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I attended a few
games at the TOC this year, but didn't get to see many Duke prospects. Of
course, with Kris Humphries already committing, there really aren't as
many prospects to watch out for at this point. But I did scout a few
games and have a few things to say about some well-known national
prospects, some sleepers, and some top sophomores.
The first
interesting game that I saw was between the Illinois Fire and the NC Red
Storm. The Fire were led by tough swingman Florentino Valencia, who is
surely a future first-ballot All-Name hall of famer. They also had
Arkansas star Jannero Pargo's little brother Jeremy, who is a 9th grader.
Most intriguing of all was a spring-loaded forward named Justin Williams
who played much bigger than his listed height of 6-8. Valencia didn't
display a whole lot of range, but at 6-6 he was big enough to attack the
basket and hit a lot of tough, close-in shots. Pargo didn't play a ton
but it's obvious that he's a good shooter and athlete. I loved the play
of Williams, who was skywalking on defense the entire time. He pinned one
attempted shot high on the glass and swatted away another shot on a
drive. His offense is primitive at best right now, but his shotblocking
and leaping will earn him a scholarship somewhere. Think "a young Ben
Wallace" and you're pretty much there.
The Red Storm were
an intriguing squad. Their best players were Bobby Perry, Jeremy Ingram
and Anthony King. Perry is a Durham Hillside product who just committed
to Kentucky, and it's easy to see why the Wildcats wanted him. In short,
he's a poor man's Shane Battier. He kept his team in the game in the
first half, and the Fire's concentrating on him in the second half quieted
him down a bit and sealed the win. Early on, he took one dribble to shed
his defender and hit jumpers of 15 and 17' with a smooth released. He's a
legitimate 6-8 and still a bit gangly but with a certain wiry strength.
He put the ball on the floor a few times with mixed results--one try
resulted in a three point play, another in a turnover as the ball flew out
of his hands. He did have a nice short drive that wound up as a clever up
and under--he's used to playing under the boards as well as the
perimeter. Perry was especially impressive on the defensive end, where he
took a charge in transition and came from the weak side for a block.
While Perry struggled to get the ball in the second half, he had enough of
a nose for the ball to score in other ways. He got a stickback, finished
on the break, and got in another up and under. I don't see him as an
immediate star at the collegiate level, but he is a guy who will help
right away and make his team better. His team definitely struggled without
him, though King had his moments inside. His play didn't stick out for me
in this game though he did eventually make the All-Tournament team. He's
a 6-9 forward. Ingram, a 6-3 guard, is being eyed by Wake Forest though
I truthfully didn't see a whole lot to his game other than his good
shooting.
I caught a few
minutes of the eventual Select Tournament champion Playaz Black vs the
Champions Athletic Academy of Utah. The Utah team had one really good
player in Stefan Zimmerman, another guy who made the All-Tournament team.
Zimmerman is a 6-10 forward who is not especially quick but who is sturdy
and can step out and hit the three, Dirk Nowitzki- style. He's also
pretty tough--he was scrapping hard against an obviously superior squad.
One player jumped out at me (and I do mean jumped!) from the Playaz, a
sophomore named Stanley Branch. Branch is a 6-8 skywalker who put on a
show in the game I saw. He flew in for a rebound slam, followed that up
with a smooth-looking three, and then took the ball and drove all the way
for a nasty dunk. He's a legit 215 pounds, mostly muscle. One list I saw
had him as a top-70 player, another as a top-20 player--the latter seems
more accurate. I didn't see much of MVP Arthur Bowers, other than seeing
him feed his guys on the break.
The last game I
saw on Friday was between the Ft. Sooy (Il) No Limit squad and Coast To
Coast (Fl). Ft. Sooy had a couple of players on Duke's radar, namely 6-8
forward Brian Randle and 6-4 guard Richard McBride. But the real surprise
was an exciting sophomore point guard who was all arms and legs at 6-6,
165, but looked like a (very) young Tracy McGrady. McBride is a top-25
junior but did little but shoot jumpers in the game I saw. He missed a
lot more than he made, though he did hit a pull-up in traffic and 1
three. Randle is the consummate hard worker and garbageman around the
basket. He also has a sneaky athleticism--while he doesn't look like he
runs that fast or can jump that high, he did sky for a dunk and threw down
an alley-oop pass tossed in his direction. He's got ups when he needs
them. He had his knee heavily taped and the word was that he might be
dealing with tendinitis. Randle also got a number of tough rebounds as he
played good defense all-around. What he didn't show was any kind of
perimeter game or handle. It's clear that he has a lot to offer a team in
terms of hustle, defense and finishing. A player deserving of a top 30
ranking.
Livingston was
truly something to watch. His jersey billowed around his thin frame, but
he was slicing up defenses with his smooth drives, pulling up and snapping
off threes with a quick release, and driving & dishing no-look passes.
This kid has an obvious love of the game that sets him apart from the
others. Given another inch or two and 20 or 30 pounds, and the McGrady
comparisons will suddenly seem a whole lot closer to reality.
The first game I
saw Saturday was between defending champion Michigan Hurricanes and
Belmont Shore of California. The Hurricanes didn't have #1 high school
prospect LeBron James (unfortunately), but still had three top 100
prospects in guard Brandon Jenkins, center Walter Waters and Duke target
Olu Famutimi. Olu is a smooth power wing type, who liked to go to the
basket and pull up for the occasional jumper. He's reasonably strong and
a good defender, though his athleticism didn't wow me. He also forced
things too much, though Michigan's point guard play was nothing to write
home about. Belmont Shore proceeded to give Michigan a thorough beating,
and the main reasons were the finishes of 6-7 forward and the long-range
bombing of 6-3 sophomore DeMarcus Nelson. Nelson was a revelation from
three, regularly pulling up from 22' and beyond and easily stroking
shots. He hit at least 6 or 7 threes, did a solid job in handling the
ball and even drove to the basket a few times. He was a borderline top 25
player in his class but his rankings will go up after his performance
here.
The next game
featured the Alabama Ice against the Tennessee Travelers, two well-known
AAU squads. The Ice featured Mississippi import Travis Outlaw, regarded
as one of the top 10 rising seniors. He certainly showed why by
dominating the action. Outlaw is a legit 6-10 but weighs (maybe) 185
pounds. He can handle the ball, shoot with limited range, and jump out of
the gym. If this brings to mind Kevin Garnett, go to the head of the
class. Outlaw still needs to work on many aspects of his game, especially
teamwork and chemistry. I don't know how long he had played with that
team, but if didn't have the ball in his hands, he wasn't nearly as
effective. He also had some trouble finishing and missed his first 6 foul
shots. Outlaw did hit an 18' jumper and his long arms came up with a
steal in the first half, and he also took a charge. In the second half,
he missed several shots in a row--a 15' jumper off a dribble-drive, a
drive, and a tip-in. He also had one drive absolutely stuffed going on.
As he kept missing, Tennessee eventually used a team concept to take the
lead. That seemed to wake young Travis up, and he simply took over the
game. He hit a tough turnaround jumper from 10' away and followed that up
with a couple of free throws. He tied the score with a dropstep basket
and took the lead with a stickback. Outlaw then went on got the big
rebounds in traffic, getting fouled after one rebound and hitting both
shots. He hit his last 6 freebies to ensure the win and show that he can
step up at both ends and take over a game when it counts. Outlaw is an
enormous talent with lots of maturing to do, but I can see him either
becoming a college superstar or even heading straight for the draft.
Another impressive
Ice player was 6-11, 300 pound center James Lang. He moves quite well
despite his girth, scoring inside and clearing out space for rebounds. A
lot of people compared him to Wake Forest's new frosh Eric Williams, but
Lang is a bit lighter on his feet. I loved the way he attacked the
offensive glass in particular. Once some of his footwork is refined a bit
more, he will certainly be able to contribute at a very high level.
Next was a game
between the Atlanta Celtics Black squad and the Los Angeles Rockfish. The
Celtics were dominated by rising juniors and even had a rising sophomore
and rising freshman.(!) Yup, a player who had just finished 8th grade
named Javaris Crittenton was out there, and while he looked a little older
than 13, he had a number of teammates who looked like they hadn't started
shaving yet. They had learned to throw slick behind the back passes and
crossover dribbling skills, however, as this team made things look fun out
there. Dwayne Day was the most highly regarded player in this bunch; he's
a rising junior guard who's 6-5 and can really shoot. I was impressed
with a young shotblocking fiend named Dwight Howard, another rising
junior who rejected everything in his way and intimidated the poor squad
from LA.
The last game I
caught was between the Southern California All-Stars and the Illinois Fire
(again). The SC team would go all the way to the championship game before
losing behind the solid guard play of rising senior Rayshawn Reed. This
was a well-coached squad with a lot of depth but lacked a player who
knocked me out with his individual talent. Interestingly, Chris Burgess'
little brother David was playing on this team. He's regarded as a top 40
type player in his class, though he didn't do much on offense in the game
I saw. He literally only got the ball once for a shot (an airball) and
later missed a tip-in. But it was clear why he was there--he went in and
got tough rebound after tough rebound. He's not that strong and lacks his
brother's incredible springs, but he just gets it done. Also of note: he
swished 2 free throws. Burge the younger has a future in college
somewhere, though I'm not sure at what level of Div I we're talking about.
Hopefully next year there will
be more games featuring Duke prospects, but don't be surprised if a few of
the names I mentioned wind up grabbing the coaching staff's attention
right now.
Reported by Rob Clough,
tmc@duke.edu
Rob's Archive
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