Collegiate Hoops

Recap of EYBL Session 2

2018-05-04T12:17:00.000-05:00

EYBL session 2 provided a ton of talent, a lot of good games and college coaches that sent out immediate offers. Among those players were Cam'Ron Fletcher of Brad Beal Elite. Fletcher, a consensus four-star player, has a lot of room to grow and plays more like a four as of now, but he has the potential to be a Scottie Barnes type of player as he fills out his body and improves his handle.

2020 Cam’ron Fletcher of Brad Beal Elite (MO) is going to be a star one day. Completely showing out in front of Kansas State, Tennessee, Northwestern, Missouri & more.
— DeAnte' Mitchell (@MitchellDeAnte) April 28, 2018

Fletcher had a huge game against City Rocks (NY) where he put on a dunk show, blocking shots and being completely dominate for an entire stretch during the first period. A lot of times he would come out of no where to send a shot off the glass, or come behind for a putback, or even just jumping with the opposition and sending the shot back.

On a fastbreak, Fletcher chased down a guard from the City Rocks as he went up for a dunk, using his left hand, sent the ball into a crowd of coaches and left the entire crowd in awe.

The St. Louis product from Vashon (MO) has a ton of potential and after his play during the session, he received an offer from Iowa to go along with offers from Creighton, Kansas State, Missouri, Missouri State, St. Louis and more.

Justin Lewis of Team Melo (MD) is another 6-7 stretch four with the ability to put the ball on the floor. It was evident that he was the best player on the floor each game for Team Melo (MD) and his passing ability is so underrated in the post.

Team Melo (MD) forward Justin Lewis just came down the middle with a ferocious poster!
— DeAnte' Mitchell (@MitchellDeAnte) April 28, 2018

Lewis always had his head up and was willing to make the right plays. Against CIA Bounce, Lewis had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assist to go along with his poster dunk early in the game. He has a ton of tricks, very strong with the ball and can really fill it up within 15 feet.

Coach from North Carolina (Roy Williams), Missouri, Seton Hall, Ole Miss & UCLA catching @TheTruthEYBL vs @NikeTeamFlorida
— DeAnte' Mitchell (@MitchellDeAnte) April 28, 2018

Scottie Barnes is going to be a problem and everywhere he went, he drew a crowd. He is a very energetic, stretch four that has the potential to play on the wing. He can already take you off the dribble and finish around the rim, but at the next level playing against more athletic and quicker wings, he's going to need to shore up his handle to be successful.

Overall, Barnes was better than advertised and after his play he received a justified offer from Kentucky. He gets to the rim when he wants to, he directs traffic, he's a leader and one of Nike Team Florida's best playmakers, and probably the best playmaker in his class.

One of the most complete players I saw all weekend was Seattle Rotary's Jaden McDaniels, a 6-10 small forward that has a game that parallels Kevin Durants. I saw a lot of him putting the ball on the floor, using his handle to penetrate the lane and finishing when he got there.

Jaden McDaniels @Jmcdaniels7 6'9 Top Recruit In The Country 19’ Dominates in EYBL @NikeEYB @NikeEYB @rotaryhoops 🎥 @awprocurtis #AWPro pic.twitter.com/tbRja17w7A
— Al Ward (@AWProductions_) April 30, 2018

I spent the bulk of my weekend following after him, watching him block shots, take contact and finish, and also hit the three. His most complete game came against the Rens (NY) where he finished 4-of-7 from three, with 26 points and eight rebounds. McDaniels has all the physical tools necessary to succeed at the next level, and if he gets stronger, he can possibly be the best player in his class.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Shackelford Making Noise

2018-04-23T01:30:00.001-05:00

Photo credits to highdesertpreps.com

The Truth (CA) shooting guard Jaden Shackelford had one of the best—if not the best—games in Dallas this weekend on the EYBL circuit.

Shackelford finished with 40 points on 12-of-19 shooting, knocking down seven threes, and added six rebounds and three assist in a win over E1T1.

The smooth wing has a beautiful lefty stroke and can really light it up from deep. He can catch-and-shoot or pull up off the dribble with ease. Shackelford makes scoring look easy, and just before his forty point outburst, he finished with 21 points, five rebounds and four assist against Pro Skills in front of Memphis, Florida State, Wake Forest and Missouri.

Kansas State certainly liked what they saw against E1T1 because the Wildcats offered soon after the final buzzer sounded.

Shackelford will no longer be unknown, and with his deep range shooting, he will certainly be a hot commodity for a lot of teams.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Howard Offers Robinson

2018-04-23T00:48:00.002-05:00

Photo credits to phenomhoopreport.com

Team United (NC) guard Khalil Robinson received an offer from Howard yesterday. The talented 2019 guard has starred on the AAU circuit so far with a 16-point, three assist game against the Oakland Soldiers and a 11 point and three rebound game against Boo Williams (VA) this past weekend.

Blessed to receive an offer from Howard University! pic.twitter.com/aavlFRqIvU
— Khalil Robinson (@Khalil1Robinson) April 23, 2018

Robinson is a walking bucket, known for his ability to score the basketball and early on throughout the live period, he has done more than enough to prove his worth. Howard was a start, expect more school to get involved with the Gray Collegiate Academy (SC) lead guard.

Hampton, East Carolina, Charleston Southern, College of Charleston and UNLV,among others have also offered in the past.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

DePaul offers Phenom University (WI)

2018-04-14T01:00:00.002-05:00

Alex Antetokounmpo pictured. Photo credit to nbadraftroom.com

DePaul got off to an early start heading into the summer. The Blue Demons wasted very little time offering potential student-athletes as they handed out plenty of offers yesterday, going mostly to players in Milwaukee playing with Phenom University.

DePaul offered 2020 point guard Reece Beekman of Scotlandville Magnet (LA), 2020 guard Desmond Polk of New Berlin West (WI), 2020 power forward Jamari Sibley of Nicolet (WI), 2020 forward Jalen Johnson of Sun Prairie (WI), 2021 forward David Joplin of Brookfield Central (WI), 2020 small forward Alex Antetokounmpo of Dominican (WI) and 2020 guard Isaac Lindsey of Mineral (WI).

DePaul head coach Dave Leitao has struggled in his first three years back at DePaul and desperately wants to get his program back on track. So far he has two three-star recruits in the class of 2018, but securing the future and getting in early on the talent is a positive for his program.

Recruiting Notes

2019 Wagner (TX) shooting guard Kevin McCullar added an offer from Louisville. McCullar recently narrowed his list down to five with Houston, Kansas State, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Texas Tech involved. New head coach Chris Mack wasted no time trying to get involved, and Louisville could jump into his recruitment late.

Kansas State released junior guard Amaad Wainright and he will transfer. Wainright was key for the Wildcats on defense as he helped them reach the Elite Eight with its hustle and grit. Wainright averaged 2.8 points, and 2.3 rebounds per game on the season.

2018 Bellarmine College Prep (CA) guard Jake Wojcik decommitted from Siena according to a tweet by Josh Gershon. Jimmy Patsos stepped down as the coach earlier this week.

2018 Bishop O’Connell (VA) guard Xavier Johnson decommitted from Nebraska according to Pat Lawless. Lawless reports that Johnson will still consider the Huskers, but his departure leaves a huge hole in their recruiting class.

2018 Believe Prep (TN) shooting guard Dexter Dennis added an offer from Kansas State. He is down to Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Ole Miss and Wichita State. He will decide tomorrow at 10am.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

EJ Montgomery Commits to Kentucky

2018-04-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

Photo credits to Rivals.com

Consensus five-star power forward EJ Montgomery added to an already impressive Kentucky recruiting class, according to a report by 247Sports, giving John Calipari another talented player to add to his rotation.

“I made my decision to go to Kentucky,” he told Evan Daniels of 247Sports. “Just the coaches and their track record with their players. I can go get developed and be the best that I can be.”

Montgomery joins fellow five stars Keldon Johnson of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia and Immanuel Quickley of Bel Air, Maryland, along with four star Tyler Herro of Greenfield, Wisconsin.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Malik Newman Declares for the Draft

2018-04-04T18:15:00.001-05:00

(March 30, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Kansas Sophomore Malik Newman’s college career came to an end in San Antonio after the Jayhawks fell to Villanova 95-79. The Jackson, Mississippi product waited until after the National Championship to announce, but everyone knew where he was headed.

Newman officially declared for the draft through a video posted online by the KU basketball.

“First off, I’d like to thank god for the opportunity,” Newman said. “Also, I’d like to thank the coaching staff, my teammates, my family and the great fans of Kansas.”

In his lone season at Kansas, Newman was the catalyst for the Jayhawks who made it all the way to the Final Four. Newman averaged 14 points and five rebounds, while shooting 41-percent from deep.

Newman scored in double figures in all five games for Kansas during their tournament run, including a 32-point performance to upend Duke in overtime. During that game, Newman took over down the stretch scoring all 13 of the Jayhawks points in overtime to advance the, to their first Final Four since 2012.

“I’m just thankful for the opportunity that you guys gave me over these last two years,” he later said in the video posted by Kansas. “I’m just proud to say that I was a Jayhawk.”

Newman originally stayed in state at Mississippi State out of high school. He was a five-star rated prospect and Rivals ranked him No. 8 in the class of 2015. Many touted him to be a one-and-done type of player but its clear to see that the extra time in school helped him hone his skills and truly develop his game.

Without Newman, Kansas doesn’t return a single starting guard from last years Final Four team but with the Lawson brothers and another top five recruiting class, Kansas will reload.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Arkansas' Jones, Hall To Transfer

2018-04-04T16:17:00.000-05:00

(March 15, 2018 - Source: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images North America)

According to multiple reports, freshman Darious Hall and sophomore CJ Jones have been granted their release from Arkansas and will transfer.

Hall appeared in 35 games for the Razorbacks averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 50-percent from the floor and 40-percent from three.

Jones, appeared in 35 games averaging 6.3 points per game, while shooting 37-percent from three. Hall and Jones combined made up around 28 minutes of Mike Anderson's rotation and after already losing both of his leading scorers to graduation, coach Anderson will have some gaps to fill.

"Darious and CJ have decided to transfer from our program," Anderson told SECCountry.com. "I appreciate them coming to the University of Arkansas and wish them the best moving forward."

In their final game together, Hall and Jones combined to shoot 3-of-12 (25%) from the field and 1-of-5 (20%) from three in Arkansas’ first round loss against Butler in the NCAA tournament.

Hall had his best game at Arkansas against Ole Miss, where he helped the Razorbacks extend their two-game win streak--at the time--to three with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while knocking down three three-pointers.

Jones was a bright spot for Anderson off the bench with multiple double-digit scoring games, including his five threes against then-No. 14 Minnesota and his three triples against Alabama, where he finished with 13-points.

Coming off a 23-11 record, Arkansas has some holes to fill, especially after losing three of their top four scorers, and losing a shooter like Jones, and the potential of Hall.

Luckily, Daniel Gafford is coming back for his sophomore year to go along with a talented freshman class that has already signed six including two four star guards in Keyshawn Embery and Isaiah Joe.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Kansas or Duke to the Final Four?

2018-03-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

Photo credits to New York Post

Some have said that the Midwest Regional is one of the toughest brackets in the tournament. Traditional names like Kansas and Duke, along with Michigan State, Syracuse and Auburn were among the names in the Midwest regional.

Duke upended a scrappy eleven seeded Syracuse 69-65, while Kansas found a way to win against Clemson 80-76, after the Tigers stormed back, cutting into a 20-point deficit.

Only two could compete for a berth in the Final Four, and a variation of great Elite Eight games could have come from this bracket, but Coach K vs Bill Self was among the most glamorous and most realistic.

“We just got to come out ready to play from the beginning,” Duke Freshman Marvin Bagley said of the matchup against Kansas. “We were kind of slacking this game. I think we’ll be ready for that game. Everybody’s going to be up. We should be coming out strong.”

Duke started slow, trying to force its way down the floor before the Syracuse zone set up, and it turned into more turnovers than points. But Duke settled down and put together a 10-0 run right before the half and never gave the lead back.

Kansas used a terrific three point shooting game to push the lead to 20 points to open the second half, and played like the No. 1 seed for most of the game. But the scrappy Clemson team that came off a blowout win against No. 4 Auburn, wouldn’t go away. The Tigers got the lead down to six with just under three left but Kansas hit clutch free throws and set up the matchup that every pundit wanted to see.

The inside matchup of Udoka Azubuike and Bagley will be a good one to watch. Bagley finished 8-of-12, knocking down 6-of-8 from the line, with 22 points and seven rebounds.

Azubuike controlled the paint for Kansas against Clemson and his presence was certainly felt in the post. Azubuike posted another double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Jayhawks to victory. Azubuike has easily become the most important asset for the surging Jayhawks who hasn’t seen much from its senior guard Devonte Graham thus far in the tournament.

“He makes everything easier for us,” Graham said. “You know, we get to play off of him. We always say throw the ball inside, play around Doke because it’s hard to guard him inside and he can get angles easily.”This is familiar territory for the Jayhawks as they’ve been in the Elite Eight for the last two years. In both instances, they were sent home and found their Final Four dreams crushed. This time around with a healthy Azubuike and a great outside shooting team, who just made 10 three-pointers, want to finally push themselves over the hump and make their first Final Four since 2012.

“I mean I think about it all the time. I just told the guys in the locker room, I’ve been here the last two years and this year we gotta get over that hump,” Graham said. “So Udoka is going to make a huge difference. When he’s in there, like I said, his presence is, you can’t duplicate it, and he’s a big factor to our team.”

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte

Penn’s Upset Bid Falls Short in KS

2018-03-15T19:21:00.004-05:00

(Photo: Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)

No. 16 Penn stood tall to the very end against a very good Kansas team that swept the Big 12 and captured it’s, NCAA record, 14th straight Big 12 title.

Despite hitting 11-of-29 from distance, the Quakers struggled mightily from the line converting just 4-of-12 in the second half as Kansas pulled away 76-60.

Devonte Graham poured in 29 points on 24 shots with six assist and six rebounds. Lagerald Vick finished with 14 points, while Svi Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman both finished with 10 respectively.

“I think they were probably even better than what I thought they would be watching on tape. I knew we'd have a hard time guarding them.” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “And if you told me before the game that they'd only get 60, I would say that we had an unbelievable defensive game.”

Penn got out to an early 21-11 lead with 8:01 left in the first half. Soon after, Graham scored nine of the teams next 14 points and the Jayhawks took the lead and never gave it back. Penn had it’s chances in the second half, but the Quakers couldn’t convert at the line or stop Kansas’ guards defensively. But the disparity at the line was the most glaring con for the promising Quakers.

“I do feel foul shots were a big part of this, and this unfortunately was part of our DNA this year,” Penn head coach Steve Donahue said. “We were able to overcome it. But if you're going to beat a team like Kansas in this environment, you just gotta make 'em.”

Kansas put Penn on the line 14 times throughout the entire game, and the Quakers only came away with five points, while Kansas converted on 15-of-17 shots from the charity stripe with 12 of the 14 coming in the second half for the Jayhawks.

AJ Brodeur finished with 14 points on 16 shots and nine rebounds, while Caleb Wood scored 14 on 12 shots. Antonio Woods and Darnell Foreman both finished with 10 for the Ivy League champions.

“I think we did a pretty good job in cutting them off and taking away that lob to not allow those easy dunks or easy layups at the rim,” Broderick said. “But they were still able to take advantage of those ball screens, whether it was on the three or being able to get to the rim on the weak side.”

Kansas advances to the round of 32 and will take on Seton Hall, who pulled away late from NC State.

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Rhode Island’s Matthews buries OU

2018-03-15T13:56:00.003-05:00

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

With just under two minutes, after Trae Young threw up back-to-back 35-footers that clanked off the rim, Rhode Island redshirt senior E.C. Matthews put up a wide open three, following a beautiful jab-step that sent Sooner star freshman to the floor, and the shot found the bottom of the net to give the Rams a lead that they would never relinquish.

Cyril Langevine extended the lead with 1:03 left at the free-throw line to 76-72, and Oklahoma answered as they marched right down the floor and Kameron McGusty pulled the Sooners within two with a floater.

But the senior Matthews stole the show late as the lefty crossed over and buried a three from the top of the key on a step-back jumper to extend the lead to 79-74 and Rhode Island cruised to a 83-78 win.

Matthews finished with 16 points, on 6-of-14 shooting, and five rebounds. Fatts Russell finished with 15 points off the bench with 13 coming in the second half. Langevine finished with 14 on 5-of-8 shooting, and Jared Terrell was the only other Ram in double-figures as he finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assist.

Young finished his only tournament matchup with 28 points, on 9-of-18 shooting, seven assist and five rebounds. Jamuni McNeace was he only other Sooner in double figures with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Rhode Island won the game shooting 39 percent from the field and after being out-rebounded 54-41, but it didn’t matter as the Rams made smart plays down the stretch and downed the Sooners.

Hurley and the Rams advance to the second round of the tournament and will face the winner of Duke and Iona.

Find me on Twitter @MitchellDeAnte