Anthony Jaskulski, Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Providence Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

KING CITY CLASSIC REPORT IV

Notes from Duke vs. Villanova at King City Classic in Cleveland

by ANTHONY JASKULSKI

ROSTERS:

Duke………….…………………………………………….Villanova
Ray McCallum…………………………………………Ahmad Starks
Gary Franklin Jr………………………………………Kendall Marshall
Trey Ziegler……………………………………………Quddus Bello
Carlton Brundage……………………………………Ralston Turner
Dion Waiters……………………………………………Perry Ellis
Moses Morgan…………………………………………Evan Smotrycz
Justin Anderson………………………………………Roscoe Smith
Bakari Turner…………………………………………Jereme Richmond
Tony Mitchell…………………………………………Mike Shaw
Alex Kirk…………………………………………………James Johnson
Perry Jones

Roscoe Smith was the one who stood out most in this game, which was the fourth and final game before the playoff brackets began.

Smith (6-7½, 184 lbs) displayed great athleticism on his drives to the rim, which usually ended in a converted floater, almost in a Tony Parker fashion. He showed a great leaping ability; got extremely high on a few rebounds, including an offensive rebound/tip slam late in the game. He is a strong player that stays around the ball on every possession, and when his long-range jumper is on, which it was in today’s game, he’s a force to reckoned with.

Ray McCallum (6-0½, 179 lbs) got back in touch with his deep shot, hitting several off the dribble three pointers, including several from NBA range and beyond. Like I said earlier, his leadership skills, hustle and passing abilities are elite and it’s helping him in being one of the top players at this tournament.

Quddus ‘Deuce’ Bello (6-3, 179 lbs) had a great steal and windmill jam on the other end, showcasing that great athleticism. The best features about Bello are his defense off of the pick and roll, and his own ability to set screens on the other end. By not even touching the ball, Bello is easily the most important character in any offense when he sets as good as screens as he did in this game.

Trey Zeigler (6-5, 183 lbs) left off right where he started his last game, pulling down big time rebounds on both ends, and setting up some solid plays in the paint. One play, in particular, Trey grabbed a one-handed offensive rebound, slammed it back down and drew the and-1 foul. Was something that caught Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Jim Calhoun (Connecticut) and Keno Davis’ (Providence) eyes among many other coaches in attendance. I like Zeigler’s ability to draw the foul from anywhere on the floor at any time. He drew one late in the game from just inside the three point line, and drew several inside and around the paint.

Syracuse-bound Dion Waiters (6-3½, 201 lbs) was looking hot from beyond-the-arc, hitting on most opportunities this game. He was getting rather frustrated on defense—not getting the calls his way—and it sort of showed, as he let his man beat him in situations where, if Waiters was in the game, he would have dominated. His head was a little bit out of this game, but playing four straight days against the best competition in the country will do that to you…eventually.

James Johnson (6-9½, 212 lbs) made his presence felt on two huge dunks in a row, including one where he took off from the top of the paint on a flying one-handed jam. He’s an underrated, explosive player on offense, and a solid defender in the paint.

Evan Smotrycz (6-9, 212 lbs) showed off some nice range from beyond the arc. He looked like a member from of the Notre Dame basketball squad with his constant lining up on the three point line—but he did connect out there for the most part. Evan also dropped a few, pretty dimes, including a no look to Roscoe Smith for the easy layup early in the second half.

Moses Morgan, Carlton Brundage and Mike Shaw cooled off a little bit this game; you didn’t hear much from them. Morgan displayed some dominance early as he dropped a great floater in the lane after juking a defender off the dribble, but disappeared for much of the duration of the game.

Scouting Reports:
(Info only on players who didn’t receive reports from the Lebron James Skills Academy)

Quddus Bello
6-3, 179 lbs, class of 2011

High School/Hometown: Westchester/High Point, NC

Wingspan: 72’

Big East Comparison: Larry Davis (Cincinnati)

Interest: Baylor, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, NC State, Oregon, Wake Forest

Strong Point: Ability to find the open right option on offense; great decision maker

Area of Improvement: Inconsistent shooter outside and midrange
————————————————————-

Roscoe Smith
6-7½, 184 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Oak Hill/Mouth of Wilson, VA

Wingspan: 85’

Big East Comparison: Sam Young (Pitt)

Interest: Connecticut, Louisville, Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Texas A&M

Strong Point: Very aggressive wing that can pose as a 1, 2 or 3 at any time on the floor

Area of Improvement: Court vision and decision making was in question on several possessions
—————————————————————

James Johnson
6-9, 212 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Samuel Morse/Mildomar, CA

Wingspan: 84’

Big East Comparison: Brandon Walters (Seton Hall)

Interest: Marquette, Texas A&M, Texas, California, Kansas, Oklahoma, San Diego

Strong Point: Nice long range shot for a big man; can play as a hybrid

Area of Improvement: Needs to stay in the paint a little more and do some rebounding and banging with the big boys.
———————————————————

Donations to our site are gladly accepted and we will certainly pass the hat and you can help the NBE become even better with a donation of any size.

Here is a Paypal link to send in a donation via the Paypal system, which accepts all major credit cards: