Recap of Simeon vs. Whitney Young 12/22/11

With John Calipari of Kentucky and Rick Pitino of Louisville on hand, players from both sides stepped up their game. As fans from everywhere were funneled into the UIC Pavilion, the players took the court for an exhilarating game. The who;s who of top Chicago prospects came to play and some under the radar players made their name known. Games like this make high school basketball so fun to watch. I felt like a bobble-head doll looking at all the payers move around the court. From my last post, I focused on some players I would be keeping my eye o. Some that I did not mention will be worth mentioning. Don't worry about me shortchanging you on the analysis because my high school crystal ball is telling me this won't be the last time I see these teams play this year. Here is what I observed:

SO, C, Jalil Okafor (6-10, 275 lbs, offers by Illinois, DePaul, Syracuse, Arkansas, Connecticut, and more) The player of the game; simply put. Everything he did was dominant. Okafor has a soft touch inside and can step out and hit the 10 footer. For Simeon, he was near impossible to guard. With Taylor, a future Marquette player next year, guarding Okafor, Okafor was taking him to school. His quick feet and soft hands (catching the basketball of course) forced Simeon to double and sometimes triple team Okafor. Even after that, Okafor was still able to get some lay ups and dunks around the rim. Outside of going up for a dunk and stuffing himself at the rim, there really was nothing Okafor did wrong. IF there is one thing that would prevent him from being a top 5 prospect in the nation in the Class of 2014, it would be his explosiveness. Unless he continues to shed some weight, Okafor does not have much lift when he jumps. Still, though, this is on of the elite sophomores in America

SO, F, Paul White (6-8, 200lbs, offered by Baylor, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Louisville) I did not know what to expect from White. I thought his game was similar to Baylor's Quincy Miller in that he can handle the ball, shoot from the outside, and big enough to make an impact on the inside. I was not far off from that assessment. White was the makeshift point guard for the Dolphins bringing the ball up the court and having the offense revolve around his decision making. White had 8 turnovers to go with his 7 points and 4 rebounds, but the turnovers came from a player making point guard plays without being a point guard. I think Whitney Young took advantage of White's superior ball handling ability and had him force too many plays. Having a true point guard would have opened up White's game more and would have given him more of an opportunity to score. Still, I'll take away from the 6-8 point forward his ball handling skills; something very few players at 6-8 have.

SO, PG/SG, Miles Reynolds (6-2, 200 lbs, no official offers) I was disappointed that Reynolds did not control the ball more; that responsibility was bestowed upon White. Reynolds did finish with 4 assists but played off the ball mostly. apparently Whitney Young does not feel Reynolds is ready to take full control of the offense. Though a sophomore, I think Reynolds is going to have to assert himself as the premier ball handler for the Dolphins. His role in the offense was far less than I expected.
 
JR, C, Tommy Hamilton, JR (6-9, 240 lbs, offers from Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern) Did Not Play- Nice job on my part to look for a guy who was injured; what is this amateur hour? However, two players caught my eye: SR, F, Nate Brook (6-6, 200 lbs, no offers) who finished with 7 points and 4 rebound as well as SR, SG, Jordan Smith (6-3, 180lbs) who had 6 points and 2 rebounds. Even though the numbers aren't staggering, both stood out. Brooks had some nice dunks in the first quarter and displayed some exceptional athleticism. Smith looked like he was out to prove something as he tried to go for a couple facial dunks against Simeon. I liked his size and his decision making when plays broke down. smith is a nice secondary option on offense.

JR, SG, Kendrick Nunn (6-2, 175 lbs, offers from Texas A&M, Memphis, Illinois, Xavier, Missouri, North Carolina State, DePaul) One could argue Nunn could have been player of the game because Simeon actually won the game. Nunn finished with a team high 19 points but what really impressed me was his assertiveness and his improvement shooting the ball. Nunn did well from beyond the arc, but maybe the best thing Nunn did was get to the foul line. Nunne got to the line around 10 times which tells me Nunn has stepped up his aggressiveness from last year. In limited time, Nunn settled for jump shots last year. This year, Nunn was in attack mode. Another piece of his game that stood out was his athleticism. I knew he was very athletic but the 6-2 guard was soaring well above the rim. Simply put, Nunn is much better from last year.

JR, SG/SF, Kendall Pollard (6-4, 185 lbs, no official offers) Like Reynolds on Whitney Young, I was disappointed that Pollard did not factor much in the game. One play that stood out was a put back attempt by Pollard that showed his leaping ability. It looked like Pollard jumped off a trampoline for the put back. I could see why some scout have taken notice of his game. Pollard's role on the team is not clearly defined and I don't see him playing more that 10 minutes a game with all the players around him.

SR, PF, Steve Taylor (6-7, 230 lbs, committed to Marquette) Unofficially, Taylor had 16 points and 6 rebounds (thanks Simeon for taking your sweetass time coming out with an official box score) but the thing that impressed me the most is how much more in shape Taylor was and how improved his ball handling was. At times, Taylor was bringing the ball up the court and playing both inside and outside. He has a unique skill set that should have him contributing right away next year for Buzz Williams. Taylor had the daunting task for taming Okafor and that in itself made him look bad. However, Taylor was able to his some outside shots and crash the boards and used his added strength from last year to impact shots in the lane. Taylor looked more like a ball controlling small forward as opposed to a slender power forward which he played last year, and that in itself is why Taylor has improved his game.

JR, SF/PF, Jabari Parker (6-7, 220 lbs, offers from Duke, Washington, Illinois, Michigan State, BYU, DePaul) Parker finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, but Parker seemed a little off. Clearly the most talented player on the floor, Parker had a tough time getting his shot to fall. Still, Parker was able to get to the rim, even though he was met by about 4 different defenders, as well as get himself open from beyond the arc. Even though his shooting percentage wasn't glamorous, it does look like Parker has more confidence taking a jump shot this year compared to last. It is clear to see, even in a sub par performance (sub par performance for Parker is usually better than most other players on the court) that Parker is one of the most talented players in the country.


NEXT WEEK: HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS WEEK'S MANY HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS.