I made it over to Jefferson on Friday night and Saturday morning. Here is what I posted on Buckyville. Please keep in mind that it is in relation to UW and kids they are recruiting. From Friday:
-Paul Jesperson (2011 wing from Merrill) – Paul is the primary PG for his HS team, but having a more talented team around him in AAU play allows him to move to the wing. Given his height (6’6” or 7”), I presume he will be on the wing at the next level. He is a very good shooter, moves well without the ball and appears to have a very good basketball IQ. The negatives are that he’s not an overly explosive athlete, and he needs to add strength/weight. Because of that, he is susceptible to physical defense, which was the case for a large portion of the second half tonight. He came up big at the end though, with a steal that he converted into a 3-point play with less than 4 seconds to go to give his team the victory. I know UW looked at him some last year, but I would assume the Duje Dukan signing with UW essentially filled the role Paul would play. I will be anxious to see where he ends up and how he does, as he could be a very solid complimentary player at the next level.
-Phil Romback (2011 forward from Seymour) – I don’t think UW showed much interest, but he is a pretty nice player who could be a solid contributor at a mid-major somewhere. I believe this is his first year with Jesperson and the Wisconsin Playmakers, and he’s been a nice addition, taking some of the pressure to score off Paul. He played very hard, and was able to score a little bit from inside and outside.
-Cinmeon Bowers (2012 forward from Milwaukee King) – Bowers has apparently reclassified from the 2011 class, and is now listed as a Milwaukee King guy. Not sure how all the eligibility stuff works in Wisconsin, but I believe he was at Nicolet thru his sophomore yet, then a prep school or two last year, and looks to be at King now. He is most certainly a talented kid, in the neighborhood of 6’6” and 240. In addition to his physical size, he moves really, really well. He actually handles the ball very well for a guy his size, and shoots it better than when I saw him last spring. Unfortunately, he did not seem to play hard at all time tonight, and was not really interested in defending. In addition, he was way too willing to settle for jumpers. He made a few, but he should have been taking advantage of his size and athleticism inside. He had a couple huge dunks down the stretch to help the Playground Elite pull out a tighter-than-it-should-have-been game. Definitely an interesting prospect, but does not look like a kid who would fit into what UW is looking for.
-Duane Wilson (2013 PG from Whitefish Bay Dominican) – Wilson had a very good first season at Dominican, and plays up with the 16U Playground Elite squad. He did not play a ton this evening, as he looked to be struggling a bit with a rather bulky knee brace. He did have a couple nice passes though, and his shot looked great in warm-ups. He was taller than I was expecting, and looked to have pretty long arms and big feet, so he may have some growing to do yet. The Wisconsin 2013 class has some nice PG prospects (Wilson, Madison Memorial’s Brendan Ortiz and LaCrosse Aquinas’ Bronson Koenig), all of whom UW has looked at. I have now seen all three, and I think Wilson may have the most potential of the group.
-Arroyo Edwards (2012 wing from Milwaukee King) – Edwards is probably 6’4” or 5” and a very good athlete. He needs a little work on his shooting mechanics, but he handles the ball very well and made a number of good passes. He is also pretty long, which made him a very effective defender in the run and jump defense the 16U Playground Elite played tonight. I am not sure where he fits at the next level. If he can make some improvements to his shot, he could be a tall SG. Given that he is already close to 6’5”, he could probably be a versatile SF with his ball-handling and passing abilities. I know UW has looked at him, I believe he was at a game or two this past season, so it will be interesting to see how he develops in the coming years.
From Saturday:
-Tyus Jones (2014 PG from Apple Valley) – It’s a little strange to write about a kid in 8th grade, but Jones is the real deal playing up with the 16U Howard Pulley Blue team. He created quite a stir in the metro this winter, as he started for a pretty good Apple Valley team and was named first team all conference in one of the most competitive leagues in the state. Tubby was at multiple Apple Valley games this past season to watch him, and even attended their very first practice of the season. Coach Gard also attended one of their games. There is certainly a long ways to go for Jones, but he has a chance to be ridiculously good. He’s probably 6’ or 6’1” now and pretty slender, but he has long arms and father who is 6’4” or 5”, so he’s probably going to get a bit taller before he’s done. He’s a pure PG with a nice looking shot and a great feel for the game. I watched the second half of his game today, during which he only shot once. Despite that, he stood out as the best player on the floor with how he controlled the ball and got his teammates lots of good looks. He was also very solid defensively, getting in the passing lanes a number of times to get his hands on passes. Based on the effort Tubby has put in already and my expectation that he will be recruited by the UNCs and Dukes of the world, I don’t think there’s much chance of the Badgers landing him. However, it should be fun to watch him develop over the course of his HS career.
-Joe Coleman (2011 wing from Hopkins) – As noted above, Coleman is one of the top 2011 prospects in Minnesota. He looks bigger and taller than when I saw him during the HS season, such that I would estimate that he’s a legit 6’3” now, probably approaching 6’4”. He best attribute at this point is his athleticism, as he is as explosive as anyone in the state of Minnesota. He averaged better than 20 points a game for Hopkins this past season, but nearly all of those came around the bucket. He needs to improve his shooting if he is going to be a high major SG. I heard he made a couple 3s last night, but I think he was 0-3 today. His ball-handling is OK, but it could probably use some tightening up as well. I have heard he is a good kid and a hard worker, so it would not surprise me if he made some significant improvements over the summer. I am pretty sure he has an offer from Minnesota, which I would expect him to accept at some point. Coach Gard visited Hopkins a number of times this past fall and winter, with Coleman presumably being one of the guys he was looking at.
-Marvin Singleton (2011 forward from Hopkins) – Singleton may be another guy that Coach Gard has at least looked at, but I don’t think he’s a high major guy. He’s close to 6’5”, and while he has improved his perimeter skills, he's still closer to a PF than anyting else. Given his height, his skill set at this point probably doesn’t translate real well to high major college basketball. He is a physical specimen though, with really broad shoulders and cut arms, he should be playing TE somewhere.
-Siyani Chambers (2012 PG from Hopkins) – Chambers joins Coleman and Singleton as Hopkins guys on the 17U Howard Pulley Blue squad. He runs the point for the team and does a solid job as a pass first floor general type. He is a kind of small, probably 5’10”, maybe 5’11”, but he has solid quickness and a good looking shot. I would guess he is in the same boat as Singleton, meaning guys UW has looked at but are not seriously recruiting.
-Isaiah Zierdan (2012 guard from Benilde-St. Margarets) – Zierdan is the son an NBA coach (father Don has been an assistant for Flip Saunders with both the Timberwolves and Wizards), and he absolutely plays like he has that kind of knowledge. Great anticipation and lots of examples of being in the right spot at the right time and making the pass that sets up the next pass, things you would get from a kid who just knows how to play. He is also an excellent shooter (made 6 of 7 from downtown today), which makes him a kid to keep an eye on. Isaiah started at PG as a sophomore and played a huge role for a Benilde (same HS as Jordan Taylor) team that made it to state this past season. For the Howard Pulley Blue 17U team, he plays SG next to Chambers, which gives Isaiah more opportunities to hunt for his shots. He has decent size, probably 6’2”, but the biggest question mark on him is his athleticism. He’s not a bad athlete, but moving up from HS to the high major level would probably make him pretty average in terms of physical abilities. Coach Gard visited Benilde a few times on his trips up this way, and I believe Isaiah made at least one trip to Madison this winter. I know UW is short on scholarships for the 2012 class, but I am really hoping they keep an eye on Zierdan.
-Paul Jesperson (2011 wing from Merrill) – I saw Jesperson and the Playmakers play again this morning. They really struggled, particularly on defense, and were beaten by a pretty solid Minneapolis-based team. Jesperson was defended by a more athletic guy, who pretty much took Paul out of the game. He had two layups in the first couple minutes, a couple FTs in the second half, and a late 3 when the Playmakers were making a desperate comeback attempt. He was the best player on the court, but he was not assertive enough to make any sort of impact on the game. I did not see their afternoon game, but Paul apparently went nuts. He made a bunch of 3s (I heard between 8 and 10) and scored 45 points in a Playmakers win. The Playmakers followed that up with a 71-60 win in the playoffs this evening. I didn’t get too much information about that game, but I did hear that there was a stretch where Paul made four consecutive 3s.
