Friday, March 29, 2013

Roselle Catholic vs St. Joseph Game Review

Roselle Catholic won the recent NJ Tournament of Champions by defeating St. Joseph, who were led by Kentucky commit Karl Towns. SU commit Tyler Roberson, targets Malachi Richardson and Asante Gist played big roles in the victory for Roselle Catholic. The following player evaluations was written by Todd aka Tee1222, much thanks.


Tyler Roberson
Incredibly versatile 6'9 forward. Has the ability to put the ball on the floor to create his own shot, nice touch from deep and an array of low post moves. Probably one of the best rebounders SU has recruited in a long while. Excellent positioning when defensive rebounding, does not allow the opposition many second chance points. Terrific shot blocker and alters the shot if he doesn't get a piece of the ball. Similarities to past and present Cuse greats like John Wallace, CJ Fair, Billy Owens and even Derrick Coleman. In high school, although he gets out on the perimeter, mostly plays the center position, but will be a hybrid 3/4 in our system.

Malachi Richardson
6'6 smooth shooting guard. He is fearless pulling the trigger and at times, opens up his shot up by penetrating. Malachi is a threat from outside that commands attention from the defense, opening up easy looks for his teammates. Needs a little work on strength and conditioning as he has a slight frame, but is still only a soph. With his height and quick delivery when needed, does not have any problem getting his shot off. Think Lawrence Moten.

Asante Gist
Listed at 5'11 but probably between 5'9 and 5'10, this speedy and agile point guard has tremendous confidence considering he's only a freshman. Low center of gravity and fairly well built for a younger guy, gets into the lane with dribble penetration at will. Dribbles well with both hands and does not favor either side of the court, making it difficult for the defense to guess where he's headed. Puts great pressure on ball handlers and can create problems in the open court. His game is similar to recent SU standout point guard Jonny Flynn.

 



Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Bishop Kearney vs Troy Game Review

I was able to watch the NY State semi finals recently between the two teams. Anyone interested in watching the game can view it on the following link. http://www.playonsports.com/channels/new-york/events/56102

Here goes my thoughts on the players of note.

Troy
Dyaire Holt 2016 PG-Scoring guard, who had a decent game overall. Had three nice drives where he was able to score over Obokoh inside. Made some bad mistakes in the end that played a part in his team defeat, but hard to fault him because he was the only scoring option from the guard position for Troy. Only a freshman and was able to hold his own against a talented BK squad.

Zach Radz 2015 PG-Made no real impact in the game. Shot several threes, which either missed or ended up getting blocked. Very physically small, and looks to be no bigger than 150lbs.

Bishop Kearney
Chinonso Obokoh-Troy played a lot of zone, which limited his touches on offense. He had a couple of finishes inside but also had a few awkward looking misses. Played good defense, contesting every shot and having several blocks and altered shots. What I really like about him on defense, is that even though he's not the strongest person out there, he's wiry strong and does a good job holding his position down low when defending. One play that stood out that showed how good his lateral quickness is. Was when he saw an open shooter at the three-point line and he went to contest the shot, but then the shooter ended up passing to a cutter running inside and Obokoh was able to run back quickly inside to block the shot(even though an awful foul call was the end result, but he had all ball). I think he'll always man the middle, but plays like that show you he can make up ground quickly and defend on the wing if he has to.

Thomas Bryant 2015 PF-Big time talent and no question a top 10 player in his class. Can handle, shoot, pass, defend, and is really animated filled with energy. Sometimes he lets his emotions get the best of him, but I can never hate on a player who cares to win and is very passionate. Needs to get stronger but that will come in time and learn when to be and not to be aggressive on defense, because he's prone to pickup cheap fouls. Still only a Sophomore with plenty of time to improve on his flaws and it's scary to think what he'll become when he hits college in a few years.

A play that makes me excited about having both Obokoh and Bryant playing together at SU in a few years. BK was down 43-32 in the 3rd Qtr, Troy had all of the momentum on their side. Obokoh gets the ball at the top of the key and tries to hit Bryant inside. The pass gets picked off and Troy throws an outlet down the court. Obokoh hustles down the court and blocks the layup attempt, Troy grabs the rebound for the putback and Bryant comes out of nowhere and blocks it and BK gets the ball and scores. What could have been an 13pt deficit, ended up having BK finish the quarter on an 14-2 run to go up 46-45 after the 3rd. That stood out in a big way to me, because being down double digits and having a turnover could have made both Obokoh and Bryant get down on themselves and just jog back not caring, but both knew it was championship time and hustled their butts off and that sequence was the major turning point in their victory.