April 2014

TJ Warren NC State NBA draft

By Marcus Shockley

Well, it’s official. T.J. Warren has declared for the NBA draft:

North Carolina State University sophomore forward T.J. Warren announced Tuesday that he will forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2014 NBA Draft.

Warren, the ACC Player of the Year in 2013-14, averaged 24.9 points per game and shot 52.5 percent for the Wolfpack. He set school records for points in a single season (871) and games with 20 or more points in a season (31).

I remember watching T.J. as a high school junior and thinking that teams were sleeping on him and that his scoring ability reminded me a lot of Paul Pierce. By the time TJ was a senior, he’d gathered offers from several major schools, and decided on NC State. Just a few days before he announced his decision, he talked to me in this video interview about his current thinking.

T.J. will be a solid pro player. Scouts and coaches have been doubting his ability since he was in high school, but his ability to score has been proven repeatedly. The one nagging thing that he’ll have to work on at this point is his foul trouble. But that will come, in time.

Best of luck to T.J. at the pro level.

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Want more basketball insight? Follow Marcus Shockley on Twitter, right now.

John Calipari Lakers

Rex Chapman has never been a quiet guy. When he played, he was a flambouyant dunkaholic both as a Kentucky Wildcat and in the NBA. He hasn’t shied away from controversy in retirement, and just before tip-off in the NCAA national title game, he lit a fuse:

So reaction from the Big Blue Nation has been mixed, if not meteoric…some giving Rex a big ‘ho hum’ reaction, while others accepting his declaration as pure fact. One thing is for sure, Chapman has laid out a scenario where he will either be considered completely credible if Calipari does jump to L.A. and be considered a flake if it doesn’t happen.

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Shabazz Napier basketball hungry

The Twitter universe erupted in last minute controversy just before the NCAA national title game, and one of the more incendiary stories came from guard Shabazz Napier, who was quoted as saying “There are hungry nights that I go to bed…starving…I’m not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities”.

This of course created a reaction but Napier’s comments were taken a bit out of context from the original story.

“We as student athletes get utilized for what we do so well. We are definitely blessed to get a scholarship to our universities, but at the end of the day, that doesn’t cover everything. We do have hungry nights that we don’t have enough money to get food and sometimes money is needed,” the senior told reporters. “I think, you know, Northwestern has an idea, and we’ll see where it goes.”

So Napier’s comments were more along the lines that as a basketball player at a high revenue program, he and other players feel as though their talents are making some people rich while they get none of the money. This is an ongoing debate, and many UConn students jumped on Reddit to comment about the sensationalist headline, such as whether it’s actually true that college athletes at Connecticut are going hungry. Some students state that due to the athletes’ schedule, there isn’t anywhere for them to get the food from their meal plans. Other students claim that the athletes should be able to get as much food as they want, but they have better student housing located farther from where the food is available. You can read the whole debate here.

This comes on the back of comments by NCAA president Mark Emmert, who claimed that ‘converting’ student-athletes to unionized employees was something that nobody wanted (In reality, they are already employees, using the word ‘convert’ does not change the law. But that’s for another time).

However, Emmert and the NCAA can’t be happy that Napier was able to use the platform of the national title game to draw even more attention and sympathy to the issue surrounding paying the athletes that bring in billions of dollars to their coffers.

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Chris Paul Clippers

You would think that Chris Paul would be beloved in Los Angeles. After all, he’s helped make the Clippers, considered to be the worst-run organization in all of professional sports over the last 30 years, actually relevant. But, that’s not the case:

“I thought the city would have embraced him,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin said of Paul. “I mean, it seems like everywhere we go, people love Chris. I don’t know why he would get booed at a Dodger game.”

Paul said he understood being the victim of the Untrue Blue. Fans booed him at the Dodgers’ game against the San Francisco Giants on Friday, he said, because L.A. remains a Lakers town. Sadly, even being shown on the Dodger Stadium video board alongside Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford couldn’t protect him from the scorn of a sellout crowd.

So what gives?

In Los Angeles, the Clippers are the “other team”. The team that isn’t the Lakers, a team that “borrows” the court of the Lakers when they need to play a home game. It’s been this way since the Clippers franchise moved into L.A. from San Diego in 1984. The Clippers have horrible ownership and have been the laughingstock of the league, well, since even their days in San Diego.

Team owner Donald Sterling lobbied the NBA to allow him to move the Clippers to Los Angeles because of poor attendance…but the reason so few people were coming out to watch the games was that the team was awful for years. Bringing the team to L.A. did nothing to solve the poor management of Sterling and the Lakers were already well established. Remember, this was during the height of Magic Johnson’s ‘Showtime’ Laker teams. Sterling had purchased the team in 1981, and was based in L.A.

So the city of L.A. considered Chris Paul an outsider. They expected him to play for the Clippers for a season after David Stern’s ludicrous move to prevent him from going from New Orleans to the Lakers, then they expected him to move over to the ‘real’ L.A. team. Since he hasn’t, they haven’t embraced him.

Chris Paul is arguably one of the most marketable players in the NBA at the moment, with national endorsements, elite play and a winning personality. But as long as he stays with the Clippers, he will probably continue to be considered the ‘away team’ on the team’s home court.

New feature! A snapshot from social media of the trends and fan reactions surrounding certain events in the world of basketball. As Kentucky and UConn advanced to the national NCAA title game with wins in the Final Four, fans weighed in around the world with their thoughts. So here goes!

The inaugural NC Top 80 was held on March 29, 2014 in Greensboro, NC and I wasn’t able to fully scout the event due to the fact that we were broadcasting six of the games live on NetCast Sports Network, but I still had quite a few notes and I’m putting up them here broken out by each game to try and make it as easy to review as possible. Today I’m posting my notes from Game Six. Note: This is the second game of the day for both teams that we broadcast, so my notes on those players are the same as previously published.

Full Event Roster

The second game we broadcast on the day was Team 2 vs. Team 7, with the following rosters:

Team 2
# Name Class Height School
12 Justice Kithcart 2016 6’1″ Hillside HS
13 Spencer Wilson 2015 6’1″ Bishop McGuiness
14 Michael Okauru 2017 6’1″ Ravenscroft
27 Charles Norman 2016 6’2″ Prominence
37 Todd Smith 2017 6’3″ Flora McDonald
38 Chazz Surratt 2017 6’3″ East Lincoln HS
47 Ronshad Shabazz 2015 6’4″ Knightdale HS
53 CJ Bryce 2015 6’5″ N. Mecklenburg HS
65 Simeon Carter 2015 6’7″ West Charlotte HS
66 Xavier Hill-Mais 2015 6’7″ Page HS
80 Ebuka Izunda 2016 6’10” Victory Christian


Team 7
# Name Class Height School
2 Trevor Anderson 2015 5’11” Gaston Day
4 Chris Clemons 2015 5’9″ Millbrook HS
22 Jalen Burnett 2015 6’1″ S. Alamance
29 Quintin Jackson, Jr. 2016 6’2″ Word of God
43 Isaiah Vinson 2015 6’3″ South View HS
44 Trevor Willis 2016 6’3″ East Carteret
51 Jaylen Stowe 2015 6’4″ Hickory Ridge
62 Kishawn Pritchett 2015 6’6″ Lake Norman
63 David Reynolds 2015 6’6″ Ravenscroft
72 Luke Maye 2015 6’8″ Hough
76 Iran Bennett 2016 6’9″ Bull City Prep

Spencer Wilson (PG, 6’1, 2015) crafty left-handed point guard who has a smooth release on his deep jumper. Beats players off of the dribble and effective floor general.

Justice Cithkart (G, 6’1, 2016) a guard who showed an active, athletic game all day. Has an ability to get buckets in transition and an effective slasher in the halfcourt. Really solid looking prospect.

Charles Norman (G, 6’2″, 2016) Athletic guard with excellent awareness and aggressive with the ball. Looks to push it inside and beat the defender before they can react.

Chazz Surratt (G, 6’3″, 2016) Pushes the ball constantly and is a high motor player. One of the guys who kept looking stronger as the day progressed, and other players tired. Active on both ends, strong physically.

Ronshad Shabazz (G, 6’4″, 2015) Excellent size as a guard and versatile, today playing at both the 2 and the 3 spot. Can create his own shot.

Simeon Carter (F, 6’7″, 2015) Good length and size, raw athlete who will continue to improve as he polishes his skill set. Was active on both the defensive end and cleaning up on the offensive end.

Ebuka Izunda (C, 6’10″, 2016) Excellent big man prospect with good athleticim, good rebounding timing and can play in the post on offense. Has some upside and definitely worth being on colleges’ radar.

Trevor Anderson (G, 5’11″, 2015) has good quickness and a solid physique. Ability to beat his man off of the dribble and is not afraid of contact in the paint. Can run the team but more scorer at this point. Excellent conditioning, was one of the players who looked stronger in the last game than the first; as other players tired, he was one of the few who were able to take advantage of better conditioning.

Chris Clemons (G, 5’9″, 2015) Clemons is an explosive player who will surprise teams by being able to dunk in traffic; however he has the ability to shoot from outside to keep his defender from playing him too loosely. Quick and can finish with contact. Combo guard.

David Reynolds (SF/PF, 6’6″, 2015) Reynolds had one of the more impressive overall days; it seemed at times as though he was on both ends of every play. Agile inside but plays facing the basket and is a 3/4 type player. Hit some outside shots and ran the break to be open for the guards when they were pushing the ball.

Luke Maye (PF, 6’8″, 2015) Maye’s calling card is an elite shot release; high and quick, giving him a sliver of daylight is still too much. On the break, he uses his release to finish at full speed before the defender can get to the shot. In the post, he absorbs contact and drills the mid range. Good rebounding timing.

Iran Bennett (C, 6’9″, 2016) True post player, a space-eater who can dunk on the move. Excellent hands and good footwork. A true back-to-the-basket big man who was a major matchup problem for the other centers.

Want to watch all of the game replays from the NC Top 80? Check them out on NetCast Sports

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Marcus Shockley scouts high school basketball in the southeast and nationally. Want the latest scouting insight? Follow Marcus on Twitter, right now.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS (USBWA) – The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected Creighton senior forward Doug McDermott as the winner of the 2013-14 Oscar Robertson Trophy, annually presented to the National Player of the Year. The announcement was made at a news conference today at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, site of the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

McDermott

McDermott will be officially presented the Oscar Robertson Trophy on Mon., April 14 at theDevon Energy College Basketball Awards gala at National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

“It’s an unbelievable honor,” McDermott said. “I was not old enough to see Oscar play, but I always heard from my father and grandfather how great he was.”

The 6-8, 225-pounder from Ames Iowa, becomes the first USBWA national player of the year from Creighton and just the third from a Big East Conference school. Chris Mullin and Walter Berry, both from St. John’s, won back-to-back player of the year awards in 1985-86. The 2013-14 season marked Creighton’s first season in the Big East.

A three-time USBWA All-American and two-time USBWA District VI Player of the Year, McDermott was chosen as the national player of the year based on regular-season performance. He is just the 19th player to earn three-time All-America honors from the USBWA and the first since Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina (2007-09)

The Big East Player of the Year finished a remarkable collegiate career with 3,150 points, fifth-most in NCAA history. He leads the nation in scoring (26.7) and shot 52.6 percent from the field, including 44.9 percent from three-point range, and 86.4 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 7.0 rebounds per game. Twice this season – and four times in his career – he was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the USBWA. On March 8, in a 45-point performance against Providence on Senior Night, McDermott passed Oscar Robertson on the NCAA’s career scoring list and became just the eighth player to score 3,000 career points. Playing for his father, coach Greg McDermott, he scored 30-plus points in 13 of 35 games while averaging 33.7 minutes per game in a 28-7 season.

“He’s a naturally gifted player, and he got a lot of that from his dad. But he’s going to get better,” Oscar Robertson said. “What he did in college, he’s going to do more in the pros.”

Oscar Robertson TrophyThe Oscar Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of more than 900 journalists. It is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA’s first player of the year in 1959 and was the consensus national player of the year as a sophomore in 1958, the year before USBWA started giving its player of the year award. The USBWA renamed the award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.

Tickets and sponsorship information for the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards are available at collegebasketballawards.com or by contacting Scott Hill (405-749-1515, scott.hill@access-sports.net). The April 14 banquet will also honor Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall with the Henry Iba Award as the national coach of the year, Duke forward Jabari Parker with the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award as the national freshman of the year and Kansas coach Bill Self as the recipient of the Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821.

Related links:
• Oscar Robertson Trophy
• Purchase tickets to the College Basketball Awards gala

The inaugural NC Top 80 was held on March 29, 2014 in Greensboro, NC and I wasn’t able to fully scout the event due to the fact that we were broadcasting six of the games live on NetCast Sports Network, but I still had quite a few notes and I’m putting up them here broken out by each game to try and make it as easy to review as possible. Today I’m posting my notes from Game Five. Note: This is the second game of the day for both teams that we broadcast, so my notes on those players are the same as previously published.

Full Event Roster

The second game we broadcast on the day was Team 3 vs. Team 6, with the following rosters:

Team 3

# Name Class Height School
1 Darion Slade 2016 5’11” West Forsyth HS
15 JJ Watson 2017 6’1″ Smith HS
16 Lavar Batts, Jr. 2017 6’1″ JM Robinson HS
17 Derek McKnight 2015 6’1″ Gaston Day
39 Ian Dubose 2017 6’3″ Ravenscroft
48 TyShon Alexander 2017 6’4″ Concord HS
60 Harrison Curry 2015 6’6″ Elite Prep
67 Micheal Pippins 2016 6’7″ Conley HS
68 Quate McKinzie 2016 6’7″ Harrells Christian
70 Isaiah Maurice 2015 6’8″ Bull City Prep

Team 6
# Name Class Height School
1 Isaiah Blackmon 2015 5’11” West Charlotte HS
19 Michael Heuitt, Jr. 2017 6’1″ Village Christian
20 Demetrius Troy 2016 6’1″ Word of God
21 Jalen Harris 2016 6’1″ Greenfield
31 Kwe Parker 2016 6’2″ Trinity Christian
41 Akeem Tate 2016 6’3″ Green Hope
42 Telligence Johnson 2017 6’3″ Terry Sanford HS
42 Kylia Sykes 2016 6’5″ Trinity Christian
58 Rayjon Tucker 2015 6’5″ Northside Christian
71 Rob Brown 2015 6’8″ Millbrook HS
79 Hunter Seacat 2015 6’9″ Lake Norman HS

Kylia Sykes (G/F, 6’5″, 2016) Athletic wing who showed a versatile game on the offensive end and an ability to play above the rim. Definitely a college prospect and one to keep an eye on.

Jalen Harris (G, 6′, 2016) Star point guard with explosive athleticism. One of the best point guards at the event and a serious collegiate prospect.

Kwe Parker (G, 6’1″, 2016) Explosive – as in elite – athlete above the rim but also showed an ability to spot up and knock down open threes today. One of the top athletes in attendance.

Rayjon Tucker (G/F, 6’5″, 2015) Easily one of the top players on the entire day. Absolutely lit up opposing teams at times- from windmill dunks to finishing in traffic, Tucker was another player who showed he was one of the top prospects in the Southeast and should be considered a national recruiting prospect. Elite athleticism, excellent build and college size for the perimeter. High motor.

Rob Brown (C, 6’8″, 2015) Good hands, runs the floor and gets involved in multiple ways. Cleans up a lot of misses around the basket and versatile in the post.

Lavar Batts, Jr. (PG, 6’1″, 2017) is an elite passer. He has an ability to find teammates on the break that is uncanny, one of the best passers I’ve seen at the high school level in some time. He does have the ability to create off of the dribble, slashing to the basket at times but where he really impresses is when he carves up the defense on the break with precision passes.

Harrison Curry (SF/PF, 6’6″, 2015) a player who impressed me all day with his ability to be involved at all times. At his size, he was forced to play in the post a lot but also found a way to disrupt the passing lanes, has a great build that he will continue to add to on his way to the college game, and showed an ability to score. Definitely one of my favorite players of the day.

Derek McKnight (PG, 6’1″, 2015) elite crossover and tough to stop on the drive. Slasher, good passer who can run the team but also puts pressure on the defense in the half court with his quickness.

Isaiah Maurice (PF/C, 6’8″, 2015) was matched up against some of the top post players most of the day and held his own. Good hands, good length, active and an ability to score. More of a facing-the-basket PF in today’s game and a lot to like.

Darion Slade (G, 5’11″, 2016) hard nosed combo guard who played effectively both on and off of the ball. Showed an ability to drive the lane but also worked to get open looks from deep. Another guard who likes to put pressure on the defense in the half court with the dribble. Ability to take contact in the lane.

The inaugural NC Top 80 was held on March 29, 2014 in Greensboro, NC and I wasn’t able to fully scout the event due to the fact that we were broadcasting six of the games live on NetCast Sports Network, but I still had quite a few notes and I’m putting up them here broken out by each game to try and make it as easy to review as possible. Today I’m posting my notes from Game Four. Note: This is the second game of the day in which we broadcast Team 8, so my notes on those players are the same as previously published.

UPDATE: #60 was listed as Shaun Kirk on the broadcast from the event roster, but was replaced at the last minute by James Dickey, 6’9″, 2015 from Word of God.

Game Four:

Full Event Roster

The fourth game we broadcast on the day was Team 6 vs. Team 8, with the following rosters:

Team 6
# Name Class Height School
1 Isaiah Blackmon 2015 5’11” West Charlotte HS
19 Michael Heuitt, Jr. 2017 6’1″ Village Christian
20 Demetrius Troy 2016 6’1″ Word of God
21 Jalen Harris 2016 6’1″ Greenfield
31 Kwe Parker 2016 6’2″ Trinity Christian
41 Akeem Tate 2016 6’3″ Green Hope
42 Telligence Johnson 2017 6’3″ Terry Sanford HS
42 Kylia Sykes 2016 6’5″ Trinity Christian
58 Rayjon Tucker 2015 6’5″ Northside Christian
71 Rob Brown 2015 6’8″ Millbrook HS
79 Hunter Seacat 2015 6’9″ Lake Norman HS


Team 8
# Name Class Height School
3 Alex Hunter 2017 5’8″ Leesville Rd
10 Jalen Sanders 2016 6′ North Rowan
23 Rob Whitfield 2016 6’1″ Wake Christian
32 Jaylen Fornes 2016 6’2″ Word of God
33 Greyson Kelley 2015 6’2″ Leesville Rd
34 Dennis Smith, Jr. 2016 6’2″ Trinity Christian
35 Ray Kowalski 2016 6’2″ Concord
45 Ian Boyd 2016 6’3″ Apex HS
60 James Dickey 2015 6’9″ Word of God
73 Lonzia Tyson 2015 6’8″ Trinity Christian
77 Isaiah Whaley 2016 6’9″ Ashbrook

Kylia Sykes (G/F, 6’5″, 2016) Athletic wing who showed a versatile game on the offensive end and an ability to play above the rim. Definitely a college prospect and one to keep an eye on.

Jalen Harris (G, 6′, 2016) Star point guard with explosive athleticism. One of the best point guards at the event and a serious collegiate prospect.

Kwe Parker (G, 6’1″, 2016) Explosive – as in elite – athlete above the rim but also showed an ability to spot up and knock down open threes today. One of the top athletes in attendance.

Rayjon Tucker (G/F, 6’5″, 2015) Easily one of the top players on the entire day. Absolutely lit up opposing teams at times- from windmill dunks to finishing in traffic, Tucker was another player who showed he was one of the top prospects in the Southeast and should be considered a national recruiting prospect. Elite athleticism, excellent build and college size for the perimeter. High motor.

Rob Brown (C, 6’8″, 2015) Good hands, runs the floor and gets involved in multiple ways. Cleans up a lot of misses around the basket and versatile in the post.

Greyson Kelley (PG, 6′, 2016) High motor guard who goes full blast all day. Can get buckets, works hard on defense.

Dennis Smith, Jr. (G, 6’2″, 2016) Explosive guard who gets a lot of notoriety for his athleticism on the offensive end, but played really hard on the defensive end as well. Can play on or off of the ball. Elite athlete at the guard spot.

James Dickey (SF/PF, 6’9″) Good length and versatile. Made a lot of the little plays – stealing a pass on the interior or grabbing a loose board for the putback. Was involved all day. Has some upside, raw athleticism.

Jalen Sanders (G, 6′, 2016) Physically strong combo guard who is at his best going at the bucket and using his strength to finish. Plays older than a sophomore.

Want to watch all of the game replays from the NC Top 80? Check them out on NetCast Sports

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Marcus Shockley scouts high school basketball in the southeast and nationally. Want the latest scouting insight? Follow Marcus on Twitter, right now.

The inaugural NC Top 80 was held on March 29, 2014 in Greensboro, NC and I wasn’t able to fully scout the event due to the fact that we were broadcasting six of the games live on NetCast Sports Network, but I still had quite a few notes and I’m putting up them here broken out by each game to try and make it as easy to review as possible. Today I’m posting my notes from Game Three. Note: This is the second game of the day featuring Team 4, so my notes on some players are the same, as these notes are my overall take on their play during the day, not on a specific game.

Game Three:

Full Event Roster

The second game we broadcast on the day was Team 2 vs. Team 4, with the following rosters:

Team 2
# Name Class Height School
12 Justice Kithcart 2016 6’1″ Hillside HS
13 Spencer Wilson 2015 6’1″ Bishop McGuiness
14 Michael Okauru 2017 6’1″ Ravenscroft
27 Charles Norman 2016 6’2″ Prominence
37 Todd Smith 2017 6’3″ Flora McDonald
38 Chazz Surratt 2017 6’3″ East Lincoln HS
47 Ronshad Shabazz 2015 6’4″ Knightdale HS
53 CJ Bryce 2015 6’5″ N. Mecklenburg HS
65 Simeon Carter 2015 6’7″ West Charlotte HS
66 Xavier Hill-Mais 2015 6’7″ Page HS
80 Ebuka Izunda 2016 6’10” Victory Christian

Team 4

# Name Class Height School
5 Juan Munoz 2016 6′ Panther Creek
6 Darriel Brown 2017 6′ FCDS
7 Kenny Hairston 2015 6′ Davidson Day
18 Quayson Williams 2015 6’1″ Eastern Guilford
28 Emmett Tilley 2016 6’2″ Northern Durham
49 Charles Minlend, Jr. 2015 6’4″ First Assembly
54 Zach Cottrell 2016 6’5″ Hayesville HS
61 Peter Agba 2015 6’6″ Greensboro Day
69 Matt Kalaf 2016 6’7″ Nuese Christian
74 Papa N’Diaye 2016 6’9″ Quality Education

Spencer Wilson (PG, 6’1, 2015) crafty left-handed point guard who has a smooth release on his deep jumper. Beats players off of the dribble and effective floor general.

Justice Cithkart (G, 6’1, 2016) a guard who showed an active, athletic game all day. Has an ability to get buckets in transition and an effective slasher in the halfcourt. Really solid looking prospect.

Charles Norman (G, 6’2″, 2016) Athletic guard with excellent awareness and aggressive with the ball. Looks to push it inside and beat the defender before they can react.

Chazz Surratt (G, 6’3″, 2016) Pushes the ball constantly and is a high motor player. One of the guys who kept looking stronger as the day progressed, and other players tired. Active on both ends, strong physically.

Ronshad Shabazz (G, 6’4″, 2015) Excellent size as a guard and versatile, today playing at both the 2 and the 3 spot. Can create his own shot.

Simeon Carter (F, 6’7″, 2015) Good length and size, raw athlete who will continue to improve as he polishes his skill set. Was active on both the defensive end and cleaning up on the offensive end.

Ebuka Izunda (C, 6’10”, 2016) Excellent big man prospect with good athleticim, good rebounding timing and can play in the post on offense. Has some upside and definitely worth being on colleges’ radar.

Juan Munoz (PG, 6′, 2016) very quick guard with a deft dribble. All over the floor on both ends and held his own against several top players.

Matt Kalaf (SF, 6’7″, 2016) Great deep shooter with length. College coaches have to like what they see in Kalaf, who has the size to play the small forward spot at the collegiate level. He has a high, fluid release on his jump shot and his height gives him an ability to shoot right over smaller guards and forwards. He also has the range to scorch teams from outside. Moves without the ball to get shots but doesn’t just set up on the perimeter, also gets inside on defense and posts up at times when he sees the right match up.

Peter Agba (PF/C, 6’6″, 2015) Agba is a rebounding machine and a physical presence in the post. Although he is undersized for a collegiate center, he outrebounded many players today who had an inch or two on him. A beast inside, he relishes and plays through contact all day long.

Zach Cottrell (SF, 6’5″, 2016) Cottrell was active and played a lot of perimeter today, showing an ability to hit from deep and a willingness to play scrappy. Good passer and awareness.

Papa N’Diaye (PF/C, 6’9″, 2016) is one of the best post prospects in the Southeast right now. His natural skill set is his length, high shot release and fluid ability to score from the mid range. I’ve seen N’Diaye play multiple times and have always been impressed with his ability to play – and score – against other true big men. His go-to move is a turn around jumper but he has a college build and will be playing at the Division I level somewhere. Great hands, good footwork and can even finish a bit slashing on the move. N’Diaye should be considered a national prospect.

Darriel Brown (G, 6′, 2017) Showed an ability to drive the lane with the ball, kicking it out if the defense adjusted, but also an ability to spot up and get open for outside shots. Good in transition with the ball.

Emmett Tilley (PG, 6’2″, 2016) Tilley is another player who I’ve seen several times and is a solid college guard prospect. Showed his ability to get to the bucket and has a quick release on the drive that makes him hard to stop going at the basket. Can run the team but today showed his ability to play and move without the ball, but was still very much involved in the game.

Charles Minlend, Jr. (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2015) one of the top performers of the day and definitely had the scouts talking. Showed a versatile game and at times looked unstoppable. In on every play, has a natural ability to get buckets, but I want to be clear that although Minland is an effective SG/SF who can score the ball, he isn’t the type of player who just drives for his shot as soon as the ball touches his hands. He showed an ability and willingness to drive and kick to teammates or give up the ball in the half court when it made sense. Easily arrived on the scene as one of the top prospects in the state in the class of 2015.

Want to watch all of the game replays from the NC Top 80? Check them out on NetCast Sports

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Marcus Shockley scouts high school basketball in the southeast and nationally. Want the latest scouting insight? Follow Marcus on Twitter, right now.