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2011 NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM REPORT (PART III)

By Brian Bosworth

Back in North Augusta bright and early Wednesday morning, amazing talent was standing at every turn. Some well known stars continued their dominance while new faces emerged as well. Here is the scoreboard from Wednesday’s early slate og games:

Athletes First 84, Houston Hoops 74
Texas Titans 60, Baltimore Elite 48
NJ Playaz 58, Albany City Rocks 57
CIA Bounce 80, Meanstreets 53
All-Ohio Red 59, Arkansas Wings 51
Boo Williams 89, Louisiana Select 84 (2 OT)
Cali Supreme 78, The Family 70
All-Iowa Attack 69, Howard Pulley 64
Georgia Stars 62, Team Takeover 61
Oakland Solders 65, Indy Spiece 60
Memphis YOMCA 73, CP3 59
BABC 83, Mac Irvin Fire 59

Here is just a sampling of the guys who made the biggest impact in those contests:

Kyle Anderson (Playaz Basketball Club/2012) – Anderson unique game has been well documented over the years which is bound to happen when you’re among the country’s best. He was up to his usual tricks this morning getting into the lane at will with a series of crossovers, spins, and inside out dribbles. Kyle has really improved his outside shot this spring and showed it off by going 2-2 from behind the arc and making a couple other long jumpers. Then with 20 seconds remaining and the Playaz down by a point he did what he does best, win. Anderson posted up on the left block, worked his way across the lane, hung in the air floating from left to right, and knocked down a floater with 5 seconds left on the clock to win the game.

Darrick Wood (Playaz Basketball Club/2012) – Wood is a lanky 6’4” scoring guard who has a knack for putting the ball in the hole. Throughout the first half he made pull up jump shots extending out to 19 feet after using hard dribbles towards his right hand side. Wood gets excellent elevation on his shot and rises so quickly off the dribble that defenders aren’t prepared to challenge his shot. He did the exact same thing on 3 straight possessions and the defense still couldn’t make an adjustment and stop him from getting it off.

Neville Fincher (Playaz Basketball Club/2012) – Fincher isn’t going to wow you with his offense and actually didn’t attempt a field goal or a free throw in this game. What he did do was block 3 shots in 14 minutes on the floor and alter countless others while really frustrating the bigs for City Rocks. He has a strong body at 6’9” and uses it to be a high level defender on the low block.

Olivier Hanlon (Albany City Rocks/2012) – Hanlon has terrific size at the point guard position standing at 6’3” and 195 pounds. He has a great feel for the game and almost always seems to make the right decision with ball evidenced by his 0 turnovers in this contest despite being his team’s primary ball handler. Hanlon also showed nice perimeter range knocking down 3 pointers both off the catch and off the dribble. Not only a shooter, he used ball screens very well and attacked the rim primarily going left when he would kick to open shooters or finish himself inside.

Ricardo Ledo (Albany City Rocks/2012) – Ledo showcased his full offensive arsenal for the second straight day although he settled too much for the long ball today. He shot 1-8 from behind the arc and 6-9 from inside it confirming that he is at his best when he attacks the rim and puts pressure on the defense. Ledo makes the impossible shot seem ordinary making high arcing floaters off the glass, runners through contact in the lane, and a lefty finger roll down the middle all look easy. Shot selection is his biggest offensive weakness right now because he is so talented that he can get any shot he wants but often settles for deep contested three pointers.

Joe’dan Price (The Family/2012) – Thin as a rail standing at 6’7” Price desperately needs to get in the weight room and add strength. What doesn’t need any work is his outside shot as he went 5-5 from the floor, 3-3 from distance, and 9-10 from the line en route to 22 points. Price has as quick a release as you’ll see and uses his incredible height at the wing to get shots off over defenders. His lack of strength became a problem against pressure as he had a tendency to get outmuscled and lose the ball but he is truly an elite shooter.

Daddy Ugbede (California Supreme/2012) – Ugbede is a rugged 6’7” post player who does all the dirty work inside. The lefty loves contact and outmuscled defenders in the lane time and again on his way to 18 points on 8-10 shooting. He can face up out to 12 feet and uses a quick first step going left to get a crease on his defender. Once near the rim he was too strong for every defender The Family had to offer and seemed to finish every time.

Torren Jones (California Supreme/2013) – Jones is a big time athlete standing 6’8” who is still raw offensively but knows how to finish when he gets near the rim. He runs the floor very well and is imposing on the defensive end because of his length and leaping ability. Only a rising junior, Jones is a big man for high majors to track out on the west coast.

Junior Lomomba (The family/2012) – The polar opposite on the wing from his teammate Joe’dan Price, Lomomba is a power guard who does all his damage getting to the rim. He has a herky jerky style and uses a series of ball fakes and hesitation dribbles to get his defenders off balance at which point his strength is too much to handle. Lomomba needs work on his outside shot but has decent form evidenced by his 7-9 from the charity stripe.

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Nerlens Noel (BABC/2013) – Noel backed up a big day on Tuesday with an even more impressive performance Wednesday. He tallied 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots while being matched up against one of the nation’s best in Jabari Parker. Noel continued to show off his improved offensive game driving from as far out as the three point line and kicking out to open shooters once he got to the rim. He also made two highlight reel tip in dunks where his hands looked to be above the box. He flies out of nowhere from the weak side and gets off the floor so quickly that defenders are helpless.

Jabari Parker (Mac Irvin Fire/2013) – Once thought to be a power forward, Parker has transformed his body and now clearly projects as an elite small forward. While a lot of his damage came in garbage time with his team down by 20, Parker made some plays in this game that scream NBA small forward. He can handle the ball coast to coast and finish at the rim (although Noel sent him away a few times) and has range on his jumper to the three point line. His most impressive offensive move was probably an 18 foot step back jumper from the left corner that would have been impressive if it had been pulled off by a guard let alone a 6’8 forward. Parker and Noel appear to be separating themselves this week as the top 2 players in the 2013 class.

College Coaches in Attendance:

Playaz Basketball Club vs. Albany City Rocks – High major head coaches were flooding the sidelines headlined by John Calipari (Kentucky), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Kevin Willard (Seton Hall), Thad Matta (Ohio State), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech), John Thompson (Georgetown), Billy Donovan (Florida), Ed Cooley (Providence), Steve Lavin (St. John’s), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Ben Howland (UCLA), Jay Wright (Villanova), and Scott Drew (Baylor). Other teams chose to send assistant coaches including Auburn, Depaul, Georgia Tech, Xavier, and USC.

California Supreme vs. The Family – Head coaches on hand included Frank Haith (Missouri), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Jim Baron (Rhode Island), Ben Howland (UCLA), Phil Martelli (St. Joseph’s), and Mike Montgomery (California). Assistants hailed from Washington State, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Diego State, and TCU.

BABC vs. Mac Irvin Fire – Jim Calhoun (Connecticut), Thad Matta (Ohio State), Jay Wright (Villanova), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Bruce Weber (Illinois), Jim Baron (Rhode Island), Ed Cooley (Providence), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Buzz Williams (Marquette) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) were among the head coaches courtside. Assistants hailed from Depaul, Iowa, Texas, and countless others.

Recruiting Updates:

Darrick Wood – Wood told me he’s still wide open but would like to make a decision sometime around November. He has a working list of Seton Hall, Rutgers, Oklahoma State, USC, UCLA, and Arizona with offers from all but UCLA and Arizona.

Joe’dan Price – According to his head coach Price has interest from Northwestern (offer), South Florida, Umass, Dayton, and offers from basically the entire Mid-American conference.

Jake Layman – Layman’s recruitment has heated up in a big way this spring and he now has interest from Maryland, Boston College, Notre Dame, Providence, and Florida.

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