Anfernee Simons

Anfernee Simons is a top-10 recruit in the class of 2018, but he is actually taking a year in a post-graduate program at IMG Academy. Now, he’s being declared eligible for the 2018 NBA Draft since he will technically be a year removed from high school and will be 19 years old by the time June comes around. Continue reading “After backing out of Louisville commitment, five-star PG Anfernee Simons could make shocking decision”

Quentin Grimes

Five-star point guard Quentin Grimes has decided that he will be committing during the early signing period for basketball players and will do it on the last possible day too. He dropped this tweet to let everyone know when and where his commitment is going down. pic.twitter.com/rqv7Yj7cdo — Quentin Grimes (@qdotgrimes) November 13, 2017 The 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard out of Texas is believed to be down to Texas and Kentucky in his… Continue reading “Five-star SG Quentin Grimes announces official commitment date”

Romeo Langford

The early signing period for college basketball is upon us and that means several of the big names in the 2018 recruiting class will be signing soon. Others are narrowing down their lists and that includes five-star shooting guard Romeo Langford who is now down to three schools. Continue reading “Nation’s No. 5 overall recruit Romeo Langford narrows list to three schools”

Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons called the NCAA a “dirty business” in a recent interview with Maverick Carter for Uninterrupted. The top overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft went on to say … Continue reading “Former top NBA pick calls out NCAA: ‘It’s a dirty business’”

Wendell Moore

Five-star small forward Wendell Moore is getting closer to making a decision on where he’ll be going to play his college basketball. He’s taken an important step with a top 10 list that he dropped on Twitter: TOP 10‼️ pic.twitter.com/C5NcxdSIs2 — thewendellmoore (@thewendellmoore) October 26, 2017 The 6-foot-4, 200-pound forward out of Charlotte is ranked as the No. 6 player at his position and No. 25 recruit overall in the class… Continue reading “Five-star SF Wendell Moore drops top 10 schools list”

Zion Williamson

No. 2 overall recruit Zion Williamson showed up to a USA Basketball camp with some numbers that scouts and recruiting analysts didn’t like. However, that hasn’t forced anyone to pull an offer from him and in fact, he is reportedly narrowing his list of schools according to ZAGSBLOG. Continue reading “Nation’s No. 2 overall recruit Zion Williamson reportedly eliminates school from his list”

Rick Pitino

The FBI’s investigation into numerous college basketball coaches has already resulted in the arrests of four different assistants and the firing of one legendary coach in Rick Pitino. Apparently the initial wave of arrests were just the “tip of the iceberg”. Continue reading “Report: Dozens of coaches could be let go due to ongoing FBI probe”

Jordan Brown

Five-star power forward Jordan Brown just finished up a weekend at a USA Basketball mini-camp and apparently played well according to Rivals. He also has two visits planned for the coming weekend as he will head to UCLA and then follow that up with a trip to the other side of the country at St. John’s.… Continue reading “Five-star PF Jordan Brown has two visits set, one to final four contender”

Isaac Bonds

School: EE Smith                                                                                                                                         

AAU: Fayetteville Elite

Height: 5’9

Position: Guard

The first time we got see Isaac play was years ago during a tournament on the campus of Fayetteville State University, it was a local event and Isaac was on a team with a high amount of talented 2018 and 2019 prospects. At this point in his career he was still working to get better but you could see some flashes and moments throughout the game of what could possibly become of him if he continued to work hard. Well over the years he has put in quite a bit of time and work and the results are clear as he has become a bigtime piece of the success of EE Smith High School’s basketball program.

Strengths

  • Demeanor– Many my questions if this is really a strength but when you play the Point Guard position, you have to have a poker face and Isaac has that. Through the many times I’ve seen him play, you can’t look at him and tell if he’s having an off game or not, he has his occasional moment or two of excitement when his team has it going. However overall he does a good job of stay pretty much even keel and that what you need from a floor general.
  • Speed and Athleticism– One thing that you will notice about him as soon as you watch him play is how fast he can get up and down the floor. He’s a perfect fit for an up-tempo style of play, which is the way that many teams at the next level have decided to play the game. He has very good acceleration and is just as fast with the ball in his hands as he is without it. As far as athletic ability, he has put in the work to add to how athletic he is and it clearly shows. He’s getting up above the rim and will throw down an occasional dunk, by the time this season begins I fully expect him to get some in game dunks. He uses his athleticism to also finish through traffic and against bigger opponents when he’s attacking the basket.
  • Defense– This may be the attribute that I appreciate the mist about this young man, he is a willing and very efficient defensive player. He has good lateral quickness and knows how to defend without fouling by using that quickness as well as his quick hands. One way that you can see how productive he was, is by looking at his defensive stats from last season. He was a leader in the state in steals at 2.8 a night, nearly 3 steals a game.
  • Character– Isaac is one of the nicest and respectful kids that you will meet, he takes care of business in the classroom with a GPA of 3.7. We fully expect his transition to the college level in the classroom to be even easier than the transition in the classroom due to how good of a student he is. Last but not least, he allows himself to be coached, he listen and does what he’s told, definitely the type of player that you love to have on your squad.

 

Areas for Improvement

 

  • Off Hand- At this point he has the ability to go to his left but is not as strong with his left hand as he is with his right. For guards at the next level, the ability to attack with both hands is very important, consistent time working on his offhand will help with his.
  • Being Vocal- The job of the PG is to be a coach on the court, as of now Isaac is more of the type of player that leads by actions but will need to be more vocal on the court. Doing things like constantly talking to teammates about where they should be, communicating with the coach constantly, and providing verbal encouragement to the squad.
  • Strength- Adding some more muscle to his body will be key for him, guards at the next level tend to take quite a bit of contact on and off the ball. He’s somewhat slim, but with time and either weights or calisthenics he can add the muscle to his frame.

coleman

ATTENTION! Just making sure whoever is reading this doesn’t miss this part. 8th grade is too soon to project a player for the college level, at least for the most part. Unless they are extraordinary, it probably isn’t ideal to make a projection. I understand that. With that being said again, don’t expect a projection in this player intro. However, don’t be shocked to hear plenty about this kid in middle school this year and in high school every year until he graduates in 2021.

Cole Gilbert is a 13 year old 6’7” (for now) 8th grader that attends Ocracoke Middle School in Ocracoke, NC. It’s a relatively small island on the coast. It’s typically known as a great vacation and tourist spot. However, it isn’t often that a kid with such immense size, work ethic and potential comes along in such a small area as such. Gilbert will be one to track in Ocracoke over the years to come.

On the court, as the case is with most young big men, Cole is raw. However, his knowledge of the game is there, his mentality to strive to be great is there and his work ethic is impeccable. Coach DeAngelo Spruill of Garner Road likes what he has seen from Gilbert during competition. “Cole is a big boy! He’s a willing worker, has decent footwork and he doesn’t quit. Has a work ethic.” said Spruill when asked his thoughts of Cole.

Ocracoke isn’t known as a hoops hotbed. However, over the past couple of years current high school Coach Dave Allewalt and a slew of others have been doing a wonderful job building up the sports programs on the island starting with the youth. Cole is one of those kids who has come up in the program and has been working extremely hard on his game and adjusting to his body. He could certainly in time make his mark and bring more attention to a growing Ocracoke basketball program.

He’s currently sporting a size 16.5 shoe, just 13 years young and rapidly growing. Size, youth and a great work ethic typically make for an excellent post prospect in due time. It’s going to be fun watching the development of Cole over these next few years. Remember the name.

You read it here first.

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This is the 2nd of what will be 5 installments of the “A Way Too Early Intro” series. Stay tuned.