December 2012

Elias Harris

By James Blackburn

Game Scouted: Davidson vs. Gonzaga (Old Spice Classic- Championship Game)

Gonzaga wins 81-67

Box Score

Elias Harris (6’7”, F, SR)

Stats
31 min, 9-11 FG, 6-7 FT, 10 reb, 1 assist, 4 TO, 2 blk, 2 steals, 24 TP

Strengths
Harris is a skilled player with solid length and muscle. He is an excellent rebounder on both ends and he crashes the offensive glass every time. He also boxes out on the defensive end and held one of Davidson’s best offensive rebounders to only 6 total rebounds. He attacks the ball and grabs it with two hands. Defensively he showed the ability to switch practically every screen and the ability to guard in the post and on the perimeter adequately.

Offensively, Harris can both shoot and score on the low block. Although he didn’t take any 3-pointers this game, he shows good shooting mechanics and shot the ball from 3 pretty well last year. He is a great FT shooter as well showing nice shooting touch. He has an effortless release and good follow through. Also, worth noting is that Elias has soft hands and a soft shooting touch. He can catch nearly any pass thrown to him and does a nice job giving a hand target in the post. Excellent hands overall.

He gets deep post position and once he has the ball he is an efficient scorer. He has a nice jump hook and a sly spin move. Does a decent job of running the floor in transition and excels at being the trailer on the secondary break as he is a solid passer. He also lead the break several times and had a couple of assist to open teammates. Can handle the ball decently and showed he can get by defender at top of key with the straight line dribble drive. Can use either hand, although he prefers to go right.

Weaknesses
Despite being stronger and weighing more then practically any one he goes up against, he needs to be stronger with the ball in the post. Half of his turnovers this game came from the post where Davidson was able to take the ball from him. He brought it too low several times and the guards were able to take it. He didn’t seem to deal with the physical play of Davidson very well either, and some of his turnovers came from when he was doubled or bumped. He plays mostly under the rim and is not very explosive, which can be attributed to his extra weight. He needs to continue to develop ball handling skills and the ability to change directions and create shot on perimeter.

Most of Harris deficiencies at least seen from this game came on the defensive end. Although he did have a couple of nice blocks and some steals he has some work to do on the defensive side of the ball. He didn’t close out well, often jumping out of control, allowing his man to go right by. He is too tall and straight up and not in good defensive stance when playing perimeter D and he doesn’t contest many perimeter jump shots, as his hands are often down. He also got caught to easily on screens and didn’t fight very hard to get around them. Poor P/R defender- content to just switch all screens. This might work at the college level, but will not work very well at next level. He does not have the lateral quickness to stay in front of PG, SG, or SF in the NBA.

His conditioning is not up to par either and could stand to lose a little bit of weight to gain back some explosiveness and be able to get up and down the floor a little better. He lost track of his man a few times as he didn’t see both man and ball at all times. Just seemed to lose concentration on the defensive side of the ball at times. Looked engaged and in solid position on some possessions and then terrible on other possessions. I attribute this mostly to him not being in game shape.

Overview
Good overall game for Harris as he led the Zags in points and rebounds in a championship game. His offensive game looked solid and I believe his defensive game will improve as the season goes on. He displayed good even keeled body language throughout game even when he did not get the ball in the post as he had great post position most of the game and should of gotten the ball more.

He has the skills to play in the NBA and is worthy of picking in late 2nd round and/or giving summer league/training camp invite to. Would be an excellent candidate for D-League to continue to learn the pro game and after a season be ready to contribute more in the NBA.
Reminds me of Glenn Davis who plays for the Orlando Magic. Both players are undersized 4 men and both have great hands and are good rebounders. Scouts question the fact that he does not have a clear cut position at next level, doesn’t have speed/perimeter skills to play or defend the SF at next level, and doesn’t have height and athleticism to play PF at next level.

I see him playing the PF in the NBA however as he does have good strength and solid wingspan, making him bigger then 6’7”. He also has great rebounding skills which will translate to the pros and can defend PF’s better then he could defend SF’s. Scouts will want to watch him match up against bigger players in the post and see if he is capable of playing the 4 man in the NBA.

Marcus Thornton

Editor’s Note: Sleeper Reports are detailed scouting reports done on players who are under the radar and who have pro potential (NBA, D-League, or overseas). This player usually plays for a DII or LM school and is a player that not a lot of people are talking about but should be. The players strengths, weaknesses, and pro projections are detailed out.

Prospect Reports are detailed scouting reports done on players who are considered at least Top 100 players and are listed on mock draft boards. They usually play for a MM or HM school (not always) and will be leaving school for the draft after this season or next season most likely. The players strengths, weaknesses, and pro projections are detailed out.

By James Blackburn

Game Scouted: William and Mary @ Wake Forest

Wake wins 63-57

Box Score

Marcus Thornton (G, 6’4”, SO)

Stats

35 min, 7-13 FG, 1-4 3pt FG, 2-2 FT, 1 reb, 1 PF, 1 assist, 4 TO, 17 TP

Strengths

Thornton showed good patience on the offensive end most of the game and did not shoot his first shot until about 4 minutes in. Thornton is one of the quickest players I have seen this year, possessing a lethal first step. Combining his superb athleticism and a very quick first step, he has the ability to get to the rime practically at will. Has a quick and low, left to right crossover dribble that he can use to get to rim. He showed numerous times tonight the ability to split the trap off the P/R and made it look easy. Marcus excels in Pick and Roll situations, which bodes well for him going forward. He can turn the corner on the P/R play and either finish inside or kick to open teammates (something he didn’\’t do a lot of, but has the ability to do). He handled Wake’s pressure fine and also showed that he could beat a press both off the bounce and with the pass. He is a solid ball handler and played shared time playing both on and off the ball. He gets so low to the ground when he dribbles and he almost lost balance several times, but somehow he kept his balance and still finished shot. He moves very well with out the ball with quick cuts and knows how to get open. He is also a better passer then his 1 assist today and his 11 assist for the year indicate. He uses his athleticism when attacking the rim and hangs in the air and finishes with contact. He also changes speeds and directions easily- very natural and fluid. He has the ability to change and adjust his shots in the air and finish. He does a great job of slithering by secondary defenders and avoiding the charge. Highlight reel with the ball. Can create his own shot and can make plays on busted plays or at end of shot clock.

Thornton’s shot is still a little shaky at this point, but he gets great elevation on pull up jump shot and is a good FT shooter (shooting over 70% for his career). Looked calm and comfortable at line- went 2-2, but didn’t go to FT line until 10 seconds remaining.

He was W&M go-to player when team needed points and needed a score- they put him in a P/R situation.

Not a great defender at this point, but he is quick laterally and he covers ground and recovers quickly. He contested most shots and was in solid position as the help defender.

Weaknesses

Thornton’s inefficiencies start on the defensive end. He is vulnerable to getting posted up against bigger guards because of a lack of strength. He also had a tough time fighting through screens both on and off the ball. He attempted to his credit to fight around the screens, but he gets bumped/muscled too much defensively. He could stand to add about 10 more pounds of muscle in the next 2 years, which would help in these areas. Does a good job of knowing where to be defensively- as far as being in good position as the secondary help defender, but he is often out of stance. Needs to work on closing out better defensively- has a tendency to jump instead of staying down and contesting.

Jump shot is inconsistent at this point and his form could improve. He holds the ball for too long and doesn’t release it at top of jump- doesn’t release until he starts coming down. Shot is different each time- needs to get consistent stroke when shooting.

Rarely heard him open his mouth on either end- doesn’t communicate on defensive end and is not a vocal leader. Complained to the officials a couple times when he thought he had gotten pushed or fouled going up for a shot and showed frustration when a shot/lay-up wouldn’t fall. Has a tendency to get out of control at times when handling the ball caused mostly by over dribbling- TO prone. He is a good ball handler, but is noticeably more explosive and comfortable going and finishing with his right, rather then left hand.

Overview

Solid scoring game for Thornton, who came into the contest ranking second in the CAA with just over 17 ppg. He was named to the Preseason Second-Team All CAA and was named CAA Player of the Week after scoring 24 points against Hampton.

Here are some quick notes on Thornton and this game. He came out and defended Wake Forests’ best player in CJ Harris (they are guarded each other most of the game). William and Mary is running a form of the flex offensively. Looked engaged and focused on coach in the first time out. Has a low key demeanor on the court- almost looks like he is coasting- but he is not-quite personality. Had a couple of big time buckets at end of game, when team needed a score.

Although Thornton has a quite personality, he needs to become more of a vocal leader. He uses his quickness/athleticism mostly on defense, but doesn’t get low or wide in defensive stance- should be pressuring ball more w/ speed. He will not be able to resort to his speed at next level when he is going to be matched up against quick guards night in and night out. Didn’t pick up first foul until 1:25 remaining in game, which speaks on his aggressiveness on defense, or lack there of.

Has more TO (14) then assist (11) up to this point- not a good sign for an undersized combo guard that will have to make move to the PG for next level. Has the quickness/speed, athleticism, and size to play PG at pro level- but not good enough playmaker at this stage. I saw some playmaking ability-but not enough of it this game. This is something I believe he can and will develop in his time at W & M. Has decent enough size (listed at 6’4”- more like 6’2”) to play the PG at the pro level, but not the shooting guard position.

Thornton as sophomore reminds me of Jeff Teague when he was at Wake as a sophomore. Both are/were combo guards who had a knack for scoring the basketball. Thornton is actually an inch or so taller then Teague and is just as quick and athletic. Teague was able to make the transition to the PG position in the pro’s after playing both guard positions in college. I believe Thornton can and will improve his PG and playmaking skills while also continuing to score the basketball. If he can develop some shooting consistency, he has a shot to play in the NBA after his senior year has completed. He is a player that scouts should at least monitor as he is mostly under the radar at this point, but will be ready for the D-League, if not the NBA in 2 years.