April 9 - Part I

Man! What a great event this is!! Almost all of the best teams outside of South Florida congregated at the North Greenwood Rec Center in Clearwater for this event put together by Tom Topping of Nike Team Florida and Matt Ramker of the Florida Rams. What makes it great is that there are two courts side by side and you can see each team at least once during the day. Most likely, this was a preview of the AAU states in the 17U, 16U, and 15U divisions.

Without question the best player in the gym on Saturday was Rakeem Buckles of the Florida Rams. The 6'8 combo forward from Miami Pace was every inch the Louisville recruit. With his length and athleticism, he was often the first one to missed shots and had no problems starting the break on his own. It was almost better for the opposition if he did lead the break because if he didn't usually flushed a lob in the face of a helpless defender. The other nice thing about his performance was that he didn't try to play wing forward exclusively and went to his strength on the inside the vast majority of the day. Buckles is an okay three point shooter but he is just so much more productive when he does work inside. His ball-handling skills continue to improve as a couple of times he took players off the dribble from the wing and scored at the basket. Overall, it was a dominating performance by Buckles on Saturday.

If Buckles wasn't the best player in the gym, it was probably his Rams teammate Freddie Riley. Riley is still committed to Florida Atlantic, but the 6'5 wing is going to prep a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia but heading to the Owls. If Riley could play every game at North Greenwood, people would forget about Michael Jordan. Okay, that is an exaggeration, but in fall he went from D-II prospect to high-mid major must have after tearing up the NTF Workout. He again scorched the nets on Saturday. On one deep three, he broke the net. On the next one, from the same spot, it went through the hole he had just created without even moving the net, just like on the playground with nothing on the rim. The unique thing about Riley's jumper is how high he gets on the shot regardless of distance. He wasn't just a shooter either. Riley got his fair share of rebounds and had a couple of swipes that turned into dunks on the other end. It may be hard for FAU to keep him.

This was our first chance to see Stacey Poole in action, and we thought he lived up to his reputation. Strong and athletic, the 6'3 Poole out of Jacksonville Raines is also one of the smoothest players around. The game looks very effortless for him. On one play, he grabbed a rebound on one end and took it the whole way for a finish in traffic, as though every one else was just watching him do his thing. He missed the only jumper we saw him take (a three) but the rise, release, and rotation of the shot all look very fluid and fundamental. Poole handles the basketball well and had a couple of nice passes for buckets on the break. Defensively, he stays in front of his man pretty well and doesn't play for steals on every possession like some younger players tend to do. In short, it is really going to come down to how good he wants to be.

We've got to hand it to Blake Foeman of Cypress Bay. After suffering a hip injury early in the regular season, he's just now getting into shape. Normally after such an injury, a player is tentative and shies away from contact. Not so Foeman. He battled on the glass, took the ball hard to the basket, and accepted the contact without complaint. Foeman is probably only at 60-70% of what he is capable of. The 6'7 Foeman can play inside or out, has range out to the arc, and handles the ball well for his size. He needs to add strength to battle bigger players on the glass but that will become less of an issue as he gets older. Don't judge him until later this summer when he's at full-strength and can show all that he's capable of doing on the court.

With Nike Team Florida running the dribble-drive motion offense made popular by Memphis, Tony Watson should have a break-out spring and summer. The 6'1 point out of Palm Beach Gardens is very good with the basketball, sees the court exceptionally well, and can stroke the open three. He really likes to run and push the pace, setting up teammates for easy buckets. Sometimes, Watson will toss a pass that has a little too much on it and his teammates are not ready for it or he will take a quick shot when a better one could be had a little later into the possession but these issues should resolve themselves as his teammates become more comfortable with him and he gets used to the idea not having to score for his team to win and be successful.

A member of the class of 2008, 5'10 PG Anthony Salters from Tallahassee Rickards is heading to American Christian in Pennsylvania for a year of prep school to get his academic house in order. He played with Team Stat on Saturday and made some incredible plays. We always thought of Salters more as a scoring point guard than a traditional type of point, but he was really into passing the rock on Saturday. He still scored with quick dribble-drives and mid-range pull-ups but we hand not seen him pass this well before. If he is able to continue to display this kind of all-around ability and become eligible after his stint in prep school, he should get a lot of mid and maybe some high-major looks as the summer turns to fall.

The consistent thing about players at this level is their inconsistency. One quarter, half, or game they play great. The next time you see them, it's like it is their first time on the court. Such was the case for 6'3 wing guard Shamon Cox of St. Pete Lakewood and Team Stat on Saturday. The first game was not his best outing, as he couldn't knock down shots and spent too much time dribbling trying to get space to launch another J. The second game we saw him play was a different story. He scored well of the dribble from mid-range as well as finished at the rim. Cox had a couple of nice passes as well, something that we hope he adds in increasing amounts to his arsenal. The key for his future is that he needs to find a way of doing more by doing less with the basketball. It sounds crazy, but those who have seen him understand.

Sometimes you notice a player just because of how athletic he is. Such is the case for Dominique Roberson, a 6'2 wing playing for Team Stat out of Dade City. We never saw a jump shot from him but his quickness on defense and athleticism on the glass were too much to be ignored. Many teams he pilfered passes and turned them into points on the other end. Roberson has long arms and got a few points on stick backs when his man failed to box him out. His points right now are all in transition and opponents will soon learn to back off of him if he doesn't show he can put the ball in the basket from the perimeter. It will be interesting to watch his development in this area over the course of the spring and summer.

Subtly, quietly, Josh Snodgrass gets things done. The 6'4 combo guard from P.K. Yonge plays for Florida Elite and is usually the spark to get things going. While normally a very good shooter from distance, Snodgrass was off the mark most of the day. As good players do, he found ways to help his team by doing other things. A very effective driver, Snodgrass gets to rim and either knocks down a floater or gets fouled, which usually results in two points. He passes the ball pretty well when he's on the move and is also a good offensive rebounder. Maybe a half-step slow defensively, he still works hard on that end of the court. He has the ability to play the point if necessary, but Florida Elite is loaded at that spot, so he'll continue to get things done without dominating the basketball.

Lucas Poderis may finally get it. We've seen him in the past where it was almost like he didn't want the basketball in the post. On Saturday, the light was on and the 6'8 BF showed what he can do when he puts his mind to it. He's got the strength and size to score most every time down inside and he can also step out and either knock down the fifteen footer or put the ball on the floor and finish. Poderis was also much more aggressive on the boards this weekend and actually had a couple of straight-up blocks that were worth talking about. Hopefully in front of college coaches in April and July he can put together similar performances.

We mentioned him in our report on the Showtime Ballers event, but Shemiye McLendon continues to play at a high level. The 6'4 wing from Vero Beach is playing with OBC Elite and has really displayed a wide variety of skills. With the ability to score from anywhere on the court, rebound and start the break, and guard bigger players inside, McLendon has become OBC's go-to-guy and he rarely disappoints. It will be very surprising if doesn't make some noise nationally this summer. He is playing that well.

Our next report will look at the Showtime Ballers, Florida Future, Rams 16U, and Team Stat 16U.