Showing posts with label Justin Gant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justin Gant. Show all posts

Saturday, April 10, 2010

IndyBall.com Impressions (2011)

The club has started and it is great to be back. There is a lot of Indiana talent in the tournament. There aren't many out of state teams, but it is a good first tournament for most teams.

2011

Alex Pritchett 6'7 Bedford North Lawrence (Spiece Select) had a dominating performance Friday night. Pritchett is very active, great motor, tough, physical and finishes well around the rim. He has the ability to shoot from the outside, but is still improving. He can play at the MM level, but probably not higher.

Justin Gant 6'8 Terre Haute North (Spiece Select) was much more aggressive on the boards and in the post than I have seen him in the past. If he continues to play aggressive, he will have a great summer.

Austin Richie 6'1 Lowell (CAPS All-Stars) had a huge first half in a game tonight. When Richie gets into an offensive rhythm, he is tough to stop. His whole game improves when he is knocking down shots. He gets into the lane more and finds teammates better when things are going well for him. I'm not sold on his quickness yet or his ability to play PG at a level higher than LM. I hope to see him more this spring.

Brandon Dunaway 6'1 Corydon (Southern Indiana) always plays within himself, finds a way to get into the paint, and is a good shooter. He looks like a good D2/NAIA prospect.

Chandler Guion 6'2 Lapel (Spiece Indy Stars) was in foul trouble in the game I saw, but I was impressed with his athleticism and quickness. He is a point guard, but is usually creating his own shot rather than looking to create for others.

Nate Gross (sp?) 6'5 Madison-Grant (Spiece Indy Stars) is a very good offensive rebounder, good motor, and a pretty good athlete. LM would be a stretch, but I think he could be a really good player at the D2/NAIA level.

Isiah Hill 6'9 Howe Academy (Eric Gordon All-Stars) still impresses me with how much weight he has lost. That being said, he still needs a lot of work. He still needs to get into better shape and his offensive game needs a lot of work. He could be a project for a LM or MM school willing to take a chance.

Ryan Taylor 6'5 Lawrence North (Eric Gordon All-Stars) hit three 3's to start a game this afternoon. He also went coast to coast splitting a couple of defenders on his way to a lay-up. He needs to be a wing at Louisville and it looks like he making strides towards achieving that.

Chris Page 6'4 Plainfield (Eric Gordon All-Stars) puts up big numbers for Plainfield, but he was basically their only scoring option this year for a bad team. Page can shoot it from the outside and is good off the dribble. Who he can guard is a question for me.

I have not seen many of the 2011 teams play yet. I hope to see Indiana Elite Team Indiana Sunday along with a few of the other 2011 teams.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

2011 Power Forward Rankings

The power forward position in the 2011 class is loaded. McGary, Zeller, Gant, and Greathouse are all over 6'8 and are all very versatile players. I'm probably higher on McGary than most. I'm not quite sold on Zeller, but judging by how quickly he has improved over the last 3 years he should be the best player of the Zeller family. I am probably lower on Gant than a lot of people mainly because I wish he was more aggressive. If he picks up his aggressiveness on defense and rebounding than his game would go to a new level. Greathouse has all the necessary skills to be a perimeter 4 man. He doesn't always show his skills though.

1. Mitch McGary 6’9 Chesterton H Great touch around the basket, good shooting form to 18 feet, quick/good feet. Solid handles at a true 6’9.
2. Cody Zeller 6’10 Washington H- A Zeller nuff said. Runs well, shoots well, passes well. Developing quickly, but still ranked mainly off of potential. He has made huge strides since last summer and I expect him to continue that type of development.
3. Justin Gant 6’8 Terre Haute North M+ Solid set shooter from outside, good length, skilled. Aggressive/toughness on the defensive end and while rebounding will decide what level he plays.
4. Tyler Greathouse 6’8 Columbus North M Great outside shooter, good post moves but would rather be on the outside. Very similar to Justin Gant, Greathouse needs to be more aggressive offensively and rebounding.
5. Alex Prichett 6’6 Bedford North L Finishes well, solid body. Needs to improve post moves and expand range. He recently picked up an offer from Wright State
6. Ricky Carbajal 6’6 Munster L Tough rebounder, physical, decent touch around the rim. Decent jumping ability. Can handle the ball a little bit..
7. Dontray Chavis 6’4 Princeton L+ Skilled tweener, quick, athletic, solid body. Can put the ball on the floor from the perimeter to get to the basket. Gets a bit out of control at times and more of a power forward than his brother. It appears that Dontray has rejoined the Princeton team after he went a few weeks ago.
8. Dedric Griffin 6’4 North Central L Finishes well against bigger guys
9. Tim Simmons 6’6 Pike L+ Good post moves, decent shooter, best thing going for him is his body...looks like a grown man
10. Robert Pittman 6’7 Washington L Athletic, can put it on the floor a little bit. Needs to improve all around game.
11. Beecher Ward 6’4 Indianapolis Tech D2 Athletic post, can guard a 3 or 4 at D2 level
12. Brandon Herbert 6’6 Rushville D2 Good rebounder, good motor. Needs to improve shooting range and become more of a PF instead of pure center.
13. Colin Bowles 6’7 Franklin Central D2 Good motor, great timing for shot blocking. Needs to improve offensive game.
14. Armond Patterson 6’5 Broad Ripple D2
15. Dakota Slaughter 6’6 Fishers L
16. Jeremy Reed 6’6 Lapel L
17. Matt Howard 6’5 Carmel D2 Good pick and pop shooter, decent athlete. Good small college prospect if he gets playing time at Carmel.
18. Randy Gregory 6’5 Hamilton Southeastern D2
19. Jon Thompson 6’3 Rushville D3 Insanely effective in high school and even in AAU due to his shot fakes and the way he uses his body. He does have a good set shot to 20 feet, but I think D3 is the highest he can play in college.
20. Kevin Fisher 6’5 Huntington D3 Strong, good worker, decent mid-range jumper

Saturday, August 1, 2009

2011 Power Forward Rankings

2011 Power Forwards

1. Mitch McGary 6’9 Chesterton H Great touch around the basket, good shooting form to 18 feet, quick/good feet. Grades are a question mark for him.
2. Cody Zeller 6’8 Washington H- A Zeller nuff said. Runs well, shoots well, passes well. Developing quickly, but still ranked mainly off of potential. He has made huge strides since last summer and I expect him to continue that type of development.
3. Justin Gant 6’8 Terre Haute North M+ Solid set shooter from outside, good length, skilled. Aggressive/toughness on the defensive end and while rebounding will decide what level he plays.
4. Tyler Greathouse 6’8 Columbus North M Good outside shooter, good post moves. Very similar to Justin Gant, Greathouse needs to be more aggressive offensively and rebounding.
5. Tim Simmons 6’6 Pike L+ Good post moves, decent shooter, best thing going for him is his body...looks like a grown man.
6. Rontray Chavis 6’4 Princeton L+ Skilled tweener, quick, athletic, solid body. Can put the ball on the floor from the perimeter to get to the basket. Gets a bit out of control at times and more of a power forward than his brother.
7. Robert Pittman 6’7 Washington L Athletic, can put it on the floor a little bit. Needs to improve all around game.
8. Alex Prichett 6’6 Bedford North L Finishes well, solid body. Needs to improve post moves and expand range. He recently picked up an offer from Wright State
9. Brandon Herbert 6’6 Rushville L Good rebounder, good motor. Needs to improve shooting range and become more of a PF instead of pure center.
10. Colin Bowles 6’7 Franklin Central L Good motor, great timing for shot blocking. Needs to improve offensive game.
11. Matt Howard 6’5 Carmel L- Good pick and pop shooter, decent athlete. Good small college prospect if he gets playing time at Carmel.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

2011 Power Forward Rankings

2011 Power Forward Rankings

1. Mitch McGary 6’9 Chesterton H Great touch around the basket, good shooting form to 18 feet, quick/good feet. Grades are a question mark for him.
2. Cody Zeller 6’8 Washington M+ A Zeller nuff said. Runs well, shoots well, passes well. If he adds a dribble game to his offense he will go high major.
3. Justin Gant 6’8 Terre Haute North M+ Solid set shooter from outside, good length, skilled. Needs to be more aggressive and improve handles.
4. Tyler Greathouse 6’8 Columbus North M Good outside shooter, good post moves. Needs to be more aggressive offensively and rebounding.
5. Tim Simmons 6’6 Pike L+ Good post moves, decent shooter, best thing going for him is his body...looks like a grown man.
6. Rontray Chavis 6’4 Princeton L+ Skilled tweener, quick, athletic, solid body. Gets a bit out of control at times and more of a power forward than his brother.
7. Robert Pittman 6’7 Washington L Athletic, can put it on the floor a little bit. Needs to improve all around game.
8. Brandon Herbert 6’6 Rushville L Good rebounder, good motor. Needs to improve shooting range and become more of a PF instead of pure center.
9. Colin Bowles 6’7 Franklin Central L Good motor, great timing for shot blocking. Needs to improve offensive game.
10. Alex Prichett 6’6 Bedford North L Finishes well, solid body. Needs to improve post moves

Sunday, May 10, 2009

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.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

AAU is Back

It is that time of the year again! I'm not talking about Easter either. AAU season is the best time of the year in my opinion :). I gathered a few observations on the first weekend of action from IndyBall.com tournament and a tournament at the Fishers Fieldhouse.

Cody Zeller has improved at an incredible pace. He will likely end up being very similar to Tyler in running the floor and shooting ability.

Marshall Plumlee plays harder than any big man I have seen in AAU as a 6'10 sophomore. That bodes well for his development as a player.

Zac VanDeWater might be the most underrated player in the class of 2011 in Indiana. Very much a high major recruit with his size, quickness, and shooting ability.

Neal Beshears is not your typical small school "all-star" because of his athletic ability. With added muscle he could be a big time player.

Vincent Zollo had to be disappointed that Billy Gillispie was let go at Kentucky because I do not see him gettng any other high major offers unless he grows into his feet. He is the same height he was listed at last summer so unless they over-hyped his height last year than he hasn't grown.

Justin Gant has become much more consistent with his jumper and it looks very good.

Jeremiah Davis has the highest percentage of unnecessary look away passes I have ever seen. He makes a no-look pass every possession for no reason. No big deal until he commits a turnover when he is looking off an invisible defender.

Austin Etherington looks healthy and poised for a big summer in terms of his recruitment. Tough to defend a 6'6 wing that can put in on the floor.

Jalen Packer got to the rim constantly but that has never been questioned. The factor that will decide how high of college ball he can play is his shooting ability.

Just a few things I saw while I caught some glances at games.