EYBL Hampton Preview

The third EYBL session tips off Saturday morning at the Boo Williams Complex in Hampton, VA. With the Nike AAU season half way over it’s time for teams to position themselves for the Peach Jam in July.

Games to Watch:

1) CP3 vs. Cal Supreme (Saturday, 9:30am)

What’s so special about a 1-6 CP3 team going against a 3-5 Cal Supreme team? The return of sophomore forward Harry Giles. One of the top prospects in the class of 2015 will play his first game since tearing his ACL last June. While there is sure to be some rust, you won’t find Cal Supreme taking it easy. Two games out of fourth place, the young but talented team featuring guards Devearl Ramsey and Aaron Holiday will look to start their east coast journey on a strong note. Along with Cal’s explosive guards, forward Benny Boatwright will look to get back on track.

2) Oakland Soldiers vs. Playground Elite (Sunday, 12:30pm)

Ivan Rabb, the top player in the country will look to improve on his double-double average against Henry Ellenson, one of the top performers of the Dallas EYBL. The 6’11” Rabb is not only averaging 16.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, but he is also shooting 66% from the field. On the other side is Ellenson, a versatile big man from Rice Lake, WI who went for 18 points and 12 rebounds against Mac Irvin and 25 points against Cal Supreme. Oh yeah, five-star center Stephen Zimmerman will also be on the court. While Zimmerman is still trying to find his niche in the Soldiers offense, he did put together an 11 point, nine rebound performance in his last game against Spiece Indy. Is this the weekend that Zimmerman plays up to his lofty status?

3) NY Lightning vs. Team Final (Saturday, 9:30am)

The top two teams in Division A kick off at Boo Williams bright and early Saturday morning. Team Final is tied with Team Penny for the best EYBL record while the NY Lightning are 5-3. In a Philly vs. NYC battle, we have a guard dominated Team Final team versus 6’10” monster Jessie Govan. Fresh off a commitment to Georgetown, Govan is averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. As for Team Final, 6’4” guard Levan Alston is leading the team in scoring at 16.9 per game; however he is also the leading rebounder at just 3.9 boards per game. Syracuse commit Malachi Richardson and Villanova commit Donte Divincenzo also lead the way for Team Final.

Storylines:

·         Junior forward Ben Simmons is making a strong claim for the No. 1 spot in 2015. In two EYBL sessions he is averaging 19.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. 

·         The previous No. 1 player in the class of 2015, Malik Newman returned to the EYBL after playing in the Under Armour circuit during the spring live period. The leading scorer in 2013 averaged 19.8 points per game in Dallas, but only shot 38% from the field and just 24% from three.

·         Current No. 1, Ivan Rabb will take unofficial visits to UNC and Georgetown with his mom and high school coach after he finishes play in Hampton.

·         Some of the top talent in the 2016 class will face off Saturday at 11am. 6’7” Jayson Tatum of the St. Louis Eagles goes against explosive guard Malik Monk who is second in the EYBL with 24.5 points per game.

·         Junior Allonzo Trier is the leading scorer with 26.6 points per game. The 6’4” guard saw his scoring average decrease slightly after Sacramento, but Athlete’s First is still 6-2. 

·         Two of the top freshmen in the EYBL will be on the same court Saturday morning when 6’8” PJ Washington takes the court against Jatrious Smith. Washington plays for Team Penny and scored in double figures his last three games while Smith is averaging around six points per game. 

·         Boo Williams is the home team and currently sits with a 6-2 record after going 3-1 in both sessions. Shooting guard Kenny Williams has made 28 three’s at a 48% clip while Edrice Adebayo is averaging 7.5 rebounds.

·         Will Veer Singh make his debut for the NY Lightning?

·         Levan Alston is making a ridiculous 60% of his three’s. In Dallas he went 7-11 against Texas Elite. Meanwhile combo forward D.J. Hogg went 17-32 from three in his hometown.

·         The leading rebounder in the EYBL, Caleb Swanigan will play his first tournament as a class of 2015 prospect after recently re-classifying.

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.

EYBL Sacramento: Stock Risers

The first EYBL of the 2014 season took place in Sacramento and drew college coaches from all over the country. While the overall talent level might have been down a bit from last year, the overall talent pool increased. In just under 48 hours numerous players significantly increased their stock and / or college offer list. Here are a six: 

Stock Risers:

Kenny Williams, 6’3”, SG, L.C. Bird (VA), Boo Williams

2015 SG Kenny Williams shot 62% from 3

Williams gave all of the coaches that stayed around for the final game on opening day a treat. Despite severe jet lag, Williams went 6-9 from behind the arc in a loss to the NY Lightning. His hot shooting didn’t stop after this game as the talented shooting guard shot 62% from behind the line over a four game stretch. More than just a three point specialist, Williams showed off his one dribble jump shot and quick feet on the defensive end. Shaka Smart is recruiting Williams hard and the guard had initial offers from VCU, William & Mary, Old Dominion, George Mason, and Hofstra. Now he has additional offers from Richmond, Virginia Tech, Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Memphis along with interest from UNC, Indiana, Wichita State, and Temple. Last year VCU was on Devin Robinson and Robert Johnson before losing out on them, will the same happen to Williams? 

Deyonta Davis, 6’9”, Muskegon (MI), Spiece Indy

The future Michigan State Spartan certainly made quite an impact in his first EYBL experience averaging 19.5 points and 7.8 rebounds as Spiece Indy went 4-0 despite a completely new team from last season. In his first game, the sinewy forward recorded a double-double which made most of the college coaches in attendance extremely jealous of Tom Izzo. Davis has long arms and is a quick leaper which led to some tremendous throw downs in the paint. He is more than just a dunker though and went 2-4 from the three point line as well.

Quinndary Weatherspoon, 6’5”, SG, Velma Jackson (MS), Jackson Tigers

On Saturday night, Weatherspoon was on fire hitting NBA style three’s and picking up and-one’s while driving to the basket. Against Team United he scored 23 points on 9-13 shooting and drew several oooh’s and aaah’s from the crowd. While Weatherspoon averaged 18.5 points per game, he struggled with his outside shooting in the other three games. Despite making 4-6 in his efficient performance against Team United he finished the weekend just 5-27. Weatherspoon picked up his first offers from Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee State after the Real Deal In the Rock tournament but now has interest from Tennessee and Wake Forest.

Brandon Austin, 6’4”, SG/SF, GW Carver (AL), Alabama Challenge

Out of all the athletic wings in Sacramento, Austin might have been the most explosive. He threw down a few nasty dunks, including one on DJ Hogg and just like Deyonta Davis, an extremely quick leaper. While not a knock down shooter from the outside, Austin did average one made three per game. Over the four game stretch he averaged 12 .2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He committed to Anthony Grant and Alabama last summer.

Jahshire Hardnett, 5’10”, G, Gulfport (MS), Team Louisiana

In his first game Hardnett put up one of the most impressive performances of the weekend against Playground Elite. The 5’10” lightning quick guard scored 30 points on 11-12 shooting in a six point win. He drained both of his three’s and beat his man off the dribble time and time again. He might be short, but with his speed and explosiveness got a good look any time he wanted. Hardnett cooled off after his initial explosion but still averaged 17.8 points per game. He has offers and initial interest from Ole Miss, South Alabama, Middle Tennessee, Murray State, Clemson, Florida State, UTEP, and Penn State.

Levan Alston, 6’4”, SG, Haverford (PA), Team Final

While he did not hit as many three’s as Williams, Alston shot a sizzling 87% from behind the arc. In a double overtime win on Friday night, Alston scored 28 points while going 10-15 from the floor and 5-5 from behind the arc. On Saturday he went 2-4 from three in a loss to CIA Bounce but then went 6-6 in a win over rival NJ Playaz. Alston has an extremely quick release and is also able to hit a pull-up jump shot if his defender gets too close. Before the EYBL, the Philly product had local offers from Penn, LaSalle, Saint Joe’s, and Temple along with Rhode Island, ECU, Penn State, and Harvard. After the explosion Alston also heard from VCU, Wichita State, Seton Hall, Notre Dame, and Western Kentucky.