Demo

Really like a lot about Whitt. Tough kid, can really defend, takes care of the ball, good passer. But not only can he not shoot, he won’t shot. Turns down open looks. I doubt he wants to be a 20 min/gm backup pg/defensive stopper, though on a good team that’s probably his role.

https://mobile.twitter.com/robertodiaz005/status/1131895032112406528 Is this a possible reclassification situation?

In November: Davis, Davis, Smith, Green, Phinisee by Christmas: sub Hunter for Smith and possibly Durham for Green. And the lack of a legitimate 2nd pg is absolutely going to be a problem.

Have a big problem with this. It absolutely negatively impacts my feelings towards the Watford’s. Of course it’s pervasive. But a recording of a Coach BUYING A PLAYER made public during their decision making process? That doesn’t dissuade them? Really? What a giant FU to every program that is trying to do it right.

Because in 1 sentence you correctly hit on 2 of his 3 positives traits. He’s 7’1” and he’s mobile. He also plays hard. Really bad hands. Bad feet in traffic. High center of gravity. No developed skills. Poor defensive instincts. He has a chance to be a little better Tijuan Jobe. I would think he ends up at a midmajor on physical profile. But he would have to absolutely explode to be a high D1 prospect.

Don’t mean this to be critical of the kid, but I never, ever, remember that Gordon was here.

Since he’s obviously not coming to Bloomington, I hope the kid picks Bama. I like Nate Oats a lot as a Coach. And I really don’t want to lose the respect for the family that I inevitably will if he plays for an unapologetic scumbag like Will Wade.

If you get to go, make sure to check out Kalkbrenner. Watched him once last year after a Bossi tweet mentioned him. 6’11” and a good athlete. Aggressive shot blocker. Can really run. Shoots it to about 18’. Definitely an underrated kid and was really fun to watch. I’m a fan.

Garcia looks like 1 of those kids whose talent is such that if you have a chance to get him you just do it even if he doesn’t perfectly fit a need. But I’ll be interested to see if Archie actively goes after a traditional low post big like Davion Bradford or someone like that. For a guy who talks a good bit about a positionless model, I think it’s pretty clear that he gravitates to traditional roles at the point and in the post. So a young low post hammer to back up Brunk for a year would seem to make sense.

Just got done watching as much stuff as I could find on Garcia. You have to be a certain age to appreciate this comp, but that kid IS Raef LaFrentz. Body, lefty, athleticism, skill set, demeanor. It’s actually kind of eerie. One of the closest comps I’ve ever seen. Also watched a couple of interviews. Seems like a really good kid. Impressive.

Yup. But there seems to be more to some of the borderline animosity toward this particular kid, be it his social media presence or whatever it is. If TJD said in an interview something along the lines of, “I’m gonna come in, dominate the paint, and get every single rebound, even if I have to rip De’Ron’s arms off to do it,” we’d be extolling his steely competitiveness. Rightly so. But Quinones says something like, “This team needs scoring and I flat bring scoring to the table,” and he’s selfish and not an Indiana kid. I’m 100% ok with the kid understanding who he is and what he brings and saying so as long as he comes in and works and competes his a** off. Now, if he doesn’t, that’s a different thing.

2 things, both of which I might be wrong about: 1) Isn’t Quinones a grad prep? Thought I remembered Chris noting that. If so, he graduated from the HS. 2) Didn’t Brooks do the same thing? Either way, I think the school being gracious wouldn’t have been the end of the world.

Haven’t watched any of Pack yet. Have watched a couple of Saunders’ games on YouTube. Couple of things stand out: wow, is he quick, particularly laterally. Can really defend on the ball. Handle is college-ready. Seemed very much pass-first, though 1 announcer mentioned he had led them in scoring the previous game. Regret missing his game against Cole Anthony in the Geico event. Curious how tall he really is.

Yeah, that was an overlong way of saying his shot works. Though the drift is a thing. I have a kind of pathological need to break things down. Makes my wife nuts.

It’s ok as long as it’s repeatable. A little like Trey Galloway’s stroke, but Galloway elevates more. Wrist and elbow are aligned. Ball’s off his palm. Ok wrist snap. He does have some leftward drift. Similar to Robert Johnson, but not as pronounced because Johnson elevated so much. Drift creates inconsistency, it sure did for RoJo. I think the drift is what the coaches will focus on, wherever he ends up.

Gotta be AJ Griffin Jr. Top10 kid in ‘21.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/jordan-brand-classic-five-star-trendon-watford-nearing-decision Couldn’t sound a whole lot less interested in IU.

Thanks for the feedback. I want to find more game footage of Leal. Funny that you make that comparison. I really like Windham and I was watching Leal to try to project him as a true frosh against Windham as a redshirt frosh.

I think he walks in and gets 12-15 mins as backup pg immediately. Neither Green nor Durham are remotely effective in that role. Also like him next to Rob as a secondary creator. Think he’s one of those kids who will just force Archie to find him time. And I agree with you on Carton.

I need some feedback from the folks who have seen a lot of this kid. Just got done watching the Regional game against Center Grove. 1st full game of Leal’s that I’ve watched. Knew going in that he had a tough game and had rolled an ankle in the 2nd half. Was prepared for that. But, sorry, he was lousy before the ankle. Just incredibly passive. Didn’t run or cut hard. Didn’t defend hard. Wasn’t physical. Got flat outhustled on 2 loose balls. Just didn’t really compete, and in the biggest game of their year. I had no idea that’s what I was going to see. It’s one thing to have a bad night, everyone has them. It’s another thing to just not play hard and not contribute. The effort was the issue. So was he sick or hurt, or is he one of those kids who doesn’t always show up? Have seem multiple games of Galloway’s. Hasn’t always played well, but has always, always, played hard and found ways to contribute.

If the kid is ready to start the next phase of his life, good for him. But if he’s leaving because he thinks he’s an NBA player next year, he’s getting very bad advice.

Man, if you created an NBA 3 from scratch, that’s what he’d look like. Most talented kid on this roster. With a full year of skill/physical development, assuming he’s good to go, I would expect Hunter to be Conference Freshman of the Year.

Ayo Dosunmu officially coming back to Illinois. Good decision. Making the Thomas Bryant move and not even bothering to go through the process. Illinois will be one of the few improved teams in the conference next year.

A single like doesn’t really do it. Great post. Bravo.

Maryland just took a commitment from ‘19 6’6” SG Hakim Hart, per Corey Evans.