Brian Crownover, Georgetown Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting

SOUTHERN JAM FEST PLAYER EVALUATIONS

The live period my be over, but the action this spring on the AAU circuit continued last weekend with the Hoop Group organized Southern Jam Fest on the University of Virginia campus and surrounding area. Brian Crownover, lead recruiting analysts for CAA Insider, was on hand along checking out the exciting action from the weeknd. Here is a look at some of the top players throughout the weekend that Brian checked out for the NBE Basketball Report…

CLASS OF 2009

Cadarian Raines
Cadarian was one of the best players of the day. He showed just about
everything for Petersburg Elite, a Virginia-based AAU squad The athletic post had
several thunderous dunks. He’s comfortable with his back to the basket and loves to
spin in either direction and finish. He has great hands and possesses soft touch inside.

Cadarian seals off well and is often comfortable passing the ball back
out and reposting. He doesn’t force shots. He is comfortable finishing
off the glass and has a good sense in the post. At times, Cadarian would
face up too much after a post spin move and not use his body well enough
to shield the defender. That is really getting picky on our end though as
there are only little things in his post game that need tweaking.

Cadarian has a solid build and he rebounded very well throughout. He
became a defensive presence the second time we saw him. He blocked shot
after shot in that one. Cadarian is already well polished and he played
well throughout the day.

Dan Miller
At many events, there is a little known player coming who quickly builds
up a reputation. Dan Miller was that player in this event, playing for the Georgia Ballers. The talented big man was among the Top 5 players in the entire event. He is a center
with a well polished game.

Dan is a very skilled post player. He possesses good footwork and can turn and finish in either direction and with either hand. He has very nice touch around the hoop and great
instincts around the rim. He’s comfortable using the glass. On the
inside, Dan scored on a nice turn around jumper from about 7 feet. He
moves well without the ball. He’s also a willing passer.

Dan pulled down numerous rebounds. He also proved to be a better athlete than he first
appeared. He blocked several shots, partly due to that athletic ability
and partly due to good timing. He would benefit by getting stronger.
Other than that though, there weren’t really any holes in his game. He
said he has offers from Minnesota and Furman (with interest from Georgia
and Kentucky). If this weekend is any indication, he should see plenty
more interest during the next live period.

Dominic Cheek Dom played well all weekend with the NJ Playaz. The lanky wing gets to the rim with such ease. He had a beautiful drive left where he sliced through traffic and finished with an acrobatic shot. Dom showed off his jumper to as he hit from everywhere on the court, including out to three. He did have some trouble consistently finishing inside because he does need to get stronger. He is a fantastic player who played well all weekend and continues to field recruiting interest from the top programs across the country.

Sherrod Wright
Sherrod played pretty well on this day. He’s athletic and had several
transition dunks. He drove the rim and was able to convert some. He was
inconsistent in that area though. Sherrod likes the pull up jumper and
when he’s hitting that, he’s clearly at his best. He knocked down a few
of those today. The strong guard also ran the floor for the Playaz.

Justin Crosgile
Justin was solid, but not spectacular when we saw him on this day with the Playaz. He hit a could jumpers, including a mid range one. He wasn’t on fire though and also
missed a few from the outside. Justin is quick and can get into the lane
off the bounce too. He also scored in transition on some occasions. It
wasn’t the best we’ve seen, but Justin played a decent game.

Lamar Patterson
The Pittsburgh- bound G/F of Team Final was solid this weekend. In the game I caught, Lamar scored with ease. He drove to the hoop and hit a runner.
He had another nice drive left and later on a second runner. Lamar
stepped outside and buried a three in the easy win.

Chris Braswell
Chris was one of the most dominant players of the weekend. He opened with
a runner and a foul for Triple Threat. He followed that up by hitting a deep two. Chris
was a force on the glass and had several put backs, including a dunk.
After a strong start he did cool off though. He missed a couple jumpers
and turned the ball over several times.

Chris has been a 2008 commit for Georgetown, but that looks to be changing as Braswell is now likely a 2009 recruit. However, he still seems set on the Hoyas being his future team.

Dante Taylor
Dante was probably the best player of the entire weekend. Several players
were injured throughout the day and taken to the hospital, but no one took
as much abuse as the rims that Dante was dunking on. He dominated around
the rim, including scoring with both hands inside. He had the best play
of the weekend too. He started with his back to the basket and used a
spin move to beat his man. When another big man came to help out, Dante
simply elevated and dunked right over him. He also blocked a number of
shots and pulled down numerous rebounds. He certainly is not weak, but
Dante’s game could improve even more with some added strength. He is a
fantastic talent, who made numerous plays around the rim for his National Christian Academy squad.

CJ Harris
CJ had a solid weekend. He was attacking quite often for CP3 He had a very nice
drive and scoop finish around a 6-10 defender. He followed that up with
several other drives and finishes. The native of Winston-Salem (NC) did have trouble with the big men on a couple other occasions too though as he was blocked inside. CJ does throw some nice passes, but it seems like they typically come from a well
designed back door play. The big guard hit several jumpers throughout the
weekend too.

Thomas Robinson
Thomas played pretty well when we saw him last week. He was even better
on this day with Squash All Beefs. He made quite a few plays around the rim. Thomas hit a left handed hook shot. He also finished inside with contact. He can
step outside too. He handles the ball pretty well. On one drive he
scored with a runner. He used a spin move later on and was fouled.
Thomas dominated on the boards and had a pair of athletic blocks too. He
is quite the talent.

Dom Morris
As usual, Dom made some plays around the basket. He had a couple
offensive rebound put backs for the RAIDERS. He also banked home another shot. He droveto the hoop and was fouled on another occasion. Dom rebounded well too.

CLASS OF 2010

Dion Waiters
Dion played well throughout the weekend too. In the first contest I saw,
he rebounded quite often and pushed the ball. He used a spin move in the
lane and hit a tough runner. He scored in transition and had an athletic
throw down. In the second game, Dion was burying three pointers. When
that shot is on (which isn’t always they case), the Syracuse commitment is nearly unstoppable offensively.

Will Barton
This very fluid wing player was solid again for National Christian Academy. He opened with a steal and transition basket. He used his long arms to pick up several steals. Will stepped out and knocked down a three pointer. He’s terrific in the open court. He often pushed the ball after pulling down rebounds. Will banked home a shot inside as well. His strong spring continues.

Travis McKie
Travis is an athletic forward who can play inside and outside. He had a
very athletic dunk. The youngster also stepped outside and hit a three
pointer. He was inconsistent finishing and missed on another jumper.
Travis does need to get stronger. Without a doubt, he is very talented
though and a member of the Boo Williams program to keep an eye on the rest of spring/summer.

CLASS OF 2011

Keith Lumpkin
This young big man didn’t have a huge game, but he does have a huge body.
He did most of his damage for the Playaz on the boards and blocking shots. His touches
were limited on the offensive end. He has a body equaled by few others at
his age. He certainly held his own playing up on a talented team.

Chris Coleman
Chris is a freshman with some potential. He already has a big body and is
quite athletic. He blocked several shots and pulled down quite a few
rebounds for NEBC. He scored a couple baskets around the rim, but really needs to
improve his finishing ability. He has soft touch, but just not a good
feel how to put the ball in the hoop yet. If he develops that part of his
game, the sky is the limit for Chris.

For more of Brian’s coverage from Virginia, please visit his reports at CAA Insider from the event. Here is his Part I of Day I coverage and his Day I, Part II coverage.

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