Friday, May 4, 2018

Recap of EYBL Session 2

EYBL session 2 provided a ton of talent, a lot of good games and college coaches that sent out immediate offers. Among those players were Cam'Ron Fletcher of Brad Beal Elite. Fletcher, a consensus four-star player, has a lot of room to grow and plays more like a four as of now, but he has the potential to be a Scottie Barnes type of player as he fills out his body and improves his handle.
Fletcher had a huge game against City Rocks (NY) where he put on a dunk show, blocking shots and being completely dominate for an entire stretch during the first period. A lot of times he would come out of no where to send a shot off the glass, or come behind for a putback, or even just jumping with the opposition and sending the shot back.

On a fastbreak, Fletcher chased down a guard from the City Rocks as he went up for a dunk, using his left hand, sent the ball into a crowd of coaches and left the entire crowd in awe.

The St. Louis product from Vashon (MO) has a ton of potential and after his play during the session, he received an offer from Iowa to go along with offers from Creighton, Kansas State, Missouri, Missouri State, St. Louis and more.

Justin Lewis of Team Melo (MD) is another 6-7 stretch four with the ability to put the ball on the floor. It was evident that he was the best player on the floor each game for Team Melo (MD) and his passing ability is so underrated in the post.
Lewis always had his head up and was willing to make the right plays. Against CIA Bounce, Lewis had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assist to go along with his poster dunk early in the game. He has a ton of tricks, very strong with the ball and can really fill it up within 15 feet.
Scottie Barnes is going to be a problem and everywhere he went, he drew a crowd. He is a very energetic, stretch four that has the potential to play on the wing. He can already take you off the dribble and finish around the rim, but at the next level playing against more athletic and quicker wings, he's going to need to shore up his handle to be successful.

Overall, Barnes was better than advertised and after his play he received a justified offer from Kentucky. He gets to the rim when he wants to, he directs traffic, he's a leader and one of Nike Team Florida's best playmakers, and probably the best playmaker in his class.

One of the most complete players I saw all weekend was Seattle Rotary's Jaden McDaniels, a 6-10 small forward that has a game that parallels Kevin Durants. I saw a lot of him putting the ball on the floor, using his handle to penetrate the lane and finishing when he got there.
I spent the bulk of my weekend following after him, watching him block shots, take contact and finish, and also hit the three. His most complete game came against the Rens (NY) where he finished 4-of-7 from three, with 26 points and eight rebounds. McDaniels has all the physical tools necessary to succeed at the next level, and if he gets stronger, he can possibly be the best player in his class.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Monday, April 23, 2018

Shackelford Making Noise

Photo credits to highdesertpreps.com
The Truth (CA) shooting guard Jaden Shackelford had one of the best—if not the best—games in Dallas this weekend on the EYBL circuit.

Shackelford finished with 40 points on 12-of-19 shooting, knocking down seven threes, and added six rebounds and three assist in a win over E1T1.

Howard Offers Robinson

Photo credits to phenomhoopreport.com
Team United (NC) guard Khalil Robinson received an offer from Howard yesterday. The talented 2019 guard has starred on the AAU circuit so far with a 16-point, three assist game against the Oakland Soldiers and a 11 point and three rebound game against Boo Williams (VA) this past weekend.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

DePaul offers Phenom University (WI)

Alex Antetokounmpo pictured. Photo credit to nbadraftroom.com
DePaul got off to an early start heading into the summer. The Blue Demons wasted very little time offering potential student-athletes as they handed out plenty of offers yesterday, going mostly to players in Milwaukee playing with Phenom University.

Monday, April 9, 2018

EJ Montgomery Commits to Kentucky

Photo credits to Rivals.com
Consensus five-star power forward EJ Montgomery added to an already impressive Kentucky recruiting class, according to a report by 247Sports, giving John Calipari another talented player to add to his rotation.

“I made my decision to go to Kentucky,” he told Evan Daniels of 247Sports. “Just the coaches and their track record with their players. I can go get developed and be the best that I can be.”

Montgomery joins fellow five stars Keldon Johnson of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia and Immanuel Quickley of Bel Air, Maryland, along with four star Tyler Herro of Greenfield, Wisconsin.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Malik Newman Declares for the Draft

(March 30, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Kansas Sophomore Malik Newman’s college career came to an end in San Antonio after the Jayhawks fell to Villanova 95-79. The Jackson, Mississippi product waited until after the National Championship to announce, but everyone knew where he was headed.

Newman officially declared for the draft through a video posted online by the KU basketball.

Arkansas' Jones, Hall To Transfer

(March 15, 2018 - Source: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images North America)
According to multiple reports, freshman Darious Hall and sophomore CJ Jones have been granted their release from Arkansas and will transfer.

Hall appeared in 35 games for the Razorbacks averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 50-percent from the floor and 40-percent from three.

Jones, appeared in 35 games averaging 6.3 points per game, while shooting 37-percent from three. Hall and Jones combined made up around 28 minutes of Mike Anderson's rotation and after already losing both of his leading scorers to graduation, coach Anderson will have some gaps to fill.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Kansas or Duke to the Final Four?

Photo credits to New York Post
Some have said that the Midwest Regional is one of the toughest brackets in the tournament. Traditional names like Kansas and Duke, along with Michigan State, Syracuse and Auburn were among the names in the Midwest regional.

Duke upended a scrappy eleven seeded Syracuse 69-65, while Kansas found a way to win against Clemson 80-76, after the Tigers stormed back, cutting into a 20-point deficit.

Only two could compete for a berth in the Final Four, and a variation of great Elite Eight games could have come from this bracket, but Coach K vs Bill Self was among the most glamorous and most realistic.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Penn’s Upset Bid Falls Short in KS

(Photo: Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)
No. 16 Penn stood tall to the very end against a very good Kansas team that swept the Big 12 and captured it’s, NCAA record, 14th straight Big 12 title.

Despite hitting 11-of-29 from distance, the Quakers struggled mightily from the line converting just 4-of-12 in the second half as Kansas pulled away 76-60.

Devonte Graham poured in 29 points on 24 shots with six assist and six rebounds. Lagerald Vick finished with 14 points, while Svi Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman both finished with 10 respectively.

Rhode Island’s Matthews buries OU

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
With just under two minutes, after Trae Young threw up back-to-back 35-footers that clanked off the rim, Rhode Island redshirt senior E.C. Matthews put up a wide open three, following a beautiful jab-step that sent Sooner star freshman to the floor, and the shot found the bottom of the net to give the Rams a lead that they would never relinquish.

Cyril Langevine extended the lead with 1:03 left at the free-throw line to 76-72, and Oklahoma answered as they marched right down the floor and Kameron McGusty pulled the Sooners within two with a floater.