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...
Friday, May 8, 2009
Indiana AAU State Tournament
Indiana AAU state tournament starts tonight at ISSA in Southport. To be completely honest, the tournament has been going downhill for a long while, but this year might the low point. Low turn out and not many quality teams in that small pool of teams. Some of it has teams knowing they are not going to play in the national tournament even if they qualify as most teams go to Vegas during the national tournament.
Indiana Select 2010 plays Friday night at 7:30 and then 11:50 Saturday morning and 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon.
Indiana Select 2010 plays Friday night at 7:30 and then 11:50 Saturday morning and 4:00 pm Saturday afternoon.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
IBCA Top 100 Work Out
Here are some of my observations from the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Top 100 work out from a couple weekends ago.
Kyle Ritz PG Munster- Played very well. He looked automatic from mid-range. He made good decisions handling the ball. Someone to check out.
Jordan Manuel SF Howe- Super long, showed some handles and hit some contested 3’s with a hand in his face. Athletic but thin.
Clinton Happe PG- Does not look like a basketball player but showed some very athletic finishes including a reverse lay-up that Russell Byrd contested. Skilled and fundamental.
Greg Miller PF North Miami- Played well against Travis Carroll on both ends of the floor. Scored over and around Carroll easily a few times and made Carroll work on the offensive end for anything he got. A bit undersized for D-1 but worth a look.
Kevin Kidd PG East Central- Tiny…that’s the only problem with him. Height and frame are very small. He knocked down outside shots and finished against contact in the lane. Handled the ball very well against pressure.
Andrew Rudakas SF/PF Wheeler- Showed some things I had questioned about him in the past. He blocked a dunk attempt by Jordan Manual to show some athleticism. He showed some handles as well. At only 6’5 or 6’6, can he guard a 3? That’s what I question now. Otherwise a solid D-2 prospect.
Jordan Weidner PG Franklin Central- Not necessarily a surprise but he showed his full game. Aggressive driving the basketball and finishing. Shot the ball well. I still question if he can do it against the bigger players? Impressive day though.
Brad Karp SG Valparaiso- Undersized SG at 6’2ish but played hard and smart. Crashed the boards, showed some handles, and shot the ball from range well.
JaJuan Sarver PG- Sarver showed a good set 3 pt. Shot. Quick but failed to capitalize on a few good drives when he couldn’t finish the play.
Zach Apollos PF- Strong body that he used to finish inside well. Apollos also showed some quicks for his size. D-2 or NAIA type of player to me.
Travis Carroll 6’7 Danville- Solid as always and showed a good looking 17 foot jumper a few times.
Russell Byrd 6’8 Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian- Byrd was impressive against Justin Gant. Handled the ball well and passed very well.
Kennis White 6’2 South Bend Washington- Quick, finished well, and was one of the few players who fed the post well all day. He is only a legit 6’1 or 6’2 though.
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6’3 North Central- Took me awhile to recognize him on the floor (no roster in front of me) He was solid, hit some outside shots, showed a good change of pace drive and then finished in traffic.
Austin Burgett 6’7 Avon- Burgett made a good drive and then bounce pass in traffic for a finish that showed his perimeter skills. He’s not just a tall kid that can shoot, he is confident off the dribble. Guarded point guards and was not outmatched.
Tony Springmann 6’7 FW Bishop Dwenger- Springmann dominated the boards, but got lost a little bit in the up-tempo game.
Nic Moore 5’9 Warsaw- Moore showed a good looking shot from 3 pt with a defender on him. Strong although small in height.
Torrey Nibbs 6’1 Brownsburg- Nibbs showcased his explosive first step but struggled to finish the lay-ups. Made a few good passes that showed solid vision of the floor.
New
Leland Brown 6’3- Strong body, hit a good looking set 3. and also drove the ball well. I liked what I saw from Brown.
Justin Clemens 6’4 PF-A football recruit, but finished well inside on numerous trips. He also stepped out and hit a couple 3’s. NAIA type if he chose basketball instead of football.
Khristian Smith 6’4 SF- Showed some explosiveness on a nice drive. Smith also showed he could hit perimeter shots although he forced shots multiple times.
Spencer Comer 6’3 SG-Major athleticism but needs to work on ball handling and develop a consistent outside shot to be a D-1 player. Plays extremely hard though.
Keith Cochran 6’9 C-Long and thin, did some decent things around the basket. Doesn’t run very well.
Parker Stouffer 6’7 C- Big, strong, and played with a high basketball IQ. The one thing that impressed me a lot was his ability to find his teammates out of a double team.
Mason Gregory 6’2 SG- Shot the ball really well with a quick release. Hit a mid-range jumper vs. pressure and hit a 3 as well.
Phil Miller 5’8 PG- Small in height and weight. Bigger PG’s seem to bother him. He is lightning quick though.
Mitchell Patton 6’6 PF-Showed some solid post moves and good finishes before he twisted an ankle and left for the day.
Kyle Ritz PG Munster- Played very well. He looked automatic from mid-range. He made good decisions handling the ball. Someone to check out.
Jordan Manuel SF Howe- Super long, showed some handles and hit some contested 3’s with a hand in his face. Athletic but thin.
Clinton Happe PG- Does not look like a basketball player but showed some very athletic finishes including a reverse lay-up that Russell Byrd contested. Skilled and fundamental.
Greg Miller PF North Miami- Played well against Travis Carroll on both ends of the floor. Scored over and around Carroll easily a few times and made Carroll work on the offensive end for anything he got. A bit undersized for D-1 but worth a look.
Kevin Kidd PG East Central- Tiny…that’s the only problem with him. Height and frame are very small. He knocked down outside shots and finished against contact in the lane. Handled the ball very well against pressure.
Andrew Rudakas SF/PF Wheeler- Showed some things I had questioned about him in the past. He blocked a dunk attempt by Jordan Manual to show some athleticism. He showed some handles as well. At only 6’5 or 6’6, can he guard a 3? That’s what I question now. Otherwise a solid D-2 prospect.
Jordan Weidner PG Franklin Central- Not necessarily a surprise but he showed his full game. Aggressive driving the basketball and finishing. Shot the ball well. I still question if he can do it against the bigger players? Impressive day though.
Brad Karp SG Valparaiso- Undersized SG at 6’2ish but played hard and smart. Crashed the boards, showed some handles, and shot the ball from range well.
JaJuan Sarver PG- Sarver showed a good set 3 pt. Shot. Quick but failed to capitalize on a few good drives when he couldn’t finish the play.
Zach Apollos PF- Strong body that he used to finish inside well. Apollos also showed some quicks for his size. D-2 or NAIA type of player to me.
Travis Carroll 6’7 Danville- Solid as always and showed a good looking 17 foot jumper a few times.
Russell Byrd 6’8 Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian- Byrd was impressive against Justin Gant. Handled the ball well and passed very well.
Kennis White 6’2 South Bend Washington- Quick, finished well, and was one of the few players who fed the post well all day. He is only a legit 6’1 or 6’2 though.
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6’3 North Central- Took me awhile to recognize him on the floor (no roster in front of me) He was solid, hit some outside shots, showed a good change of pace drive and then finished in traffic.
Austin Burgett 6’7 Avon- Burgett made a good drive and then bounce pass in traffic for a finish that showed his perimeter skills. He’s not just a tall kid that can shoot, he is confident off the dribble. Guarded point guards and was not outmatched.
Tony Springmann 6’7 FW Bishop Dwenger- Springmann dominated the boards, but got lost a little bit in the up-tempo game.
Nic Moore 5’9 Warsaw- Moore showed a good looking shot from 3 pt with a defender on him. Strong although small in height.
Torrey Nibbs 6’1 Brownsburg- Nibbs showcased his explosive first step but struggled to finish the lay-ups. Made a few good passes that showed solid vision of the floor.
New
Leland Brown 6’3- Strong body, hit a good looking set 3. and also drove the ball well. I liked what I saw from Brown.
Justin Clemens 6’4 PF-A football recruit, but finished well inside on numerous trips. He also stepped out and hit a couple 3’s. NAIA type if he chose basketball instead of football.
Khristian Smith 6’4 SF- Showed some explosiveness on a nice drive. Smith also showed he could hit perimeter shots although he forced shots multiple times.
Spencer Comer 6’3 SG-Major athleticism but needs to work on ball handling and develop a consistent outside shot to be a D-1 player. Plays extremely hard though.
Keith Cochran 6’9 C-Long and thin, did some decent things around the basket. Doesn’t run very well.
Parker Stouffer 6’7 C- Big, strong, and played with a high basketball IQ. The one thing that impressed me a lot was his ability to find his teammates out of a double team.
Mason Gregory 6’2 SG- Shot the ball really well with a quick release. Hit a mid-range jumper vs. pressure and hit a 3 as well.
Phil Miller 5’8 PG- Small in height and weight. Bigger PG’s seem to bother him. He is lightning quick though.
Mitchell Patton 6’6 PF-Showed some solid post moves and good finishes before he twisted an ankle and left for the day.
Monday, May 4, 2009
More Run N Slam Reports
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.
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.
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.
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