April 3 - Part II

There were some other players on the Lee Bulls 16U team that we want to mention. The first one is 2010 6'2 WG Pierre Bland from Jacksonville Lee. It's not that Bland did anything spectacular. He was just consistently solid throughout the game we saw on Saturday. He filled the stat sheet as well: a couple of assists, a couple of steals, a three pointer, an offensive stick back, drive and finish in traffic, a transition basket, you get the idea. There was no jaw dropping display of athleticism, no fancy dribbling, no "and 1" flash. Just solid basketball. Bland was refreshing.

The final player on the Lee Bulls 16U team to get a mention is 2010 5'9 PG Dietrick Payne of ACDS. Payne's been on the radar since he was a freshman, so with a rep comes a responsibility to live up to it. He did for the most part. Payne has a solid body so he protects the ball well on the dribble and keeps his head up to find cutters to the basket. Other than a mid-range pull-up off the dribble, he didn't show much of a jumper so we'd like to see how effective he is from long range at some point. His strength makes up for his lack of size, but bigger guards are going to give him some difficulty as they can shoot or pass over him. In the long run, he's good enough to overcome that issue. As long as he focuses on distributing the basketball he should be okay.

The host team had its share of standout players. Showtime Ballers/Florida Assault really didn't have any big guys playing with them this weekend. Still, they were able to blowout some less-talented teams this weekend on their way to the semi-finals. Emari Bailey, a 6'5 WG/WF out of ACDS was probably their most prolific scorer. Bailey is capable of making jumpers from behind the arc and closer but in the games we saw all his points were at the rim, either in transition or in a half-court setting. Bailey appears to have gotten stronger, as his drive and flush in traffic suggests. Long and active enough to be a good defender, Bailey seems to get a little too far down and too high on his toes when guarding the dribbler which allows him to get beaten on the drive a little more often than he should. We look forward to seeing him play again in a setting against more difficult opponents and in a slower paced game to see what kind of scoring tools he really has.

This weekend, Florida Assault only had one point guard and that was 6'2 Chuck Ford from Dr. Phillips in Orlando. He can be a pure point but he has a lot of scoring ability as well. He's quick enough to beat most defenders off the dribble and create for himself or teammates in the lane. Ford also has good court vision, a nose for the ball on defense, and a shooting touch that must be respected from deep. What we would like to see from him now is more of an ability to control the team and the game when scores are lopsided and the tendency is to clown around. That is the time for Ford to reign in the team and get them to play like its a close game so they will be better prepared when a close game does occur. He's got the tangibles for the point guard spot, now it's time to show the intangibles.

One player with Florida Assault that we hadn't seen before was 6'3 WG Andre Wellington of West Oaks Academy in Orlando. A very muscular and solidly built player, Wellington showed a nice lefty shooting touch from the baseline and more than enough athleticism to battle big guys successfully on the glass. Before we can draw any kind of conclusions about his game or what level he could ultimately play at, we need to see more of him and hopefully he will be able to build on his performance at this event.

For us, the team with the best set of big guys this weekend was the Miramar Hurricanes. The first one to mention is 6'5 BF Lionel Delsica. To watch him play you would never know that he was coming off of a knee injury and played little, if at all, this past year. He was such a force on the glass at both ends in the game we watched. All of his points came off of offensive rebounds so in the future we hope to see him put up points in a wider variety of ways. For someone on the comeback trail, he certainly got off to a good start this weekend.

The player with the most collegiate potential for the Hurricanes is 6'7 BF Thomas Hawkins. He has the ability to step out and knock down shots from fifteen feet and in, runs the court swiftly, finishes inside with contact, and chases down shots out of his area. Hawkins has enough length and athleticism to challenge shots in the lane and hold his own against bigger players inside. Getting stronger will be a priority in the future as well as being a better ball-handler when he steps out on the perimeter.

The third big man of intrigue for the Hurricanes this weekend was 6'7 BF Marvin Dominique. Originally from Haiti, he has only been playing the game for a short time but the physical tools are certainly there. He gets very high for rebounds and blocks, runs the floor faster than a lot of guards, and puts forth a great effort whenever he is on the court. The challenge for him is how long will it take for him to become more of a basketball player and rely less on his athletic ability to get things done.

OBC Elite is always one of our favorite teams to watch, and not just because the coaching staff is a great group of guys. No, what we like is that they always find under-the-radar players, get them to play hard, and in the end beat teams that on paper they shouldn't. Perhaps the best player on the roster is Shemiye McClendon, a 6'4 WG from Vero Beach. The kid has a very diverse game and could be one of the breakout players of the summer. First and foremost, he has a great basketball IQ and the game just comes easy to him. Secondly, his body and athleticism are already at a college level. Finally, the kid is skilled in all aspects of the game. Rebounds, blocks, assists, finish in traffic, three pointers, tough D... all the tools seem to be there. He's definitely a player to watch this weekend at the Nike Team Florida/Rams Jamboree in Clearwater.

Another OBC Elite player that caught our attention was 6'1 PG Hamilton Santos of Ridge Community HS. He isn't the quickest, most athletic, slickest ball-handling, and/or deepest threat in the state, but he's makes the right plays at the right time and gets his team to function at a high level. Having said all of that, he's a good, not great athlete. His quickness does need to improve but it is more than adequate right now. He handles the ball competently and his shot selection is smart, so that majority of shots he takes, he makes. Hopefully for him this is the first in a steady stream of consistent performances.

Team Stat Blue was not the best team in the program's stable, but they were competent. They were a little under-sized and haven't played together long but a couple of players showed some promise. The first was 6'5 BF Darius Griffin of Lake Region HS. The majority of his success came when he could get out in the open court and score in transition or get off the floor quickly for some points via offensive rebounds. He wasn't able to show much in the way of other basketball skills so we hope to see him progress throughout this travel season.

His teammate, 6'4 WF Quinton Everett of Lakeland HS also had a good game. He showed a bit more skill as he knocked down a three and scored on a drive or two to the rim. He too is very athletic and often got rebounds over bigger opponents. Hopefully as the travel season wears on he can prove to be a perimeter player and not get stuck with the dreaded "tweener" tag.

We'd like to take this opportunity the thank Diana and Darryl Neal for the hospitality and generosity through out the event. Whenever we asked about something, they always got us an answer and even let us mooch some leftover pizza. They put on a very good event and we look forward to returning next year.