Nate Latsch Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Thought everyone here would be interesting to know Brad Soderberg was at the Vashon-Louisville Male game this afternoon with his son, Kramer. I've told people in the past that I've never seen Brad out scouting around the area. So now I can say that I've seen him at a game. My guess would be that he was there to watch Vashon junior Bobby Hill and 6-foot-6 sophomore Leon Powell. Both played well, but Powell scored a career-high 29 points (and could have probably scored another eight-10 if he hadn't missed easy chances inside). Hill, who is 6-4 or 6-5 and looks strong, has Tommie Liddell-like athleticism and a better outside shot. The Billikens could use someone with his athletic ability at the shooting guard or small forward slot. I'm not sure how much Powell is going to grow. He's pretty slim for 6-6, but if he grows another inch or two he can probably play the power forward spot at SLU. If he grows much more than that, he'll be able to go to almost any school he wants. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 nate i have seen brad out and about on the east side before watching both tommie and kevin last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Hill, who is 6-4 or 6-5 and looks strong, has Tommie Liddell-like athleticism and a better outside shot. The Billikens could use someone with his athletic ability at the shooting guard or small forward slot. Are you sure about that Nate, granted Hill is the better shooter, but his athleticism doesn't approaches Tommie. Has Hill really improved that much, specifically his ballhandling? Maybe I'll send you a game disc of Tommie so you'll re-evaluate that thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 I think Bobby has Liddell-like athleticism but since he doesn't Tommie's ability to break down the defense, you don't really get to see it until he skies for a dunk in the open court or on alley-oop. He can't change directions at top speed like Tommie can either. Bobby still has another year to hone his skills but at this point he would be an athletic role player who can spot up from 15-17 feet, finish on the break and match up against other athletic small forwards on defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Bobby still has another year to hone his skills. I thought Bobby was senior this year. Now I know this is really early in the recruiting process for Leon Powell, but someone in his family told me that SLU is one of Powell's early favorites. Again this is really early but hopefully something for the staff to build on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 His brother Johnny is a senior. I would recruit Powell as a small forward -- his ballhandling is as good as Bobby's and his shot is as good as Tommie's. He would be 6'7 nightmare to guard in the Atlantic 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 >I think Bobby has Liddell-like athleticism but since he >doesn't Tommie's ability to break down the defense, you >don't really get to see it until he skies for a dunk in the >open court or on alley-oop. He can't change directions at >top speed like Tommie can either. Bobby still has another >year to hone his skills but at this point he would be an >athletic role player who can spot up from 15-17 feet, >finish on the break and match up against other athletic >small forwards on defense. An athletic SF who can hit an open jumper plus finish around the basket .... sign him. We have enough guys with point guard skills on the team. Not everyone has to be a ballhandler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Didn't Cusumano report that we offered Johnny Hill a scholarship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 "An athletic SF who can hit an open jumper plus finish around the basket ...." Just to clarify, he finishes well in the open court but that is null and void since we don't get out in the open court. He's just an average finisher in traffic. So in our offense he would just be a standstill jumpshooter from 15-17 feet. That's the same role Newborne plays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Latsch Posted February 6, 2005 Author Share Posted February 6, 2005 >Are you sure about that Nate, granted Hill is the better >shooter, but his athleticism doesn't approaches Tommie. Has >Hill really improved that much, specifically his >ballhandling? Maybe I'll send you a game disc of Tommie so >you'll re-evaluate that thought. Hill does need to improve his ballhandling, as do 99.9 percent of kids in high school. Tommie has much better handles than Bobby does. The two can both jump. I'd love to see them in a leaping contest to see who can touch higher up the backboard. Both are impressive athletes. Bobby still has a lot to improve on, but he's got a lot of potential. As far as local big man prospects go, Leon Powell is as good as you'll probably get. - Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 We really need players who can finish in traffic. I hold out hope for D. Brown in this capacity (the ugly miss on a contested layup against Houston notwithstanding). He's only going to get stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted February 6, 2005 Share Posted February 6, 2005 Hill does need to improve his ballhandling, as do 99.9 percent of kids in high school. Poor ballhandling skills is why 99.9% of high school kids don't get offered High-Mid Division 1 scholarships. SLU has to get away from this mode of thinking. If he can't get it done on the high school level I just don't see it happening at college. Bobby still has a lot to improve on, but he's got a lot of potential. Now that I'm no longer confusing Bobby with Johnny, I need to retract my statement that Bobby is the better shooter in relation to Liddell. In fact I don't see anything that Bobby would bring to SLU that they don't already have in Luke or Danny. As far as local big man prospects go, Leon Powell is as good as you'll probably get. After watching his performance vs East Side I don't consider Powell as a "big man" at all, however he is in my opinion the only bonafide High-Mid Division 1 prospect that is currently starting for Vashon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 We're seeing the same thing when we look at Bobby Hill and Powell. I really can't get overly excited over Hill when Brad's offense requires guards who are near automatic from the perimeter or who can penetrate to create open shots for others. But the fall signing period is still a long way off. Nick Kern, for example, was a significantly better perimeter shooter and ballhandler his senior year. What I don't understand is what has happened Dustin Maguire's shot. The kid was money from long distance as a sophomore but has had a lot of 1-7 type performances from three this year. Seems to be trying too hard to impress the scouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tseugnekillib Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 the motion offense also present's post-up opportunities for strong big guards and opportunities for 10-15 footers, if the guards are capable of dribbling strong into the lane area and hitting a stop-n-pop mid-range jump shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Bobby hasn't really shown the ability to shoot off the dribble but like I said, the fall signing period is a long way off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 it is my guess the hill that is a junior is third on brad's junior class list of local players. at least he would be on mine. i'd take leonard first. and then i'd roll the dice on the mcguire kid at civic memorial becoming a combo forward. but that said, if i believed that taking hill cinched powell the following year, the difference isnt enough to quibble about. take hill if it leads to powell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 jalensdad, dont forget that powell is a sophomore. the fact he has "that attitude" to go along with his skills as only a sophomore speaks volumes. that cant be taught. and when it shows up early like it did for tommie and lisch, it is a pretty good clue. besides if powell ends up growing more, he will never stay home. he will then get chased countrywide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalensdad2002 Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 jalensdad, dont forget that powell is a sophomore. the fact he has "that attitude" to go along with his skills as only a sophomore speaks volumes. that cant be taught. and when it shows up early like it did for tommie and lisch, it is a pretty good clue. That is the probably the most impressive thing about Powell.He carries himself as if he is an upperclassmen. Besides if Powell ends up growing more, he will never stay home. he will then get chased countrywide. You mentioned some similarity between Powell, Tommie, and Kevin on the basketball court. I say he shares one important similarity off the court as well. He is very close to his mother and siblings. He may not want to travel too far away from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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