HAYWARD, CA – As is usually the case for the higher profile Nike-front basketball “evaluation” events, the key Friday night was in not getting figuratively intoxicated by all of the on-court talent on display.
The opening session of games during the fourth and final weekend of the Elite Youth Basketball League at the cavernous Dream Courts (and having seven courts in front of you is certainly a “dreamy” proposition) created this dilemma:
Do you sit courtside and watch Chicago-based Mac Irvin Fire (led by the 2013 class consensus No. 1 prospect, Jabari Parker of Simeon) against California Supreme (and its collection of guards, including the hyphenates, Parker Jackson-Cartwright and Nigel Williams-Goss)?
Or do you walk 50 feet or so and check out Michigan’s The Family – led by one of the rising senior class’ Top Five prospects in James Young of Troy – vs. the Indiana Spiece club and its impressive 2014 group?
I compromised.
I watched the first half of the former and the second half of the latter.
I wasn’t disappointed in my choice.
Parker looked every bit as well-rounded and mature as he looked when I last watched him, in person, during the Fab 48 at Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas last July.
He scored 23 points during his team’s victory but was just as impressive in the way he directed the flow of the contest via his passing, screening and movement without the ball. He also looks as if he has gained about 15 pounds of firm muscle.
Is he “the best high school player since LeBron”, as touted by Sports Illustrated?
I’m not convinced of that yet but I have no problem with calling him the best in the 2013 class – even with players liked the aforementioned Young and Aaron Gordon of San Jose, CA, Mitty (who isn’t playing this spring for the Oakland Soldiers because of a broken bone in a foot) as competition for that title.
The left-handed Young isn’t the playmaker, per se, that Parker is, yet is anything but a shot-hunting – and hungry – “first and foremost scorer” that a lot of players on all levels of hoops are.
The Family handled Spiece – which has quality juniors-to-be in 6-8 (not close to the 6-10 he’s listed at) Trey Lyles of Indianapolis Tech and 6-5 Jayquan Lyle of Evansville Bosse – with considerable decisiveness.
One of the reasons was the play of The Family’s Wesley Clark, a 6-foot senior-to-be at Romulus who is “true” point guard with any equally honest jump shot.
Other individual standouts (when I watched) during the total of 20 games played Friday evening included:
*Kendrick Nunn, a 6-1 left hander (and a classmate of Parker’s at Simeon in Chicago) who helped Chicago-based Meanstreets hand Andrew Wiggins-led CIA Bounce of Canada its first EYBL loss Friday night.
Don’t be surprised if Simeon is represented by two players on the 2013 McDonald’s All-American team.
*Johnathan Williams and Jajuan Johnson of Memphis Southwind led the Bluff City Legends past the Jackson (MS) Tigers with spectacular play in the lane and along the baseline (Williams) and passing (Johnson).
“Wow” and “wow”!
*The Georgia Stars and Texas Pro made for a nice, middle-session hook-up.
Both squads are deep in both frontcourt and backcourt talent.
More on the Stars later this weekend but I really like 6-8 Antonio Davis Jr. (his dad is the former NBA rebounder-deluxe) of Buford High and 6-10 Jarquez Smith of Jones City High.
The left-handed Davis passed and shot pretty well while Smith blocked a half-dozen or so shots while I watched and displaying a reasonably accurate jump shot.
Among Texas Pro’s stalwarts are 6-9, 260-pound Dominic Woodson (Austin Vermont Academy), who figures to be among the most heavily recruited posts in the 2013 class, and 6-2 Isaiah Taylor (Houston’s The Village School).
Taylor, who averaged 18 points per game last season at Summit High in Fontana (east of Los Angeles about 60 miles), was among the more energetic players I saw Friday night.
Now, off to more games this (Saturday) morning . . .
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