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I attended the Nike EYBL LA tournament this last weekend. It was a good time to do an evaluation. The college coaches were all gone, except Jim Boeheim
from Syracuse watching the New York team. Teams were playing for a playoff berth in the Peach Jam and for pride. I tried to watch each player at least twice
in case they had a bad game. I watched about 16 games in two days and evaluated about 19 players. I will try to rank the players that I saw based on their
performance that I saw and add in other numbers as well. With that said here is my list.
Guards:
1. Michael Devoe- without a doubt the best point guard I saw. The 6-3, 4 star point guard can do it all. He has good dribble skills, great passer and shooter
to three point range. I saw him match up against Isaiah Bujoso from Uplay Canada and he clearly was the better player. He is really uncanny on the break
against his defender in drawing fouls and still hitting the shot. He got a lot of conventional 3 point plays. Good defender WSU would be fortunate to get him.
2. Khaleem Bennett- Probably the second best guard that I saw based on his performance this weekend. Bennett really likes to take the ball to the basket.
An explosive scorer he gets a lot of dunks. I didn’t see him shoot a 3 while I watched him play. Doesn’t mean it might not be in his arsenal.
3. Jared Butler- The player I felt the most sorry for. Far and away his team’s best player he felt a lot of pressure to score. Probably took a lot of shots he
wouldn’t had with better talent around him. Imagine Ron Baker playing for Evansville or Drake. He has good handles and scores well to the 3 point line.
Very assertive on offense he is not afraid to take the ball to the basket.
4. Nick Honor- The 5-10 point guard was easily the most pleasant surprise of the weekend. He is a pass first point guard with range to the 3 point line.
Where he is really tough is on the defensive end. He is pesky and gets right up in your face on defense. As small as he is he might not be good enough for
the high major level.
5. Jason Wade- The 6-5 combo guard starts for his team. He didn’t do a lot on offense, but plays great defense. He played late in a game as a defensive
substitution. Compares favorably to Zach Brown.
6. Isaiah Bujoso- the 6-2 point guard is a good passer. He wasn’t very assertive on offense. Michael Devoe held him to 2 points in their match up.
7. Qon Murphy- One of the two biggest disappointments of the tourney. The 6-5 guard looked at times like he would rather be at the beach than playing
basketball. He pushed too hard sometimes on offense. In the games that I saw I don’t remember him scoring. I don’t believe he is a good fit for WSU.
Forwards:
1. Vincent Williams Ohio Red- The best player I watched that WSU is recruiting. He has the total package. At 6-7 he is a good passer who doesn’t force his
shot. He is athletic and a good driver to the basket. He really hits the boards for rebounds. A great team defender he helps teammates that are beaten by
their man. He is on a well- coached team with good players around him. I think they are going to the Peach Jam.
2. Reggie Chaney- The 4 star 6-8 power forward looks good as well. Rated number 5 in Texas, He is a strong inside player that is really physical. In the game
I saw, he had 9 points. He had foul trouble in one game I saw due to reaching on defense.
3. Emmitt Williams- The 6-7 power forward is really strong and athletic. He has the ability I think to make the transition to the three spot. I saw him score
14 points including two 3 point shots. He has good dribbling ability.
4. Tyrese Samuels- The 6-5 small forward looked good. He looks like he has a lot of upside. Still might be learning the game. In one game I watched he
had 15 points. He is athletic and a good ball handler. I got the feeling at times that he played too fast. Needs to work on his free throw shooting.
5. Ladarius Marshall- Played on the same team as Jared Butler. I expected more from him. I saw him score 2 points in one game. At 6-7 he had the tools
to do more, but didn’t.
Centers:
1. Valdier Manuel- easily the best of the two centers that I saw. He played against top 5 player Bol Bol and did pretty well. He has a shot to the 3 point line.
He also has a hook shot inside. Not afraid to play physical. Needs to work on moving screens and his attitude. He trash talked with an opponent once that
would have gotten him a T in college.
2. Josh Roberts- The 6-9 center scored 7 points in one game I saw. He only scored one of those points in the first half when he looked disinterested.
Those are my observations of players WSU is recruiting for 2018.
I also saw Conner Vanover, Sasha Sukhanov, Malik Hall, Roman Wilson, and Simi Shittu. I hope this gives you a sense of some of the players we are recruiting.
Overall, it is a good looking class.
from Syracuse watching the New York team. Teams were playing for a playoff berth in the Peach Jam and for pride. I tried to watch each player at least twice
in case they had a bad game. I watched about 16 games in two days and evaluated about 19 players. I will try to rank the players that I saw based on their
performance that I saw and add in other numbers as well. With that said here is my list.
Guards:
1. Michael Devoe- without a doubt the best point guard I saw. The 6-3, 4 star point guard can do it all. He has good dribble skills, great passer and shooter
to three point range. I saw him match up against Isaiah Bujoso from Uplay Canada and he clearly was the better player. He is really uncanny on the break
against his defender in drawing fouls and still hitting the shot. He got a lot of conventional 3 point plays. Good defender WSU would be fortunate to get him.
2. Khaleem Bennett- Probably the second best guard that I saw based on his performance this weekend. Bennett really likes to take the ball to the basket.
An explosive scorer he gets a lot of dunks. I didn’t see him shoot a 3 while I watched him play. Doesn’t mean it might not be in his arsenal.
3. Jared Butler- The player I felt the most sorry for. Far and away his team’s best player he felt a lot of pressure to score. Probably took a lot of shots he
wouldn’t had with better talent around him. Imagine Ron Baker playing for Evansville or Drake. He has good handles and scores well to the 3 point line.
Very assertive on offense he is not afraid to take the ball to the basket.
4. Nick Honor- The 5-10 point guard was easily the most pleasant surprise of the weekend. He is a pass first point guard with range to the 3 point line.
Where he is really tough is on the defensive end. He is pesky and gets right up in your face on defense. As small as he is he might not be good enough for
the high major level.
5. Jason Wade- The 6-5 combo guard starts for his team. He didn’t do a lot on offense, but plays great defense. He played late in a game as a defensive
substitution. Compares favorably to Zach Brown.
6. Isaiah Bujoso- the 6-2 point guard is a good passer. He wasn’t very assertive on offense. Michael Devoe held him to 2 points in their match up.
7. Qon Murphy- One of the two biggest disappointments of the tourney. The 6-5 guard looked at times like he would rather be at the beach than playing
basketball. He pushed too hard sometimes on offense. In the games that I saw I don’t remember him scoring. I don’t believe he is a good fit for WSU.
Forwards:
1. Vincent Williams Ohio Red- The best player I watched that WSU is recruiting. He has the total package. At 6-7 he is a good passer who doesn’t force his
shot. He is athletic and a good driver to the basket. He really hits the boards for rebounds. A great team defender he helps teammates that are beaten by
their man. He is on a well- coached team with good players around him. I think they are going to the Peach Jam.
2. Reggie Chaney- The 4 star 6-8 power forward looks good as well. Rated number 5 in Texas, He is a strong inside player that is really physical. In the game
I saw, he had 9 points. He had foul trouble in one game I saw due to reaching on defense.
3. Emmitt Williams- The 6-7 power forward is really strong and athletic. He has the ability I think to make the transition to the three spot. I saw him score
14 points including two 3 point shots. He has good dribbling ability.
4. Tyrese Samuels- The 6-5 small forward looked good. He looks like he has a lot of upside. Still might be learning the game. In one game I watched he
had 15 points. He is athletic and a good ball handler. I got the feeling at times that he played too fast. Needs to work on his free throw shooting.
5. Ladarius Marshall- Played on the same team as Jared Butler. I expected more from him. I saw him score 2 points in one game. At 6-7 he had the tools
to do more, but didn’t.
Centers:
1. Valdier Manuel- easily the best of the two centers that I saw. He played against top 5 player Bol Bol and did pretty well. He has a shot to the 3 point line.
He also has a hook shot inside. Not afraid to play physical. Needs to work on moving screens and his attitude. He trash talked with an opponent once that
would have gotten him a T in college.
2. Josh Roberts- The 6-9 center scored 7 points in one game I saw. He only scored one of those points in the first half when he looked disinterested.
Those are my observations of players WSU is recruiting for 2018.
I also saw Conner Vanover, Sasha Sukhanov, Malik Hall, Roman Wilson, and Simi Shittu. I hope this gives you a sense of some of the players we are recruiting.
Overall, it is a good looking class.
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