More Hoop Group notes
READING, Pa.- For most of the day on Friday, Myles Davis struggled mightily with his jumper and was a bit loose with the ball. But, he warmed up enough in the top All-Star game to earn game MVP honors. We've seen him enough to know that the jumper will start dropping again and it's further evidence that he's at his best in a system that focuses on freeing him up off of screens for catch and shoot opportunities. Among the head coaches who tailed him at Hoop Group were Rutgers boss Mike Rice and Xavier's Chris Mack.
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Speaking of Rutgers recruits, 2011 New Yorker Mike Taylor informed us that he's headed to Humble (Texas) Christian Life. The 6-foot-2 scorer has gotten much stronger in the last year and would prefer to stick with Rutgers but it appears the Scarlet Knights could be headed in a different direction.
Pretty much an unknown headed into camp, Reggie Agbeko is a rugged 6-foot-6 combo forward type from Buffalo. A good athlete with strength, he's got a refreshing take no prisoners approach on the glass and is a good mid major target. St. Peter's has offered him and he's also heard from Seton Hall, Xavier and Robert Morris.
A big kid who doesn't stray far from the rim, Benjamin Bentil is a good looking 6-foot-9 center prospect from the class of 2014. A product of Delaware's St. Andrew's school, he's a future space eater who blocks shots, is physical on the glass and has good hands.
For now, we'll list 6-foot-7 rising junior Dominique Reed as a combo forward and that's a good thing. A long athlete with a great looking frame, Reed is a high level finisher in transition with outstanding body control. If he grows, he'll be a quick and bouncy four man, or he has the agility to be a full-time three with some skill development.
You won't find many in the country who get off the floor quicker than 6-foot-6 power forward Lenard Freeman. The junior from Washington D.C. has big, sure hands and explodes off the floor to dunk any and everything within six or seven feet of the rim. He's got a nose for the ball and a body that should fill out nicely as he matures and finds the weight room.
Josh Hart of Sidwell Friends in Washington D.C. earned MVP honors in the underclass All-Star game thanks in large part to his activity in transition. A well put together 6-foot-4 shooting guard and rising junior, Hart has outstanding hands, is a super rebounder for a wing and is capable of finishing through contact.
The younger brother of Pitt bound Malcolm Gilbert, rising senior Marcus Gilbert is a totally different player than his big bro. A lanky 6-foot-5 wing, Gilbert is an active defender with quickness and the athleticism to be a dangerous transition finisher. A jump shooter he isn't, but his motor runs pretty high and he's a division one player.
Lefty rising junior Stanford Robinson has been playing point at each of the last two stops we've seen him at. An athlete with a strong frame, we like him more as a slashing combo guard who can put pressure on defenders and excel as a baseline finisher. A high major prospect, the development of his jumper will likely play a big part in just which end of that spectrum he ends up at.
If you are going to defend 6-foot-6 lefty Malik Nichols, you had better be prepared to deal with a guy that is coming at you full throttle on each and every possession. A big time athlete with length, the rising senior will be at Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep this upcoming year and would thrive at a program that likes to run and gun on offense and press on defense.
D.C. area guard Kethan Savage can sure live up to his last name when he decides to attack the rim. A member of the loaded Team Takeover program, he made the most of his opportunity to stand out and made the top All-Star game and authored one of the more vicious dunks we've seen all travel season on a buzzer beating length of the court drive and throwdown.
We'd like to get another look at Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph's wing Quenton DeCosey. A long, 6-foot-4 athlete, DeCosey can drive to his left or right, is an above average baseline finisher and seems to be in attack mode more often than not.
Speaking of athletes, there aren't many who are much more explosive than 6-foot-1 Kyree Wooten. A Philly native who is built and often defends like a division one cornerback, Wooten is an absolutely disgusting straight up leaper.
Hard not to be impressed with the work Brooklyn (N.Y.) Xaverian rising senior Brian Bernardi has done in adding strength. Known more as a spot-up jump shooter, he's stretched out a bit to 6-foot-2 and has also turned into a pretty athletic kid with the ability to finish above the rim. …
Yet another St. Benedict's guard showing at least mid-major potential was Dayshon Smith. "Scootchie" to his coaches and friends, he's a lengthy 6-foot-1 point guard who is quick into the lane. While he's quite thin, he's also quite dangerous as a jump shooter and will be part of a loaded perimeter rotation at St. Benedict's his senior season.
Phillip Lawrence-Ricks of Mount St. Joseph's in Baltimore is much improved since we last saw him in December. A good athlete with length, the skinny PF has become much more active on the interior and shows a lot more fight when stronger guys try to bully him. The 6-foot-6 rising senior looks to be a low to mid major bubble guy and can definitely run.
Khallid Hart from Hockessin (Del.) Sanford looks to be a sleeper mid-major point guard prospect. He's got a pretty solid frame at 6-foot-1, defends, makes good decisions, can hit a jumper and has some burst to his game. He's not flashy, but he is pretty effective.