A few other top players I saw this weekend..
Alex Gauna 6'8 PF-Committed to Michigan State. Hit us with a variety of post moves and also stepped out and hit a 3 or 2 on us. He was very good.
Andre Dawkins 6'5 SG-Committed to Duke. Dawkins might have been the most athletic player I saw in the tournament. He took off from outside the lane against 2 guys and if he wasn't fouled he would have completed the dunk. Duke has been missing some athletes other than Henderson lately and he will fill that void.
Keith Appling 6'3 PG-Committed to Michigan State.The Michigan Mustangs PG was very good. He was explosive, quick as hell, and great handles. I do not remember him shooting from the perimeter though. Still a high major just with his athleticism.
Austin Etherington 6'6 SG-Struggled with his shot in the 2 or 3 games that I saw. I think some of that inconsistency might be due to the fact that he is still working his way back from micro fracture surgery.
Brad Elam 5'10 PG- An underrated point guard that can score inside and outside. Very quick and uses ball screens very well. Although on the small side, he can still shoot over people to an extent.
Aaron Bluitt 6'0 PG- Bluitt is a D-1 type of player when he is looking to take the ball to the basket aggressively rather than just settling for 3's. A good shooter but forces it from the outside often instead of getting in the lane.
Taylor Wayer 5'11 PG- Wayer had a good weekend. He is strong so when he gets into the lane he can use his body to create fouls. I would like to see him attack the rim even more.
Kellon Thomas 5'10 PG-The freshmen continues to make me a believer in him. Strong and heady, Thomas rarely makes mistakes with the ball. He is also a good shooter so defenders cannot lay off him to protect from the drive.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Run N Slam Top Performers
I came up with some short summaries of a few players that played well this weekend in Fort Wayne at the Run N Slam tournament.
Kendall Marshall 6'3 PG- Committed to North Carolina. Marshall was always in control. He led his Boo Williams team very well. He can do it all although not a lights out shooter, he is a very good shooter. He distributed the ball first and looked to score second.
Travis McKie 6'6 SF- Committed to Wake Forest. McKie will fit right in at Wake. Athletic and can shoot...does Wake Forest recruit any other type of player? He was very good in the games I saw.
Jared Sullinger 6'8 PF-Committed to Ohio State. Sullinger dominated the top ranked player in the class of 2010 Josh Smith in their match up. Sullinger is more athletic than he looks although he is not a super athlete.
Ralph Hill 6'6 Junior wing that recently committed to Dayton- My team played against him and I did not know him before the game. He had about 5 dunks in the first quarter on us. He was explosive on the drive and we had no one that could body him out of the lane. He also buried a 3 after I yelled at our guys to give him a step because he couldn't shoot.
A.J. Hammonds 6'11 Frosh- Very skilled for a young big man. Only a freshmen, once he loses his baby fat he will be a big time player. He has just enough of a mean streak to dominate.
D'vauntes Smith-Rivera 6'2 Frosh-Power guard. Done growing to my knowledge so he is a little bit different than most highly ranked players. He is also smarter than he is athletic. He uses change of pace better than most college players and then he uses his body when he gets in the lane. Needs to add range to his game to be a high major player although high majors are all over him.
Ron Patterson 6'3 Frosh-Strong and athletic but also highly skilled especially in the mid-range game. He pulls up exceptionally well for a player his age. Definitely a high major player.
Dejuan Marrero 6'7 Frosh- Athletic as you can get for a big guy his size. Runs well and can get up. Showed a mid-range jumper that could make him impossible to guard.
Rapheal Davis 6'3 SG Frosh- Shoot the ball really well in the 3 games that I saw him play in so it can't be luck right? Davis looked like he had a solid body to go along with his skills. I will follow him more in the future.
Ohio Basketball Club 16u had a bunch of 6'6-6'9 skilled players that could run and shoot the ball. I did not get any names on them though.
Kendall Marshall 6'3 PG- Committed to North Carolina. Marshall was always in control. He led his Boo Williams team very well. He can do it all although not a lights out shooter, he is a very good shooter. He distributed the ball first and looked to score second.
Travis McKie 6'6 SF- Committed to Wake Forest. McKie will fit right in at Wake. Athletic and can shoot...does Wake Forest recruit any other type of player? He was very good in the games I saw.
Jared Sullinger 6'8 PF-Committed to Ohio State. Sullinger dominated the top ranked player in the class of 2010 Josh Smith in their match up. Sullinger is more athletic than he looks although he is not a super athlete.
Ralph Hill 6'6 Junior wing that recently committed to Dayton- My team played against him and I did not know him before the game. He had about 5 dunks in the first quarter on us. He was explosive on the drive and we had no one that could body him out of the lane. He also buried a 3 after I yelled at our guys to give him a step because he couldn't shoot.
A.J. Hammonds 6'11 Frosh- Very skilled for a young big man. Only a freshmen, once he loses his baby fat he will be a big time player. He has just enough of a mean streak to dominate.
D'vauntes Smith-Rivera 6'2 Frosh-Power guard. Done growing to my knowledge so he is a little bit different than most highly ranked players. He is also smarter than he is athletic. He uses change of pace better than most college players and then he uses his body when he gets in the lane. Needs to add range to his game to be a high major player although high majors are all over him.
Ron Patterson 6'3 Frosh-Strong and athletic but also highly skilled especially in the mid-range game. He pulls up exceptionally well for a player his age. Definitely a high major player.
Dejuan Marrero 6'7 Frosh- Athletic as you can get for a big guy his size. Runs well and can get up. Showed a mid-range jumper that could make him impossible to guard.
Rapheal Davis 6'3 SG Frosh- Shoot the ball really well in the 3 games that I saw him play in so it can't be luck right? Davis looked like he had a solid body to go along with his skills. I will follow him more in the future.
Ohio Basketball Club 16u had a bunch of 6'6-6'9 skilled players that could run and shoot the ball. I did not get any names on them though.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Run N Slam
The Annual Spiece event took place this weekend in Fort Wayne. The Run N Slam always attracts the top competition from all over the nation to Indiana. This year was no different with Seattle Rotary and Boo Williams being two examples of top team from different coasts.
My Indiana Select 2010 group played well. We took the Michigan Mustangs down to the wire to lose by 1. It was a great game with a lot of energy and many great plays. It was a heart breaker to lose but I was happy with our effort and overall play. As a coach, it was a great game to get to use game strategy...time-outs to stop the clock with under 90 seconds left in the game, quick hitting plays down the stretch, out-of-bounds plays to draw up with 10 seconds left. Those are fun things for coaches.
The Michigan Mustangs' point guard was superb. Athletic and skilled is a tough combo. Lightning quick with handles and could jump out of the gym which he showed with a blow-by drive in the half court set and capped the drive off with a monster dunk. He was impressive. I wish I would have gotten his name after the game but I was upset about how the game ended.
We ended up losing our first game of tournament play to Team Cbiz out of Ohio. Ralph Hill dominated us in the first half and the first quarter mainly where he had a handful of dunks after blowing by our defenders. He then proceeded to bury a 3 after I told our guy to give him space because he couldn't shoot which he heard and took exception to. "The kid with the inside-outside game chose Dayton over Akron, Butler, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech." He was good to say the least. We ended up scoring 101 points and losing which is tough in the time frame of a high school game. We could not stop him and when we did they had two other good players that would find the open spot and hit shots.
Defense needs to improve for us to be a good team. We are a short team but we have talent to beat good teams. We were missing our Junior All-Star due to prom against Team Cbiz. I would have loved to see if he could do anything to Mr. Hill. It would have been a great test for him.
My Indiana Select 2010 group played well. We took the Michigan Mustangs down to the wire to lose by 1. It was a great game with a lot of energy and many great plays. It was a heart breaker to lose but I was happy with our effort and overall play. As a coach, it was a great game to get to use game strategy...time-outs to stop the clock with under 90 seconds left in the game, quick hitting plays down the stretch, out-of-bounds plays to draw up with 10 seconds left. Those are fun things for coaches.
The Michigan Mustangs' point guard was superb. Athletic and skilled is a tough combo. Lightning quick with handles and could jump out of the gym which he showed with a blow-by drive in the half court set and capped the drive off with a monster dunk. He was impressive. I wish I would have gotten his name after the game but I was upset about how the game ended.
We ended up losing our first game of tournament play to Team Cbiz out of Ohio. Ralph Hill dominated us in the first half and the first quarter mainly where he had a handful of dunks after blowing by our defenders. He then proceeded to bury a 3 after I told our guy to give him space because he couldn't shoot which he heard and took exception to. "The kid with the inside-outside game chose Dayton over Akron, Butler, Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech." He was good to say the least. We ended up scoring 101 points and losing which is tough in the time frame of a high school game. We could not stop him and when we did they had two other good players that would find the open spot and hit shots.
Defense needs to improve for us to be a good team. We are a short team but we have talent to beat good teams. We were missing our Junior All-Star due to prom against Team Cbiz. I would have loved to see if he could do anything to Mr. Hill. It would have been a great test for him.
Friday, April 24, 2009
2011 Rankings
The NFL draft is tomorrow and Mel Kiper being on TV all the time has made me come up with some rankings for the class of 2011 in Indiana. I have seen all the players on the list multiple times if a name is not on the list like Branden Dawson it is because I have not seen him in person. I'm going to do the rankings based off of skills now and college potential. Some players are ranked above their current skills because of their ceiling.
2011 Overall
1. Marquis Teague
2. Michael Chandler
3. Cody Zeller
4. Zac VanDeWater
5. Mitch McGary
6. Justin Gant
7. Jeremiah Davis
8. Ryan Taylor
9. Austin Etherington
10. Tony Springmann
Point Guards
1. Marquis Teague
2. Jeremiah Davis
3. Nic Moore
4. Jalen Packer
5. Jordan Hahn
6. Dee Davis
7. Torrey Nibbs
8. P.J. Boutee
9. Christian Ford
10. Johnny Marlin
Shooting Guards
1. Zac VanDeWater
2. Spencer Turner
3. Kendal Griffin
4. Kenny Enoch
5. Spencer Comer
6. Evan Blackmon
7. Colin Lynch
8. Jackson Renshaw
9. Tyler Hall
10. Trent Lancaster
Small Forwards
1. Ryan Taylor
2. Austin Etherington
3. Rontray Chavis
4. Stevie Jamison
5. Chandler Thomas
6. Brian Stolarz
7. Jon Trawick
8. Trevor Arnett
9. Dwight Cliff
10. Evan Dodd
Power Forwards
1. Mitch McGary
2. Justin Gant
3. Alex Prichett
4. Tyler Greathouse
5. Kevin Fisher
6. Colin Bowles
7. Matt Howard
8. Tim Simmons
Centers
1. Michael Chandler
2. Cody Zeller
3. Tony Springmann
4. Isiah Hill
5. Wade Thomas
6. Andrew Rice
I will be at the Top 100 Work Out this weekend at Ben Davis so these might change by Sunday but it is a decent list of players for 2011.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Are You Improving?
"You are either getting better or you are getting worse there is no such thing as staying the same." I heard this quote a few years ago and I have believed in it ever since. I think it can be applied to any part of life but I think it is especially in true. Players are either working on their game and improving or they are going through the motions and getting worse. It might be a tiny, immeasurable amount that you do not even notice but it is happening.
Think of an individual work out for a basketball player. If that player is focused and doing all the drills with great intensity then that player is going improving his game. If a player is unfocused and going half speed through the drills then that player is probably hurting himself. That is why individual work outs should not be measured in time spent in the gym. It should be measured on what was accomplished and worked out with the most effort. A lot of players are willing to spend a lot of time on their games but few go about it in a good way. Intensity and a mindset to make themselves better is the key to a good work out.
Don't just put time in...put effort and work in then improvement will come. It seems elementary to say, but it is easy to lose focus on what is necessary.
Think of an individual work out for a basketball player. If that player is focused and doing all the drills with great intensity then that player is going improving his game. If a player is unfocused and going half speed through the drills then that player is probably hurting himself. That is why individual work outs should not be measured in time spent in the gym. It should be measured on what was accomplished and worked out with the most effort. A lot of players are willing to spend a lot of time on their games but few go about it in a good way. Intensity and a mindset to make themselves better is the key to a good work out.
Don't just put time in...put effort and work in then improvement will come. It seems elementary to say, but it is easy to lose focus on what is necessary.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Extra Thoughts Pitt
I had a few more thoughts from Pittsburgh that I forgot to include in the other posts. They come from the 2012 Spiece Indy Stars team.
Brent Calhoun 6'7 Warren Central-Still raw and growing but showes flashes with a soft jump hook. He blocks a lot of shots and controls the boards for the Indy Stars. He should develop into a star for Warren Central. Very high ceiling and I believe he takes coaching well.
Jeremy Hollowell 6'6 Lawrence Central- He was a lot better this weekend than when I saw him last in sectional play. He shot the ball well and handled the ball a lot better than he did when I saw him in March. That bodes well for his development.
Austin Burgett 6'8 Avon- If you have seen Justin Gant play think of the same type of player but I believe Burgett is more skilled on the perimeter at the same stage than Gant. Burgett is confident putting the ball on the floor and taking someone off the dribble and showed a good outside stroke. Very hight ceiling.
Brent Calhoun 6'7 Warren Central-Still raw and growing but showes flashes with a soft jump hook. He blocks a lot of shots and controls the boards for the Indy Stars. He should develop into a star for Warren Central. Very high ceiling and I believe he takes coaching well.
Jeremy Hollowell 6'6 Lawrence Central- He was a lot better this weekend than when I saw him last in sectional play. He shot the ball well and handled the ball a lot better than he did when I saw him in March. That bodes well for his development.
Austin Burgett 6'8 Avon- If you have seen Justin Gant play think of the same type of player but I believe Burgett is more skilled on the perimeter at the same stage than Gant. Burgett is confident putting the ball on the floor and taking someone off the dribble and showed a good outside stroke. Very hight ceiling.
More From Pitt
More thoughts on some players I watched this weekend in the Pittsburgh Jam Fest on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh.
Donnie Hale Spiece Indy Heat (2010)- Highly-rated player early in his high school career. Athletic post at a legit 6'7. I believe he is listed taller. I do not believe he is taller than 6'8. If he had more of a right hand I think he could be a high major. Could be a star at the mid-major level.
Neal Beshears Indiana Select 2010- The junior all-star had a pretty good weekend offensively. Good first step and rebounds well for a small forward/wing type of player. I would like him to be better defensively, but I think it is more technique and mindset than lack of ability to play defense.
Patrick Cutter Indiana Select 2010- Patrick is a big potential player. A legit 6'6 SF that is still very raw. Still might grow and showed some flashes of what could be ahead of him if he works very hard this summer.
Michael Chandler Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- The Louisville commit played pretty well against some tough competition Sunday. Still pretty raw, but a 7 footer that works hard and is relatively athletic is tough to find.
Ryan Taylor Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- Fast Break utilized Taylor in a strange way by using him to set high ball screens well the guards weaved off him so he was never rolling or popping out for a shot. Strange to use one of the top players in the nation as a screener and a screener only.
P.J. Boutte Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- I have always thought of Boutte as being overrated and I still believe that. I would like to say that you can still be a very good player and be overrated. He is not a top 20 point guard in the nation, but he is good. He makes some questionable plays sometimes and most coaches do not like that coming from an undersized guard.
No Indiana Elite teams were in Pittsburgh. Eric Gordon All-Stars were but I would like to see them again to make sure I have the names and faces matched correctly before I say something about them. So I am not just being ridiculously biased to Spiece teams. :)
Donnie Hale Spiece Indy Heat (2010)- Highly-rated player early in his high school career. Athletic post at a legit 6'7. I believe he is listed taller. I do not believe he is taller than 6'8. If he had more of a right hand I think he could be a high major. Could be a star at the mid-major level.
Neal Beshears Indiana Select 2010- The junior all-star had a pretty good weekend offensively. Good first step and rebounds well for a small forward/wing type of player. I would like him to be better defensively, but I think it is more technique and mindset than lack of ability to play defense.
Patrick Cutter Indiana Select 2010- Patrick is a big potential player. A legit 6'6 SF that is still very raw. Still might grow and showed some flashes of what could be ahead of him if he works very hard this summer.
Michael Chandler Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- The Louisville commit played pretty well against some tough competition Sunday. Still pretty raw, but a 7 footer that works hard and is relatively athletic is tough to find.
Ryan Taylor Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- Fast Break utilized Taylor in a strange way by using him to set high ball screens well the guards weaved off him so he was never rolling or popping out for a shot. Strange to use one of the top players in the nation as a screener and a screener only.
P.J. Boutte Spiece Indy Fast Break (2011)- I have always thought of Boutte as being overrated and I still believe that. I would like to say that you can still be a very good player and be overrated. He is not a top 20 point guard in the nation, but he is good. He makes some questionable plays sometimes and most coaches do not like that coming from an undersized guard.
No Indiana Elite teams were in Pittsburgh. Eric Gordon All-Stars were but I would like to see them again to make sure I have the names and faces matched correctly before I say something about them. So I am not just being ridiculously biased to Spiece teams. :)
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