Tarkanian Classic: Breakthrough for Duval
LAS VEGAS -- For our third and final day in Vegas, we did some bouncing
around to catch up on some guys that we hadn't watched much yet. Five-star
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junior point guard Trevon Duval spoke about a recent and upcoming visit
while UCLA-bound point guard Jaylen Hands had a big game.
I was impressed with...
Since arriving at Dallas (Texas) API for his junior season, 2017's No. 2 player
Trevon Duval has played through some growing pains. The entire API team
has struggled at times as Duval, five-star shooting guard
Terrance Ferguson and five-star combo forward Billy Preston have looked to
get onto the same page. Friday looked like a bit of a breakthrough for both
Duval and API.
It wasn't always pretty and there were mistakes made, but Friday was the hardest
I have seen Duval and API play together as a unit. With a guy with his
athleticism and ability to get into the lane making things happen simply playing
hard is enough for them to be very dangerous. He punctuated things with an
impressive baseline drive and reverse dunk and Duval said that he enjoyed a
trip this weekend.
Trevon Duval @DatGuy_Trey NASTY Reverse Dunk! More Highlights --> https://t.co/eehvOv8qWm #Ballislife #TarkClassic pic.twitter.com/28EdWh79DF- Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 19, 2015
I was surprised by...
Watching Mt. Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy I knew that Rivals150 senior guard
Koby McEwen would put in work but I didn't know what to expect from
anybody else. Wings Shamiel Stevenson and Emmanuel Akot both
caught my eye. Stevenson, a 6-foot-5 junior who had USC watching him in
Vegas, is well built, athletic and tough. He can get to the rim, play on the
glass and shows some savvy in his half court game. A sophomore, Akot is a long
armed and athletic driver who can sit down and defend. He plays with high energy
and both he and Stevenson look like they'll get evaluated pretty aggressively on
the upper end mid major to high major level.
Other thoughts...
He
needs to add weight to his skinny frame before he gets to UCLA, but
junior point guard Jaylen Hands was in all out attack mode on Friday.
The No. 23 ranked player in 2017 took the ball to the rim over and over and his
quickness was too much for defenders to handle. At times, the San Diego (Calif.)
Balboa product can look a little disinterested, but it seems to just be his
natural way of carrying himself and not a lack of effort.
Henderson
(Nev.) Findlay Prep was able to cruise to a huge win over Houston (Texas)
Victory Prep and because of that some of their up and coming players were able
to get some shine. A three-star junior small forward, Lamine Diane
impressed defensively. He threw a blanket on five-star small forward
Jarred Vanderbilt and really made him work for everything that he had. While Diane
was impressive with his length and activity on the defensive end, sophomore
DeVon Cooper was impressive with his deep jump shooting. A well-built 6-foot-3
two guard, Cooper showed deep range and plenty of confidence with his shot.
Speaking
of Vanderbilt, the 6-foot-7 forward who ranks No. 7 in the class of 2017 simply
doesn't have much help on his team, at least not enough to make a huge
difference when playing elite competition. His team's primary ball handler,
Vanderbilt is essentially asked to dribble around until he can make something
happen for himself or others. The result is some spectacular plays, but also
results in some errors and some forcing of things. Would love to see him getting
more catches on the wing where he can survey and then attack quickly instead of
having to pound the ball and force things to happen.
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