City of Palms: Day 1

Day number one at the 2015 City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers, FL started off with a plethora of five-star talent putting on a show. In a “light” day of action, five games were on the docket beginning with the defending City of Palms champ in Wheeler (GA) taking on the Harry Giles-less Wesleyan Christian (NC) squad and ending with an old fashioned east coast vs. west coast shoot-out.

Game of the Day:

Chino Hills (CA) 91 Thomas Jefferson (NY) 90

Chino Hills won the opening tip and all of a sudden junior guard LiAngelo Ball was knocking in a three from just below the left wing. 3-0 just a few seconds in and it was off to the races. At times this east coast vs. west coast match-up didn’t even feel like an actual basketball game, but instead it was more like an old school NBA Live video game. Chino Hills came into the game known for their ability to put up over 100 points, and of course, the Ball brothers, who have all committed to UCLA. The California boys ran a pressing and trapping style of defense that was conducive to steals and leak outs. As the younger Ball brother’s (LiAngelo and LiMelo) set-up shop around the perimeter, it was the older brother Lonzo Ball who controlled the action. With Jason Kidd like vision, Lonzo Ball finished with 10 assists. Many of the baseball pass variety from ¾ court including one, where he hit his brother in stride after throwing a pass almost the length of the court with his left-hand. With these highlight reel plays, Chino Hills took a 54-52 lead into the half. As for Thomas Jefferson, they took it right at Chino Hills and found numerous openings for their forays to the basket. 6’2” guard Shamorie Ponds ended up finishing with 40 points on 14-25 shooting. As one would expect, the game came down to the final minute. First, it was Ponds hitting two free throws to go up one point and then with time winding down it was the muscular LiAngelo Ball who hit two free throws to go up 1. With 3.1 seconds left, Thomas Jefferson had the ball under their own basket and instead of running a set play, the player inbounding the ball threw a pass off the back of a Chino Hills defender. With an undefeated season hanging in the ball, Lonzo Ball came in to save the day with two straight blocked shots. A crazy ending to a crazy game, one in which the two teams combined for 53 three’s. Chino Hills stays undefeated and advances to the next round to play the winner of Montverde Academy and Spain Park (AL).

Top Performances:

Shamorie Ponds, 6’2”, G, Thomas Jefferson (NY)

Despite coming out of the final game with a loss, Shamorie Ponds was the only player to top the 40-point mark on day one. The “slick” guard scored in a variety of manners including one three in the first-half that was well beyond NBA range. He also maneuvered to find the openings in the defense for short jumpers while also showing off his ability to finish in traffic. Despite the crazy nature of the game, Ponds was always under control and only finished with two turnovers despite having the ball in his hands for a majority of the game. Overall, Ponds was a very efficient 14-25 from the field and almost led his team to a first round upset.

Lonzo Ball, 6’5”, PG, Chino Hills (CA)

Defensive rebound in the paint, no dribble, spin, left-handed ¾ court pass right on the money for an easy lay-up. Lonzo Ball is easily the best passer in high school hoops and his skills were on display as the future Bruin went for 22 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 blocks in a 91-90 win. He can fire a bullet pass with either hand and knows exactly how far to drive on a defender before kicking it to a wide open teammate. He can attack off the dribble and knows how to use his height once in the paint. Ball knocked down two three’s, but will need to fix his form in order to excel at the higher levels of basketball. Right now the shot is released almost from the top of his left shoulder and it won’t be as easy to get off in the Pac-12. Besides for the shot mechanics, Ball is a maestro with the ball in his hands and the unquestioned leader of the Chino Hills juggernaut.

Michael Porter Jr., 6’8”, SF, Father Tolton (MO)

If there is such a thing as an easy 34 points, then it happened in the Father Tolton / Lehigh Acres game. Porter, the five-star junior went for 34 points on 9-17 shooting and added 17 rebounds. He took advantage of a scrappy Lehigh team who did not have anyone over 6’5” and did his damage with highlight reel dunks and 15 out of 16 free throws. Porter Jr. corralled the ball on the boards and began the break as well. He knocked in his only three of the game in the first half and then he started the second half with an alley-oop off of a set play. It was a very smooth game for Porter Jr. who was surrounded after the game for picture and autograph requests.

Highlights

Kevin Knox, 6’7”, F, Tampa Catholic (FL)

The five-star junior has been on a tear starting with his performance at the USA U16 tryouts last spring. Now, the explosive forward is expanding his game now that he is fully focused on basketball after previously playing football in the fall. Knox scored 27 points on 11-22 shooting and added 12 rebounds. He put together numerous highlight reel plays including dunks on the break, coast to coast lay-ups, and a powerful drive from the left wing. In the first half he hit a three from the left wing showing that he was comfortable shooting from deep, but finished just 1-5 from three. Despite the misses from three and a few from just inside the arc, Knox’s form still looked compact and similar to his 15 foot jump shot which he makes with ease. The skill level required to play the small forward position in college is expanding as is his offer list. Knox recently received UNC and Duke offers and is expecting a Kentucky one soon.

Dewan Huell, 6’9”, PF, Norland (FL)

The future Miami Hurricane put together a solid 24 point, seven rebound performance in a fairly easy win over Peyton Pritchard’s West Linn (OR) team. Huell got started early hitting a few soft jumpers from inside the paint and he also showed some body control driving baseline for a short bank shot with a smaller defender trying to take a charge. Huell had a definite height advantage in this game and controlled the paint. Today he will have a tougher test going up against the Patrick School.

Other Notes:

-Assistant coaches from UCLA, UNC, Boston College, Alabama were all seen at Day 1. With many big time games going off today expect to see some head coaches rolling in later.

-Peyton Pritchard finished with 22 points, but the Oregon commit struggled to find his shot going 7-22 from the field. His team was at an athletic disadvantage and it was hard for his teammates to get open shots. Pritchard was able to penetrate, but just didn’t have things falling in his first game.

-6’10” sophomore Jontay Porter finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Lehigh Acres. On Saturday, Porter will face off with Caleb Wesson, both of whom are more in the Big Baby mold which should make for an interesting match-up.