(2023) - PG Gabe Cupps to INDIANA

[Demo 18,854]

12 hours ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Centerville just knocked off the #5 team in the country SoCal Academy 62-52 at Dayton in the Flyin' To The Hoops event.  Centerville now has a 27-game winning streak.

The game was a blast. Flyin’ to the Hoop is a 1st class event, but this game made 3 nights in Dayton worth it by itself. A few thoughts on Cupps: 1) I knew he had the big social media following, but didn’t realize how big a deal he is locally. The gym seats 4400 and the 1st 2 nights of the event it was about half full. Last night it was packed and Cupps playing against Dior Johnson, consensus #1 ‘22 PG going to Oregon, was all anybody seemed to be talking about. It very much had a Romeoesque rock star vibe to it. It’s something that Woody was able to get Cupps out of Ohio. 2) So Cal Academy is 1 of those basketball factories with a full roster of high-major players. 2 are top 15-type kids, Dior Johnson and Vincent Iwuchukwu, a 7’ rim protector going to USC. So it was about as good a test for Cupps as you’d want. 3) Physically, Cupps looks fully 6’2” and probably about 175. He’s lean, but not thin. Imagine he’ll play in college at 195 or so. Athletically, he belonged on the court with those kids, no problem. He held up defensively against every matchup he had, including Johnson, and he was able to beat his defenders with quickness and change of direction multiple times. Oh, and he threw in a dunk during warmups. 2) There aren’t many better examples of the limitations of scouting the stat sheet than this one. The sheet says Cupps had a meh game. No, he had a terrific game. He didn’t shoot it well, but with the exception of 1 quick 3 and 1 jumper he thought he was going to get a call on and didn’t, he took nothing but good shots. And his floor game is just immaculate. I had him with 2 TO’s, 1 was on him. But he makes the right pass on time and accurately without fail. If his teammates could have finished plays he could have been near 10 assists. SoCal applied a ton of different ball pressures and Cupps just read them and adjusted. He doesn’t get sped up. It was really impressive. There were 2 times he got switched onto Jaxson Kohler, 6’10” ‘22 MIch St signee, where Cupps read the matchup, immediately waived off the set and just beat him cold off the dribble for layups. So he’s not system dependent. The kid’s just got a terrific basketball mind. 3) There have been a lot of comps in this thread to Braden Smith. No disrespect to Smith, he’ll be a solid player at Purdue, but that just needs to stop. They aren’t comparable prospects. They aren’t. Cupps is taller. He’s a better athlete. He’s a better defender. He’s more system diverse. I’m not saying the kid’s Isiah. Or even Yogi, for that matter. But if you give him the ball you’re gonna get execution and the shots you want. They just beat a team with 2 NBA guys for 2 reasons: 1) Their #3 scoring option went off and made everything, and, 2) Cupps got them into their offense, took care of the ball, and made right play after right play after right play. It was very impressive.

Side note: Jaxson Kohler, the Mich St kid, is gonna be a problem. 6’10”, big body, good feet, 3pt range. If SoCal had just played through him for 32 mins they win that game. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 82,869]

Centerville over SPIRE Academy 78-63.  Cupps 12 pts on 5-10 FG; 2-5 on 3s; 0 FT; 4 reb; 6 asst; 1 stl; 0 blk; 0 TO.

Through 12 games he now as 87 assists versus just 15 TOs for a 5.8 ratio.  And Centerville has now won 28 games in a row.

[Stuhoo 77,778]

23 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Centerville over SPIRE Academy 78-63.  Cupps 12 pts on 5-10 FG; 2-5 on 3s; 0 FT; 4 reb; 6 asst; 1 stl; 0 blk; 0 TO.

Through 12 games he now as 87 assists versus just 15 TOs for a 5.8 ratio.  And Centerville has now won 28 games in a row.

 

For emphasis y'all.

 

[rcbowla 6,826]

 
For emphasis y'all.
 

Can he reclassify? We could use some of that. In all seriousness though what does his physical maturity look like right now?

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[Demo 18,854]

20 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

Can he reclassify? We could use some of that. In all seriousness though what does his physical maturity look like right now?

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He’s not Jakai Newton, but he’s not Eric Hunter, either. He looks like a typical 17 year old athlete. He’ll need to get stronger, and he will. 

[Stromboli 6,055]

From the game a couple days ago. Demo gave a better report on Cupps but this helps some. 
 

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdr97sa4/

 

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdr9WRgK/

 

Yes, obnoxious the guy never states Cupps has committed to Indiana. Several in the comments point it out. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 82,869]

From Jamie Shaw following last weekend's game against SoCal Academy

Cupps has to be one of the premier game managers in the country. Faced against Los Angeles (Calif.) So Cal Academy, one of the most talented rosters in the country, the 6-foot-1 point guard never got rattled. He handled the full-court pressure calmly, allowing his team to get into sets and ultimately win the game by ten points.

Cupps, a junior at Centerville (Ohio) High, is an early Indiana commitment. Since middle school, he has been in the spotlight when he played with Bronny James and Mikey Williams on the North Coast Blue Chip travel ball team. His ability to run a team is impressive as he got precisely where he wanted to go and got his guys into exactly what they wanted to run.

[maharkn 1,638]

Is this a kid that could end up in the top 100 by the time he comes to bloomington?

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[Uspshoosier 44,671]

22 minutes ago, maharkn said:

Is this a kid that could end up in the top 100 by the time he comes to bloomington?

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He already is in the top 100 for 247.  He is 88th 

[Crimson and Cream 5,752]

This kid is what people thought Luke Brown was

[rcbowla 6,826]

I just hope he doesn't decide to back out

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[HoosierTrav 7,635]

6 hours ago, rcs29 said:

I just hope he doesn't decide to back out

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Is there any reason to believe he’ll back out? I haven’t heard that at all. 

[HoosierAloha 30,020]

12 hours ago, rcs29 said:

I just hope he doesn't decide to back out

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[HoosierAloha 30,020]

6 hours ago, HoosierTrav said:

Is there any reason to believe he’ll back out? I haven’t heard that at all. 

[rcbowla 6,826]

Is there any reason to believe he’ll back out? I haven’t heard that at all. 

No I have no idea about him. I am just simply hoping that doesn't happen a la Trey Lyles. Early commitments worry me is all.

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[maharkn 1,638]

He already is in the top 100 for 247.  He is 88th 

I must have not paid much attention then I thought he was in the 140's

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[HoosierAloha 30,020]

11 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

No I have no idea about him. I am just simply hoping that doesn't happen a la Trey Lyles. Early commitments worry me is all.

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[Uspshoosier 44,671]

2 hours ago, maharkn said:

I must have not paid much attention then I thought he was in the 140's

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131 on the composite ranking  which takes all services into account but as far as 247 on their own they have him at 88

[Hoosierfanyuh 2,058]

He loves IU. Repost most of iubb’s post, coming to our game tonight, ordered custom iubb shoes (look at his insta theyre sweet). Not worried at all 

[mike vannice 267]

So he will be at the game tonight along with Miro Little?? Anyone else?