2010 Power Forward Rankings

The power forward position is a deep one for the 2010 class. Led by Deshaun Thomas who has a chance to break the legendary career scoring record of Damon Bailey.

H=High major H- = High major Stretch
M+ = Mid-major, higher possibly, M=Mid-major, M- =Mid-major stretch
L+ = Low major, higher possibly, L= Low-major, L- = Low-major stretch
D2=Division 2/NAIA /High Level D3
D3=Division 3


1. Deshaun Thomas 6’7 Bishop Luers H Complete inside game, developing range, solid handles. Weakness=quicks as a 3 in the Big Ten, Height as a 4 in the Big Ten. Commit to Ohio State
2. Erik Fromm 6’8 Bloomington South M+ Fundamental footwork, strong, finishes very well inside. Weakness=range although improving. Commit to Butler.
3. Donnie Hale 6’7 New Albany M+ Quick, athletic, good rebounder, good shot blocker. Weakness=right hand and perimeter shooting Commit to Purdue
4. Jake Kitchell 6’8 South Central M- Good motor, solid athlete, can rebound out of his area. Weakness= not polished offensively. Commit to Indiana State
5. DeArmond Davis 6’7 Mount Vernon L Okay motor, good athlete, but not a great athlete, raw. Improved since the summer still a lot of skill development to do
6. Greg Miller 6’6 North Miami L- Good motor, strong, smart, range to 16 feet. Weakness=Height and doesn’t play AAU. Commit to Grace College
7. Mike Kibiloski 6’7 Elkhart Memorial L- Solid in the post, good motor/toughness, limited athleticism Commit to IPFW
8. Jake Browne 6’6 Hamilton Southeastern D2 Solid springs, pretty long, has a mid-range jumper, rebounds well.
9. Thomas Anderson 6’7 Terre Haute North D2 Solid frame, decent inside
10. Pete Nicksic 6’6 Andrean D2
11. Reed McLaughlin 6’5 Zionsville D2 Good set shooter, good rebounder
12. Patrick Cutter 6’6 Harrison D2 Great mid-range jumper, long, good weak side defender
13. Zach Vega 6’5 Munster D3 Aggressive rebounder and good defender
14. Billy Clark 6’5 Andrean D3

2010 Power Forward Rankings

2010 has a good group of power forwards. DeShaun Thomas can broke Damon Bailey's Indiana state scoring record which is unbelievable but with another deep run in the state tournament it is within reach. Fromm and Hale are both very good players who will play their college basketball within the state.

2010 Power Forwards

1. DeShaun Thomas 6’7 Bishop Luers H Complete inside game, developing range, solid handles. Weakness=quicks as a 3 in the Big Ten, Height as a 4 in the Big Ten. Verbal commit to Ohio State
2. Erik Fromm 6’8 Bloomington South M+ Fundamental footwork, strong, finishes very well inside. Weakness=range although improving. Verbal commit to Butler.
3. Donnie Hale 6’7 New Albany M+ Quick, athletic, good rebounder, good shot blocker. Weakness=right hand and perimeter shooting. Verbal commit to Purdue
4. Jake Kitchell 6’8 South Central M- Good motor, solid athlete, can rebound out of his area. Weakness= not polished offensively.
5. Greg Miller 6’6 North Miami L- Good motor, strong, smart, range to 16 feet. Weakness=Height and doesn’t play AAU.
6. Jake Browne 6’6 Heritage Christian L Solid springs, pretty long, has a mid-range jumper, rebounds well.
7. DeArmond Davis 6’7 Mount Vernon L Okay motor, good athlete, but not a great athlete, raw. Weakness=Rawness
8. Thomas Anderson 6’7 Terre Haute North L- Solid frame, decent inside Weakness=athleticism

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.

2010 Power Forwards

The 4 spot in the 2010 class is pretty solid. Especially if you take some of those "tweeners" and place them in the power forward position instead of the small forward category.

1. DeShaun Thomas 6’7 Bishop Luers H Complete inside game, developing range, solid handles. Weakness=quicks as a 3 in the Big Ten, Height as a 4 in the Big Ten.
2. Erik Fromm 6’8 Bloomington South M+ Fundamental footwork, strong. Weakness=range.
3. Donnie Hale 6’7 New Albany M+ Quick, athletic, good rebounder. Weakness=right hand and perimeter shooting.
4. Jake Kitchell 6’8 South Central M- Good motor, solid athlete. Weakness=not super aggressive rebounding or offensively.
5. Greg Miller 6’6 North Miami L- Good motor, strong, smart, range to 16 feet. Weakness=Height.
6. DeArmond Davis 6’7 Mount Vernon L Okay motor, not a great athlete, raw. Weakness=Rawness
7. Thomas Anderson 6’7 Terre Haute North L- Solid frame, decent inside Weakness=athleticism

Spring Recap Series-II

Continuing on with my recap from the spring season so far I will be listing my surprise players so far. Today will be from the class of 2010 in Indiana.

Chrishawn Hopkins 6'2 SG Indianapolis (Manual)-Combo guard that is a true combo and not just a shooting guard in a point guard's body. He can handle it efficiently, good quickness...laterally and first step, great springs (can jump out of the gym), consistent outside range. Very few people know about him and he doesn't play on good teams (high school or aau) so it's hard to criticize him for forcing things when he is the only option. He is a mid-major prospect in my eyes.

Brad Karp 6'2 SG Valparaiso-Consistent, good motor, does all the little things that help teams win. I don't think he is quite athletic enough for D1, but low D1's and D2/NAIA should take a look. Karp isn't flashy, but is a type of player I would want on my team.

Greg Miller 6'6 PF North Miami-Although I haven't seen him on the AAU circuit (I don't believe he is playing),Miller impressed me greatly at the Top 100 workout in April. Strong, skilled, good motor. Played very well against Travis Carrol at the work out.

Daniel Turner 6'6 PF/SF Mt. Vernon-Tweener, but strong and athletic enough to play the 4 spot at the low D1 level I believe. Good touch around the basket, worker, good rebounder.

Ronald Ross 6'3 SG-I like what I have seen from Ross so far but would like to see more of him before I have a good grasp on his capabilities. Strong body, athletic, finishes well in the lane, unsure of his range and ball handling...that's why I would like to see more of him.

Aaron Bluitt 6'1 PG Indianapolis (Chatard)-Flashes of a great player, but also will be lackadaisical at times and make poor decisions. Bluitt is more of a SG that can handle the ball right now and I would like him to get to the point where he is a PG that can score when he wants to. Ball handling against pressure and decision making against that pressure are my concerns about him being a PG at the D1 level. I think he can make that improvement if he works at it.

Erik Fromm 6'8 PF Bloomington South-I'm putting Fromm on here because I had not seen him a bunch before this spring and I'm really impressed with his footwork and skill around the basket. I rank him slightly higher than Donnie Hale which is crazy in some people's eyes but he is just so fundamental he rarely makes mistakes. He should fit into Butler's system very well.

Donnie Hale 6'7 PF New Albany-Athletic, solid motor. I wish he had a right hand (he is left handed) if he was able to score with his right hand then he would be higher than Fromm in my opinion but at the next level he will get a lot of shots blocked if he can't use both hands around the rim. He looks to be transitioning to more of a 3 but in order to do that he needs to be able to use both hands equally and he cannot right now. Other than that, I have no complaints about his game.

Ethan Jacobs 7'0 C Tipton-Jacobs was having a solid spring in both school work outs where college coaches were coming to watch him and on the AAU circuit. 7 footer with a good stroke is hard to find. He could be a star at Ohio before his career is over...it literally is up to him how hard he wants to go after making that a reality.

Spiece Memorial Day Tourney Continued

This report will also be more cumulative than just this weekend.

Indiana Select 2011

Matt Schauss 6'3 SG-Good shooter, decent ball handler, solid length. I would like him to be more of a PG that can shoot instead of a SG that can handle it a little bit. He is improving defensively but needs to work on a consistent effort. D2/NAIA prospect right now but if he gets after it training wise he could be low D1.

Spencer Comer 6'3 SG-Slasher, athletic, strong, good motor, good rebounder for his size. The athleticism is there to guard PGs but I don't think he can handle pressure against the top point guards right now. Better handles and more consistent shooting would make his stock jump a lot.

Jackson Kenshaw 6'4 SG-Strong, decent athlete, decent set shooter, can handle the ball a bit. Probably just needs to refine all parts of his game...get a little bit better in each area and he can be a good prospect for low D1's.

Josh Gentry 6'4 SF-Streaky shooter, good slasher, really long, good athlete. Needs to refine all parts of game. If he continues to grow, he could have a good future. D2/NAIA right now, but could jump quickly.

Christian Ford 5'9 PG-Solid handles, quick, lefty. Forces it too much at times, but is a good scorer. Needs to become more of a pass first and score when the team needs me to point guard with his size.

Wade Thomas 6'7 PF-Potential is the word here. Long, good motor, rebounds, good form on jumper, solid post moves. Still developing coordination and overall game. I think he is a good worker that could get him to the D2+ level.

Spiece Indy Heat-Felder

Alexander Hutson 6'1 SG-Streaky shooter, solid athlete. I listed him as a SG because I don't feel like he would be a player that will come down, handle the ball, set up the offense, make the pass that starts the offense or the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the basket. Needs to become a true point which includes better handles and more passing. Defense is also a question but I think he has the ability to be a good defender with his athleticism, he just needs to refine some things.

Chandler Thomas 6'5 PF-Very good in the post, solid athlete, good rebounder. The problem is that he is a 6'5 PF/C. He can drive the ball a little and shoot from the outside a little but he needs to develop into a SF/SG. I do not think the work ethic is there for that to happen.

Brian Stolarz 6'4 PF-Solid set shooter, strong, decent athlete, solid rebounder. Needs to be a SG/SF at the next level and he knows this. The process is long and difficult. I do not think he has the quickness to guard on the perimeter. Low D1 or D2 seems like a good fit to me. That still depends on him becoming more of a SF.

Spiece Indy Heat-Downs

Travis Carroll 6'8 PF-Developing solid range, great in the post, good rebounder. Lacks athleticism is the big knock. He can get around it at the next level if he is very smart and out works guys. Should be solid at Purdue.

Jack Isenbarger 6'2 PG-Solid handles, good quickness, good shooter, good length. I really like Isenbarger for the mid-major level as a true point guard. I think he might grow still also.

Jordan Weidner 6'1 PG-Solid set shooter, good penetrator, decent athlete. Needs to show that he can handle the ball against tough defenders and that he can also score or create inside against big guys (6'8+). D2/NAIA right now.

Kennis White 6'1 PG-Good athlete, passes well, decent handles. Low D1 or D2 prospect in my eyes.

Donnie Hale 6'7 PF-Athlete, quick, solid post moves (going to left hand). I would love him if he could finish with his right hand...he is a lefty. I've seen decent range from him but he does his damage in the lane. Mid-major would be a good fit for Hale I believe.

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.