Tarkanian Classic: Vanderbilt, Jolly shine
LAS VEGAS -- Very quickly, the Tarkanian Classic held on the campus of Bishop Gorman High School has become one of the premier high school tournaments in America. There's a wealth of talent on hand, and on Wednesday, Rivals.com was bouncing from court to court getting the lay of the land. Five-star sophomore forward Jarred Vanderbilt and senior shooting guard Tyson Jolly were among those who stood out.
Advertisement
Vanderbilt has versatile game
The No. 3 player in the class of 2017, 6-foot-7 small forward Jarred Vanderbilt has eyes on him each time he takes the floor. After a slow start due to foul trouble, the Houston (Texas) Victory Prep product had some of those eyes popping out of their sockets with his second-half play as he led his team to a victory over Diego Prep.
It wasn't because Vanderbilt put on some kind of crazy scoring display either, although he did score 11 of his 13 points in the second half. No, it was the skill and poise he displayed as a ball handler and passer while pushing and initiating the Victory Prep offense.
Blessed with great size and feel for the game, Vanderbilt's passing ability is far beyond his years. If teammates get open, he will find them and he will do so regularly. While he's still pretty skinny, Vanderbilt has also gone from very good to elite level athlete, and that extra burst makes him a nightmare.
According to Vanderbilt, Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky have been in recently, and only UK hasn't offered from that trio. Others who have seen him and offered include Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Baylor andHouston.
Vanderbilt said that he pays attention to which schools are watching him, but he won't get serious about his recruitment for another year or so. For now, he's just happy to have started his Vegas trip off with a win.
"I felt great," Vanderbilt said. "We had to adjust to the time change because back in Houston it is like midnight. But we had a great game. We started off slow and I got in early foul trouble but we came back and we got the victory."
Jolly overcomes adversity
If you are looking for a player to get behind, then Tyson Jolly is easy to get behind. A 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard at Oklahoma City (Okla.) Putnam City West, it wasn't so long that the three-star prospect was told that he wouldn't ever play basketball again because of blood clots that moved from his legs to his lungs.
The blood clots cost Jolly the second half of his junior season and all of the summer of 2014. Now, he's making up rather quickly for lost time.
Scoring 26 points and grabbing double-digit rebounds, Jolly led PC West to a hard-fought victory over a very talented Long Beach (Calif.) Poly squad on opening night. It wasn't a surprise since he's used to battling for what he wants on and off the floor.
"The first night I went to the hospital the doctor said I was never going to play again, I didn't know what to do because all I do is play basketball," Jolly said about what went through his mind when he learned of his condition. "I wasn't nervous when I came back. I was ready. It's just natural. I don't like losing."
Indeed, that hunger to win is what sticks out about Jolly. Sure he can shoot the ball a little, he is dangerous off the dribble and he competes defensively. But most of all he is a leader and a guy who makes winning plays when it matters most. That doesn't mean he isn't working on his leadership even more.
"It's natural, I talk a lot. I need to lead the right way, though. I need to say the right things to my teammates and not yell at them. I also need to know which one I can say the right thing to and who I can yell out. How will one person respond to one thing and another person to something else."
Rivals.com has now had the opportunity to evaluate Jolly at three different events this winter and he has become a very viable candidate for the final 2015 Rivals150. On the recruiting front, things are still just getting started. Schools like Tulsa and UTEP had offered prior to his blood clots and Oklahoma had sniffed around and those three along with Northern Arizona have started to pick things back up again.
However, Jolly said he's yet to have a school tell him they have to have him since his return. Most likely, that will be changing very soon.
Because the game between Putnam City West and Long Beach Poly was so much more competitive, we didn't focus as much on Stephen ZimmermanClick More Wednesday notesHere to view this Link. and host Bishop Gorman as they took out Los Angeles (Calif.) Windward. But, while we watched the nation's No. 10 senior was utterly dominant. He ran the floor for dunks, grabbed rebounds in traffic, hit shots and generally wreaked havoc on both ends. Catching up with him and talking to him about where he stands with his finalists Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLAClick More Wednesday notesHere to view this Link. and UNLVClick More Wednesday notesHere to view this Link. is a priority this week.
Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep is stacked with talent and their backcourt duo of Arizona bound five-star senior shooting guard Allonzo TrierClick The growth of four-star junior center Schnider HerardClick The game between Chino Hills (Calif.) High and their five-star stud Lonzo BallClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. and San Diego (Calif) Foothills Christian and their five-star stud T.J. LeafClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. wasn't exactly intense. Both teams just kind of casually went up and down the floor and jacked up shots without any fear of resistance from the opponent. Though not a classic battle, both the Pac 12 bounds junior stars (Ball to UCLA and Leaf to Arizona) certainly showed what they are capable of. Ball is a masterful passer who seems to glide up and down the floor while racking up points, rebounds and assists. The more Rivals.com watches him we realize that it isn't as much the passes he throws, but how he sets his teammates up for them that is most impressive. As for Leaf, the 6-foot-10 power forward may be a tad bit under-ranked at No. 17 in the class of 2016. He runs the floor, elevates quickly for towering jams in traffic and will get on the glass and board it. He finished with 33 points and what had to be pushing 15 rebounds.Here to view this Link. has been steady. A true power broker in the class of 2016, the 6-foot-10 product of Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian easily played up to his No. 41 ranking as Prestonwood scored a victory over Pasadena (Calif.) Maranatha. For Maranatha, unsigned five-star senior combo guard Tyler DorseyClick The game between Chino Hills (Calif.) High and their five-star stud Lonzo BallClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. and San Diego (Calif) Foothills Christian and their five-star stud T.J. LeafClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. wasn't exactly intense. Both teams just kind of casually went up and down the floor and jacked up shots without any fear of resistance from the opponent. Though not a classic battle, both the Pac 12 bounds junior stars (Ball to UCLA and Leaf to Arizona) certainly showed what they are capable of. Ball is a masterful passer who seems to glide up and down the floor while racking up points, rebounds and assists. The more Rivals.com watches him we realize that it isn't as much the passes he throws, but how he sets his teammates up for them that is most impressive. As for Leaf, the 6-foot-10 power forward may be a tad bit under-ranked at No. 17 in the class of 2016. He runs the floor, elevates quickly for towering jams in traffic and will get on the glass and board it. He finished with 33 points and what had to be pushing 15 rebounds.Here to view this Link. looked very good. Fully healthy after playing the summer a bit banged up, he had some burst off the dribble and also looked like he has done some work in the weight room. Dorsey had 24 points and was very good in all aspects of the game.Here to view this Link. and five-star junior point guard Derryck ThorntonClick The growth of four-star junior center Schnider HerardClick The game between Chino Hills (Calif.) High and their five-star stud Lonzo BallClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. and San Diego (Calif) Foothills Christian and their five-star stud T.J. LeafClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. wasn't exactly intense. Both teams just kind of casually went up and down the floor and jacked up shots without any fear of resistance from the opponent. Though not a classic battle, both the Pac 12 bounds junior stars (Ball to UCLA and Leaf to Arizona) certainly showed what they are capable of. Ball is a masterful passer who seems to glide up and down the floor while racking up points, rebounds and assists. The more Rivals.com watches him we realize that it isn't as much the passes he throws, but how he sets his teammates up for them that is most impressive. As for Leaf, the 6-foot-10 power forward may be a tad bit under-ranked at No. 17 in the class of 2016. He runs the floor, elevates quickly for towering jams in traffic and will get on the glass and board it. He finished with 33 points and what had to be pushing 15 rebounds.Here to view this Link. has been steady. A true power broker in the class of 2016, the 6-foot-10 product of Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian easily played up to his No. 41 ranking as Prestonwood scored a victory over Pasadena (Calif.) Maranatha. For Maranatha, unsigned five-star senior combo guard Tyler DorseyClick The game between Chino Hills (Calif.) High and their five-star stud Lonzo BallClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. and San Diego (Calif) Foothills Christian and their five-star stud T.J. LeafClick Also, might as well get this out of the way because fair or not to the young man, Windward freshman Shareef O'Neal is going to be watched very closely simply because he is the son of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. Coming off the bench early, O'Neal is an athletic and baby faced 6-foot-7 power forward who does appear to be a prospect. What level of prospect? Only time will tell but hopefully he's allowed to grow and develop without any ridiculous expectations.Here to view this Link. wasn't exactly intense. Both teams just kind of casually went up and down the floor and jacked up shots without any fear of resistance from the opponent. Though not a classic battle, both the Pac 12 bounds junior stars (Ball to UCLA and Leaf to Arizona) certainly showed what they are capable of. Ball is a masterful passer who seems to glide up and down the floor while racking up points, rebounds and assists. The more Rivals.com watches him we realize that it isn't as much the passes he throws, but how he sets his teammates up for them that is most impressive. As for Leaf, the 6-foot-10 power forward may be a tad bit under-ranked at No. 17 in the class of 2016. He runs the floor, elevates quickly for towering jams in traffic and will get on the glass and board it. He finished with 33 points and what had to be pushing 15 rebounds.Here to view this Link. looked very good. Fully healthy after playing the summer a bit banged up, he had some burst off the dribble and also looked like he has done some work in the weight room. Dorsey had 24 points and was very good in all aspects of the game.Here to view this Link. was essentially running a layup drill. It seemed to be one Trier dunk or contested finish at the rim after another off of feeds in transition from Thornton as Findlay easily handled Wasatch (Utah) Prep to get a win.
For Wasatch, Rivals150 junior guard Koby McEwen did some nice things. He is a good athlete, can score off the dribble and looks like he has a competitive streak in him. We'll look forward to getting a better look at McEwen and intriguing senior shooting guard Cody John as the tournament moves forward.
Click Here to view this Link.
[rl]