July has started and recruiting season is in full progress now. Here are some notes from Tuesday July 6th at the Hoosier Shootout.
Andy Smeathers 2011 6'6 SF Center Grove (Spiece All-Indiana) has been the talk of the tournament so far. Many mid-majors and high-majors are starting to be very interested in this lanky shooter. He is more athletic especially in terms of leaping than I gave him credit for before. Handles the ball pretty well and is at least an average defender.
Nic Moore 2011 5'10 PG Warsaw (Spiece Indy Heat) put on a show Tuesday with his passing and shooting ability. Competition was not stellar but he performed well nonetheless. Height is a major factor for Moore, but he is skilled and tough.
Harry Wills 2012 6'2 PG Ben Davis (Air Indiana Uptempo) great athlete and size for a point guard. He had a couple of powerful dunks in the game I watched. I have always been a fan of Wills due to his size and quickness. He gets to the rim anytime he wants and can defend at a high level. Outside shooting needs a lot of work though.
Kellen Dunham 2012 6'4 SG Pendelton Heights (Indiana Elite One) the recent Butler commit played as well as I've seen him play Tuesday. He was really active defensively and on the boards while hitting shots while coming off screens. He will be a great player for Butler especially if he continues to grow.
Max Landis 2011 6'1 CG Perry Meridian (Spiece All-Indiana) was super impressive against a couple of poor teams Tuesday. Landis is more of a shooting guard than a point guard at this point and that will need to change at the next level. The times he struggles is when he is playing the point and getting hounded while dribbling. I think he is D1 for sure but probably in the low-major range more than the mid-major.
Tony Wilson 2011 6'6 PF Fort Wayne North (Spiece Indy Heat) is a mega athlete and most people know that at this point. He has a very good motor and is always active. He needs to develop more of a skill set but I think he will be a very good mid-major power forward.
Nyree Robinson 2011 6'1 PG Carmel (Progeny) the left shooter formerly of Fort Wayne Elmhurst wasn't particularly impressive Tuesday but he showed some solid tools like his quickness and athleticism. He is probably a low-major type of recruit but I would like to see him more before I say for sure.
Rapheal Davis 2012 6'5 SG Fort Wayne South (Spiece Indy Heat) seems to be in much better shape than a year ago. He has been improving in all areas from my point of view. His shooting has always been his strength. He will be moving up in my rankings.
Austin Burgett 2012 6'8 PF Avon (Spiece Indy Heat) looked much better than he did in the spring Tuesday. He seems to be in the flow of the game more and slighly more aggressive when he gets the ball. If he is going to be successful at the collegiate level, he needs to boost his aggression and assertiveness big time!
Demetrius Lawson 2011 6'1 CG Zionsville (Progeny) is hard to figure out in a few different ways. When he is shooting well, he looks like a D1 player. He's athletic, but not a freak athlete. He doesn't always put out the best effort so that doesn't help his cause. Lawson has never handled the ball well enough for me and it's tough to be a 6'1 shooting guard in any conference.
Daveon Balls 2012 6'1 PG Lawrence North (Air Indiana Uptempo) is definitely under the radar after playing junior varsity for most of this year before starting some games late for LN. Balls is quick, good handles, decent size, and can knock down open shots from the outside. Definitely low-major to mid-major in my book.
Kendall Waters 2012 6'0 PG Pendleton Heights (Air Indiana Uptempo) has switched over from Eric Gordon Central Stars where he was playing behind Ronnie Johnson. Although Uptempo also is loaded at the guard spot, they play more 3 and even 4 guard line-ups. Waters is a steady offensive player, good defender, not going to do much to hurt you. LM- but possibly a solid LM prospect.
Dedric Griffin 2011 6'4 SF North Central (Progeny) plays power forward or even center during the school year for North Central but he was playing the point for Progeny for a majority of the second half in the game I saw Tuesday. He handled the ball pretty well and got to the rim a few times. His skills set isn't great though. He is probably more of a D2/NAIA prospect than a D1.