Sorry this took so long. This past weekend’s tourney had three of the top 5 teams in Texas in it. It’s still early in the season, so many of the players will be moving around this summer because of shoe camps, tournament affiliations, and the myriad of normal reasons for team jumping in this era; however, most of the kids that OU is in on down here are likely pretty stable.
Most of the shifting happened in the weeks leading up to the first weekend. Of the kids I listed above, Julius, Keith, and Dominic’s teams did not participate. Emanuel’s team played, but he was in Chicago at an Adidas event so I didn’t evaluate him here either.
Here’s the breakdown of what I saw:
Jordan Mickey – 6’8” – has developed a great deal since last summer – especially on the offensive end. I can’t tell if it’s necessarily an evolving skill set, or added confidence, or expanded role on the Urban Elite team, or a combination of all three; but his offensive contributions were noticeable and caused teams to actually game plan to stop him with double teams and varying the size of player guarding him due to the mis-match problems he creates. His defense and rebounding are still strong. His athleticism, hops, and quickness are high level, and his body, although still thin, is maturing nicely. Will still likely end up being a 4 at a high major unless he can develop more skill and lateral quickness to defend on the perimeter.
Kendal Harris – 6’3” – is turning into a very powerful PG with a bully mindset, and I mean that in a positive way. He’s not afraid of anything, and can both defend and handle the ball well enough to be a high major PG. I’m still not sure of his mentality as a PG though. It’s really hard to tell about PG’s in tournament ball because of the way teams are constructed and the way they play such individual and piecemeal ball. I certainly believe he is teachable and coachable, but not certain he is necessarily instinctually a PG. He actually reminds me of a smaller, less-skilled version of the Harrisons in that regard. He’s one of the most explosive athletes down here, and, like I mentioned, is very powerful and aggressive. His jump shot has improved, but still needs improvement. He can score the ball like a SG when he needs to.
Shirmane Thomas – 6’3” – is more of a hybrid than is Kendal right now; yet, he’s probably more of a prototypical PG in the end, when all’s said and done with their careers. He’s very explosive, but in a different way from Kendal. Shirmane is long and sinewy, and has some bounce. He’s always been able to get anywhere he wants on the basketball court, and he hasn’t lost any of that. That part of his game is definitely high major. His ball handling is adequate to run the lead guard, but his decision making is not very good yet. He’s played mostly SG, and it shows. He’s played more PG over the past year, so he’s definitely headed in the right direction. He can score, but that comes mostly from others creating and in transition, where he’s at his best. When he tries to create and gets into the lane, he’s still just a little out of control. Now that the defenders in the paint are larger, he’s finding it tough to finish in the half court. He’s got long arms and can defend very well. He gets hands on balls and reads passing lanes nicely. His strength will eventually be as a creator for others, and he seems headed in that direction.
Nathan Hawkins – 6’5” – is turning some heads. He’s showed he has more athleticism, and has a much larger game in total than last summer. He’s a good shooter. He can shoot both long range and mid range with a very pure stroke. He gets great lift on his jump shot, which allows him to create a good look for himself any time he wants it. He looked way more aggressive than last summer. Very confident. In the game vs the Defenders and the Harrisons, he went head to head with them and I didn’t see much separation, if any at all. He’s a very good defender – laterally quick for his size, and will be physical on the perimeter. He handles the ball well, but needs to keep working on it to be more trustworthy handling full court pressure. He’s more of a SG with PG instincts. He can create for himself and finish with a lot of different moves, and he can create for his teammates. Has a very high basketball IQ. Can play multiple positions and can score consistently at all three levels, within the flow of the game.
Marcus Foster – 6’3” – is a scoring machine. He’s got that gunslinger’s mentality and has the goods to back it up. He can jump out of the gym and isn’t afraid to attempt to posterize anyone, no matter how big they are. He’s a very quick and athletic guard. He doesn’t always try to defend to his potential, but when he does, he can lock up his opponent. He’s a streaky outside shooter. His deep ball is more of a set shot when he has an open look, but he gets good elevation on both long and mid range shots when closely defended. He does not think like a PG at all.. His job is to score and that’s what he does. When he penetrates, he’s looking to put the ball in the basket, not dish. He’s got great body control and is good at finding, exploring, and exploiting creases in the defense. Even though he’s a little on the small side for a SG, I think he’d be fine there at the high major level as long as there was enough size around him to compensate.
Leyton Hammonds – 6’7” – is very skilled for his size. He’s a good athlete but isn’t an explosive one. He moves gracefully and smoothly. Reminds me of George Gervin in that regard. He’s kind of caught in no man’s land on the defensive end. He’s really not quick enough to guard on the perimeter, but he’s not strong enough to guard in the post. He’s very thin and wiry. He can rebound and is willing to mix it up, but doesn’t really have the strength to do that consistently. He’s at his best in transition, and when others have created quality looks for him. He can put the ball on the floor with either hand. He doesn’t necessarily create and slash off the dribble, as much as he uses his dribble to keep the defense honest. He’s a knockdown catch and shoot guy for the most part. He shoots more of a set shot, but because of his length, he has no trouble getting it off. He’s a good free throw shooter, and has a knack for getting to the line. He plays better when there’s a true playmaker on the floor.
Hope this helps fill in a few of the blanks for the 2013 class down here
