Best Performances
Yogi Ferrell, 5’11” PG Park Tudor 2012-The Indiana University commit went 12/14 from 3-point range on the day. There was a large IU fan turnout for Indiana Elite-Team Indiana since they have 5 IU verbal commits on the roster and Yogi helped put on a show. Ferrell, also, dished out a handful of alley-opp passes to Hanner Perea that wowed the crowd.
Gary Harris, 6’4” SG Hamilton Southeast 2012-With his D3 Pride team down at halftime after losing their first game of the tournament, Harris dominated the second half. He had a monster dunk in the half-court set along with multiple tip-dunks and drop-step dunks. I had him for 17 points in the second half and 23 points for the game.
J.T. Yoho, 6’4” SG Eastern Greene 2012- Yoho played really well in both games. He showed the ability to get to the basket against good, quick defenders (D3 Pride and Next Level). Yoho is not a great athlete by any stretch, but he can get past defenders. I’m still not sold on his lateral quickness, but he is very good in every other aspect of the game.
James Blackmon, Jr., 6’2 SG Luers 2014, the Indiana commit had a great game against Mean Streets towards the end of the night. He shot it really well from distance and got to the rim a few times. Blackmon also displayed more athleticism than I had previously seen. It also seemed like he had grown since I saw him in January. HM prospect.
Best Games
I wasn’t able to see many close games. I saw many more games decided by 50+ than 10 or fewer. That isn’t rare in pool play games, but usually there are a good amount of close games. That is one reason why I love super pools although early in the year it would be hard to justify.
One of the best though was the game between Indiana Select 2012 and Next Level. Next Level beat D3 Pride in the opening pool game. Then D3 Pride beat Indiana Select. So, not only did Indiana Select need to win to get into the “gold bracket” they had to win by 8 or more points.
With the game tied and under 30 seconds to play, Indiana Select head coach Tyler Wilson knew the only way they could play in the “gold bracket” was to go to overtime. In overtime, there was a chance that they could beat Next Level by the needed points.
Unfortunately for Wilson and Indiana Select, they ended up losing in double overtime. It was the right move, but it didn’t end up working. That’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes though.
Player Evaluations and Notes
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Eron Gordon, 6’1 PG North Central 2016, yes that is correct 2016. He is a 7th grader right now. He had a dunk in the Eric Gordon 15u morning game. The sky is basically the limit for the youngest Gordon. High School expectations will be near LeBron James levels.
Hanner Perea, 6’8” PF LaLumiere Prep 2012, Perea is one of the best pregame dunkers in AAU. He demolishes rims. I’m surprised he hasn’t broken a backboard in warm-ups yet. That being said, I haven’t seen much progress in his game over the last year. He still relies on his athleticism to do everything for him. The few times he was in the post he would do un-fundamentally sound things like bringing the ball way down. He might have the most physical/nature talent I’ve ever seen but he needs to start developing other parts of his game.
Devin Dixon, 6”6” PF Cathedral 2013, showed nice hands and a perimeter jumper. His best days are certainly ahead of him as he is baby-faced with a 6’2” mother. Dixon played some minutes off the bench for a very good Cathedral team this year. Expect his production to increase 10 fold next year.
Steven Davis, 6’6” PF Warren Central 2012, was on the roster for Warren Central this year but I never saw him play. I’m not sure if he had academic problems or what, but Davis is an athletic freak. At the very least, he is a good juco prospect. He doesn’t have a great skill set, but he runs well and is active.
Mike Lenz, 6’1” PG/SG Brebuef 2012, nothing new today from Lenz but he is crafty, finishes against contact, and is very tough. I think he could play for most LM’s, but he is best fitted for the D2/NAIA level right now. He could very good at those levels.
David Heckman, 6’7” PF Roncalli 2012, played very similarly to the way he plays in high school. He finishes around the rim, will step out and hit the occasional 15 footer, and can put the ball on the floor for a couple dribbles. He’s not a very good leaper and he is a bit on the thin side. If he was stronger, he would be LM+. Right now, I put him in the LM- catergory.
Jared Drew, 6’5 SF Cathedral 2012, is back into his AAU form. He dominates AAU. Drew did finish the season strongly after a slow start at Cathedral after transferring from Lawrence Central over the summer. Drew shot it well and scored in transition. Ball handling was very shaky in the half court set.
Tyler Corley, 5’10” PG Lawrence Central 2012, one of the most underrated players in the 2012 class in my eyes. Corley is very quick laterally, has good dribble moves, can shoot the ball from the outside, and is very explosive. He does make questionable decisions especially in the open court and is on the small side. LM/LM- that would be an absolute steal for a good D2/NAIA program.
Mike Ramey, 6’4” SG Southport 2012, didn’t shoot the ball particularly well today. One thing that I have realized about Ramey is that I’ve never seen him beat a guy off the dribble and finish at the rim in the half court set. When he puts the ball on the floor, he is looking to pull up for a 15 footer. I’m not sure that is a weakness but he has the jumping ability and strength to finish at the rim consistently and would like to see him do it.
Sam Hunt, 6’9” C Jennings County 2012, the big fella showed some promise with his footwork, hands, and how well he runs. I don’t see him as a D1 prospect but could definitely be productive at the D2/NAIA /D3 levels.
Zavier Turner, 5’8” PG Pike 2013, continues to shoot the ball with great consistently. I like everything about his game (shooting ability, lateral quickness, dribble moves, basketball IQ, explosiveness) except for his height. I’m pretty sure he is done growing and he is likely 5’7” which is tough. MM-/LM+ prospect
Kyle Stidom, 6’3” SG Greenwood Christian 2012, first time seeing him in basically a year. It looks like he has added a lot of muscle since then. He has a quick release and has the strength to extend defenses deep. He jumps well but I’m not sold on his lateral quickness.
Jordan Burton, 6’6” PF Edinburgh 2012, minimal athleticism combined with little motor puts him in a hole. His skill set on the block is ok, but not great. His face-up game needs to improve greatly. D2/NAIA prospect
Greg Gardner, 6’4” SG Chatard 2012, is known as a good outside shooter. He has the ability to do much more though. He handles the ball well; he even ran point for his squad a good portion of the time. With his size, he can be very dangerous if he looks to put the ball on the floor move. Plus, he makes good decisions when he does drive to the basket. LM- prospect.
Harry Wills, 6’2” SG Ben Davis 2012, I’ve always been a big Wills fan because he is strong, jumps out of the gym, defends well at multiple positions, rebounds, and is unselfish. He needs to become more of a point guard and tighten up his handles. Plus, he needs to continue to work on his shooting. He has made some strides in the shooting phase, but has a lot of work to do.
V.J. Beachem, 6’6” SF formerly of Harding (Fort Wayne) 2013, looks like he has grown since I saw him in December. He didn’t play against any strong competition but he looked more explosive today. I look forward to seeing him play against tough opponents this spring.
J.T. Yoho, 6’4” SG Eastern Greene 2012, like I said above, Yoho got to the rim consistently and finished against very athletic defenders. That surprised me a bit because he doesn’t look like a player that is quick enough to do that. He played point guard the majority of their second game and did a great job with it. I called him a “point forward” last spring. Not because he is tall like Lamar Odom, but he just looks more like a forward…thicker build, 6’4. He sees the floor extremely well and can finish with either hand.MM-/LM+ prospect.
Eron Harris, 6’3” SG Lawrence North 2012, Harris can play the point or shooting guard position. He has the quickness and skill set to do either. He will try to force his shot in key situations though and doesn’t always make the best decisions. He is a good outside shooter, but very streaky. He made some very good plays vs. Gary Harris and he made some very bad ones. MM-/LM+ prospect
Mike Crawford, 6’4 SG Tipton 2013, first real good look at Crawford. I have heard he had a very big year for Tipton this season. He has nice length, quick release from 3, and jumps well. I didn’t get a chance to evaluate his lateral quickness because they were in zone and rarely pressured the ball. He definitely will need to add strength. LM+/LM prospect right now.
Joe Fagan, 6’4” SG Chatard 2013, didn’t have a huge game when I watched. He’s a very solid player, good shooter but not great, can get to the rim but isn’t very quick. One thing that impressed/surprised me was when he tried to dunk over a kid on a fast break and he got well above the rim. It is good to see he has the capability to do that. LM+/LM prospect
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