EYBL Dallas: Preview

Part two of the Nike EYBL series kicks off this weekend in Frisco, Texas with 80 games scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately real world events keep me from attending this event for the third year in a row, but there are several games, player match-ups, and storylines that I am paying close attention to. 

Storylines:

1. Will Stephen Zimmerman Play Like A Top 5 Player?

In his first EYBL experience with the Oakland Soldiers in Sacramento, the No. 5 ranked prospect struggled mightily. In three games he averaged 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds with a 90.9 ORTG. His mid-range jump shot was off and he did not necessarily look comfortable on the block, but he did show glimpses of his talent when put in the high-lo offense with Ivan Rabb. The Soldiers have a tough four game stretch in Dallas, but Zimmerman will have a chance to show that his first experience was just a fluke.

2. Will The Outside Shooters Stay Hot?

Kenny Williams of Boo Williams and Levan Alston of Team Final were two of the top three point marksmen in the first EYBL. Williams went 6-9 in his first game and 16-26 over four games, good enough for 62%. The recruiting increase in Williams picked up rapidly afterwards and now teams will focus on pushing the 6’3” guard off the three point line. While Williams shot 62%, Alston went 13-15, or 87%. He shot 5-5 on opening night and then 6-6 the next day.

3. Will Bam Bam Continue His Strong Play?

The Top 25 sophomore is a physical freak. It’s no secret that Edrice Adebayo can run the floor, block shots, and dunk, but how is his actual offensive game coming along? In Sacramento, Adebayo looked raw in the post playing against the older and larger Jessie Govan. After that game, one could see Adebayo’s confidence start to grow as he scored 16, 12, and 14 in his next three games. While a lot of his points come off tip-backs, against Baltimore Elite he did score several times off of quick moves in the post. In the first EYBL series, Adebayo led all players with a 24.0% Offensive Rebounding rating and also finished with a 121.6 ORTG.

4. Will Malik Monk Catch Fire Again?

At 6’3” and 185 pounds, Monk has the strength and athletic ability to get a shot at almost any time. He certainly did so in Sacramento when he dropped an EYBL high of 59 points which included 10 three’s. Before Monk exploded, the talented sophomore scored 19 and 20 points in his first three games. What type of show will he put on in Texas?

5. Will Any Ringers Show Up?

The EYBL is the premier tournament this weekend with Adidas and Under Armour gearing up against next weekend. Last year this led to players such as Isaiah Whitehead, Tyler Dorsey, and Daniel Hamilton playing for teams in Dallas. Will anyone make the switch this week?

Top Games:

1. Oakland Soldiers vs. Texas Titans (Sunday, 10:30 AM)

In Northern California, the Soldiers were the big draw given the easy drive for families and friends. Even Nick and Stanley Johnson showed up to cheer. Needless to say, when the Soldiers took on their rival California Supreme the stands were packed. While the Texas Titans don’t face off against Texas Elite, the stands will surely be packed for this big time match-up. The Soldiers have Top 5 big men in Ivan Rabb and Zimmerman, but the Titans feature 6’9” Tyler Davis and 6’11” Djery Baptiste off the bench. They also feature recent Baylor commit King McClure and sharp-shooting forward D.J. Hogg. Oh yeah, senior forward Mickey Mitchell should also receive increased playing time as he works his way back from injury. 

2. Team Scan vs. Each 1 Teach 1

Australian junior Ben Simmons will look to continue to make a claim for the top spot in the national rankings against Team Scan big men Cheick Diallo and Thomas Bryant. Simmons averaged 18.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in the first EYBL, while Diallo averaged 17.2 and 7.5. E1T1 features high scoring guard Antonio Blakeney who is coming off an impressive performance at the Bob Gibbons tournament this past weekend while five-star junior Tyus Battle will look to bounce back from a 5-19 shooting performance with Team Scan.

3. Mac Irvin Fire vs. Southern Stampede

Mac Irvin point guard Jalen Brunson looks to continue his bid for top point guard in the country after averaging a league leading 9.3 assists per game. He also added 16.3 points. 5’10” sparkplug Luwane Pipkins recently committed to UMass and led the fire with 19.7 ppg. On the Southern Stampede side, 6’4” guard Prince Ali made Kevin Ollie look like a genius with his 20 points per game and point guard Troy Hudson averaged 13.8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Also 6’3” freshman Jatrious Smith averaged 8.7 points.

Other Notes:

·         Just four teams finished the first session undefeated. BABC, Spiece Indy, and Athletes First went 4-0 while Each 1 Teach 1 went 3-0. BABC is led by Terrance Mann, a do-everything 6’5” wing while Athlete’s First is led by Allonzo Trier who averaged a league leading 28.5 points per game. Spiece Indy was the surprise team in Sacramento as all viewers got to watch the underrated Deyonta Davis and Caleb Swanigan wreck shop. Davis led the EYBL with a 141.2 ORTG while Swanigan led the league in rebounding with 11.5 boards per game.

 

·         The talented, but young St. Louis Eagles were one of three teams to go winless along with Baltimore Elite and the Georgia Stars. The Eagles feature Jayson Tatum, one of the top players in America but also have big man Tyler Cook, and guards Quentin Goodin and Jordan Barnes. They will get a win this weekend.

·         Two high scoring guards face off on Sunday morning. Dejounte Murray, a newbie to the EYBL averaged 17 points per game for the Northwest Xpress while veteran Isaiah Briscoe averaged 13.8 for the NJ Playaz. In an East / West battle, the two shooting guards will take their turn trying to one up each other on the offensive end.