Signing a four-star recruit is not usually cause for
celebration in Chapel Hill, but Roy Williams and the UNC fan base certainly
rejoiced when 6’10” power forward Tony
Bradley committed on Wednesday night.
photo by Kelly Kline
After signing Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson, and Joel Berry in
the 2014 class, UNC recruiting took a quick downward turn. The Tar Heels went
after seven of the top 10 players in the class of 2015 and struck out with all
of them while only getting a total of two official visits from Brandon Ingram
and Jaylen Brown.
Things were not looking good for the 2016 class either. With
over 20 scholarship offers out, there was a legitimate question regarding UNC’s
ability to sign just one. Then came the Bradley announcement which lifted the mood
of an entire fan base beaten down by the academic scandal, NCAA talk, and a six-year Final
four drought.
Right now, Tony Bradley is ranked No. 31 in his class, but
that is in large part due to the emphasis that high school rankings place on
athleticism and NBA potential. The big man from Barstow (FL) won’t wow anyone
with his speed or leaping ability, but he did put together one of the more
efficient performances over the course of the summer as any player in the
country. During Peach Jam play Bradley averaged 14.2 points and 8 rebounds on
71.1% shooting from the field and during the Nike Global Challenge he dazzled
onlookers with 19 points and 11.5 rebounds per game on a scintillating 78.6%
from the field.
The North Carolina recruitment of Bradley began with the
first July live period in 2014. Assistant coach Steve Robinson informed Tony
Bradley Sr. that the UNC coaching staff was looking forward to watching Bradley’s
summer performance and he didn’t disappoint. Bradley turned in one of the
better performances at the Adidas Unrivaled camp in Chicago (IL) under the watchful
eye of Roy Williams and earned an invitation to the Adidas underclassmen
all-star game.
UNC’s recruiting picked up for Bradley as soon as his junior
year started and Roy Williams offered a scholarship in early December. He then
took his first and only official visit in early March when the Tar Heels lost
to Duke in the last game of the regular season. After enjoying his visit to
Chapel Hill, UNC was the presumed leader but with the NCAA academic situation
unresolved an early commitment was not expected.
This past spring Bradley put a focus on improving his
conditioning. As a result, his upper body slimmed out and his ability to run
the floor improved. Over the next year Bradley will need to continue his focus
on conditioning given the up-tempo style of play under Williams.
Ample playing time awaits Bradley in Chapel Hill. After this
season Brice Johnson and Joel James will graduate leaving Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah
Hicks, and Luke Maye as the lone big men. Bradley and his 7’4” wing span should
be able to adapt to the college game fairly quickly. He is a good rebounder in
space and has a very solid low post game. He prefers a short right-handed hook
as his go-to move, but also has a nice touch on a short jumper from 5-12 feet.
Given the recruiting drought in Chapel Hill, the Tony
Bradley commitment could not have come at a better time for the Tar Heels. Will
this clear the black cloud hanging over the program? No, but it at least offers
a ray of sunshine to a program going through a tumultuous time.
The 2013
Minnesota Timberwolves Shootout featured four games on Saturday and included
some of the top teams and players in the Midwest. The Target Center played host
to a 43 point performance by future Iowa State Cyclone Matt Thomas in the
opener and concluded with a battle between the top two juniors in the state of
Minnesota in Tyus Jones and Rashad Vaughn.
Apple Valley
(MN) 80 vs. Robbinsdale Cooper (MN) 70
The last
game of the Shootout was also the most anticipated as Tyus Jones, the top point
guard in the junior class faced off against Rashad Vaughn, one of the top
shooting guards in the junior class. Roy Williams and Hubert Davis, along with
Tubby Smith and Fred Hoiberg sat courtside to watch this match-up and they were not
disappointed. Vaughn’s Robbinsdale Cooper squad took a 1 point lead into
halftime which quickly turned into an 11 point lead with 12 minutes to go.
Vaughn hit back to back three pointers from behind the NBA 3-point line during
this stretch before Apple Valley tightened up on defense and began their
comeback. Jones began attacking the basket for lay-ups, runners, and assists.
While Apple Valley was led by the steady play of Tyus Jones, they also received
a 21 point performance from 3-point marksman Dustin Fronk along with 22 points
and 12 rebounds from junior forward Dennis Austin. What once was a double digit
deficit turned into an 80-70 victory.
Tyus Jones (6’1” - #1 2014)
Stat line: 18 points, 8 assists, 7-10 FG’s, 4-4 FT’s
Playing his
second game in two nights coming off a back injury, Tyus Jones was the catalyst
in Apple Valley’s 80-70 win. Jones was extremely efficient all game and did not
force any shots or passes. In fact, all 10 of his field goals came within 12
feet. Jones went 4-5 from the field in the first half which included two
floaters in the lane and two lay-ups, one of which that came off a steal and
beat the buzzer to end the half. In the 2nd half Jones continued to
use his floater while utilizing the pick and roll to get to the basket shooting
3-5 from the field. On the defensive side, Jones had two steals off Vaughn
passes that turned into lay-ups and also defended Vaughn on a key 2nd
half possession and forced a deep contested jumper. Overall, Jones shot 70%
from the field, found the open man, and led his team to a victory so there isn’t
too much to nitpick, but as the number one player in the class of 2014 Jones
will need to dominate from start to finish instead of just in stretches.
Rashad Vaughn (6’6” - #10 2014)
Stat line: 35 points, 7 rebounds, 14-33 FG’s, 3-4 FT’s
The 6’6”
shooting guard knows how to put the ball in the bucket and might be the best
scorer in the country. Any time he touched the ball on the offensive end, the
crowd of 5,122 was on the edge of its seat. While Vaughn took an extremely high
amount of shots, they were all out of necessity as he tried to keep his team in
the game.
1st Half
Vaughn
started the game off quickly showing his impressive athleticism. He attacked
the basket strongly on his first drive to the basket and converted a left hand
lay-up. He followed that up with a two hand dunk and another left handed drive
for a quick 6 points. Vaughn also hit a Kobe-esque 15 foot fall away jumper and
a nice floater from 6 feet out that avoided a charge. While Vaughn finished the
first half with 15 points he struggled from outside the arc going 0-4 from the
three point line.
15 points, 7-14 FG's, 0-4 3's
2nd Half
The various
players guarding Vaughn from Apple Valley had no help side responsibility and
tried to stay attached to him on every move. Vaughn countered this type of
defense by posting up from 12 feet out to start the half. The first shot of the
2nd half was a crowd delight as Vaughn banked in a 15 foot fade away
off one foot. Vaughn’s next two shots were of the same one footed variety,
although neither one had the same success rate. The first half outside shooting
struggles disappeared and all of a sudden Vaughn was knocking down back to back
three’s from the NBA line. At this point in time, Vaughn had 25 points and his
team an 11 point lead. As referenced above, Apple Valley tightened their
defense and Cooper’s offense soon turned into Vaughn catching the ball at the
top of the key and trying to maneuver past defenders which in turn dragged down
his shooting percentage and the quality of shots taken. Vaughn still managed to
hit a contested three to go along with another NBA three. With the game out of
reach, Vaughn also got a lay-up off of an inbounds play, one of the few shots
he got off of a set play.
20 points, 7-19 FG's, 4-7 3's
Overall:
Vaughn’s
versatile skill set was on display for Roy Williams and Tubby Smith all game
long. Vaughn created for himself off the dribble and got to the basket going
one-on-one with defenders or by utilizing the pick and roll. He knocked down
lay-ups, floaters, fade-aways, and NBA range three’s. At 6’6”, Vaughn also
showed off an impressive handle for a player his size constantly bringing the
ball up the court. At times he was a bit careless with the ball and two of his
passes were picked off by Tyus Jones and converted into points for Apple
Valley. Vaughn played the entire game (36 minutes) and was forced to work for
extremely hard in the second half. Despite the high quantity of shots, Vaughn
showed the crowd that he is an elite shooting guard and one of the best scorer’s
in the country.
West Des
Moines Valley (IA) 69 Roseville (MN) 53
Peter Jok
6’6” Iowa
commit, Peter Jok led the way for the Tigers with 34 points as they turned a
four point halftime lead in to a 2nd half blow-out. Roseville was
playing without their leading scorer Mackenzie Johnson and had no answer for
Jok all game. Once deemed one of the top players in the country, Jok is making
a return after an injury plagued past two seasons. Jok was looking spry in the
shootout scoring a quick 14 points in the 1st half before sitting
down with foul trouble and ten minutes left in the half. 12 of Jok’s first half
points came from athletic drives to the basket and put backs from offensive
rebounds. This was a common theme throughout the game although Jok also hit a
17 footer jumper and a three-pointer from the wing in the 2nd half. It
was an impressive game for Jok by all means; however he did go 1-7 from the
three point line. Despite the struggles from deep, Hawkeye fans should be
looking forward to watching him in an Iowa uniform next year.
Blue Valley
Northwest (KS) 57 DeLaSalle 52
In a back
and forth affair, future Iowa State Cyclone Clayton Custer hit a driving lay-up
to take a 52-50 lead with 1:35 to go giving the Huskies a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Custer led the way with 26 points mixing in lay-ups and a variety of outside
jump shots. Reid Travis (6-8” - #29 2014) of DeLaSalle looked to be too much to
handle in the post at times as he went for 29 points and 15 rebounds. After
struggling in a low scoring first half, Travis got it going despite constant
double teams and went 6-8 from the paint in the 2nd half. Despite
the dominance down low, Custer and junior guard Ben Richardson were too much to
handle and brought their coach, Ed Fritz, his 500th victory.
Onalaska
(WI) 77 Lakeview Christian (MN) 62
Matt Thomas (6’5” - #34 2013) started the morning off
dropping 43 points for Onalaska, which was one point less than the tournament
record of 44 set by Rick Rickert in 2001. Thomas is considered by many to be
the best shooter in high school and he showed his stroke off going 16-31 from
the field. Thomas also added 14 rebounds to his stat line. Lakeview Christian was led by senior guard Anders Broman who scored
26. Broman is Minnesota’s all time leading scorer and has over 4,000 points in
his career and is headed to South Dakota State next fall.
