Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting

2009 PEACH JAM RECAP, PART IV

by JEFF BORZELLO

We are getting near the end of our Peach Jam player reviews and recruiting notes. In Part IV, we finish up the players we checked out in the U-17 competition with a look at some of the bigger names, like Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight, Marquis Teague and more. We have the latest on their recruiting and some notes on what we saw from them on the floor during the action in North Augusta (GA) last week.

Previous, Part I was a look back at the action as well as news and notes on All-Ohio Red, Team Final and City Rocks. Part II concentrated on Team Takeover and Cali Supreme while Part III had the lowdown on players from the Jackson Tigers, NY Gauchos, I-5 Elite, Georgia Stars and Team Texas Elite that caught the attention of NBE last week. Part V, coming tomorrow night, will take a look at some of the top players in the U-16 competition we saw.

Here are tonight’s reviews…

Harrison Barnes, 6-8, Howard Pulley, 2010: One of the top-ranked players in the class of 2010, Barnes is hindered by the fact that his supporting cast is mediocre. They try to force him the ball, which in turn leads to double-teams and difficulty getting scoring opportunities. As is, Barnes is a phenomenal scorer who can get points in a variety of ways. He is excellent at posting up and turning to the hoop, and he can take defenders off the dribble. Barnes is also athletic and had an impressive follow dunk.

Barnes told NBE that he is wide open and not favoring Duke or Kansas which is widely speculated. Others under consideration include North Carolina, Kentucky, Oklahoma, UCLA, Stanford, Iowa, Iowa State and Minnesota. ——————————————————

Kyle Wiltjer, 6-9, Oakland Soldiers 2011: Wiltjer is going to be excellent offensively at the next level. He has great size for his position, as he plays on the wing and has a versatile offensive game. He can be a face-up four-man or even transition to the three if necessary. Wiltjer is a very good three-point shooter who can also run the floor and finish at the basket. He can also post-up smaller defenders and get points in the lane.

As far as recruiting, Wiltjer told NBE that all the Pac-10 schools are in the mix, as well as Kansas, Florida and Kentucky. He’s been to Oregon, Oregon State, and Kansas for its Elite Camp.
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Jabari Brown, 6-4, Oakland Soldiers, 2011: A very strong point guard, Brown is a good ball-handler who can get past defenders and into the lane to create shots for himself and his teammates. He has a good build and good size for his position. Brown also has deep range and a nice stroke from three-point range. Defensively, he uses his strength well on the ball.
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Brian Richardson, 6-5, Boo Williams, 2010: Richardson was one of the more impressive shooters all day. He was outstanding from behind the arc, although he did get a little shot-happy at times. He has a very nice stroke and deep range, and could also catch and shoot in transition. Furthermore, Richardson showed the ability to take the ball to the basket if a defender does not respect his dribble-drive enough. He also made a couple of solid passes.
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Justin Anderson, 6-6, Boo Williams, 2012: Anderson, who plays out of Montrose Christian, told NBE he is already being recruited by Texas, North Carolina, Duke, Oklahoma, Georgetown and Villanova. Early on, he considers Texas, UNC and OU as the leaders.
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Mike Shaw, 6-8, Mac Irvin Fire, 2011: Despite playing on a loaded Mac Irvin team, Shaw stood out. He is long, versatile and athletic, and he played well at both ends of the court. He had a couple of nice blocks and also guarded the ball well, getting very low in a defensive stance. He played the passing lanes well, and also led a fast break after a steal. He is very solid going to the rim and will drive into traffic if necessary.

Shaw told NBE that he is currently looking at USC, Florida, Texas, Louisville, Illinois and Ohio State. He has visited Texas and Louisville, wants to see Florida and USC.

Shaw said he would like to play in college with teammate Wayne Blackshear; he said they saw Louisville and Texas together.
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Wayne Blackshear, 6-5, Mac Irvin Fire, 2011: Blackshear is a very physical, strong wing who takes it to the basket very well and can finish with contact. He has three-point range, but struggled with his shot today. When driving the lane, though, he is shifty and unpredictable; however, he missed a couple of easy lay-ups today, though. Blackshear is athletic and can run the floor for transition baskets.
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Anthony Wroten Jr., 6-5, Seattle Rotary Select, 2011: Wroten had a slow start against All Ohio Red, but he really picked it up in the second half, finishing with 13 points – 11 coming in the latter period. He was hampered by a sprained ankle, so he had difficulty driving to the basket, but he was effective on pull-up three-pointers. He is acrobatic when going to the rim, and has the ability to kick it out to an open teammate.

Wroten told NBE that he is very interested in coming east to play in college and schools under serious consideration in that scenario would be Villanova, Louisville, Seton Hall and St. John’s.
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Josh Smith, 6-9, Seattle Rotary Select, 2010: Smith is another player who started slowly – I barely noticed him in the first half. However, in the second half, he matched Jared Sullinger fairly well. Smith had multiple blocks, and also had some solid put-backs and finishes offensively. This was his first game in weeks as he was out getting his tonsils removed, so he was still getting his legs back; he also lost 20 pounds while sitting out. As a result, his energy level seemed a little low and he struggled to keep Sullinger off the glass.

As far as recruiting, Smith told NBE he has offers from every Pac-10 school as well as Louisville, Texas, Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke and others.
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Marquis Teague, 6-0, Spiece Indy Heat, 2011: The younger brother of former Wake Forest star Jeff, Marquis is ultra quick and can get into the lane against any defender. He is very fast with the ball and can get baskets in transition on his own. Teague is quick to the rim and knows how to finish with both hands. He also had a couple of nice passes off penetration. Teague is also very good at changing directions, shifty with the ball.

Earlier in the week, there was an update on his Facebook saying that he was committing. However, he denied that he was indeed making a decision. “I didn’t write that,” Teague said. “One of my friends did.”

His list includes Louisville, Ohio State, Indiana, Wake Forest, Purdue and Kentucky. Teague said he’s wide-open, but wants to commit before his high school season.
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DeJuan Marrero, 6-6, Spiece Indy Heat, 2012: A rising prospect, Marrero was involved in numerous plays throughout the game. He can drive to the basket, but struggled to finish at times. He can also shoot jumpers, but needs more lift and rotation on his release. Marrero is very active and can get rebounds at both ends. He picked up several offensive rebounds, and also had a very nice roll to the basket after setting a pick.
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J-Mychal Reese, 6-0, Houston Hoops, 2012: A player that has been covered already for a couple of years, Reese is a dynamic lefty who can play both guard spots. He played off the ball with Houston Hoops, and showed his offensive repertoire. On one play, he double-crossed two defenders and got into the lane before failing to finish. Reese finished in transition well, and also knocked down perimeter jumpers. He also picked up a few assists.
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Brandon Knight, 6-3, Team STAT (Each One Teach One), 2010: Unfortunately, a foot injury suffered early on limited NBE’s opportunity to see Knight on the court. He had sat out the first leg of the July evaluation period, so this was supposed to be his showcase, but was cut short because of the injury. Knight did tell NBE that he was completely wide-open in terms of recruiting, but when asked, said that Duke, Florida and Kentucky are recruiting him as hard as everyone else.
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