Thanksgiving Hoopfest: Fox shows out
DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- The second and final day of the seventh annual
Thanksgiving Hoopfest gave the fans what they wanted. Senior combo guard
Andrew Jones continued his ascension and junior guard
Trae Young went off. But, it was five-star point guard De'Aaron Fox who
reminded everybody that he's still the best senior in Texas.
I was impressed with...
Thanks to his play at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, I think we need to start
talking about unsigned combo guard Andrew Jones from Irving (Texas)
MacArthur as a legitimate candidate for both the McDonald's All-American game
and a move to five-star status.
Currently a four-star prospect ranked No. 38 in the 2016 Rivals150, the 6-foot-4
senior followed up his 37-point Friday effort by standing toe to toe with an
elite prospect and delivering 29 points, four rebounds, three assists and three
steals in a losing effort. Texas' Shaka Smart and
Baylor's Scott Drew were on hand to see him play.
Now about that elite prospect that Jones went toe to toe with. De'Aaron Fox backed up his lofty No. 5 national ranking in the class of 2016 by
delivering a command performance for Katy (Texas) Cypress Lake. Fox matched
Jones blow for blow and led his team to a hard fought win while racking up 31
points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
A relentless driver of the ball, Fox wasn't completely dialed in from deep (just
3-of-13 from distance) but his performance was otherwise flawless. What
really sets him apart, though, is his blinding speed. Speed that he showed off
to end the third quarter. Fox grabbed a rebound and raced from one end to the
other in just under four seconds to beat the buzzer. What was most impressive is
that he never looked rushed or concerned that he wouldn't make it to the bucket
in time.
Needless to say, the Kentucky signee validated his top five status and
he is a stone cold lock for the McDonald's game.
I'm not big on throwing pro around but, De'Aaron Fox and Andrew Jones are both looking like future NBA players tonight.— Eric Bossi (@ebosshoops) November 29, 2015
Here's the scary thing, as good as both Fox and Jones were, they didn't have the
performance of the day. That belonged to a potential 2017 McDonald's
All-American Trae Young who hung 44 points, seven assists and five
rebounds on Richland (Texas) High in Norman (Okla.) North's 95-71 win.
Just a day after going for 33, Young was even more locked in. There had
apparently been some pre game trash talk and suggestion that he was overrated at
No. 26 nationally but Young effectively ended any of that talk. He bombed deep
threes, used his advanced ball skills to get into the lane and mixed in a little
bit of everything else. He has been on the fringe of five-star status for a
while now and the résumé he has built since his freshman year is matched by few
in the junior class and could be pushing him to that next level.
I was surprised by...
On the first day of the Hoopfest, Oklahoma State signee Cameron McGriff was very quiet as his Grand Prairie (Texas) South squad took a
loss. They suffered another tough loss on Saturday, but it wasn't any fault of
McGriff. The Rivals150 combo forward has added some muscle to his wiry 6-foot-7
frame and he was very good in most areas. He competed on the glass, ran the
floor, made some alert passes and contributed on both ends of the floor while
scoring 26 points (11-of-19 FG), grabbing seven rebounds and handing out six
assists.
McGriff's teammate, USC bound power forward
Harrison Henderson, also had his moments after a quiet Friday. 6-foot-9 with deft
touch, Henderson hit some jumpers and showed some life around the basket but
also drifted a little too much and didn't assert himself as a rim protector in a
13-point and six-rebound outing.
Other thoughts...
With
Shaka Smart and Scott Drew on hand to watch him, four-star junior
R.J. Nembhard turned it on late but couldn't quite lead Keller (Texas) Central
to a win over Plano (Texas) West. A well built shooting guard who loves to
attack the basket, Nembhard scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second
half. His jumper still has a little catching up to do but he is a solid ball
handler and already has a college ready body.
Currently
ranked No. 85 in 2017, Richland's C.J. Roberts finished with 31 points,
two assists and two rebounds of his own. Athletic and quick, Roberts is a right
hand dominant driver who tries to attack the basket as often as possible thanks
to an explosive first step.
Also
putting together a pair of strong outings for Norman North was unsigned senior
guard Marcus Dickinson. After getting 20 points four rebounds and three
assists on Friday, the 6-foot-2 senior came back with 18, 10 and five on
Saturday. He's tough, he has some athleticism and he's able to get a lot of
things done and can absolutely play Div. I basketball.
Unfortunately,
2017's No. 59 player Galen Alexander is waiting to be ruled eligible in
the state of Louisiana after a transfer. So, Lafayette (La.) Christian was
without him and touted 2018 guard Greg Williams had a pretty quiet day.
But, twin seniors Kalob Ledoux and Jacob Ledoux were plenty
impressive. Ticketed for McNeese State, they appear to be a pretty big
recruiting steal. Both have good size at around 6-foot-4, both are very athletic
and they can each shoot it a little from deep.
If
it feels like TCU signee Josh Parrish has played in the
Hoopfest forever it's because he pretty much has. The Rivals150 wing made his
fourth appearance with Arlington (Texas) Seguin and was solid in a tough double
overtime loss. Physically, he's ready to play in the Big 12 right away and he's
a tough finisher and athlete around the rim. He's a good value pickup for the
Horned Frogs but could really become something if his jumper catches up to his
slashing.
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