New 2012 Rankings This Week

1. AJ Hammons 6’10 Carmel H Love his touch and footwork around the basket also passes well against double teams. I wish Carmel would give him more touches because he makes so many good things happen.
2. Jeremy Hollowell 6’7 Lawrence Central H Extremely long, good shooter from distance, drives the ball well. Lots of upside but inconsistent. He should be a pro one day if he hits the weight room hard and continues to develop his game extremely hard. All the natural ability anyone could ever ask for.
3. Gary Harris 6’4 Hamilton Southeastern H Good length, good set shooter, solid with the ball. Harris and Hollowell have the most upside in the class. Both are nowhere near their potential yet. Harris seems like a kid who wants to become better and might have a slight chip on his shoulder because he didn’t get the early attention that other 2012’s got from schools. Might be more of a 2 right now, but can also play point…I would like him to be more aggressive with the ball
4. Ron Patterson 6’3 Broad Ripple H Athletic as you can get for this age, good shooter…set and off the dribble, solid defender. Weakness-would like him to tighten up his handles. Probably is going to be a SG in college as I don’t see him making the switch to PG. His athleticism will allow him to guard most HM guards.
5. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6’3 North Central H- Crafty, strong as a bull, smart with the ball. He is a great defender because of his strength and great will to win. If you haven’t seen him play, think Byron Eaton the former Oklahoma State PG.
6. Yogi Ferrell 5’11 Park Tudor H- Quick, very good with the ball i.e. change of pace, decision making. Outside shot has improved greatly but still inconsistent. When he has the outside shot going he is unstoppable.
7. Austin Burgett 6’8 Avon M+ Can shoot, can put the ball on the floor, passes well, also rebounds. Added strength and aggressiveness could take his game to the next level, which is a very elite level. Burgett did not have the high school season most expected. He will have to be more assertive in the spring to keep his stock this high.

8. Glenn Robinson, Jr. 6’5 Lake Central M+ Slasher that doesn’t force things, solid athlete, decent handles, good shooting form although he doesn’t look for his shot much. He would rather drive. Finished well at the rim against good size.
9. Dejuan Marrero 6’5 Bowman M+ Solid athlete but not a freak, good rebounder, good motor. I definitely like his toughness and how he gets after on the court.I’m unsure what position he will play at the next level. It looks like he could end up being an undersized PF. He has a lot of work to do to become a perimeter player. Improving shooter, but still a lot to work on and I don’t think he has any ball handling skills whatsoever.
10. Rhett Smith 6’6 Sullivan M True inside/outside player, good post moves, drives the ball well. Rhett has added some weight over the last year. I don’t know if it is mostly muscle or what but he is noticeably bigger than last summer. Weakness-not super athletic although he has a good first step.
11. Rafeal Davis 6’5 Fort Wayne South M Shooter, good length, strong for age. Not a great athlete, he is long so he can dunk but he isn’t jumping out of the gym by any stretch. Weakness-early maturation and could be done growing.
12. Nick Osborne 6’7 Muncie Central M Moves well, strong body for a sophomore. Rebounds out of his area. Right now, he gets most of his baskets off rebounds and when penetrators draw people and he is left with an easy lay-up. He has shown some post moves, but you aren’t going to throw it to him in the post and let him go to work.Decent leaper although he isn’t going to have many highlight dunks..
13. Edward Seay 6’8 Merrillville M+ Long, active in the post. A high potential guy. Needs a lot of refinement, but could definitely get there in two years.
14. Kellen Dunham 6’3 Pendleton Heights M Shooter, can create off the bounce, takes care of the ball. Is not very explosive. Lateral quickness worries me.
15. Ronnie Johnson 5’10 North Central M Very quick, good lefty shooter, small right now. Brother is Terone Johnson.
16. D.J. Ballentine 5’11 Kokomo M Crafty with the ball, good shooter but would like him to look to get to the rim more often.
17. Dylan Langkabel 6’3 Morristown M Very good shooter, good elevation on his jumper, uses screens well, not going to go 1 on 1 to get his shot very often, competitor, decent handles. Athleticism/who he can guard will determine how high he can play at the next level.
18. Brent Calhoun 6’8 Warren Central M Lefty (I love lefty post players), good shot blocker, developing jump hook. Slimmer than last summer. Improving athleticism. Potential is much higher than his current skill level.
19. Tyler Corley 5’10 Lawrence Central M Quick, good handles, good shooter from the outside
20. Kellon Thomas 5’10 Southport M- Leader, good decision maker, improving shooter, strong, finishes well in the lane. Weakness- shooting ability
21. Patrick Ingram 6’3 North Central M Strong body, more of a mid-range shooter than 3pt shooter, likes to get to the rim.
22. Mike Ramey 6’5 Southport M Quick, solid strength for his age, good with the ball, very good shooter.
23. Harry Willis 6’1 Ben Davis M- Quick first step, great defender, will create easy baskets for other with his quickness, can finish inside against bigger players.
24. Kendall Waters 5’11 Pendelton Heights M- Solid shooter, quick, good defensively, looks to make plays for teammates more than himself, very hard-nosed
25. Tyler Alderman 6’9 Fishers M+ Probably will be moved to the Power Forward section. When I saw him, he was facing a zone defense that featured 2 6'10 players. He did show great athleticism...jumps really well, moves well, and can run
26. Jared Drew 6’6 Lawrence Central M- Solid athlete, long, gets to the rim easily. Weakness-shot selection
27. Jordan Burton 6’7 Edinburgh M Posts well, good post moves, good rotation on shot although flat, runs well, not explosive off the floor.
28. Logan Irwin 5’11 L Whitko L+ Strong, leader, slasher, creator. Needs to improve shooting.
29. R.J. Hunter 6’2 Pike M- Shooter, long, smart. Weakness-rail thin
30. Brad Hartman 6’5 Union County L+ Good shooting form, gets after the boards, good basketball IQ
31. Daniel Purvlicis 6’6 Noblesville M- Good looking shot, solid footwork in the lane, wingspan looks much bigger than his 6’6 height, needs strength work. Has to be more aggressive to make that next step in his development.
32. Aaron Payne 6’2 Broad Ripple L Plays more of a pg position but struggles with decision making at times.
33. Adam Botts 6’0 Muncie Central M- Good shooter, steady with the ball, leader
34. Travis Britt 6’3 Culver Academy M- Strong, gets to the rim very well (Old for his grade I believe)
35. Jodan Price 6’6 Lawrence Central L+ A true 6’6, potential guy right now, tentative at times
36. Joel Smith 6’5 Heritage Christian L+ Strong, smart, good motor, solid mid-range set jumper. Might be done growing.
37. Rashad Richardson 6’4 Lafayette Jeff L+ Long, handles the ball but is loose with it right now, unusual shoot from the outside but is consistent with it. Length is his major strength to his game.
38. Da Veon Balls 6’0 Lawrence North L+ Quick, good handles, solid outside shot
39. Kyle Wuest 6’2 Edinburgh L Athletic slasher with a good mid-range pull-up game.
40. D.J. Neal 5’11 Fort Wayne North L+
41. Riley Rapp 6’0 Guerin Catholic L+ Mostly a shooter right now, but has the ability and quickness to get to the rim off the dribble.
42. Ben Gardner 5’11 Carmel L+ Lefty, great with the ball, quick enough to penetrate and finishes well at the rim. Looks to pass more than to shoot
43. Jordan VanTreese 6’8 Lawrence North L+ Stephen’s brother, developing, plays hard, rebounds well
44. Keith Cochran 6’9 Bluffton L+ Good touch, still catching up to his body.
45. Nathan Cox 6’7 Morristown L- Solid post moves, good motor, unathletic, doesn’t move too well.
46. Aloyis Gray 6’5 Brebeuf L+ Extremely long, active rebounder
47. Mitch Yeagy 5’10 L Alexandria L Smart player, good shooter
48. Shawn Heffern 6’5 Carmel L Strong with solid post moves
49. Thomas Treadway 6’4 Zionsville Lanky, good set shooter
50. Mike Lenz 6’1 Brebeuf Slasher, tough, good mid-range game

2012 Point Guard Rankings

Easily the deepest position in 2012 is the point guard spot. Especially if you put Gary Harris and Patrick Ingram as point guards. Both might be ranked as point guards in future rankings.

Again, I only rank players I have seen play so if I am missing someone that is probably the reason why they are not listed

Point Guards

1. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6’3 North Central H- Can play 4 positions in high school and maybe 5 because he is so strong. Point guard is the position he will play at the higher levels. Crafty and competitive he just finds a way to get it done.
2. Yogi Ferrell 5’11 Park Tudor M+ Point guard that can score. Ferrell is very good with change of pace and hesitation moves. He has a good floater when he gets into the low. Becoming a three-point threat more consistently.
3. Kellon Thomas 5’10 Southport M Solid floor general, strong with the ball. Above average shooter needs to become a lights out shooter because I’m not sure if he has any growing left.
4. Harry Willis 6’1 Ben Davis M- Quick first step, good defender. Unsure of his outside shooting.
5. Logan Irwin 5’11 L Whitko M- Heady, strong point guard. Lacks the elite explosiveness right now.
6. D.J. Ballentine 5’10 Kokomo L+ Good shooter, finishes well in the lane.
7. D.J. Neal 5’11 Fort Wayne North L+
8. Ronnie Johnson 5’8 North Central L+
9. Mitch Yeagy 5’10 Alexandria L
10. Jacoby Bledsoe 5’10 Hamilton Southeastern L

Hoosier Shootout Notes Day 3

The third day of the Hoosier Shootout brought some impressive performances to the table.

Spiece Indy Heat-Betts/Quarrels

Yogi Ferrell 5'11 PG Park Tudor has separated himself from the rest of the 2012 Indiana point guards and is rising in the overall rankings. He is shooting the ball consistently, getting into the lane at will, finishing with floaters and reverse lay-ups. He might be a high-major prospect.

Ethan Jacobs 7'0 C Tipton was impressive in the first half of their semi-final victory. He was really active rebounding, hedging screens, blocking shots. He also had a good finish where he cut from the 3pt. line on the baseline to the rim and caught the ball outside the lane. He then did a slide by move around a help side defender and finished off the glass. He is a great pickup for Ohio.

Khristian Smith 6'4 SF Pike played with a lot of energy and looked very good on defense. He is a low to mid-major prospect...mid-major when he defends like he did today.

Spiece Fastbreak

Kenny Enoch 6'3 SG Howe shot the ball very well today. He gets overshadowed at times, but he is a very solid player. Probably a low to mid-major prospect right now.

Ryan Taylor 6'5 SF Lawrence North showed more perimeter skills today than I thought he had. He handled it against pressure a little and hit a couple shots from 3. It looks like he will make the transition from power forward to small forward in the Big East.

P.J. Boutee 5'9 PG Howe leads the nation in spin dribbles per game. It is amazing how many times he spins during a game...it makes me dizzy just watching. Overall, he is quick and usually pretty good with the ball but will try to do too much at times.

Colin Lynch 6'3 SG Roncali can flat out shoot the ball. Quick release and can put it on the floor a little bit. He doesn't get many minutes because of a wing loaded roster.

Indiana Select Blue

Conner Rich 6'3 SF Tipton is a great shooter. He might have the purest stroke in the 2011 class. He struggles moving laterally against quick players and doesn't handle the ball particularly well. He needs to improve those areas to be a D-1 player.

Mark Fennerty 6'0 PG Carmel needs to get playing time at Carmel. He is heady, surprisingly quick, great shooter. He is a little undersized, but he makes up for it in toughness. He is a small school prospect right now. I could see him being great at an NAIA program.

Take Your Pick

I decided to do some comparisons of players "PTI" style with a little take your pick.

First up...Michael Chandler or A.J. Hammons?

I'll take A.J. Hammons as I like his post game at this point and I believe he has a bit more potential than Chandler. Chandler is no slouch and this is a tough choice but I also think Hammons runs a bit better which will improve if he drops some weight.

Better 2012 Point Guard right now...Yogi Ferrell or Kellon Thomas?

I'm going with Kellon Thomas right now, but Yogi Ferrell might have a little more upside with his height advantage. Right now, Thomas is the better shooter and makes decisions with the ball better. Therefore, I like him better as of now.

Better 2012 Prospect...D'vauntes Smith-Rivera or Ron Patterson?

I have to go with Patterson based on athleticism mainly. DSR is physically matured right now although I'm not sure if Patterson will grow anymore either. Patterson has better range and both drive and finish well in the lane.

Better 2011 Point Guard...Jeremiah Davis or P.J. Boutee?

At this moment, I would say they are very similar in the fact they are creators first and scorers second and then shooters third. Davis is bigger and stronger. Boutee has the quickness advantage. Both will make mistakes trying to do too much at times. I will take Jeremiah Davis in this match-up.

More to come later...