By Marcus Shockley

Hyping players has become an industry unto itself, and it goes beyond mixtapes and ESPN highlight clips. Whenever someone releases player rankings, there are arguments over which player should be rated higher than another, and while some of the arguments might be valid, usually it’s meaningless.

Often coaches will take it personally when their own player is ranked lower than another, and I’ve heard some coaches disparage another player and I know the root of it isn’t based on objectivity but on personal bias. This isn’t true of all coaches, but it definitely happens a lot.

There’s also the grassroots world where some ‘coaches’ will try and hype their players because if people think they have the top players, they’ll get the shoe sponsorships and other trappings that come along with it. Of course, there are many AAU and high school coaches who work with their players and actively try to help them land college scholarships. That’s not what I’m referring to. I’m talking about the guys who only promote players that they see as an ‘investment’.

The problem for the players is that hype ultimately means nothing. It doesn’t matter who the #1 junior or #1 senior is in high school. It’s a nice accolade but a player’s high school ranking is erased the moment he steps off of the floor of his last high school game or AAU game. That’s when hype no longer matters and players have to be able to prove they can actually play. Ask anyone in grassroots basketball who the #1 player in the country is and you’ll get different answers. How many #1 players are there, anyway?

But once players get to a high enough level, they have to be able to do more than just be more athletic than everyone else. There will come a day where fundamentals and understanding how to play will matter. It’s like the 6’5 post player who dominates at the high school level, but would struggle at the college level when he has to play other post player who are 6’8 or 6’10.

Here’s what players need to know: there are different meanings behind a player evaluation, and you should consider the source. That’s not just a lesson for basketball, it’s a lesson for life. Let’s say that we have a player who is a 6’3 shooting guard and is a high school freshman. He’s evaluated as the #1 high school freshman in the country. Consider that an AAU coach might say that about their player because they want people to think they have the next Dwight Howard (not all AAU coaches are like this). A parent might say that because they really believe it, or because they also want their child to be the next Lebron James (not all parents are like this, either).

A media outlet or recruiting guru might say this because they want subscribers/page views, which means money. How many mixtapes have you seen where the title says a player has ‘crazy bounce’ or ‘goes OFF!!!’…these are just hype machine tools. Thinking back over the past thirty years, I can name only a handful of players who actually had so much bounce that they made people gasp. You can dunk? Great. Can you go left? Can you stop your man from getting off a shot? Can you break the press with your dribble? Where’s that video?

Does it matter that Chris Paul wasn’t the #1 recruit coming out of high school? Blake Griffin – not #1. Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, not #1.

#1 high school recruit in 1999? Donnell Harvey. In 2001? Eddy Curry. 2005? Josh McRoberts. In 2006 Kevin Durant was considered the #2 player in his class behind Greg Oden. Yeah, there are guys who rank #1 and become great pros (2004 – Dwight Howard), but that’s the whole point. You have to look for those guys. If a high school ranking at the end of your senior year is not a guarantee of All-Star, HOF success, how accurate do you really think being the #1 high school freshman is? And middle school rankings – forget it. I won’t even look at those and you shouldn’t, either. How much will that awesome mix of you in high school matter when nobody can remember if you played in the NBA?

Forget the rankings. As I always say, have fun, but stay grounded. Focus on being the best basketball player and student of the game you can be, and get some honest input from a good coach on what you need to work on to become better. If Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash still have things they are working on getting better at, after playing in the league for years and winning like crazy, it’s a pretty safe bet that no matter what level you are at, you can get better at something.

Oh, and Chris Paul was ranked #6 as a high school senior, behind Kendrick Perkins, Ndudi Edi and Shannon Brown. But the #1 player that year was pretty decent. He plays in Miami now but he used to play for Cleveland.

By Marcus Shockley

I get some grief now and then for assessments of players; this is not unique to any scout or writer. Whenever you try to evaluate a player, there is room for error and there are so many intangibles; how much the player is going to work, how much you’ve actually seen a player, and so on. The reality is, even if you are almost always right, you are going to make mistakes. You are going to be wrong sometimes. That’s one of the reasons I put out the Right-Wrong Awards at the end of the year sometimes to showcase that yes, we did get many things right but we own up to things we got wrong as well.

But I also don’t like the ‘adjusting’ of assessments and rankings that happens based on what’s going on with a recruit. Many people have complained over the years that if UNC, Duke, Kentucky or Kansas offer a player, suddenly that player gets bumped up in the rankings. But I would also point out that the opposite is true, which no one wants to hear.

Just because someone has offered a player, it should not change the assessment of that player.

Let’s say that a player is evaluated as a low-major DI prospect by several scouts. Then suddenly, a high major pops up and offers him. Now, there are only two scenarios here. Either the player has proven something to the high major that the scouts overlooked or the player really is a low major prospect but the college recruiter’s evaluation is off.

Just because a player was offered by a high major does not automatically make him a high major prospect. It means that ONE college thought he was a high major prospect and is acting on it. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it doesn’t change the player – if the college has guessed wrong, they have guessed wrong. It happens all of the time.

It is possible that the player is better than the scouts think. But there are a lot of players every year who go to play college basketball and soon run into problems. I don’t want to paint with a broad brush, but college coaches make mistakes, too. Even Duke and UNC have had players who were offered scholarships and ended up not being able to compete at the elite level once they arrived on campus. So, let’s take a step back here. If players are sometimes incorrectly evaluated by UNC, Duke or Kentucky, doesn’t it make sense that other players can be incorrectly evaluated at hundreds of other colleges as well? If you were to ask any college coach with several years of experience, it would be rare that one would claim all of their recruits worked out as well as they had hoped.

It also explains how you have high major programs in major conferences who only have one or two elite players, but that’s an aside for another day.

The reality is that evaluating players at any level involves some risk of being wrong and a large amount of subjective work. This doesn’t end at the high school level. Even NBA teams get it wrong a lot. We all can name off bad first round picks over the years, players who someone on an NBA team thought was a big time prospect but ended up out of the league or being a bench player before long. So why would high school be any different?

When I saw Kwame Brown in high school, I thought he was a really good prospect, but was a couple of years removed from the pros at best. I thought he would be good in college, work on his game, and then probably be a first round pick. I was stunned when he was taken as the #1 pick out of high school – I did not even think he was ready to make the move to the NBA at that point. And I wasn’t alone in this – there were a lot of scouts who thought the same thing. Did Kwame Brown getting drafted at #1 suddenly make him better than we thought? I don’t like to slam Kwame, who was never a bad player, but he wasn’t a #1 lottery pick either, and Michael Jordan’s gamble on taking him was a huge, public mistake.

But in the world of college recruiting, that’s the equivalent of a lower evaluated player getting a suddenly high offer, and then his ratings go up. I’m not going to change my assessment based on recruitment. Of course, watching a player multiple times over the course of their careers is the best way to assess his talent. When Harrison Barnes arrived at UNC, he was considered the top player in the nation. But he struggled early on in his freshman year, and many fans starting calling him a bust. But they hadn’t seen enough – flash forward to today, where he’s absolutely one of the best college players and a big time pro prospect. If fans had only had the first 10 games of his freshman season to evaluate him, it wouldn’t give the whole picture.

The point is that a player is at a certain level, regardless of who has offered or not. We all know players who should have gotten DI offers but ended up playing DII, and there are DII players who ended up playing DIII and there are even DI prospects who ended up playing nowhere. So if colleges can be wrong about players who should get offers, of course they can be wrong the other way as well, offering players that won’t pan out. This isn’t news to them; they know they are taking a risk by offering any player, no matter how much of a sure thing they seem to be.

By Justin Byerly

Madison Jones, a six-foot point guard out of Ravenscroft HS in Raleigh, NC recently informed that he is getting the most interest right now from Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Seton Hall, Nebraska and Richmond.

Mike Kobani, a six-foot-nine inch forward for Caldwell Academy in the class of 2013 is averaging 17.5 points per game, 12.1 rebounds and almost 1 assist this season. He is getting interest from Coastal Carolina University, High Point University, Virginia and Villanova.

Erik Hopkins, a six-foot-four guard out of Columbia (SC) Keenan is getting some interest as of late from Western Carolina University, Wofford College, Tennessee State and Presbyterian College.

Tracy Gathings, of Ben L. Smith HS (Greensboro, NC) recently has been receiving interest from Virginia Military Institute along with Gardner-Webb. Tracy is six-foot-five and is averaging around eighteen points per game.

Sharwyn McGee of Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, was recently offered a scholarship by Jacksonville (Fla.) University. McGee is a six-foot-five forward. His strengths are rebounding, scoring the basketball, defensive pressure, great athleticism, and needs to work a little on his three-point shot.

VJ King (8th Grader) of United Faith (Charlotte) recently scored sixteen points, had two rebounds, and two assists in a win over Central Park Christian over the weekend.

AJ Clark, a five-foot-ten senior point guard out of Western Alamance HS (NC) is averaging nearly twenty-eight points per game this season to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. He is getting most of his looks from Division Two schools and a little interest from Navy. He recently scored 23 points and grabbed ten rebounds in win against Burlington Williams HS.

Qua Neal of South Rowan HS (NC) is averaging nearly twelve points per game this season and in a win over North Iredell had eighteen points and six assists with eight rebounds on Friday (1/27)

Sindarius Thornwell, one of the top players in the class of 2013 in the nation out of Lancaster HS (SC) scored twenty-one points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven assists in a win over Spartanburg HS Friday (1/27)
He has offers from nearly every school in the SEC and ACC.

Derrick Copeland, a six-foot point guard out of Kannapolis AL Brown HS had twenty-two points, two steals and five assists on Friday.

Mike Brown, a six-foot-three guard out of West Charlotte HS who has signed with Western Carolina University, had fourteen points, ten rebounds, four steals, and six assists in a win over Mooresville HS Friday.

Kennedy Meeks, a six-foot-nine center out of West Charlotte HS scored ten points in the win Friday also. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Head Coach Roy Williams was in attendance for the big man. He holds offers from almost every major program except for Duke and North Carolina.

Maurice Howard of Saluda HS (SC) went for fifteen points and five assists in a win on Friday.

Connor Burchfield, a six-foot guard out of CarolinaPreps.com number one ranked 3-A school Concord (NC) HS had Twenty points in a win over Asheville Roberson HS on Saturday (1/28). He is getting interest from Davidson (N.Car) and others.

Darren Black, a five-ten guard out of Concord HS (NC) is getting interest from Xavier University, Pittsburgh University, South Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and a host of others. He went for eleven points in a win on Saturday (1/28) over Asheville Roberson HS.

Demarcus Lewis, a six-foot-three guard out of Barea HS (SC) went for fifteen points against Wade Hampton HS (SC) and fourteen points against Greenville Southside HS this past week. He is getting interest from North Carolina A&T University as of late.

Rayshawn Speas, out of North Forsyth HS is getting interest from UNC-Pembroke as of late. The class of 2012, is averaging nearly nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocks per game. He had ten points in a thriller of Asheboro HS Friday (1/27).

Darius Bryant, a six-foot-one inch guard out of Calhoun Falls Charter (SC) recently scored seventeen points in a win on Friday (1/27). He is getting little interest as of late but may be flying under the radar for some schools. His strengths are his ball handling, getting into traffic, and defense. Needs to work more on his ability to use his left hand.

Tyshun Flowers of Hickory Christian Academy (NC) recently had seven points and two assists Friday (1/27)

Cory Magwood of Wade Hampton (Varnville, SC) has been a scoring machine in his last few games. He recently scored twenty-four points, nine rebounds and four assists in a loss on Friday (1/27). Charleston Southern recently came to one of his games. The class of 2012 guard is also getting attention from Georgia Southern, Jacksonville University, High Point University, Furman University, and Gardner-Webb. He is averaging nearly twenty eight points per game this season.

Taylor McCurry of Asheville Enka HS, a six-foot-four inch forward, recently scored twenty seven points Friday (1/27) in a loss to Asheville HS. McCurry leads WNC in scoring this season at nearly twenty-nine points a game.

Deveron Roberts, of Asheville (NC) HS recently scored twenty-five points in a huge win over Asheville Enka HS in MAC Conference play. The two-sport star and quarterback for Asheville HS is getting interest from Western Carolina University, among others. One of the quickest guys I have seen in WNC this year.

Drew Combs, a five-foot-ten point guard out of Wilmington Ashley HS recently went for thirty-two points in a double-overtime loss Friday (1/27). He also poured in eight assists in the loss. He is getting interest from Lincoln Memorial (Div. II) who came in to see the game.

Curtis Webb, an all-state guard out of Dorman (SC) HS recently surpassed to the one-thousand point mark in a win over JL Mann Friday (1/27). He scored seventeen points and hit three three- point shots in the win. As of late he has been getting interest from Limestone College and a few others.

Jevon Patton, of Gastonia Highland Tach recently had twenty-five points, ten assists, seven steals, and five rebounds in a 63-61 win on Friday (1/27). And he surpassed the one-thousand point mark on. 1/24 as he went for thirty-one points in a win.

Clarence Williams of Druid Hills (Ga.) HS had nine points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal for the big man on Friday (1/27). He has been getting contact recently from Western Carolina University.

Brandon Goodwin of Norcross (Ga.) HS dropped seventeen points, had five assists, and five rebounds in a win Friday (1/27). Brandon recently was offered a scholarship by Gardner-Webb University. He also has interest from Florida Atlantic University, VCU, Tennessee, Wofford and Appalachian State University.

Diondre Pratt of Anson HS scored thirty-three points on Friday (1/27) while also grabbing five rebounds. He had twenty-four points and six rebounds on 1/14. He holds offers from Lincoln Memorial, Chowan College and Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte.

*Online registration will begin Feb. 1

Main Gym:
Monarch High School
5050 Wiles Road, Coconut Creek, FL

Contact:
Brandon
954-234-8536

- All-Florida Showcase And Elite Skills Camp, March 10-16, 2012. There will be divisions for Middle School, High School/Unsigned Seniors and games will be played in multiple gyms due to the expected amount of players attending! Every player will be evaluated, professional video and photos will be taken, scouts and coaches will be in the building evaluating. So be sure to mark your calendars for March 10th!

- Showcase will include a dunk contest, a top 40 game and a top 20 game.

- Elite Skills camp will continue into the week March 12-16

Top Players Set To Attend:

Chris Walker (6’9 Forward; Top 5 Overall In The Country; Class of 2013)

Joel Berry (6’2 Guard; Top Sophomore PG In Florida; Class of 2014)

Demarcus Croaker (6’3 Guard; Top 10 In Florida; Class of 2013)

Kasey Hill (6’1 Guard; Top 3 PG In The Country; Class of 2013)

Malik Price-Martin (6’8 Forward; Top 5 In Florida; Class of 2013)

And more to be named.

By Marcus Shockley

Photo Credit: Flikr/andypiper

It’s been a growing topic for some time, but last week when Yuri Wright, a high school football recruit who was expected to play football for the Michigan Wolverines, lost his scholarship over several things he said on Twitter, it brought the issue to the forefront in a very real way. Following the story breaking into a national recruiting tale, he was also kicked out of Don Bosco Prep School and has suddenly become the poster child for how NOT to use social media.

It’s not surprising that some recruits would run into problems; in a world where I’ve seen adults texting while driving 70 mph on a highway at night, as a culture we are still struggling to handle how to turn our electronic communication off, and more importantly, how to keep our digital mouths shut.

Social media has become an important part of the recruiting landscape, and it’s easy to point to the players who get burned or misuse it. I rely on social media to help track down recruits, coaches and current players and I see both types of use. I think the vast majority of players, even high school players, completely understand the ramifications. However, just in case, here’s a quick guide on how social media should be used by high school recruits.

1. Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say in public.

You’d think this was the most obvious one, but it isn’t. Some players post just about everything that happens to them on Twitter or Facebook. There’s a fine line here; There’s a lot that can be said, even in public, that’s perfectly acceptable. The problems arises when Twitter is used to air personal grievances, opinions or information. Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to obviously personal tweets or posts, but you have to remember that some fans watch and listen to everything a recruit says. When a high school recruit tweets something about a school, for example, fans try to read if the recruit is indicating he’s leaning one way or another. This isn’t entirely unexpected, because sometimes players announce their intentions over social media.

Just be careful not to blurt out anything you wouldn’t want the world to know. It’s an environment where what you say will get noticed, and not always in a good way.

2. Twitter is a broadcast platform, not a text messaging system.

Twitter is great for quick, open messages to scouts, other players or friends. For many top recruits, they often leave their original high school and play at least one year at a prep school, which means they can play national competition. It also means leaving their friends behind, or at least, some distance away. Twitter and Facebook help bridge the communication gap, so that either a player or an old friend can reach out and let each other know that they are trying to catch up. But here’s the rule: once contact is made, then the conversation needs to be taken “offline”, meaning to another type of communication, whether it’s a phone call, texting or chat. The important thing is that the whole world shouldn’t be privy to your entire conversation.

3. Watch those photos & retweets

If you retweet a racy/lurid/disgusting photo, guess what? It shows up on your profile. And that photo of you at a buddy’s apartment, where’s he’s holding up two bottles of fine spirits? That’s a huge no-no. The reality is that you have to be aware that you can get labeled as a person colleges don’t want to recruit, because it looks like you might have bad judgement.

Yuri Wright lost his scholarship to Michigan for two reasons. First, he tweeted slurs and racist comments that the school wanted no part of. Secondly, he showed a pattern of incredible lack of judgement. It’s true that someone’s online personality may not actually represent who they are, but over time bad posts and tweets paint a picture of someone, good or bad.

Coaches and programs learn that people rarely change their patterns. A player who sulked a lot and missed practices in high school will usually continue to do so in college. Make no mistake, if a college coach is interested in you, they will follow up and try to find out what type of person you are. Some coaches complain that the player’s tweets/posts don’t match the real person, and not in a good way. But you certainly don’t want to have an image of problem player before the coach has even checked. You really have to understand that EVERYTHING you say and do on your Twitter timeline is being monitored by someone, probably someone you don’t expect.

4. You don’t need to broadcast every thought.

I used to follow a college basketball player on Twitter who professed that she wanted to be a sports reporter/writer. She had contacted me about writing for us, and I was considering it. Even though we are focused on men’s basketball, of course we are looking for anyone who has good insight, and we’ve had contributions from female writers in the past. You would expect that her tweets would be similar to a lot of college players; tweets about early morning workouts, disappointing losses or frustrating college classes.

However, none of those tweets came across. Sometimes she would tweet about an NBA game or mention practice, but normally her timeline would be full of where she intended to party after class, how late she was out, and spats with other women over Twitter. Often she would erupt with a barrage of vulgarity-laced posts about her latest failed relationship, which seemed to be about once a week. Finally, I just stopped following her because it felt like she wasn’t serious about anything except getting high and arguing. I have no idea if she is as much of a train wreck as she claims to be, but for someone who wants to work in the media, she really needs to learn how to manage her image. It’s simply better to say as little as possible than saying the wrong thing.

Just remember that every Tweet is a headline; the power of social media is a great tool if used correctly, but it can and will burn you if you misuse it.

Today’s highlights feature a matchup between Mt. Tabor HS (NC) and Davie HS (NC), a game with multiple players who are prospects to play at some level of collegiate basketball.

Player Highlights:

Cody Martin (SG/SF, 6’6″, 2012) a fluid player with a decent first step and the ability to pull up from mid range. Reportedly has offers from NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Twin brother Caleb Martin also has the same offers but is currently sidelined with a broken foot.

Matt Madigan (PG/SG, 6’4″, 2013) quick with the ball and can play effectively at the PG or SG spot.

Nate Jones (PG/SG, 5’11″, 2012) explosive guard with elite hops and deep shooting range.

Shannon Dillard (SF/PF, 6’5″, 2012) nimble leaper who can wow with reverse dunks and shot blocks, but very strong rebounder as well.

Deion Robinson (PF, 6’4″, 2012) incredibly consistent around-the-basket player who rarely, if ever, makes mistakes.

Ty’Quan Bitting (C, 6’7″, 2013) long shot blocker who is improving quickly. Runs the floor well and is a factor in the paint.

Lepreece Lynch (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2013) deft scorer who has a deep well of moves to get buckets. Can finish inside, mid range or deep.

Nate Jones defends Matt Madigan on the perimeter

By Justin Byerly

The atmosphere for the much anticipated match-up between Harding HS (Charlotte) and Olympic HS (Charlotte) was like a prize fight.

Coaches from Villanova (Jay Wright), College of Charleston (Bobby Cremins), NC State (Gottfried), Virginia Tech, Liberty University, High Point University and Clemson (Brad Brownell) were in the gym while the girl’s game was still going on. The temperature at Harding’s gymnasium was close to ninety degrees inside and Harding jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead with just over five minutes to go in the first quarter. Jarvis Haywood (a 6’4″, 180lb guard) who recently de-committed from Winthrop University, missed his first four shots of the game, but found Jalien Byers (2013) open in the corner for a three-pointer to make it 9-2 Harding with 4:59 to go in the first quarter. Sean Anthony (17 points) of Olympic sets the pace of play for the Trojans, if he is running and creating the offense seems to operate a lot better. Emmanuel Patton scored 7 points for Harding during that span. Olympic responded with a basket by Clemson commit Josh Smith (2012 6’8″ center) and a three pointer by ESPN #9 2013 Allerik Freeman to make the score 14-14 after one quarter. John Brown (2012) of Olympic almost took the twenty plus year old rim down with an attempted dunk near the end of the first, that got the Olympic side of the gym rowdy.

The second quarter featured Emmanuel Patton (2013 Harding) throwing down a nice dunk on one of Olympics’ defenders, to make the score 20-18 Harding HS with 3:44 to go in the first half. Afar a few traded baskets, Josh Smith got fouled on a made lay-up and made the extra shot, to make the score 27-21 at halftime with Harding leading (outscoring Olympic 13-7 in the quarter). Olympics’ Freeman (5 points in first half).

Jarvis Haywood (being recruited by Virginia Tech, Jacksonville University, College of Charleston) came alive, getting to the basket with his nice crossover and change of direction almost at ease. Allerik Freeman, as he has done time and time again this year, also got hot in the third. After a John Brown dunk and Sean Anthony lay-up for Olympic to make it 31-27 Harding with lead, Allerik hit a half-runner from six feet off the glass to make it 31-29 with 4:38 to go in the third. Josh Smith tied it up for Olympic with a rebound and put-back, 31 all. Allerik would knock down another three to match his output in the first half. Olympic got a break on a blocking call on Harding’s Aaron Linton (2013) as John Brown was driving to the basket and the score 38-35 Harding with the lead. Freeman would use a stutter step-crossover-step back move to create separation and knock down another three to make it 38 all with just over forty seconds to go in third quarter.

Patton would get a break-away dunk mid-way through the fourth quarter to put Harding up 54-52, Josh Smith responded with a lay-up to tie it up at 54 with 3:33 remaining in fourth quarter. After a Harding turnover Sean Anthony of Olympic gets blocking call while going to the basket, goes to the line and misses first shot but makes second to make it 55-54 Olympic with 2:56 remaining. An Emanuel Patton runner in the lane makes the gets Harding within 2 at 58-56. Another costly turnover for Harding gives Anthony a lay-up to make it a four point game with just over two minutes to play. Jarvis Haywood gets to the basket again for a lay-up to make it 58-60 Olympic still leading. Olympic finds Freeman open for a jumper, he misses it on a nice look and Harding with the rebound. Haywood takes it in for a nice turn-around jumper to make it 6o all. On Olympics’ next trip down the floor, on a great entry pass to Josh Smith, he scores and gets fouled (making the free throw) to make it a 63-60 game with just under a minute left.

After a quick shot from Harding, Olympic gets the rebound and calls timeout with forty-two seconds remaining. Olympic tries to run the clock out but Sean Anthony is fouled (could have had around 24, if FT’s fell) who misses the front end of a 1& 1 allowing Harding to get the rebound with 29.4 seconds remaining in the game and call timeout. After the timeout, Jarvis Haywood takes the ball up and goes to the basket with a nice move and basket to make the score, 62-63 Olympic still leading. Harding fouls Olympics’ Brown who misses the 1&1 and 6.4 seconds remaining in the game. Harding calls timeout, inbounds the ball and is fouled with 2.3 seconds to go. Olympic had a foul to give and with 2.3 seconds to go inbound to Jarvis Haywood, who dribbled to baseline and just misses the game winner and Olympic gets out alive in MEGA 7 Conference play.

Sean Anthony 5’9″ PG Olympic HS- 17 points in win. Super quick guard, who has a great ability to finish in the lane and seems to make good decisions when under defensive pressure. Olympics’ meter stick for how they are playing, Anthony plays well, Olympic usually does.

Allerik Freeman 6’4 190 G Olympic HS- Scored 14 points, did not take many shots during the game in first half, but then in the second half showed why he is ranked so high by many publications, by knocking down the open shot and creating off the dribble with his size. By far the most muscular kid in the gym. Has a great cross-over, that will the defender and allow separation for him to get a clean shot off.

Josh Smith 6’8″ 260 C Olympic- Scored 12 points, all in the paint. Very good free throw shooter also. Made the big free throws when he was put on the line. He has a nice post game, with great up and under move that he has almost perfected. He is a solid rebounder also, as I had him with close to 8 rebounds.

Trey Mitchell 6’4″ 170 Olympic- Scored 6 points, but were the biggest shots of the game. Knocked down two three pointers when Olympic really needed them and when you thought Harding might be smelling the upset.

John Brown 6’4″ 175 Olympic- Scored 8 points, but by far the most athletic kid on the floor, can just flat-out jump out of the gym and does so effortlessly. Good defender who can alter shots with his leaping ability.

Jarvis Haywood 6’4″ 175 Harding- A solid all around work horse. I had him for 26 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. This kid makes plays, he didn’t start out great, but he keep working and working and the game finally came to him. He can get to the basket with ease, even against a very strong defending team like Olympic. He is definitely a Davison One basketball player. Had a great look at the end for the win that would have had all 8 D1 coaches in the building offering him a ride.

Emmanuel Patton 6’7″ 185 Harding- If not just as athletic as Olympics’ Brown, he is right behind him. Patton can get to the rim with his leaping ability and is great from about 8-10 ft from the basket. Not a great shooter, but can rebound, run and score in the post with his athleticism with the best of them. Scored 19 points.

Steven Burrough- Scored 8 points in the game, but with his size, is a factor for most of the teams in the MEGA 7 conference. He gets to the basket, makes good defensive plays and should only get better over the next year and a half.

A few highlights:

By Marcus Shockley

When watching the documentary Gunnin’ for That No. 1 Spot, directed by Adam Yauch (forever known to me as MCA of the Beastie Boys), one statement from the movie made me cringe and has stuck with me ever since. It wasn’t because I haven’t heard similar statements before, but because it so perfectly encapsulates the myth behind college basketball recruiting.

As the players are walking out on the court for the first time at the Elite 24, the emcee announces “these players will all be millionaires in a few years”. Make no mistake about it; in high profile college basketball recruiting, these players are in demand and many of the stories people think happen are true, such as the current “Player X” story on ESPN from our man Jason Jordan. This is not to say Jason’s story isn’t true. The type of things listed in his article do happen, just like the way that some big time colleges use the “unofficial visit” as a way to funnel money to a recruit. But that’s only a few cases, and the reality for the vast majority of high school basketball players is much different.

I know there are some great articles available from people who I know and recommend like Tim Ryerson of Student Athlete Word like College Recruiting Myths which break down many of the misconceptions of how high school players get noticed and recruited by colleges, and our pal Al Woods of Woods Recruiting has many articles on the subject as well. So I’m not going to delve into those aspects. What I’m going to cover are some of the myths about high school basketball players and the difference between reality and people’s perception.

1. Not all D1 athletes are going to the NBA.

There are so many basketball players who want to go to a D1 school, and it makes sense on some levels; pride in being able to say you were a D1 athlete, the possibility of more exposure for some programs, and the ability to network with former players/coaches. Players also want to show they can play against D1 talent, because D1 talent is overall closer to pro talent.

But the reality is that almost none of the Division 1 basketball players playing today have a future playing in the NBA, and very few even have a future playing overseas. So even if you land a D1 scholarship, there’s very little chance it will turn you into a lottery pick. The types of players who go from unknown to NBA picks include Jimmer Fredette, Steph Curry and Kemba Walker. In other words, players who started for schools that made the NCAA tournament, were considered possibly the best player in the nation, and had incredible performances in front of national television audiences during the NCAA tournament.

And the kids from the movie? They did all make the NBA, but two weren’t drafted until the second round, hardly equal to the brash guarantee made about their games.

Many players who could start for Division 2 programs will go to a D1 school and rarely even see the floor, because they think that they have to be D1 in order to play pro ball. John Thompson, legendary coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, used to keep a deflated basketball on his desk as a reminder that it was worthless without ’9 pounds of air’…”If you live your whole life based on nine or 10 pounds of air in the ball and your life has no other importance or significance than that, excuse me, you’re a damn fool,” he says, constantly reminding players that an education is more reliable than that 9 pounds of air.

Even all of the players on UNC, Kentucky, Syracuse and Duke don’t have futures as pro players. This is not to say you shouldn’t have dreams, and yes, sometimes players do make the pros from lesser known schools. But parents and players think that D1=NBA, means millions of dollars, and they completely ignore some of their best options.

2. Not all college recruiting is sordid.

Yes, there is truth to some of the rumors and stereotypes of big time athletics. Not all players take money, but there are all of the things people hear about: runners, handlers, cash payments, “perks”, jobs for parents, jobs for handlers, and so on.

But that’s not the norm – that’s only a situation that has to be navigated for the top athletes, the ones who can help a college team compete for a national title and probably will be in the NBA before long. For the vast majority of players, college recruiting is about trying to figure out where they can get a scholarship, where they will see the most playing time, where they will feel comfortable and what type of degree they can get while in school.

For most colleges, they don’t have million dollar budgets and the coaches are certainly not flying around the country in private jets. For many college coaches, they are desperately looking for athletes who can help them win, and who can actually get into, and stay in, school. A lot of players and parents have a complete misconception about the college recruiting process – they think if only their child were to get seen by the right college, they’d get offered right away. The reality is that most players have to work like crazy to get even a single offer from any school. That is a far cry from the glamour of the top athletes and top programs.

3. You cannot “talk” or “promote” a player into a scholarship.

I love grassroots basketball. I love driving way out into the middle of nowhere, finding my way to a gym in the dark, walking in and suddenly seeing a 6’8″ kid no one has ever heard of who can really play. But there are parents – and media – who constantly promote players beyond their abilities.

I don’t scout players in the sixth grade. No serious scout would. Sure, you can keep an eye on him if he looks like he has skill, but beyond that it’s pointless.

I’m not saying parents shouldn’t communicate how their child is doing, but the reality is that the only things that will get a player into college on an athletic scholarship is his ability and his grades, and he has to be able to play against other big time players. Nothing else. So when you tell everyone who will listen that Big State U and Giant University are all recruiting your kid, honestly, it’s obvious when that’s a line being tossed around in hopes of generating false interest.

And I love highlight films and mixtapes, after all, I’m a huge basketball fan. But a mixtape is not a scouting video, because every mixtape makes the players look like NBA all-stars. You also have to remember that any highlight video has two components: the player being featured and the competition of the event. There have been many times I’ve seen player video and the kid looks like a superstar, shooting from outside, passing, dunking, dominating. Often, seeing the player in person is a very different story.

Photo Credit:TriadSportsCoverage.com

The first day of the 2011 Frank Spencer Holiday Classic was an all-day basketball bonanza, with loads of talented players taking the court at two locations in the Triad. Note: For downloadable brackets, go here.

The Champions bracket saw #1 seed Winston-Salem Prep down East Forsyth 61-45, getting 26 turnovers from the trapping and pressing style that has served them so well this season. However, the expected showdown between Prep and #2 seed North Forsyth will never occur, as North lost their opening round match up with West Stokes, 49-42. Austin Fleming, a player we scouted in AAU over the summer, powered Stokes to the win with a late second half surge. Fleming has great footwork in the post, but has a future on the gridiron as a star QB – he led West to the 2-AA football title only a month ago.

Braeshaun Dozier scored 28 points to lead defending champion Reagan HS over RJ Reynolds (84-66), and Mount Tabor downed Glenn 80-71 behind Deion Robinson’s 30 points and Ty’Quan Bitting’s 12 rebounds.

The Pepsi bracket games kicked off at East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, NC and saw #1 bracket seed Forsyth Country Day down Atkins High School, 47-23, behind the solid guard play of Colton Bishop and Jack Young. Young led FCD in scoring for the second game in a row with 12 points, and forward Andy Bell added another 11.

Photo Credit:TriadSportsCoverage.com

#2 seed Parkland did not fare as well, falling to McMicheal HS 80-71 in a back and forth game that was dominated by the play of McMicheal’s Quan Mims and Teco Davis, two quick guards whose defense gave Parkland fits all game. Mims led all scorers with 25 and was the driving force behind McMicheal’s come from behind win.

North Davidson defeated Lexington 64-53 with Charles Brunson leading the Black Knights in scoring with 15 points, while West Forsyth took care of Carver, 50-42. West Forsyth’s John Massengill led their scoring with 14 points.

Photo Credit:TriadSportsCoverage.com

Special thanks to TriadSportsCoverage.com for their photo work during the tourney.

A.J. Hammons, a true center committed to play his college basketball at Purdue, chatted with us a little about some of the concepts used in playing the post. Hammons is playing his senior high school season for Oak Hill.

You can read our scouting report on Hammons here.