Jamuni McNeace playoff performance

[AdaSooner]

McNeace must have been impressive in Allen's win over Lakeview, a team with 7' 1" LSU signee, Elbert Robinson, roaming the lanes. Jamuni not only guarded Robinson most of the game, he held him to 7 points and 8 rebounds, while finishing with 12 points and 15 boards in leading his team to an important playoff win.

Lakeview (23-8) got no closer than that in the second half, with Allen pushing the lead past 20 points on a dynamic alley-oop dunk from Jamuni McNeace late in the third quarter.

McNeace, who guarded Robinson most of the game, finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/hi...s-7-1-post-to-cruise-into-region-ii-semis.ece

 

[CoachTalk]

Getting better. He is making strides.

 

[hoopsaustin]

how do you say the dudes name?

Jah- money?

Juh-Mooney?

Jam-uni?

 

[AdaSooner]

Getting better. He is making strides.

Absolutely! Going up against a 7' 1" high-major signeee was quite a test for Jamuni. He clearly passed it with flying colors.

Maybe we're beginning to see why he is said to have a huge upside.

 

[garyeb2]

how do you say the dudes name?

Jah- money?

Juh-Mooney?

Jam-uni?

Juh Money

 

[SoonerTraveler]

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArt...60&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=209307378

November 14, 2013

JAMUNI McNEACE
6-9, 205, C, Allen, Texas (Allen HS)

McNeace is a 6-9, 205-pounder who is a three-star recruit. He is ranked the No. 25 center in the country by 247Sports. He is coached by Jeff McCullough, who used to coach at Norman High School and before that at Sherman (Texas) High School when Cameron Clark played there. McNeace, who has grown almost a foot in the last three years and has put on 30 pounds in the last 12 months, has only been playing basketball a couple years.

Oklahoma Head Coach Lon Kruger on Jamuni McNeace:
"Like the other two, Jamuni has a high motor and a huge upside. Similar to Khadeem, he's more of a shot-blocker right now. But he loves to play and loves to work and he has a great upside. He has a bright future."

Allen High School Head Coach Jeff McCullough on Jamuni McNeace:
"The first thing I'll say about Jamuni is that he's young man with great character. He's just a fun-loving, high-energy kind of guy you'll see bouncing around campus having a good time interacting with everybody. I think he'll become a popular guy on campus because of his personality.

"On the court, he's extremely, extremely athletic. His potential and ceiling are very high. He's a little rough around the edges right now because he's only really played two years of basketball. He was 5-foot-10 as a freshman and got cut from the team. Now he's 6-foot-9 and things have changed. He's still learning the game and making some changes on how he approaches it mentally and with some basketball I.Q. things. But he runs the floor and jumps about as well as any player I've ever coached. I would put him in a similar athletic category as Cameron Clark with a little more size and about a seven-foot wingspan. He really blossomed late last season and in the spring and summer. He had a great summer on the AAU circuit and really started catching some peoples' eyes."

 

[AdaSooner]

Two things stand out to me in the SoonerSports piece Traveler posted:

McNeace, who has grown almost a foot in the last three years and has put on 30 pounds in the last 12 months, has only been playing basketball a couple years.

He has come a long ways for a kid who has only been playing basketball for a couple of years. He's obviously still raw. But judging by the progress he's made in a relatively short time, one has to believe the reports about his upside may be spot on. I'm also encouraged by the fact that he has added 30 pounds to his skinny frame in just 12 months. That proves he's capable of getting bigger and stronger when Yo Yo gets him in his strength and conditioning program.

 

[dahldennsull]

Two things stand out to me in the SoonerSports piece Traveler posted:



He has come a long ways for a kid who has only been playing basketball for a couple of years. He's obviously still raw. But judging by the progress he's made in a relatively short time, one has to believe the reports about his upside may be spot on. I'm also encouraged by the fact that he has added 30 pounds to his skinny frame in just 12 months. That proves he's capable of getting bigger and stronger when Yo Yo gets him in his strength and conditioning program.

Not only that, but I feel he chose the perfect program to ensure he will be pushed everyday not only by coaches, but by a bunch of gym rat teammates. Some kids like this aren't found and get signed on to a small school and never amount to much. He will get some of the best nutrition, exercise and coaching to progress his talent he could have asked for. Hope he can be a good one and we have two huge guys just dominating the lane in a few years... (anyone remember Joakim Noah and Al Horford at UF together?)

 

[campbest]

Very high ceiling, just needs some time.

I will temper expectations though on this specific performance, Robinson is HUGE and has difficulty with quicker players, especially in transition and off-ball. The Texas Tech big who went up against Robinson last week had a field day, somewhere in the range of 22pts and 15reb. I don't see how Robinson, in today's game, is going to have a ton of success at LSU unless he loses weight. Think Josh Smith from UCLA and Georgetown.

 

[dahldennsull]

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArt...60&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=209307378

"On the court, he's extremely, extremely athletic. His potential and ceiling are very high. He's a little rough around the edges right now because he's only really played two years of basketball. He was 5-foot-10 as a freshman and got cut from the team. Now he's 6-foot-9 and things have changed. He's still learning the game and making some changes on how he approaches it mentally and with some basketball I.Q. things. But he runs the floor and jumps about as well as any player I've ever coached. I would put him in a similar athletic category as Cameron Clark with a little more size and about a seven-foot wingspan. He really blossomed late last season and in the spring and summer. He had a great summer on the AAU circuit and really started catching some peoples' eyes."

:griffinwindmill

 

[dahldennsull]

Very high ceiling, just needs some time.

I will temper expectations though on this specific performance, Robinson is HUGE and has difficulty with quicker players, especially in transition and off-ball. The Texas Tech big who went up against Robinson last week had a field day, somewhere in the range of 22pts and 15reb. I don't see how Robinson, in today's game, is going to have a ton of success at LSU unless he loses weight. Think Josh Smith from UCLA and Georgetown.

I didn't worry about the point totals, but more the 8 rebounds to McNeace's 15. This kid has 100 pounds on McNeace, and to almost get doubled in rebounds is crazy. Shows that even though he's skinny, definitely seems to back up the info about his hops.

 

[campbest]

I didn't worry about the point totals, but more the 8 rebounds to McNeace's 15. This kid has 100 pounds on McNeace, and to almost get doubled in rebounds is crazy. Shows that even though he's skinny, definitely seems to back up the info about his hops.

Agree. Robinson's "lower" rebounding totals over the season can also be attributed to 1.) his HS team likes to get in transition 2.) foul trouble and 3.) and for as big as he his, he can't rebound out of his area very well...he's not going to be able to chase balls down, they have to come to him to an extent. Jamuni does not have those issues.

 

[AdaSooner]

Very high ceiling, just needs some time.

I will temper expectations though on this specific performance, Robinson is HUGE and has difficulty with quicker players, especially in transition and off-ball. The Texas Tech big who went up against Robinson last week had a field day, somewhere in the range of 22pts and 15reb. I don't see how Robinson, in today's game, is going to have a ton of success at LSU unless he loses weight. Think Josh Smith from UCLA and Georgetown.

I saw the pic of Robinson. It's obvious he needs to drop a few pounds to be more effective.

But he's still 7 feet tall with a lot of bulk to make it tough on a skinny kid like McNeace. I'm sure Allen doubled down on him a lot to give Jamuni some help on the inside. But without the benefit of having seen the game myself, he appears to have had a nice performance against a team with a high-major big on their roster. Not bad for a kid with limited experience as a basketball player. Based on what you and others have said, I'd say the reports of a huge upside are accurate.

 

[garyeb2]

I haven't seen McNeace play like some others. But, I was at practice the day that He and Cunningham were there for their visits.

I got there about 30 minutes early and they were both in the practice gym putting up shots on one end. In that non competitive situation McNeace didn't look awkward or any less polished than Cunningham. He seemed comfortable with the ball in his hands and had a nice looking shot.

During that half hour the only conclusion to draw was that McNeace passed the eye test, looked like a basketball player, and appeared to be a good prospect.

 

[dahldennsull]

I haven't seen McNeace play like some others. But, I was at practice the day that He and Cunningham were there for their visits.

I got there about 30 minutes early and they were both in the practice gym putting up shots on one end. In that non competitive situation McNeace didn't look awkward or any less polished than Cunningham. He seemed comfortable with the ball in his hands and had a nice looking shot.

During that half hour the only conclusion to draw was that McNeace passed the eye test, looked like a basketball player, and appeared to be a good prospect.

I am by no means suggesting this kid is even half the talent that Anthony Davis is, but don't consider it a coincidence these big men that shoot up in size after playing guard their whole life are more comfortable with the ball in their hands and can continually develop their handles/passing/shooting due to better coordination than kids that are big their entire lives.

Blake was also a guard in middle school/9th grade before growing another 6" or so and you can tell how comfortable he has always been dribbling and bringing it up the floor.

I don't put McNeace in either of these categories, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him being one of our better handling bigs by the time he leaves OU

 

[CoachTalk]

I understand and agree on your points dahldennsull... but blake was a post as a freshmen... I know an ESPN guy said he was a guard but at OCS he was lanky, fairly skinny, freak athlete

Taylor wore people out though!

 

[campbest]

I haven't seen McNeace play like some others. But, I was at practice the day that He and Cunningham were there for their visits.

I got there about 30 minutes early and they were both in the practice gym putting up shots on one end. In that non competitive situation McNeace didn't look awkward or any less polished than Cunningham. He seemed comfortable with the ball in his hands and had a nice looking shot.

During that half hour the only conclusion to draw was that McNeace passed the eye test, looked like a basketball player, and appeared to be a good prospect.

His shot is good for his size, he just can't make "plays" on the move with the ball. It will come together though.

 

[dahldennsull]

I understand and agree on your points dahldennsull... but blake was a post as a freshmen... I know an ESPN guy said he was a guard but at OCS he was lanky, fairly skinny, freak athlete

Taylor wore people out though!

I actually went to Edmond North and remember him as a freshman coming to play some exhibitions in our gym, he was still growing at about 6'6 or 6'7 and LOVED bringing the ball up like the PG, and running the offense. His dad quickly remedied that haha.

So while I agree that announcer was a little over the top about it, wasn't entirely wrong

 

[Max Power]

how do you say the dudes name?

Jah- money?

Juh-Mooney?

Jam-uni?

Im just gonna go with J-Money

 

[Boomer-D]

Blake has always had great handles for a guy his size. That's what makes him so special... good at so many things and his jump shot is getting better and better.