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

Gary Harris vs. Jeremy Hollowell

The game pitted Hamilton Southeastern against Lawrence Central in Hinkle Fieldhouse. Most were there to see the two super sophomores (channeling my inner Dick Vitale)Gary Harris and Jeremy Hollowell. Both have question marks about their games, but both have amazingly high potential.

Gary Harris, the 6'4 point guard, has had questions posed about his intensity, his competitiveness, and his overall aggressiveness. Against Lawrence Central, Harris showed how good he could be one day. He was aggressive looking to drive especially in the first half. He was looking to be a scoring threat everytime he touched the ball (something that he doesn't always do). He showed his 3point range, he showed his anticipation skills on defense, he showed his athleticism. He looked great but now he has to do it every time he steps onto the court!

Jeremy Hollowell, the 6'6 wing from Lawrence Central,has been inconsistent this season just like Harris. Hollowell is long, athletic, a good but streaky outside shooter. In the first half, Hollowell was missing in action. He had 2 points on 3 shot attempts. Showing all the flaws that have been plaguing him all season. In the third quarter, Hollowell seemed to have a light click on. He was more aggressive, hit some outside shots, and was more active defensively. The fourth quarter was more of the old Hollowell. If he becomes as strong as his older brother James than his upside is the largest in the class for 2012 in Indiana. He has a lot of work to do to fulfill his potential though.

Hamilton Southeastern @ North Central

The first quarter was highly competitive...that was about it. Hamilton Southeastern led after one quarter 25-23. The Royals were led by Zach Starr. Starr had 7 of HSE's first 9 points and didn't stop most of the night. I had him down for at least 17 points on the night. I wasn't planning on keeping his stats so that number might be low.

Not to be out done by Starr, Terone Johnson had 19 points in the first half. Johnson and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera dominated the second quarter which helped North Central open up a 49-30 halftime lead.

The second half was much of the same. Gary Harris got a little more aggressive for HSE. Harris had a nice breakaway dunk but he only finished with 11 points on the night.

North Central ended up winning with a score of 88-61. Johnson led North Central in scoring with 23 points. Smith-Rivera had 21 points on 9-17 shooting. Patrick Ingram had 9 points by going 4-5 from the field.

Hamilton Southeastern was without Jake Browne. I'm unaware of why he was not in uniform for this game.

Zach Starr 6'1 senior did most of the ball handling for HSE and was the Royals main scoring option. He has a good looking shot and also finished inside the lane against contact a few times. I think he is a shooting guard in a point guard body. He looks like a NAIA/D2/D3 prospect.

Gary Harris 6'4 sophomore is a highly rated player for the 2012 class in Indiana. He didn't look for his shot much at all in the first half. Harris was especially passive when North Central was in a zone (they played zone most of the game). He has the skills, but I think he needs to be more aggressive trying to score. His team needs him to do it that in order to be successful. Harris is definitely a mid-major or higher prospect at this point.

Dzenan Mrkaljevic 6'7 senior...don't ask me or the public address announcer at North Central how to say his name. He didn't do much scoring, but he looks like he can. He has small forward skills with good mobility and athleticism. He had 5 rebounds and a couple of blocks, but only 4 points. I only had him down for 1 shot attempt although he play a majority of the minutes.

Terone Johnson 6'3 senior is very good. He will give Purdue another scoring option with his outside shooting next year. If DeShaun Thomas wasn't in his class, he would be in the discussion for Mr. Basketball this year.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6'4 sophomore is listed at 219 lbs. He is a tank and he knows how to use his body. He is crafty with the ball using hesitation moves and head fakes to get defenders out of position. He is definitely a mid-major or higher prospect and I'm not doubting his determination to be able to play at the highest level.

Trip McFall 6'3 senior showed his ability to defend, get to the rim with the dribble, and to shoot from the outside in this game. I think he has the skills and athleticism to play at the NAIA/D2 level. He seems like a competitor and most teams need those type of guys.

Upcoming Games

I plan on going to the Noblesville/Lafayette Jeff game on Friday night. Then on Saturday I plan on attending the North Central/Hamilton Southeastern game. Both games feature one team I've already seen this year and one team I want to see.

Lafayette Jeff features Dayton commit Jesse Berry and senior shooter Roddy Richardson. Hamilton Southeastern has a pair of sophomore guards. The more hyped player being Gary Harris who is a 6'3 versatile guard. The other being Jacoby Bledsoe who is a point guard that can score the ball.

I think both games will be competitive while showcasing a good amount of talent!

2012 Shooting Guard Rankings

The guards in the 2012 class look like they could be really special. They have multiple high-major guys...Rafael Davis has already committed to Purdue.

Shooting Guards

1. Ron Patterson 6’3 Broad Ripple H Explosive, good shooter, can be a great defender when he wants to. Weakest part of his game is his ball handling although it is not bad…it needs to be tightened up a little bit.
2. Gary Harris 6’3 Hamilton Southeastern H Didn’t play in July when I saw his team playing. He is a long, solid shooting guard that can play the point.
3. Rafael Davis 6’5 Fort Wayne South M+ I’m not as high on Davis as others just because I think he is physically matured and he isn’t very explosive to me. If he grows a little bit more than he doesn’t need to be very explosive because he will be so big.
4. Patrick Ingram 6’0 North Central M Quick, water bug type with a good outside stroke.
5. Travis Britt 6’3 Culver Academy M Power guard that can really get up and down the floor.
6. Mike Ramey 6’3 Southport M-
7. R.J. Hunter 6’2 Pike M- Rail thin but can really shoot the ball also very long wingspan.