Anthony Jaskulski, Cincinnati Recruiting, Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

KING CITY CLASSIC REPORT III

Notes from Connecticut vs. Michigan State at King City Classic in Cleveland

by ANTHONY JASKULSKI

ROSTERS:

Connecticut………….…………………………………………….Michigan State
Phil Pressey……………………………………………………..Josh Selby
Nick Johnson……………………………………………………Taran Buie
Myck Kabongo……………………………………………………Doron Lamb
Russell Byrd…………………………………………………….JT Terrell
DeShaun Thomas……………………………………………….Travis Carroll
Dwight Powell……………………………………………………Michael Gbinije
Bradley Beal……………………………………………………Harrison Barnes
Cameron Clark…………………………………………………..Adonis Thomas
Kevin Johnson…………………………………………………..Frank Williams
Quincy Miller……………………………………………………….Meyers Leonard
Adreian Payne…………………………………………………….Kentavious Caldwell

This game ended at the buzzer with a dramatic finish, as a Phil Pressey jumper was just short of being a three-pointer to tie the game up, keeping the final score a 103-102 advantage towards Michigan State.

Phil Pressey was one of the best players at the Lebron James Skills Academy a day earlier, and now at Cleveland State in the King City Classic, he’s proving to be the best player here…period. One of his many great plays to note, probably was the play of the tournament so far when he made two straight steals at mid-court in a row, with the second one ending in a beautiful assist off the glass for the flying Quincy Miller who jammed it home.

Pressey was beating players off the dribble, off of screens, he was nailing his three-pointers, and including drawing two fouls on the three-point line, and driving the lane and making players miss to either find the open cutter or finish with the layup. But that’s not even his best attribute. Perhaps the best package he brings to the game is his in your face, cutthroat defense. He played the double team with Nick Johnson perfectly, forcing a travel and a lost ball out of bounds. He also plays a great iso-defense, rarely letting his man get the first step on him.
Believe it or not, there actually were more players than just Pressey on the floor.

Doron Lamb showed some athletic skills on the floor on the opposite side of Pressey. It seemed when Phil wasn’t on the floor, Lamb started to take over for his team, showcasing some great drives to the cup with solid finishes, and went in the air soaring for several rebounds, including an offensive board that he picked up, went back up and slammed it home. Aside from a few turnovers, he looked pretty solid running the point.

Dwight Powell brought some flashy plays to the game. The 6-10, 212 lb big man showed his versatility, handling the ball pretty well at the top of the key, and even driving to the hole a few times. He did his patented double pump fake a few times and made defenders look downright silly. Powell also finished on those head fake jumpers. Maybe his best quality is his instincts as a big man. He’s almost always trying to draw a foul when he sees a man out of position, and knows what step to take even when backing a player down.

DeShaun Thomas (6-7, 221 lbs) showed great hustle, going after his own miss three times before finishing and completing the and-1 play. That was the story of the day for DeShaun, as he refused to give up on shots missed by either him or a teammate. You couldn’t keep him away from the ball, as if the two had a magnetic connection. He may not be the biggest big on the floor, but he certainly has the highest vertical, and he proved that again and again today. Perhaps his biggest play of the game came from a drive to the basket, using a crossover and forcing contact that SHOULD have been a foul. He may have missed the shot, but that defined his intensity and toughness and ability to reach the lane and draw the contact.

Speaking of contact, Meyers Leonard (7-0, 215 lbs), an Illinois-commit and Adreian Payne (6-9, 215 lbs) were forcing so much contact between each other that an official had to tell the two to settle down repeatedly.

Payne’s toughness was so exuberant in this game; you could tell he was not going to be pushed around by anybody, even a seven-footer as good as Leonard.

Adreian Payne made some great plays that got him a lot of good looks underneath the basket, in which most of those opportunities went fulfilled either with a nice dish or a great finish for the layup. He’s a tough kid that is most certainly an enforcer and a tough match for anybody on the boards. His best play came when he blocked two straight shot attempts, one from Leonard which went sailing out of bounds with Payne, who hustled enough to almost save the shot he blocked.

Bradley Beal showed up late, but late was better than nothing, as his last eight minutes was crucial for his team. He dropped four late three-pointers—three from the corner—and set up some really nice passes in transition. He’s a pretty solid offensive player, but his defense was average at best on the wing.

Cameron Clark made some big plays, including a nice fadeaway mid-range jumper from the corner, and some nice follow ups on some second chance opportunities on the offensive glass. He has good awareness and fast reflexes, which contributed to a nasty dunk he laid down in the second half that had some coaches leave their seats in excitement.

Quincy Miller had a beautiful no-look pass to a player who wasn’t even ready and lost it out of bounds early in the first half of the game. It was so nice, I’m sure the official scorekeeper gave him a half assist on that…lord knows he deserved it. Miller proved to be very solid in the assists department, and it doesn’t take him much to get off the ground to jam a few home, which he did late in the game.

Kevin Johnson and Michael Gbinije showed deep range. Johnson hit a few contested shots on the corner as well.
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Scouting Report:
(Info only on players who didn’t receive reports from the Lebron James Skills Academy)

Phil Pressey
5-11, 162 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Episcopal School/Dallas, TX

Wingspan: 73’

Big East Comparison: Jonny Flynn (Syracuse)

Interest: Connecticut, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida

Strong Point: A do-it-all guard with a great shot and even better court vision

Area of Improvement: Hard to believe, but Pressey, sometimes, needs to slow down on the intensity, as he could end up with a severe injury going as hard as he does on the court.
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Adreian Payne
6-9, 215 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Jefferson/Dayton, OH

Wingspan: 84’

Big East Comparison: Geoff McDermott (Providence)

Interest: Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Dayton, Florida, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio State

Strong Point: Extremely aggressive; never gives up on a play

Area of Improvement: Needs to garner some better control when handling the ball
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Dwight Powell
6-10, 212 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: IMG Academy/Melrose, MA

Wingspan: 84’

Big East Comparison: Augustus Gilchrist (South Florida)

Interest: Powell is getting interest from many schools across the country, but is completely open at this point.

Strong Point: Has a great vertical; blocking almost every shot that comes his way

Area of Improvement: Could use better coordination with the ball in the paint
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Cameron Clark
6-6, 184 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Sherman/Sherman, TX

Wingspan: 78’

Big East Comparison: Jonathan Peoples (Notre Dame)

Interest: Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Arizona State, USC, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma (Says he received offers from Big East schools in Louisville, Connecticut and Georgetown to name a few, but has not considered them high on his list as of now)

Strong Point: Very aggressive on the wing and can be a deadly double threat in the shooting and assist departments

Area of Improvement: Showed a small amount of intensity on defense

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