VTIME Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=538081 Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Staff Kingwood top performers SoCal All-Stars claim Kingwood Kingwood: Mayo saves new team Kingwood Classic photo gallery The Kingwood Classic has always been an event where prospects both emerge from obscurity and also establish themselves as national high-major talents. This year's Kingwood Classic was no exception, and National Basketball Analyst Jerry Meyer breaks down the game of five of the eye catchers. J'Covan Brown, Port Arthur (Texas) Monsignor Kelly Rivals.com Position: Point guard Height: 6-foot-3 Weight: 190 pounds 2008 prospect J'Covan Brown, of the TMAC All Stars, clearly established himself as an elite prospect with his play at the Kingwood Classic. Such a natural talent, Brown shoots the ball effortlessly from deep range. He is also physical with the ball on the drive and has a repertoire of crafty ball handling moves and fakes. Brown is the type of player who can improvise on a whim and knock down difficult shots. Defensively, he is physical and harasses the ball with his quick and strong hands and is able to guard both a quick point guard and a physical off guard. Tends to take a lot of risks and play just on instinct, but solid coaching will reign that in on the college level. As naturally talented as Brown is, he almost looks bored at times on the court since the game comes so easily to him. His greatest challenge might just be finding ways to challenge himself. John Brandenburg, St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet Jesuit Position: Power forward Height: 6-foot-10 Weight: 235 pounds The St. Louis Eagles have on outstanding 2008 post prospect in John Brandenburg. The best thing about Brandenburg is that he constantly competes on every possession. Unlike a lot of young big men, Brandenburg is rarely ever behind the play and is constantly competing for the ball. He has sure hands, quality footwork and is quick to the ball. He has nice touch on his jumper, and although his post moves need refinement, he does have a solid jump hook. Not necessarily an imposing post defender, Brandenburg is active and tough to score over. Plus, he gives the effort to chase down rebounds out of his area. Look for Brandenburg's recruitment to take off as coaches struggle to find big men with the size, skill and heart that he possesses. Troy Gillenwater, Los Angeles So. Fremont Position: Power forward Height: 6-foot-8 Weight: 225 pounds 2008 power forward prospect Troy Gillenwater, of the H-Squad, came into the Kingwood with some momentum after a strong performance in the Easter Classic, and he only built on that momentum last weekend. Gillenwater is a strong and powerful athlete who plays a physical and attacking style of basketball. He takes his post moves to the rim and has the balance to spin either way and finish. He will spend a lot of time at the free-throw line with his style of play, and he can shoot the mid-range jumper with touch. Defensively, he has the quickness and strength to deny the post, and is a hungry defensive rebounder. Expect the Big 12 and the Pac-10 to be all over this prototypic power forward. Nate Miles, Toledo (Ohio) Libbey Position: Shooting guard Height: 6-foot-7 Weight: 173 pounds College choice: Undecided Not an unknown name by any means, but reclassified 2008 prospect Nate Miles put on quite a scoring display in a gym off the beaten path. Miles is a silky smooth athlete at 6-foot-7 who can score in most any way on the court. In one scoring spree at the Kingwood, Miles hit a floater off the glass in the mid-range, sprinted off a down screen to nail a three, hit two hop-back threes going both left and right, scored in transition and then scored off an offensive rebound. All of this in a span around five minutes of play. Miles does need to put a higher premium on defending and rebounding, but he has the tools to be a complete player if he gets stronger. Nonetheless, the bottom line is that there are not a lot of players out there that can bring the ball up the court and then score in every possible way. Scotty Hopson, Hopkinsville (Ky.) University Heights Academy Position: Shooting guard Height: 6-foot-5 Weight: 185 pounds Word has been leaking out of the Bluegrass State about athletic and talented 2008 small forward Scotty Hopson, and he is indeed a very promising prospect. Hopson, who played in the 17-under division with the Mid State Ballerz 16-under team, has the prototypical small forward build and game. He is bouncy around the basket, has a good first step, and can hit the mid-range pull up off the dribble. He has the potential as a defender to guard players both on the perimeter and in the interior. He can also ****** a rebound and go with the ball or get out on the wing and attack the basket on the break. Still a raw player who appears to just now be figuring out how good he is, Hopson has a game with a ton of upside. Talk about it in: In the Paint Featured Product Texas Longhorns 2006 Rose Bowl Champions DVD College Top performers at King James Classic Houston Hoops captures Las Vegas title Local team captures King of South title Walker and Mayo strong on Sunday morning D1 Greyhounds claim King James Classic RivalsHoops.com Rivals.com: About Us | Advertise with Us | Premium FAQ | Contact Us Site-specific editorial/photos ©2006 Rivals.com. All rights reserved. This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of news and information not affiliated with any school or team. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Copyright Infringement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 >>Look for Brandenburg's recruitment to take off as coaches struggle to find big men with the size, skill and heart that he possesses.<< A big man with heart ... like the sound of that assessment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 Almost as good as this assessment. Gotta love that Clark Francis 6'8 Soph Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, who more than lived up his ranking as the #3 sophomore in the state of Indiana by Jim Kasberg. Johnson is so active, athletic, and skilled that he projects as the best player for the Northwest Region of Indiana since Glenn Robinson and, as a result, we think he has NBA potential with normal development. http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/apr...info224467.html The only recruiting guru I trust is Eric Bossi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted May 6, 2006 Author Share Posted May 6, 2006 >Almost as good as this assessment. Gotta love that Clark >Francis > >6'8 Soph Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, who >more than lived up his ranking as the #3 sophomore in the >state of Indiana by Jim Kasberg. Johnson is so active, >athletic, and skilled that he projects as the best player >for the Northwest Region of Indiana since Glenn Robinson >and, as a result, we think he has NBA potential with normal >development. > >http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/apr...info224467.html > >The only recruiting guru I trust is Eric Bossi. heart is something you can't coach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted May 6, 2006 Share Posted May 6, 2006 >Almost as good as this assessment. Gotta love that Clark >Francis > >6'8 Soph Justin Johnson from Merrillville (H.S.) IN, who >more than lived up his ranking as the #3 sophomore in the >state of Indiana by Jim Kasberg. Johnson is so active, >athletic, and skilled that he projects as the best player >for the Northwest Region of Indiana since Glenn Robinson >and, as a result, we think he has NBA potential with normal >development. > >http://www.hoopscooponline.com/members/apr...info224467.html > >The only recruiting guru I trust is Eric Bossi. 3Star, had to smile with that one. Just had to dump alittle rain on the Brandenburg parade. Time will tell what kind of player Brandenburg develops into; however, our window of opportunity on him is closing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted May 7, 2006 Author Share Posted May 7, 2006 I agree. If we haven't offered, which I was under the impression from this board that we had we need to. Suggs ans Brandenburg are both high-major prospects and 3 stars and 4 stars on rivals and scouthoops. We need to call EVERY WEEK. 08 is loaeded. Suggs, Perry, and Swopshire are 6'5 + guards. Then you have other guards prospects like Roundtree, Anthony James, Josh McCoy, Femi John, Soderberg, Ron Waller, Kenneth Harris, Cornelius Walker are all nearly certain division 1 players, grades permitting. If Drew Hanlen and Derron Hobbs grow, they're division 1 for sure. As far as bigs, Brandenburg ofcourse, then you have 6'1l Brett Thompson who can shoot the ball. He'll have offers before the summer ends. Jason Smith, Zach Redel, Andy Rosburg and Brandon McCord are all 6'5-6'6 young PF's who might still who are performing at a very early age. Sean Rakers and Brandon Harold are other 6'6 bigs to take a look at. 08 is loaded with mid-major to high-major division 1 talent. We should be scholarship saving. No more guys this year. We need a 4 man class of Powell, Harrellson, Woodland, and Doss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted May 7, 2006 Author Share Posted May 7, 2006 Some other 2008 big men to watch out for are 6'6 Jennings soph Brian McGee, 6'7 McCluer North sophomore Anthony Booker, and 6'7 Berkeley soph Abel Tillman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 I've been involved with Abel for the past two years (at Berkeley). I forgot which school he was telling me he was interested in when he was a freshman (it was too long ago -- I think it was some SEC school), but this year he's been saying he's interested in SLU. I don't say much. Abel is lanky and has excellent leaping ability, and he has a pretty good face-up jumper, but he needs to gain a lot of weight, and that will be a challenge for him. He may wind up being better as a 3 than a 4, if he doesn't add some mass. Early in Abel's freshman season I mentioned him to Coach Soderberg, who asked me who his head coach is. One drawback, though, is that Abel played junior varsity as a freshman and wasn't highly featured on the varsity as a sophomore (it hurt him that he was ineligible for the first semester). Now that Abel is on the Eagles under-16 squad, he'll get more exposure. Berkeley has two other players to watch in the class of '08: Antonio "Chicken" Campbell (son of "Shotgun," if any of you remembers him) and Reggie Spears. They both played varsity exclusively as sophomores after getting a little time on varsity as freshmen. They're both smallish guards, but they can both handle very well, are quick, and can shoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Julius Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Abel doesn't play for the Eages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTIME Posted May 8, 2006 Author Share Posted May 8, 2006 Yeah campbell is awesome. I didnt think he would start this year, with guys who had been starting for years in Noise, Curry, and the Jones' returning, but not only did he start, but wound up being the leading scorer. Is Curry going anywhere in football? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 >Abel doesn't play for the Eages. I guess you would know better than I would, but not only did I see Abel Tillman's name on the list that was posted earlier this year (for the Under-16s), but he told me that he's playing for the Eagles. Are you sure you're not thinking of just the Under-17s? Berkeley supposedly also has another player who's on the Eagle's under-15 squad: Doug Wallace, who I worked with on the JV last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 >Is Curry going >anywhere in football? I don't know (I don't work at Berkeley anymore, though I do get over there from time to time, so I don't see 'Bo that often anymore). If I remember, I'll ask his football coach (a friend and co-worker of mine) what his plans are, if I'm not able to get it straight from the horse's mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Julius Posted May 8, 2006 Share Posted May 8, 2006 Abel stopped coming to practice a long time ago and said his high school coach is putting together a team that he would rather Abel play on. He would have helped us out a lot, but he went with his coach's recommendation. At least that is what he told me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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