This was the first game of the Mark James era at Ben Davis. James spent 20+ seasons at Franklin Central. Northwest lost their two freshman stars from last year in Mike Jones and Justin Baker. Jones transferred to Indianapolis Tech and Baker transferred to Cathedral.
Ben Davis jumped all over Northwest from the tip. Harry Wills came out and played extremely well for Ben Davis. Freshman Brennan Gillis started for Ben Davis and started off slowly, but picked things up after a few minutes. Northwest started two freshmen in Harris Brown and Dreon Lewis. Lewis struggled a bit in his varsity debut, but Brown looked very comfortable with the speed and intensity.
Northwest was never able to make the game competitive. Ben Davis had the size advantage and crashed the boards with aggressiveness on every miss. It was really impressive the work that they did cleaning the glass.
Ben Davis 24 24 18 22-88
Northwest 11 13 7 27-58
BD-Harry Wills-9pts 4rebs, Brennan Gillis-14pts 7rebs, Trevor Thompson-13pts 8 rebs 4 blocks, Tony Wills-9pts, Michael Beaty-6pts , Deaire Tate-14pts 6 rebs, Terrance Winfrey- 4pts 7rebs
Northwest- Donnell Minton-20pts, Harris Brown-7pts , Michael Brown-14pts,
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Ben Davis
Brennan Gillis 6’5” PF 2015 Gillis had a very good first varsity game. He did all his damage in the paint and most of it off of rebounds. He is a good athlete, but likely done growing which means he will have to transition to a perimeter position down the road. His toughness and athleticism will allow him to make that adjustment if he puts in the work. Either way, he is going to be a great high school player.
Trevor Thompson 6’10” C 2012 Thompson is improving at an insanely high rate. He is 10x better than he was a year ago and he is much improved even from the fall. Prep school is likely an option unless he picks up a D1 offer that he likes.
Tony Wills 6’5” SF 2013 Wills struggled shooting the ball but I still walked away impressed because he showed more lateral quickness than I had thought. I’m more confident that he is a mid-major prospect now.
Harry Wills 6’2” SG 2012 One of the most intriguing players left in the 2012 class. He is a super athlete and he is becoming more of a point guard but it is a work in-progress. If I am a low-major, I would be all over Wills. He would be a steal.
Michael Beaty 6’0” PG 2014 First look at Beaty, he was great defensively. He is decently built for a sophomore and he was good laterally. His ball handling could use a little bit of work. We will keep an eye on him down the road.
Deaire Tate 6’3” SF 2013 Tate is a good shooter with size. He also rebounded well and seemed like an above average athlete. He definitely has some tools to work with and could develop into a really nice player. He should be on the radar for at least D2/NAIA programs.
Jordan King 6’6” PF 2013 King only played mop-up minutes, but he finished a couple of plays in traffic and looks like a good athlete.
Northwest
Donnell Minton 6’1” PG 2012 The Lamar-signee struggled most of the game. He was able to fill up the stat sheet in the fourth quarter. He is extremely quick and a good outside shooter, but he needs to keep improving to be a contributor at Lamar.
Harris Brown 5’9” PG 2015 Brown is a lot like Minton. He is very quick, great in transition and going to the hoop. His shot selection needs some work and he needs to become more of a true point guard. He played well for his first varsity game though.
Michael Brown 6’3” SG 2013 Brown is a skinny guard that is a good outside shooter. He has some quickness to him, but he needs strength to take his game to the next level. He has a chance to be a D2/NAIA prospect though.
Dreon Lewis 6’6” PF 2015 Dreon struggled in his first varsity game. His shot selection was poor and he wasn’t as aggressive on the glass as he needs to be. He will have better efforts though. {/iACL}