NBPA Top 100: Friday Afternoon

Five sessions down, one more to go before the NBPA Top 100 playoffs begin Saturday morning. Despite this being the third day of a long and tiresome camp there were some quality performances in the Friday afternoon session at John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville.

Top Performers:

Omari Spellman, PF, 6’8”, McDuffie (MA), 2016

The future Villanova big man put together quite the performance off in the auxiliary gym earlier today. While he looks the part of Kennedy Meeks, Spellman is light and quick off his feet and is a loud and vocal player on the court. He scored consistently throughout the game from all areas of the court. He hit several three’s including one in the remaining minutes from the right wing. He also displayed his touch from 12 feet and out when he caught the ball in the post and sized up his defenders which included anyone from Deandre Ayton to Sasha Killeya-Jones. While he used his footwork for open jumpers he used his wide body to create space down low converting on a handful of attempts at the rim. Not known for his leaping ability, Spellman attacked the rim at times and almost converted a spectacular alley-oop. He had his offensive game going on, but he was also a force on defensive as well. Spellman used his body aggressively against the skinnier offensive players, blocked shots, and wasn’t afraid to talk trash. All in all, it was an extremely impressive performance for the senior power forward.

Deshawn Corprew, SF, 6’5”, Quality Education (NC), 2016

If anyone in the Top 100 had future NFL potential, it would be the 6’5” Corprew. With a powerful physique, Corprew is tough for anyone to stop once he makes his mind up to drive through the lane. He is explosive at the rim and scored time and time again in the second half of his game. While not known for his outside shooting he also let loose and deep jumper that found the bottom of the nut. His style is a little herky and jerky and he could stand to improve on his ball-handling, but Corprew knows his strengths and loves to attack, attack, attack.

Sasha Killeya-Jones, PF, 6’11”, Episcopal (VA), 2016

Despite recently de-committing from Virginia, Killeya-Jones looked right at home early on in Charlottesville. With a tall frame and thin build, SKJ preferred to start outside of the arc on the offensive end. He dropped in a deep jumper to start and followed that up with a tough fade-away jumper over Spellman before hitting another jumper from the sideline. In the second half, his made shots came closer to the basket with a short five foot jumper and a tip-in and he remained engaged and active throughout the game. He has great length and uses that to challenge shots on the defensive end, but struggles with his agility when trying to contain shorter and quicker ball-handlers in pick and roll situations.  

Myles Powell, 6’1”, G, South Kent (CT), 2016

The Jersey guard looks more like a fullback, but he’s also been one of the most productive scorers at the Top 100 camp. He does not do one thing exceptionally well, but he does a lot of things very well. Powell knows how to create space for jump shots and when to attack the rim. Fresh off a 21 point outing, Powell didn’t suffer a letdown on Thursday and continued to score at an impressive clip.

Sam Cunliffe, 6’6”, SG, Rainier Beach (WA), 2016

The recent Arizona State commitment was lighting up the nets throughout his game on Friday afternoon. The smooth looking guard from Seattle had his good looking shooting stroke on point early on connecting from the wing on several occasions. Cunliffe has good footwork and is effective curling off screens for shots or hitting shots off the dribble. Shooting is Cunliffe’s main strength, but he also surprised a few people with a fancy above the rim finish on a two hand dunk. Cunliffe’s game is fun to watch and one that should make an immediate impact in Tempe.

Other Notes:

Alex Barcello hit a trio of three’s in his game this morning. After hitting his first one, Barcello went cold for a spell before finding his shot in the fourth quarter knocking in two in a row.

Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome, two future UVA guards were highlighted on Thursday, but both players had their moments again on Friday. Guy got the stanza going early with a three from NBA range and also had former Cavalier Justin Anderson celebrating after a fancy pass. Guy connected on several shots, but he also got tunnel vision in the second half forcing the issue which led to difficult shots off the dribble when it would have been wiser to pass the ball. Despite a poor stretch, Guy knocked in a spot up three towards the end of the game. Once again, Ty Jerome slid under the radar due to his quiet demeanor and while Jerome was silent early on, he converted a difficult lay-up in the second half after splitting the pick and roll. Jerome functions well as a shooting guard but he also proved he could play spot minutes at the point if necessary.

Power forward Duwan Huell had several high flying finishes above the rim and several put-backs off of offensive rebounds but struggled with his stamina throughout the game looking a bit winded throughout. Huell struggled at times catching difficult passes and also turned the ball over off the dribble.

7’0” junior center Brandon McCoy is an extremely intriguing prospect given his height and length. Right now he is struggling with the physicality of some of the players, but as they say, you can’t teach height.