2022 AAU Season

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

11 hours ago, Uspshoosier said:

Carr isn’t playing this week.  Injury 

@Uspshoosier He shows up in last night's box score for Georgia Stars playing 18 minutes with 7 pts and 2 reb but also picking up 5 fouls.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

2024 6’5 PG Paul McNeil of Garner Road (Adidas) finished with 33 points in the win over Team Rose 

[Demo]

The kid’s a monster. He’s gonna be a straight steal by Ya.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Last night Woody watched Gabe Cupps (Midwest BBall Club) vs J.Q. Roberts (Indiana Elite).  Midwest won 55-53.  Haven't seen any individual stats but did see this comment -- Really good showing from 2023 6’7 F Jaqualon Roberts on Indiana Elite.

Made Hoops - Incredibly impressive outing from Jakai Newton this evening in front of his future coach, Mike Woodson. Lively 6-3 guard with burst off the bounce and natural space creation in the intermediate. Embraces contact, rim pressure and strong pace in the PnR.

Brandon Jenkins -  Coming off a notable weekend at USA Basketball, at first glance, Bryson Tiller (Atlanta Xpress - UAA) has added weight to his frame and his activity level was extremely high. He continues to show tools that will put him in a good position for a high ranking when 2025 goes live down the road.

Travis Branham - Indulge us for a minute and get a look behind the curtains of how a player like Flory Bidunga of Indiana Elite’s 16u team hits the national radar. Sometimes there is so much buzz from an area that we know we need to see a player. Other times his coaches have lobbied to get him a look. Sometimes, we’ve gotten film of another player and a kid they are playing against looks really good and we make note to check them out. None of that happened with Bidunga.

On Friday night we were on one court but during breaks we were checking in on his teammate 2024 four-star Cooper Koch. While checking on him, number 40 was making plays. We wrote down a note to check on him later in the weekend. At halftime, a few coaches came up asking if we knew him because he wasn’t listed on their roster. So, we go to check him out and he’s a guy that we don’t know so we decide to switch courts and lock in.

Turns out that number 40 is Bidunga and he’s a 6-foot-9 post player with endless energy, a big-time frame and he’s dunking everything in sight, setting hard screens and dominating the glass. More investigation reveals that he arrived in Indiana last summer from Congo and that he had a huge sophomore year for Kokomo (Ind.) High.

Obviously, we will need to see him more, but from what we saw on Friday night, Bidunga looks like he could be one of the best big men in the sophomore class. He entered the weekend without any offers, but we’ll bet that he leaves as one of the most talked about big men in his class.

[lillurk]

14 hours ago, Chris007 said:

Newton dominated the 1st quarter with 9 of his teams 16 points. He’s going to make a jump in the rankings this summer. We got a good one.

 

13 hours ago, IUc2016 said:

Nah, we got a great one 

 

8 minutes ago, Demo said:

The kid’s a monster. He’s gonna be a straight steal by Ya.

Jakai’s HS teammate Stephon Castle is rated more highly right now, but sometimes having teammates that good artificially deflated at least one’s rank.

Big pic, I think, both Cupps and Newton have positive roles as frosh, and I’m verrrrry excited about their soph year.

[Demo]

4 minutes ago, lillurk said:

 

 

Jakai’s HS teammate Stephon Castle is rated more highly right now, but sometimes having teammates that good artificially deflated at least one’s rank.

Big pic, I think, both Cupps and Newton have positive roles as frosh, and I’m verrrrry excited about their soph year.

Castle’s really good. And having 4 D1 guards on the same HS team, and in the same class no less, is pretty insane.  Newton’s got 2 things he needs to figure out before he gets to Bloomington: 1) He has to develop a pull up game of some sort. Right now he takes everything all the way to the rim, and with his explosiveness he can get away with it against most guys. But, I watched their game against Prolific Prep and he kept taking the ball right into Adem Bona, who’s an elite rim protector, and got 3 of them blocked. His driving game needs diversification. 2) He loses awareness of the 3 point line, so he pulls up and steps back into long 2’s that ought to be 3’s. But, man, Newton is the goods, no doubt about it.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

I didn’t think my eyes were deceiving me with Bidunga. He’s so impressive at his age and size. Hopefully Indiana gets it’s foot in the door with him.

[Demo]

 

Quote

Travis Branham - Indulge us for a minute and get a look behind the curtains of how a player like Flory Bidunga of Indiana Elite’s 16u team hits the national radar. Sometimes there is so much buzz from an area that we know we need to see a player. Other times his coaches have lobbied to get him a look. Sometimes, we’ve gotten film of another player and a kid they are playing against looks really good and we make note to check them out. None of that happened with Bidunga.

On Friday night we were on one court but during breaks we were checking in on his teammate 2024 four-star Cooper Koch. While checking on him, number 40 was making plays. We wrote down a note to check on him later in the weekend. At halftime, a few coaches came up asking if we knew him because he wasn’t listed on their roster. So, we go to check him out and he’s a guy that we don’t know so we decide to switch courts and lock in.

Turns out that number 40 is Bidunga and he’s a 6-foot-9 post player with endless energy, a big-time frame and he’s dunking everything in sight, setting hard screens and dominating the glass. More investigation reveals that he arrived in Indiana last summer from Congo and that he had a huge sophomore year for Kokomo (Ind.) High.

Obviously, we will need to see him more, but from what we saw on Friday night, Bidunga looks like he could be one of the best big men in the sophomore class. He entered the weekend without any offers, but we’ll bet that he leaves as one of the most talked about big men in his class.

Yeah, imagine by the end of the Spartanburg event in a couple of weeks Bidunga’s name will be everywhere. 

[lillurk]

45 minutes ago, Demo said:

Newton’s got 2 things he needs to figure out before he gets to Bloomington: 1) He has to develop a pull up game of some sort. Right now he takes everything all the way to the rim, and with his explosiveness he can get away with it against most guys. But, I watched their game against Prolific Prep and he kept taking the ball right into Adem Bona, who’s an elite rim protector, and got 3 of them blocked. His driving game needs diversification. 2) He loses awareness of the 3 point line, so he pulls up and steps back into long 2’s that ought to be 3’s. But, man, Newton is the goods, no doubt about it.

Those seem like easy fixes, relatively speaking.

[Demo]

14 minutes ago, lillurk said:

Those seem like easy fixes, relatively speaking.

Apparently already in process. Diporak tweeted something out today specifically pointing out Newton’s work in the mid-range. Great to here.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Following his 33 pt. game last night, Paul McNeil poured in 28 in today's morning game.

After this morning's game this comment:  Big morning for Paul McNeil after finishing with 33 PTS last night. Five-star 2024 shot creator standing out as a playmaker, leveraging his pull up gravity to find drop offs & making advanced reads in the PnR. Wiry & flexible athlete with a mature demeanor.

[BtownStrength]

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

Following his 33 pt. game last night, Paul McNeil poured in 28 in today's morning game.

After this morning's game this comment:  Big morning for Paul McNeil after finishing with 33 PTS last night. Five-star 2024 shot creator standing out as a playmaker, leveraging his pull up gravity to find drop offs & making advanced reads in the PnR. Wiry & flexible athlete with a mature demeanor.

Freaky scorer. There will be lots of competition for this guy. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Isaac Dennis - 2023 6’11 Xavier Booker finished with 25 points in a tough win over Gain Elite.

Izzo watched his morning game after having watched his Friday night game.

[Maedhros]

Is there a roundup posted of our recruits/targets and for which AAU teams they are playing?

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Dustin Dopirak - Checked on Jakai Newton's 3:30 game and he's on the bench with his left leg elevated and ice on the ankle. Kenya Hunter was there watching him.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

On 4/9/2022 at 3:40 PM, Maedhros said:

Is there a roundup posted of our recruits/targets and for which AAU teams they are playing?

Excellent question.  

EYBL

• Coen Carr - Georgia Stars 17U
• Jalen Haralson & Trent Sisley - Indy Heat 16U
• Kwame Evans - Team Durant 17U
• Arrinten Page - The Skills Factory (TSF)  17U
• Liam McNeeley - Drive Nation 16U
• Yves Missi - PSA Cardinals 16U
• Ace Bailey - AOT EYB GAa

ADIDAS

• Gabe Cupps - Midwest Basketball Club 17U
• Paul McNeil - Garner Road 16U
• Cooper Koch - Indy Elite 16U           (Flory Bidunga also on this team)
• J. Q. Roberts - Indy Elite 17U
• Khani Rooths - New World 17U
• Bryson Tucker - Team Loaded (VA)  Reportedly sitting out the AAU season.
• Andrej Stojakovic - Compton Magic

UNDER ARMOUR

• Jakai Newton - Atlanta Xpress 17U
• Bryson Tiller - Atlanta Xpress 16U
• Derik Queen - Team Thrill 17U

INDIES

• Caleb Wilson - AE5 Rimrockers       Don't know which team
• William Jobe - Team Dickerson 16U
• Xavier Booker - George Hill All Indy 17U
• Dennis Scott III - Shooters Paradise 16U

I've not been able to confirm who Darryn Peterson is playing for; possibly Wildcats Select (Adidas)

Edited April 14, 2022 by Class of '66 Old Fart
Updated Bailey, Missi and Stojakovic on April 14

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

16U Final: @PulleyHoops 61 Indy Heat 57.  2025 Trent Sisley had 16 for Indy Heat.  We had an assistant watching this game.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Dustin Dopirak:   Getting a chance to Derik Queen, five-star big in the 2024 class from Monteverde with an IU offer. Huge human. 6-9 with a bigger wingspan. Handles pretty well for a big, can finish around the rim. Could use some improvement just catching and holding on to the ball, though.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Raby - A college coach just made an interesting comparison for Xavier Booker:  Lamar Odom at the same stage in high school. Long, lanky, skilled, left-handed, moves very well in the open court, has skills facing the basket.

[Demo]

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

Raby - A college coach just made an interesting comparison for Xavier Booker:  Lamar Odom at the same stage in high school. Long, lanky, skilled, left-handed, moves very well in the open court, has skills facing the basket.

Saw that. Maybe some physically, but someone looking at Booker and comping him to a facilitating point forward with elite handles and vision who could create his own shot as well requires….imagination. But, hey, we see what we see.