Crews and the Army program. The Indiana product is always recruiting the state and Welker should fit the program well. Good commitment for both sides.

That is all the news I have read recently.

Take Your Pick-Round 2

Here is part two of my take your pick series. Look for it in a paper(the thing old people read) near you soon.

Donnie Hale or Erick Fromm?

Both very similar to each other. Each at about 6'7 and both post players first and foremost. Hale is a little bit more athletic than Fromm. Fromm a little more skilled with a bit more range. I would go with Fromm in this debate.

Who is the better college prospect...Justin Gant or Austin Burgett?

Both 6'7+ with perimeter skills. Burgett is better handling the ball and Gant is a better outside shooter at this point. Gant is a year older than Burgett though. At the same stage, Burgett is better but Gant improved a lot over the last year. I will still go with Burgett by a nose in the match-up.

Better college prospect...Chris Welker or Neal Beshears?

Welker is very good in the post, but he won't be playing the post much if he goes D-1. He could take smaller guys inside, but he will probably be more on the perimeter. Beshears is ridiculously long which with work could make him unreal on the defensive end. He needs work on that part of his game though. Beshears is a better slasher. I think Beshears' game translates very easily to the college level and Welker's does not. I'd take Beshears here.

Better prospect...Jesse Berry or Terone Johnson?

Johnson verbally committed to Purdue is obviously a good prospect and a great shooter. Berry is an explosive scorer and a great athlete. There are a lot of questions about Berry's attitude and problems. Berry would be better if he had no questions swirling about his head. I'll take Johnson but Berry could easily be better if he gets his head on straight soon. That is one huge IF!

More at a later date...I can't think of any good, close comparisons right now.