bajaden
Hall of Famer
For those that don't know, this is an invitational game made up of highschool senior all stars. Sort of a first look at potential draft picks for 2012. With the possiblilty of a lockout next year, and the cancellation of the entire season, college basketball may be our only outlet.
Anyway, I watched the game. Twice, for review purposes, and here are some of my observations. First off, as with just about any all star game, where the players aren't familar with each others game, its going to appear very sloppy at times, and as though there is no defense being played. Actually team defense in almost non existant, and individual defense is scattered here and there.
Of the 22 players that participated, 11 on each team, 4 are committed to Kentucky. Should Knight and T. Jones decide not to enter the draft, Kentucky would have to be considered one of the top favorites to win the whole banana next year. Two of the players are committed to North Carolina, and the same would be said about N. Carolina if Barnes decides to return to school.
There were several players that impressed me, and for the most part, they were players that I expected to be impressed by. But there was one player that surprised me. That was Tony Wroten Jr. He's a 6'4" PG thats committed to Washington. This is a very talented kid. He made passes that Steve Nash would be proud of. He has the build of a NFL saftey. He also has very good speed, having run a 10.7, 100 meters. For those that don't know, thats fast dude. He's a very good athlete, and has good handles. He has good form on his shot, but wasn't very consistent with it during the game. He's very aggressive and drives to the basket with purpose. His passing was out of this world. He suffered a torn ACL his junior year while playing football, but appears to be fine now. The word is that he was even quicker before the injury.
Anthony Davis, a 6'10" PF/C who is committed to Kentucky was also very impressive in the game. Davis is an intriguing player, because over a year ago, he wasn't even listed in the top 200 players in the nation, and now he's ranked number 1. Why you ask? Well just over a year ago, he was 6'2", and now he's 6'10". A year ago he played PG for his team and now he's a C/PF. He has a 7'5" wingspan and wide shoulders. Obviously he needs to put on weight and get stronger. You don't get that tall that fast and add weight at the same time.
He did most of his scoring around the basket, but did show a nice jumpshot, and was the high scorer in the game. As a result of being a guard, he handles the ball very well, and passes the ball very well. The most impressive part of his game was his defense. In a game where little defense was played, or even attempted, he stood out. He was a huge presence around the basket, either blocking shots, or affecting shots. He also rebounded the ball well. Despite being on the slender side, he didn't appear to shy away from physical play. Quite the contrary, he was very aggressive. His basketball IQ seems very high. He's a very impressive prospect.
James McAdoo, a 6'8" PF/SF, committed to North Carolina. No relationship to the famous Bob McAdoo that I know of. He's listed as a PF, but plays more like a SF. A good and graceful athlete. So far, he seems a jack of all trades, and does a little bit of everything. He always seems to be around the ball both offensively and defensively. He bricked his first couple of shots from the outside, but later in the second half, looked more comfortable and dropped a couple. Scored most of his points around the basket on dunks and collecting garbage. He embarrased himself on a breakaway dunk trying to to a 360 and didn't have enough air time to get the ball over the rim. The kid looks like he knows how to play the game and should be a good future prospect.
Austin Rivers, a 6'4" SG committed to Duke and the son of Doc Rivers, coach of the Celtics. I was under the impression a while back that he was a PG, but after watching him play twice now, its my opinion that he's a shooting guard with some PG skills. I would say that he's an average athlete, and I question his ability to defend SG's at the next level. But we'll see. Offensively, he brings the whole package. Good outside shooter. He has a wicked crossover going to his left. Very good jab step, and he's able to take players off the dribble and go to the basket. He also has the ability to pull up when help arrives, and either shoot a jumper, or use a floater over the top of the defense. Defensively, he didn't play very much. So the book is still open.
Marquis Teague, a 6'2" PG, committed to Kentucky. Teague is a very talented player, and was probably the second most impressive PG on the roster. He's more quick than fast. Think quarterhorse compared to racehorse. Wall is a racehorse with terrific end to end speed. Teague is a quarterhorse who would beat Wall for the first 15 or 20 feet. Its been a while since I've seen a player that could come straight at a player at full speed, seem to stop on a dime, and then go right past him. He's a terrific ballhandler, and a very good passer. I wouldn't want to try and defend him. Its almost impossible to keep him in front of you. The kid would be a great wide reciever. You think he's going in one direction and boom, he's past you going in the other direction. He appears to be more talented than his older brother.
Michael Gilchrist, a 6'7" SF, committed to Kentucky. High energy player, that constantly moving. Extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor. One of the other players that played defense for the entire game. He's an outstanding athlete, and capable of pulling off plays that make the sportscenter's plays of the night. On offense, he's constantly attacking the basket, and as a result, gets himself in trouble at times. He's a good ballhandler, but needs to play more under control. His outside shot is very suspect. Something he needs to work on. He also appears to be a good passer.
To be continued:
Anyway, I watched the game. Twice, for review purposes, and here are some of my observations. First off, as with just about any all star game, where the players aren't familar with each others game, its going to appear very sloppy at times, and as though there is no defense being played. Actually team defense in almost non existant, and individual defense is scattered here and there.
Of the 22 players that participated, 11 on each team, 4 are committed to Kentucky. Should Knight and T. Jones decide not to enter the draft, Kentucky would have to be considered one of the top favorites to win the whole banana next year. Two of the players are committed to North Carolina, and the same would be said about N. Carolina if Barnes decides to return to school.
There were several players that impressed me, and for the most part, they were players that I expected to be impressed by. But there was one player that surprised me. That was Tony Wroten Jr. He's a 6'4" PG thats committed to Washington. This is a very talented kid. He made passes that Steve Nash would be proud of. He has the build of a NFL saftey. He also has very good speed, having run a 10.7, 100 meters. For those that don't know, thats fast dude. He's a very good athlete, and has good handles. He has good form on his shot, but wasn't very consistent with it during the game. He's very aggressive and drives to the basket with purpose. His passing was out of this world. He suffered a torn ACL his junior year while playing football, but appears to be fine now. The word is that he was even quicker before the injury.
Anthony Davis, a 6'10" PF/C who is committed to Kentucky was also very impressive in the game. Davis is an intriguing player, because over a year ago, he wasn't even listed in the top 200 players in the nation, and now he's ranked number 1. Why you ask? Well just over a year ago, he was 6'2", and now he's 6'10". A year ago he played PG for his team and now he's a C/PF. He has a 7'5" wingspan and wide shoulders. Obviously he needs to put on weight and get stronger. You don't get that tall that fast and add weight at the same time.
He did most of his scoring around the basket, but did show a nice jumpshot, and was the high scorer in the game. As a result of being a guard, he handles the ball very well, and passes the ball very well. The most impressive part of his game was his defense. In a game where little defense was played, or even attempted, he stood out. He was a huge presence around the basket, either blocking shots, or affecting shots. He also rebounded the ball well. Despite being on the slender side, he didn't appear to shy away from physical play. Quite the contrary, he was very aggressive. His basketball IQ seems very high. He's a very impressive prospect.
James McAdoo, a 6'8" PF/SF, committed to North Carolina. No relationship to the famous Bob McAdoo that I know of. He's listed as a PF, but plays more like a SF. A good and graceful athlete. So far, he seems a jack of all trades, and does a little bit of everything. He always seems to be around the ball both offensively and defensively. He bricked his first couple of shots from the outside, but later in the second half, looked more comfortable and dropped a couple. Scored most of his points around the basket on dunks and collecting garbage. He embarrased himself on a breakaway dunk trying to to a 360 and didn't have enough air time to get the ball over the rim. The kid looks like he knows how to play the game and should be a good future prospect.
Austin Rivers, a 6'4" SG committed to Duke and the son of Doc Rivers, coach of the Celtics. I was under the impression a while back that he was a PG, but after watching him play twice now, its my opinion that he's a shooting guard with some PG skills. I would say that he's an average athlete, and I question his ability to defend SG's at the next level. But we'll see. Offensively, he brings the whole package. Good outside shooter. He has a wicked crossover going to his left. Very good jab step, and he's able to take players off the dribble and go to the basket. He also has the ability to pull up when help arrives, and either shoot a jumper, or use a floater over the top of the defense. Defensively, he didn't play very much. So the book is still open.
Marquis Teague, a 6'2" PG, committed to Kentucky. Teague is a very talented player, and was probably the second most impressive PG on the roster. He's more quick than fast. Think quarterhorse compared to racehorse. Wall is a racehorse with terrific end to end speed. Teague is a quarterhorse who would beat Wall for the first 15 or 20 feet. Its been a while since I've seen a player that could come straight at a player at full speed, seem to stop on a dime, and then go right past him. He's a terrific ballhandler, and a very good passer. I wouldn't want to try and defend him. Its almost impossible to keep him in front of you. The kid would be a great wide reciever. You think he's going in one direction and boom, he's past you going in the other direction. He appears to be more talented than his older brother.
Michael Gilchrist, a 6'7" SF, committed to Kentucky. High energy player, that constantly moving. Extremely aggressive on both ends of the floor. One of the other players that played defense for the entire game. He's an outstanding athlete, and capable of pulling off plays that make the sportscenter's plays of the night. On offense, he's constantly attacking the basket, and as a result, gets himself in trouble at times. He's a good ballhandler, but needs to play more under control. His outside shot is very suspect. Something he needs to work on. He also appears to be a good passer.
To be continued:
