The Nike Spring Showdown at the Merrillville Fieldhouse was a great event. It was especially great since it was Easter weekend. Most of the top AAU programs in Chicago were at the event including Meanstreets, Mac Irvin Fire, Illinois Wolves, and Illinois Warriors. Representing Indiana were Indiana Elite, D3 Pride, D-Rose Uptempo, CAPS, and Indiana Select.
Indiana Elite-Team Indiana, which features 5 Indiana University commits (only 3 were healthy enough to play), lost in the first round of tournament play to the eventual champions Terry Porter Elite. It was a back and forth game, but Yogi Ferrell was the only player for Indiana Elite that played well for the entire game. Some others played well in stretches.
D3 Pride lost in the first round of tournament play as well. They played a very tough Mac Irvin Fire team that features many of the top 2012 talent in Chicago. Gary Harris led D3 Pride with 22 points. Mike Ramey added 18 points all off of 3’s.
D-Rose Uptempo played this weekend without Harry Wills (prom), Kendall Waters (back therapy), and Daniel Purvlicis. They did have Stephan Hawkins and Elijah Ray though. Coach Stallings said Ray and Hawkins will be playing the rest of the season with them. Uptempo lost a tough pool play game to D3 Pride despite a great game by Petey Balls.
Indiana Select lost a heartbreaker to Dorian’s Pride after leading most of the game. Ray Lee had a huge game for Dorian’s Pride. Indiana Select would go on to win the Silver bracket championship though.
Mac Irvin Fire 16’s won the 16U gold bracket championship. Led by 6’10” super prospect Jahil Okafor.
Indiana Elite-Kendrick won the 15U gold bracket. Jeremie Tyler, 6’1 SG Tech, had a great tournament for Coach Kristof Kendrick’s team. Tyler had a game where he scored 20 points in the first half on his way to 30 points and the next game he had 27 points.
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2012
Yogi Ferrell 5’11 PG Park Tudor (Indiana Elite-Team Indiana)-With Jeremy Hollowell out, Ferrell is having most of the offensive load on his shoulders for Indiana Elite. The problem for IE is that they don’t have many good outside shooters around him. He can beat his defender pretty much every play, but when the defense helps, his teammates aren’t knocking down shots. Ferrell is the best of the IU 2012 recruits right now.
Mike Ramey 6’4 SG Southport (D3 Pride)- I have not been as big of fan as others since he has 10 offers which include Wyoming, St. Joe’s, Fordam, Ball State, Miami (OH), Gardner-Webb, Morehead State, IPFW, Southern Illinois, and Eastern Kentucky. He also reported interest from Nebraska, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Clemson.
Ramey did shoot the ball really well against Mac Irvin Fire. I see him as a one-dimensional player. Ramey does have the quickness to guard most LM/MM guards though so that separates him from most guys that are just shooters.
J.T. Yoho 6’5 SF Eastern Greene (Indiana Select 2012)- Major interest from Bowling Green, IPFW, and Evansville. Yoho is much quicker than you would guess. He is a thick kid especially in the legs, but he is definitely above average in first step and lateral quickness. He knows how to play the game. Yoho handles the ball a lot especially in pressure situations. He is a good shooter, but not great.
Petey Balls 6’0 PG Lawrence North (D-Rose Uptempo)- It is tough to get a good read on Balls. He played well last spring/summer and I expected him to have a very good high school season. He was a part-time starter for a talented but underachieving Lawrence North team. Balls tore up D3 Pride by getting to the rim at will and knocking down outside shots when they left him. He has MM- type talent, but he probably isn’t consistent enough to get D1 offers right now.
Stephan Hawkins 6’8 C Bowman Academy (D-Rose Uptempo)-I liked what I saw from Hawkins in Pittsburgh while he was playing with SYF and I loved what I saw from him this weekend while playing for D-Rose. He does so many things well. He rebounds well, active on defense, runs well, has good hands, never brings the ball down on rebounds, and has some nice offensive moves. He needs at least 25 pounds to play at the D1 level though and 40 pounds is what he probably needs. If he can go to prep school for a year, that would elevate his stock immensely.
Elijah Ray 6’5 PF Bowman Academy (D-Rose Uptempo)-Ray also played with SYF last weekend and D-Rose this weekend. He looked awfully bad last weekend, but had some really nice plays this weekend. He tries to prove he is a SF a little too much by taking 3’s that are slightly out of his range. If he would embrace the undersized power forward role, his stock would be much higher in my opinion.
Jacobby Bledsoe 5’10 PG Hamilton Southeastern (D3 Pride)-I’ve never been a big Bledsoe fan. I have thought that he makes too many mistakes with the ball and isn’t a consistent enough shooter. He shot the ball well this weekend so if that continues I could see him as a LM prospect. I’m definitely not sold on him as a D1 player though.
Eron Harris 6’3 SG Lawrence North (Indiana Elite-Team Indiana)-I’ve been high on Eron for the last year. He is a good athlete, can shoot it from the outside, and handles it pretty well. He will take the bad shot once in awhile, but overall he plays the game with a high basketball IQ. Harris could play for most Mid-Major programs for sure.
David Heckman 6’6 PF Roncalli (D3 Pride)-Heckman has not been impressive so far this AAU season. Heckman is a guy that gets a lot of his points off of putbacks in the high school season and he isn’t get as many of those in AAU. He is more of a D2/NAIA prospect than a D1.
Tyler Corley 5’11 PG Lawrence Central (D3 Pride)-I talked about Corley in my IndyBall write-up. He’s the type of player that you know what you are going to get every game. He is going to be a defensive pest, handle the ball, and get to the rim. LM+ prospect that would be an absolute steal for D2/NAIA programs.
Hanner Perea 6’8 PF LaLumiere Prep (Indiana Elite-Team Indiana)-Perea amazes people with his dunking and shot blocking abilities but he has no offensive game at all. He does nothing with his back to the basket and if he catches while facing, he is only trying to figure out a way to dunk the ball. A world of athletic talent, but a long ways to go.
Alex Olah 6’11 C Trader’s Point (CAPS)-It was my first time seeing Olah this weekend. He is an imposing figure at a true 6’11 and thick. He has a good fundamental base, he posts extremely well. Olah has an okay touch around the basket, not great. Northwestern hasn’t gotten many players as big as Olah in the past.
Brad Hartman 6’6 PF Union County (Indiana Select 2012)-Hartman has not improved over the last 3 years as much as I would have liked. Right now, he is a solid D2/NAIA prospect. He’s active, does a little bit of everything, but nothing great.
Keith Cochran 6’10 C Bluffton (D3 Pride)-Cochran has added a lot of muscle. Still on the thin side, but not a stick anymore. Skills still aren’t there. He is a player to keep an eye on for D2/NAIA that would like some size.
Ben Gardner 5’11 PG Carmel (Indiana Select 2012)-Gardner is a quick guard that is very steady with the ball. He might over penetrate a bit because he is a decent finisher at the basket. D2/NAIA prospect for schools that are looking for a pure point guard more than a scorer.
Dominique Burris 6’3 SF Noblesville (D-Rose Uptempo)-I’m not quite sold on his college potential but he is a tough high school player. He is a good athlete that jumps well, is very well built, great motor, and willing to be physical. He is really an undersized PF. D2/NAIA prospect.
2013
Milos Kostic 6’7 PF Bishop Noll (CAPS)-The Northwestern commit looked very good Friday night. Kostic is not a very good athlete in terms of leaping or quickness, but he is a good fit for Northwestern. He has face-up skills with good size. I’m not sure there is a better D1 fit for Kostic than Northwestern.
Nick Davidson 6’3 SG Andrean (Meanstreets 16’s)-Davidson is more of a combo guard. He likes to have the ball in his hands, he passes it extremely well, and quick enough to penetrate. He’s a good shooter, but not an elite shooter. He’s better laterally than you would expect. Davidson is a solid MM prospect and a steal for a LM.
Leo Svete 6’4 SG Penn (Meanstreets 16’s)-Svete doesn’t have the quickness that Davidson does. He probably does shoot it a little bit better though. Plus Svete has an inch or so on Davidson. Svete is more of a SG/SF. I didn’t get to see a lot of Svete this weekend though.
Franko House 6’5 PF Concord (Indiana Elite-Dakich)-House is exactly that…a house. He moves well for how big he is though. I’m not sure how his game will translate to college, because I think he is done growing and is going to be a 6’5 PF. He will need to work on his face-up game and add some explosiveness to be a D1 player.
2014
Jeremie Tyler 6’1 SG Indianapolis Tech (Indiana Elite-Kendrick)-Tyler is a great scorer right now. He shoots it extremely well from the outside. The problem I have is that he is basically a SG at 6’1. He will need to gain a few more inches or become more of a ball handler. Tyler said he has heard from Xavier, Evansville, and Indiana State.
Mike Jones 6’4 SG Northwest (Indiana Elite-Kendrick)-One of the best physical talents in the 2014 class thus far. He does have some issues with motor and intensity. He will give up on plays or get lackadaisical in some situations. Jones said he has heard from Tennessee, Xavier, Purdue, Valpo, Indiana, and Drexel.
Justin King 6’5 SF Bowman Academy (Meanstreets 15’s)- King is a true 6’5, some might give him 6’6. The lefty is a very good athlete and can put the ball on the floor. During the high school year, he did not shoot it very well from the outside. Definitely a MM+ prospect.
King said Marquette has contacted his high school coach but he has not heard from any other colleges yet.
Arnold Wilson 6’1 SG Gary Westside (Meanstreets 15’s)-First look at Wilson this weekend and he has some nice tools. 6’1” slasher that is a good athlete. Wilson played this season on the varsity for Westside so he definitely has some talent. He is a player to keep an eye on for all D1’s.
Tyler Wideman 6’7 PF Lake Central (Meanstreets 15’s)-Wideman was battling an injury this weekend. Some leg or foot injury, I didn’t get a chance to ask him what was wrong. He did say he was hearing from most of the Big Ten though.
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