So Sunday I went to the Hoophall Classic for 2 games at Springfield College.
Brewster Academy vs. South Kent? Prep
Brewster, alma mater of CJ Fair, won this game pretty easily. They have a lot of big time talent. They had 3 Big 6 forwards:
Elijah Macon(WVU) - typical bob huggins guy, eats up space, great rebounder on both ends, most of his points came off offensive boards
Kyle Washington(NC St) - he showed the most of the three in the post, had a 2 or 3 nice hook shoots on post moves, couple nice blocks and a nice put back slam.
Chris McCullough(Cuse) - In the first half he showed why he is a top 10 recruit, showcasing his freak athleticism with 8 pts on 4 transition throw downs. The greedy fan I am I was wondering where is the rest of his game, is he just a freak athlete with little basketball skills? He only had one rebound and was getting beat on the boards. A kid on South Kent posted him up twice and scored fairly easily. He missed his only jump shot of the half.
Second half seemed like the coach wanted to try to go to him in the post. First 2 plays of the second half they went to McCullough in the post. One time he missed a one handed bank shot. The second he fumbled the pass and ended up a littler further from the basket but hit a cutting Patterson for a layup.
They like to use McCullough in the high post with one of the other bigs in the low post, so he didn't show much of a post game, but let's be honest he will not be a post player at Syracuse. Did better on the boards in the second but still a little lacking IMO. Hit 1 out of 2 jumpers in the second and showed a much better all around game causing turnovers, couple drives for layups, some good passes.
Brewster also had some good guards:
Jared Terrell(I believe a junior with an offer from Cuse) - this kid struggled and his frustration showed, didn't seem to play much in the second half. very big athletic guard.
Ron Patterson(Cuse) - Ron also struggled in this game but unlike Terrell he kept his cool and still played most of the game. Couldn't get his jump shot going but had a dunk and transition, layup on the feed from McCullough, and a put back of his own miss. Does other things to stay in the game if he is not scoring, but not a great game for him.
Martez Harrison(Not sure what year but definitely undecided) - He is short, definitely under 6 feet, but he was the player of the game. 12 pts, 8rbs, 8 assists. One of those guys that doesn't make mistakes and knows how to play, smart.
St Benedict's vs. Montrose Academy
Montrose had a decent team, seemed like their guards were young.
Ishmael Wainright(Baylor) - Best player on Montrose. Really jacked but seemed like he was only like 6'6, point forward type. Ennis and Briscoe guarded him most of the game.
Ennis(Cuse) - Played a good game, but probably one of his worse games this year judging by box scores. He doesn't make mistakes and always seems to be in control. Benedicts would often use the whole shot clock, but Ennis and Briscoe would never panic as the shot clock went down. Maybe it was the hoops but no one shot well in these two games and Ennis was only 2-8 from 3, but has a nice looking shot. Really attacked the rim and drew some fouls.
Briscoe(Sophomore) - Seemed like a tough game for him. Goes to the rim with no concern for his body, did not finish well in this game but got fouled a lot. Hit a couple jumper shots but he also struggled shooting.
They play 3 guards so Ennis had the ball much less than he will next year for the Cuse.
Really nice event, was pretty packed for these two games. Sat under the hoop right next to the coaches. Sit down and who walks in? Bob Huggins. There were reps from all over: Xavier, Virginia, Maryland, NC St, UConn, Pitt, Nova. Shaka Smart was in the house.
