First look at the 2009-2010 runner-up in 3A Saturday night. Gary Wallace faced a loaded Whitney Young team out of Chicago. The good news for Wallace is that there aren't any teams like Whitney Young in 3A. Early it looked like Wallace might be able to play with Whitney Young. Although, it was evident that Whitney Young's game plan was to make someone other than Branden Dawson beat them. They doubled Dawson anytime he caught the ball near the post area. Dawson struggled passing out of the double team from the get go. Despite that, Wallace held a slight 10-9 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter is where Whitney Young really started to assert themselves. Thomas Hamilton, 6'9" PF 2013 Whitney Young, started to dominate the game. Hamilton caught my attention with his great hands and passing ability for a young big man. He also stepped out to the perimeter and showed the ability to put the ball on the floor. Whitney Young outscored Wallace 18-5 in the second quarter to take a 27-15 lead to half time.
Luke Hager, 6'7" SF 2011 Whitney Young, put on a show during the third quarter. The extremely skilled wing started off by leading a couple of fast breaks where he showed off his passing ability. The next couple breaks he finished with some dunks. Whitney Young started to score off of Wallace turnovers routinely. They took a commanding 40-22 lead to the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was anti-climatic. Sam Thompson, 6'6" SG 2011 Whitney Young, did have one of the best dunks as he completed a two-handed dunk over a Wallace player that led to an "and-1." Thompson is ultra-athletic and an effortless leaper. He didn't show much in terms of shooting, but he handled the ball well and did a great job guarding Dawson. Other than that, Whitney Young basically just held the ball and got out of the Gary Genesis Center with a 53-38 victory.
Branden Dawson, 6'6" SF Wallace 2011, is not ready to dominate elite athletes off the dribble yet. He struggled to get around the very good defenders of Whitney Young. Dawson's jumper doesn't look terrible but it is still a major weakness in his game. He is best when he can focus on offensive rebounding and getting out in transition. Two things that Michigan State does really well which is why I think MSU is a good fit for him.
Aaron Abram, 6'5" PF Wallace 2011, didn't do much at all until late in the game. He has to be a consistent scorer if Wallace wants to make a deep tournament run like they did last year. He's much like Dawson in the fact that he relies on his athleticism to get most of his points. Meaning that he is going to get a lot of points in transition and offensive rebounding rather than in half court sets knocking down jumpers. I like Abrams for the D2/NAIA level.
DeAndre Williams, 5'10" PG Wallace 2013, did some really good things. He handled the Whitney Young pressure better than most of the other Wallace guards and he was able to get to the rim in the half court. Williams seems to have good court vision. He is a guy to watch for low-major colleges.