Boo Williams: Teague Barton impress
HAMPTON, Va.- During a long day in the gym watching basketball, sometimes you need a signature performance to dazzle you and bring a jolt of energy to your system. On Saturday at the Boo Williams Invitational, elite 2011 point guard Marquis Teague provided that jolt.
Advertisement
It's tough to point out a weakness in Teague's game based on his play Saturday. Teague had the ball on the string, his jumper dialed in and he had the quickest feet on the court. A master of the change of pace, Teague can burst to the basket with the best of them and pull up on a dime for his jumper. His 25 point performance in a one point Indy Spiece Heat loss to Boo Williams was spectacular and included the highlight of the day with his transition dunk over a defender. Simply put, Teague more than justified his top ten ranking.
Other Top Point Guards
Isaiah Epps- The herky-jerky lefty continues to conjure up images of Tyrese Rice with multifaceted scoring game and timely passing of the dribble. Epps is a natural with the ball in his hands and exudes a sense of control to his teammates.
Brandon Knight and Austin Rivers- Both Team STAT point guards are playing strong offensive basketball as scorers, but there also seems to be sense of competition between the two that has hurt the passing department.
Kendall Marshall- The North Carolina commitment has been solid or Boo Williams. With a lot of talent around him, Marshall has avoided negative plays and gotten the ball to the right player at the right time. And when given space, Marshall has knocked down jumpers.
Wings
Will Barton- This long shooting guard was right with Teague in the excitement category. Barton put on a scoring clinic in the span of about 15 minutes in a tough Baltimore Elite loss to Albany City Rocks. A high level scorer who is poised to shoot up the rankings, Barton finished with an impressive 19 points.
Andre Dawkins- The Duke commitment's game is on point. He is stroking the ball from deep, scoring on the move to his right and playing the best perimeter defense on the Boo Williams squad. In tip top shape, Dawkins has an impressive bounce to his game right now.
Harrison Barnes- Barnes continued his strong play on Saturday, nearly leading Howard Pulley to an upset over the Mac Irvin Fire. He pumped in 29 points in a variety of ways during his teams four point loss.
Jereme Richmond- The Illinois commitment stood out for the Mac Irvin Fire. He countered Barnes with 23 points of his own.
Taran Buie- Penn State is getting a player who can slide between positions and simply has a high level feel for getting the ball in the basket. Buie scored 20 points in Albany City Rocks win over Baltimore Elite.
Ladarious White and Savon Goodman- These are a couple 2012 prospects to keep an eye on. White, who plays with the Jackson Tigers, is a smooth athlete with a skilled game who looks like he belongs out there with the 17-unders. Goodman is a powerfully built small forward who stood out on the Philadelphia Team Final team.
Posts
Adreian Payne and Jared Sullinger- These two are a formidable interior duo for All Ohio Red. Sullinger continues to be a reliable double-double guy who both physically overpowers opponents and enhances the play of his teammates with his passing. Payne, whose length and athleticism gives him a very high ceiling, continues to improve. He looks more comfortable with the basketball and is knocking down face up jumpers. Defensively, he can both dominate the paint and move his feet out on the perimeter.
James McAdoo and Luke Cothron- Boo Williams has a top notch interior duo as well. MacAdoo's mobility and length standout. He is a high level player on both ends of the court. Cothron is just a natural talent with his smooth and talented game with the basketball.
Tobias Harris- The four-star forward continues to develop. He is getting stronger as his body is shaping up nicely, and he is an extremely skilled four man. Capable of knocking down three-pointers, Harris is at his best putting the ball off the floor and both scoring and passing on the move. He put up 19 points in the Albany City Rocks win over Baltimore Elite.
Markus Kennedy- A wide body with great hands, Kennedy can bang down low with the best of them and also make the skilled play.
School Lists
Five-star forward Luke Cothron had NC State's Sidney Lowe and Alabama's Anthony Grant at his school on Thursday. West Virginia's Bob Huggins stopped by just prior to the beginning of the quiet period.
A college decision is coming in June from Marquis Teague. Louisville has been viewed as his leader with Indiana playing second fiddle. Teague, however, said this line of thought is media driven and didn't come from him. He gave a school list of Louisville, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Cincinnati and Wake Forest.
Bradley Beal, who is playing with the St. Louis Eagles 16-under squad, lists offers from Kansas, Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Purdue and St. Louis but says his recruitment is wide open.
Long Island Lightning 2011 prospect Maurice Harkless has offers from Hofstra and Norfolk State and interest from West Virginia and UConn. Look for his recruitment to blow up over the summer.
Harkless teammate Sidiki Johnson is a little farther along in his recruitment with offers from Xavier and UMass. Johnson is also getting interest from West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Kentucky, Memphis and Hofstra.
Elite 2011 prospect Mike Gilchrist did have Memphis at the top of his school list. Now with Coach Calipari's move to Kentucky, you can substitute the Wildcats in place of the Tigers. Gilchrist said that Calipari has been in touch with him since taking over at Kentucky.
One of the top shooters in the 2011 class, Trevor Cooney already has a bevy of offers. Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia, Rutgers, Maryland and Notre Dame have offered. Cooney has visited all of those schools but Maryland and presently favors Villanova and Syracuse.
Markus Kennedy plans to choose a school in the next couple weeks. As it stands now, he will choose between Villanova and West Virginia. He does plan to visit Penn State, however, before he makes a decision.
Adreian Payne is wide open in his recruitment and not too concerned about it at this point. He did say that West Virginia, Dayton and Xavier are recruiting him the hardest, and he plans to visit Akron in the near future.
2011 five-star prospect Mike Shaw is listing offers from Illinois, Texas, USC, Arkansas and Kentucky and is looking to play in an up and down system.
Tobias Harris, who has one of the longest school lists in recent recruiting history, plans to narrow it down to seven or eight schools after this weekend. Harris did list Syracuse, Maryland, UConn, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Rutgers and Notre Dame as the schools recruiting him the hardest.