National Prep Showcase: Day 1 Recap

Each year the start of high school basketball is marked by the National Prep Showcase held at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. On Friday morning at 10:30am the 2013-14 season kicked off in front of a variety of college coaches featuring prep school powers from New England, the East Coast, and even Spain. 

Most Impressive Player:

Tremont Waters, 5’10”, PG, South Kent School (CT), 2017

Freshman Sensation

In a day filled watching prep school players that were more often than not in their 5th year of school leave it to a young freshman to make the biggest impression. The Prep Showcase preview from the New England Recruiting Report noted that Waters “is widely projected to be among the top freshmen in the entire country.” After one game of action it’s safe to say that sentence is fairly accurate. Waters came off the bench for South Kent and quickly showed poise beyond his years along with a deft ability to handle the ball. He knocked in a three-pointer from the wing and showed that he could compete against the older, stronger, and taller players as well. With his team facing a double digit deficit, Waters went off in the second half. He started his run with a nice stop and go hesitation move in the lane for a five foot floater and then followed that up with two free throws a possession or two later. After that, Waters got hot from beyond the arc and hit deep three’s from both the left and right wing and then added another three from the left wing as he got fouled. With the game neck and neck, Waters added in a driving lay-up and floater for good measure. Overall, the freshman finished with 26 points on 8-14 shooting and 5-10 from behind the arc. While just beginning high school he showed range on his jumper, ball-handling skills, a floater, and athleticism. One thing that stuck out about Waters was his over-sized feet given his 5’10” height. Already a terror on the court, Waters could be deadly if he continues to grow. In his first major tournament, it didn’t take long for Waters to introduce himself to a host of college coaches playing in his hometown of New Haven. 

The Foreigners:

Earlier in the week two surprise commitments came to Louisville and Pittsburgh via the Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA) in Las Palmas, Spain. While not much was known about the players who committed or the team they came from it certainly didn’t take long to realize they possessed a fair amount of height.

Matz Stockman, 7’2”, C, 2014, Louisville

Stockman is a 7’2”, 240 pound center from Norway that gave his commitment to the Louisville Cardinals earlier in the week. Going up against a tough, although shorter Massanutten Military Academy team, Stockman finished with 14 points on 6-6 shooting. He ran the floor well for a big guy and competed hard every play, sometimes getting under the skin of his opponent. Stockman worked to establish a strong post presence on every possession despite his frail frame. Upon catching the ball in the post he showed off several nice post moves which ended with a variety of left hand finishes. Stockman only played in four minute spurts throughout the game and finished with just one rebound in 20+ minutes. While he shot 100% from the field, he was not able to make a move to his right side and also had slow reactions at times. Given his size it will be interesting to see how Stockman develops over the years but it’s clear that he is already fundamentally sound and will provide a large body for Pitino and the Cardinals.

Shaquille Doorson, 6’11”, 270, C, Pittsburgh

Doorson already sports a college ready body and is much more advanced than his future Louisville rival but his skills are still a few years away. The Holland native ran the court and rebounded aggressively finishing with four rebounds in seven minutes. The size and strength are there but it will take him a bit longer than Stockman to contribute in the ACC.

Michal Cekovsky, 7’0”, 220, F/C

Cekovsky is the piece of the CBA towers that remains uncommitted, but he might be the one that can contribute the most at a college program early on. In 26 minutes he finished with 12 points on 5-6 shooting and 10 rebounds. He displayed a jump hook in the second half and then followed that up with a 15 foot jump shot. He missed his only three but also added on three steals. Expect all of the college coaches in attendance to inquire of the 7-footer from Slovakia.

Most Exciting Player:

Demontrae Jefferson, 5’7”, PG, Believe Prep Academy (SC), 2015

The Milwaukee native played a stellar and under control first half for his prep team and entertained the crowd as well. Jefferson scored 14 first half points which included a three from the wing along with several tough drives to the basket and fast break lay-ups. Sometimes Jefferson can get a bit out of control and jack up too many shots or turn the ball over too many times, but in a structured setting the good Jefferson came out. Not only was he the high scorer as his team jumped out to an early lead but he also distributed the ball to his teammates for easy shots. In the second half, Jefferson had the highlight of the day as he attacked the basket from the right side on the break turned his defender around with a fake and then gave the ball up to another Milwaukee native in David Burrell for the two-hand slam.

Top Shooter:

Robert Harris III, 6’6”, SG, Fishburne Military School (VA), 2014, Kansas State

Thwack, thwack, thwack. That was the sound of the net when Harris was raining three’s at the start of his evening game. The future Wildcat couldn’t miss and hit four shots from outside early on. After the initial barrage, Harris went quiet for awhile but eventually added in a deep jumper from 17 feet. On his shots, he had perfect rotation and a quick release which will serve him well against quicker defenders than those guarding him tonight. He ended the game with 23 points.

Best Effort(s) in a Losing Cause:

Despite a loss to South Kent and freshman Tremont Waters, three players from Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, FL stood out. Western Kentucky commitment D.J. Clayton was on fire from deep as he hit several pull-up three’s in the second half. He finished with 22 points on 4-5 shooting from outside the arc. 6’9” Keondre Dew put together a solid effort and finished with a double-double. He went 9-16 from the field for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile point guard Reggie Reid consistently split the defense for floaters and open looks for teammates. The trio was clicking in the first half, but couldn’t hold off the point barrage from Waters.

Strongest Player:

Rashard Kelly, 6’7”, F, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), 2014, Wichita State

The Shockers have themselves a player in Kelly. The 6’7” forward was a solid player over the summer for his DC Assault AAU team and he continued that play in one of the early games. With his strength advantage Kelly scored in the paint and off drives to the basket as his team cruised to a 92-73 victory. Kelly ended the game with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

College Coaches in Attendance:

Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), assistant coaches from Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Colorado, Penn State, Hofstra, Wagner, Drexel, Pacific, St. Peter’s, Miami (OH), George Washington, and many others. 

Famous Celebrities:

Darryl Strawberry was in attendance to watch his son Jordan play.

Tom Izzo and His Chicago Troubles

Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans left Chicago with a bright smile Tuesday night. Not only did they defeat the number one ranked Kentucky Wildcats and their talented freshmen 78-74, but they also became the top team in the country. With a veteran laden team the Spartans were one of the primary teams expected to compete for a championship this season. They feature a senior point guard in Keith Appling and a senior center in Adreian Payne to go with two future NBA draft picks on the wings in Gary Harris and Brandon Dawson. When Michigan State fans look back at the 2013-14 season they will remember Chicago as the place their journey began however they will also come to realize that the same city is the root cause for where things started to go wrong.

On Friday, February 17, 2012 Tom Izzo sat in a front row seat at Chicago State University. He was one night off an impressive 69-55 home victory over Wisconsin which put the Spartans at 10-3 in the Big 10 with an upcoming trip to Purdue on the docket. For two hours he watched the top high school junior in the country in Simeon sensation Jabari Parker (#3-2013) along with a young and talented sophomore center from Curie High School in Cliff Alexander (#5-2014). Both players were plagued by foul trouble but Izzo did not so much mind the foul trouble as he was there strictly for face time. He got his wish that night being the one and only big name college coach to attend the game. 

Alexander was Izzo's prized recruit

Over the next year Izzo returned to Chicago numerous times to watch Parker and Alexander, along with two other highly regarded that just happened to reside in Chicago. 

• March 6, 2012: Izzo joined Coach K and Bruce Weber in watching Parker’s Simeon team face-off against one of the top sophomores in the country in Jahlil Okafor (#1-2014).

• December 1, 2012: The Chicago high school season kicked off with the Chicago Elite Classic. Izzo was front and center for the two prime time night games which saw Okafor dominate current N.C. State big man Beejay Anya (#60-2013) along with Parker making his brief return from a summer injury.

• December 9, 2012: On a Sunday night, Izzo watched junior Cliff Alexander in the last game of the Team Rose Classic and was the only head coach in attendance while schools such as Kansas, Baylor, and DePaul sent assistants.

• January 29, 2013: Up and coming junior point guard Tyler Ulis scored 25 points for Marian Catholic (IL) which included a game winning shot in front of Izzo.

• March 8, 2013: In a game that decided which team advanced to the Illinois state tournament and which team went home, Izzo was front and center for another Simeon / Whitney Young showdown featuring Parker and Okafor as they battled it out for Chicago supremacy.

The games listed above are only the ones I personally saw Izzo at so most likely there were many additional games he attended in Chicago. Despite all of the trips and the hard work he put in recruiting these players from Chicago, Izzo ended up empty handed when it came time for the top players in Chicago to choose their colleges. 

Jabari Parker’s decision came first on December 20, 2012, where the former Sports Illustrated cover boy committed to the Duke Blue Devils over the Spartans in a news conference from his high school.

"(Izzo) has been recruiting me ever since I was a freshman in high school, and he's been to most of my games," Parker said. "But a lot of things went into it like, 'How will I be used on the floor?' (Spartans forward) Branden Dawson and I play the same position, and it would be kind of a controversy if me and him were on the same floor and we run into each other. I just wanted to go to a school that was fitting for me."

Assuming Parker is only in school for one year, this decision will not have a direct impact on Michigan State’s future; however two factors do come into play 1) Parker could easily end up being what separates the Spartans from the Final Four and a championship considering that he is currently excelling at the power forward position which also happens to be the one weak spot in East Lansing and 2) Parker was the first Top 5 prospect from Chicago (class of 2013 / 2014) to spurn Izzo and the Spartans 

While Parker’s decision hurt, Izzo was still gearing up for a big haul with the class of 2014 given all of the expected departures come the spring time. Jahlil Okafor, the 6’10” center and top ranked player in the 2014 class was an important target for the Spartans; however in October he cut his list down to four schools leaving Michigan State out in the cold. It’s long been noted that Okafor would play college ball with his buddy Tyus Jones, one of, if not the best point guards in high school hoops. While Izzo was also recruiting the Minnesota native in Jones he saw the writing on the wall early on in the summer and began to target other point guard options. 

One of those options was diminutive point guard Tyler Ulis (#29-2014) who saw his recruitment explode in the early stages of 2012. When Izzo saw Ulis play in January, the buzz was just beginning to build for the 5’8” point guard and it took until early May for Izzo to offer. At this time the Michigan State offer became the prized possession for Ulis and most assumed that Michigan State also became the new leader for his services especially considering former Spartan Travis Walton was his cousin. As Ulis continued to impress at each stop on the AAU and summer camp journey he also caught the eye of John Calipari with a 22 point, 17 assist effort against Jones in the Nike Peach Jam. After visiting Lexington, KY in both August and September the lure of playing for the Wildcats was too much for Ulis to pass up and he committed just days after his September visit. 

The Okafor and Ulis decisions stung, but it was the deterioration of Alexander’s commitment that made the deepest cut. Right now, Alexander is considered a Top 5 player in his class and right on par with Jahlil Okafor. A few years ago, he was a notch below and just a talented athlete that could dominate games on the defensive end but was still just a dunker on the offensive end. Izzo made trips to Chicago specifically to see Alexander during his beginning as a raw and powerful athlete while other schools were only sending assistants. Michigan State was the presumed leader early on and it seemed all but a guarantee that Alexander would end up a Spartan and Izzo would get the guy he coveted most. As Alexander began his rise up the rankings with routine double-doubles in AAU games this spring and summer it seemed the high pedestal that the Spartans stood on began to diminish. When it came time to take official visits, Alexander noted he had already taken numerous unofficial visits to Michigan State and wanted to check out other campuses. He visited Arizona, Memphis, DePaul, Kansas, and Illinois. After taking his official visits, Alexander decided he was done with visits and dropped the Spartans saying “Right now, no relationship. They’re not on my list anymore.”

With those words, the last and most important of the Chicago prep stars gave Izzo and the Spartans the cold shoulder. When asked about recruiting the city of Chicago a few days later during the Big 10 media day, Izzo responded:

“Everybody has its hot few years. I don't know if it's different in any city. I think there's always the same issues. But if there's good players, there's going to be a lot of coaches around. If there's a lot of coaches around there's going to be issues. I don't know if it's any different than anywhere else. But I don't know what else I can say. I don't want to get slapped by somebody for saying the wrong thing as far as talking about recruiting. A lot of good players, a lot of coaches and good players. There's a lot of middlemen."

It’s been a long time since Izzo received a Chicago commitment with the last one occurring in August 2002 when Shannon Brown announced he was headed to East Lansing. Almost 10 years later Izzo re-entered the Chicago recruiting scene and came out swinging. Whether it was the middlemen or other factors that contributed to the Spartan strikeouts is up for debate. Michigan State fans  departed from Chicago in a joyous manner this past week after watching their talented and experienced team; however at some point down the road Chicago will be the same city that caused their smile to fade.  

College Basketball is Finally Back!

The 2013-14 college basketball season finally tips off tonight and while the opening night games are not as good as last year there are some interesting match-ups. Listed below are three intriguing games along with a few pre-season awards.

Florida Gulf Coast University at Nebraska, 9pm, Lincoln, Nebraska -2.5

Last spring FGCU captured the nation’s attention with their run to the Sweet 16 as a fifteen seed. This year they have a new coach in former Kansas assistant Joey Dooley but return flashy point guard Brett Comer and shooting guard Bernard Thompson. They also add guard Jamail Jones, a transfer from Marquette. With FGCU coming to town, Tim Miles and Co. open up their sparkling brand new arena. In his second season, Miles looks to improve upon his first year where Nebraska won five games in the Big 10, but will have to start the season without their top returner in senior guard Ray Gallegos who is suspended for the first two games of the season. The new arena will be rocking but look for Dunk City to continue their high flying ways.

St. John’s vs. Wisconsin, 7pm, South Dakota, Wisconsin -4

A Big East-Big 10 showdown in South Dakota will feature two teams with drastically different personnel and styles. Last year Wisconsin ranked 318^th in the country in Ken Pomeroy’s tempo rankings and prefer to initially look for quick hitters or run the shot clock down to under 10 seconds. The Badgers return senior guard Ben Brust who averaged 11.1 ppg along with sophomore Sam Dekker who had a 116.7 offensive efficiency rating in limited minutes. St. John’s returns junior guard D’Angelo Harrison who averaged almost 18 points per game along with sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson. They also add freshman guard Rysheed Jordan who could turn out to be on one of the top freshman scorers. St. John’s will look to push the pace and get out in the open court while Wisconsin will try to force the game into a half court game where every possession counts.

Oakland at UNC, 9pm, Chapel Hill, UNC -16

The Tar Heels are ranked number 12 in the country but tonight’s game against Oakland will give some insight into how the team plans to adapt without star shooting guard P.J. Hairston and shooting guard Leslie McDonald. Without Hairston, the team will struggle mightily in the ACC and their tough out of conference games due to the lack of wing depth and shooters. 6’1” point guard Marcus Paige will get significant time at the 2G position, while freshman Nate Britt and P.J. Tokoto will step into much larger roles. Meanwhile, Oakland returns 6’5” senior sharp shooter Travis Bader who hoisted 360 three point attempts last year while hitting 38.6%. Oakland shouldn’t have a problem scoring, but last year their overall defense was relatively poor in all statistical categories. Expect McAdoo to get out for some open court finishes, but the lack of shooting will hurt the Tar Heels in what could be a long, long season.

Player of the Year:

Doug McDermott, F, Creighton

Last year McDermott averaged 23.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in the Missouri Valley. Despite a step up in competition with a move to the Big East look for McDermott to continue his high scoring ways. 

Rookie of the Year:

Julius Randle, PF, Kentucky

In a very close call, I gave the nod to Randle over the future number one draft pick in Andrew Wiggins. While Wiggins is the better of the two players, Randle will be more of a consistent beast on the court and should not have a problem powering his way to the basket for buckets. Wiggins will definitely showcase his athleticism and his potential, but will also blend in to the crowd at times during Kansas games. I fully expect Wiggins to have a great game against Duke as he always dominated the top ranked competition in high school, but Randle should have the more consistent season.

Most Important Player:

P.J. Hairston, SF, UNC

Most pre-season magazines and polls have UNC ranked in the top 15 to start the season. If Hairston is deemed eligible at some point, this ranking could prove to be legit, but if Hairston is forced to miss substantial games or the entire season the Tar Heels turn into a team that would struggle to make the tournament. Hairston has a scorer’s mentality and can drain three’s from deep or dunk on an opposing player with a drive down the middle of the lane. Last year he averaged 18 points per game once he was moved into the starting line-up. Without Hairston, the lack of wing depth will be on full display as will the lack of a go to scorer. No person is more important to their team that Hairston this year.

Most Underrated Freshman

Bronson Koenig, G, Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s freshman guard Bronson Koenig finished his senior year unranked in Scout.com’s Top 100. As a sophomore, Koenig was considered a top 50 recruit and had the coaches from Duke, UNC, and UVA all over him before his early commitment to Wisconsin. This year Koenig will come off the bench for the Badgers but will be able to play both the point and shooting guard positions. Despite lacking the athletic ability to blow by defenders, Koenig has strong ball-handling abilities and is a stellar mid-range and three point shooter. He won’t “wow” anybody, but expect him to make a solid contribution in Big 10 play. There was a reason many of the top schools in the country went after him despite his drop in the rankings.