Monday Howard Pulley Thoughts

I went down to the Howard Pulley league for the first time last night. It was the first time I have seen either Royce or Rodney live, so I was ready for good show. Vince Grier showed up and while a lot heavier than he was in college reminded fans how fun he is to watch.

In the first game Rodney was slow to start. The Madison Magic team put a bigger guy on him to keep him from the rim for put-backs and rebounds. They called him out a couple of times to remind his guy to keep him off the rim for alley-oops. Rodney responded by nailing 2 NBA-land three pointers and picking up a few more points where he could (I didn't keep track and don't know his stats). He also had a breakaway where he attempted a 360 dunk but took off from just too far and ended a couple inches short and missed.

In the second half as the defenders tired Rodney was given a little space and the crowd was rewarded. He had 2-3 fantastic put-back dunks and some good rebounds. He tends to drift a lot when taking mid-range jump shots (not surprised when you can jump like that). Tubby will fix that and improve his mid-range game quite a bit. With a couple of minutes left B2X had built a ~12 point lead and things sort of went silly - Grier had the ball at mid-court and spiked it into the ground as an alley-oop, and Rodney went up and put it down. Silliness, but fun to watch.

Hoffarber had a solid game - shot probably 33-40% (wasn't counting) from 3. He started to heat up at one point - hit 2-3 in a row, but HP is not the kind of league where teams work to set up the guy with the hot hand - you have to get the ball and make your own shot. Hoff didn't shoot for a long time and when he finally put up a couple more they rimmed out. Other than that had his normal solid game with cuts, assists, and solid defense.

In the second game Royce's Hudson Enterprises team played the HP Panthers. Seantrel is a beast of a man. Jacob Thomas can flat-out shoot the rock. I only stayed until half, but Royce clearly has a Big Ten-ready body. I think the HP guys are only a year behind him in age but he looks several years older than all of them (other than Seantrel) physique-wise.

Royce didn't do a whole lot in the first half after putting up 6 of the first 7 points (mostly because the rest of his team thought it wise to jack threes every time down the court). Hudson Enterprises was getting schooled by the quicker and more in-shape HP team. Hudson could have dominated if they would have worked inside. The only guy on the HP team that could handle Royce's strength was Seantrel, and Hudson had 3 guys Royce's size or bigger.

Overall, I was impressed by both Royce and Rodney. It's been said before, but I'll say it again - Rodney is some kind of athlete. If he can find a mid-range jumper and bulk up a bit to handle the Big Ten he could be really fun to watch. Rodney was better than I expected from long range (4 for 5 from NBA-land I think). Royce is a man - we could have a really physical front line for a change with Colton, Trevor, and Royce.

I was there too and borninthebarn has a very fair assessment. I know summer league can make great players look average and some average players look great. I get that. But it is hard to watch and not think Rodney will be a special player. Basically, any time the ball is bouncing around the rim you find yourself looking to see if he is anywhere near. If he is... it is going down with authority.

He tried that 360 from just inside the free throw line! Crazy.

The Howard Pulley league is a great place to spend a weeknight.

I was very impressd with the H.P. Bye team. They put up a real battle against Hudson, White and company. For 3 quarters it looked like the kids would pull off the win as the Hudson Enterprise team took a lot of long shots they couldn't make. In the end the older, bigger guys proved to be to much for the Highschoolers by going to their inside game. But, Hudson had to keep his best players in the game to get the job done.

I am not familiar with the H.P. Bye (H.P. Panthers) kids and the program did not list them. If anyone knows their names, numbers and schools they play for I would appreciate knowing this information, or where to get it.

The only HP Panthers guys I knew last night:
25 - Jacob Thomas
33 - Marvin Singleton
42 - Seantrel Henderson

This list was on Scout (Calcaterra was not there last night). Scout only has profiles for a few players - I recognized a couple others but can't remember #s.
Howard Pulley Bye- Louis Cox, Jordan Hughes, Cedric Martin, Jacob Thomas, Chad Calcaterra, Joe Coelman, Seantrel Henderson, Marvin Singleton, Ra'shede Hageman, Peter Crawford, Marcus Williams and Moses Sundufu

Also forgot to mention Dominique Dawson. He played on the B2X team with Rodney and Blake. While he is a strong kid, he was very tentative and didn't really do much last night. There were some rebounds that should have been his that he didn't get and he often seemed a step slow. I can see him helping provide a strong presence underneath in practice, but he didn't show anything that would make me think he'd break into the loaded 4 slot soon.

That was the first and only time I've ever seen him though, so maybe there is more to it.

Joe Coleman also played on the HP Bye team - I too, was impressed at how well they were playing, and leading the 1/2 of the game I was there.

Rodney is the man, I love watching him play.

borninthebarn said:

The only HP Panthers guys I knew last night:
25 - Jacob Thomas
33 - Marvin Singleton
42 - Seantrel Henderson

This list was on Scout (Calcaterra was not there last night). Scout only has profiles for a few players - I recognized a couple others but can't remember #s.
Howard Pulley Bye- Louis Cox, Jordan Hughes, Cedric Martin, Jacob Thomas, Chad Calcaterra, Joe Coelman, Seantrel Henderson, Marvin Singleton, Ra'shede Hageman, Peter Crawford, Marcus Williams and Moses Sundufu

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.

Was there last night

In the first game obviously Rodney's leaping was amazing but I was more pumped about his shooting range. A couple of his 3s may have been iffy decisions but than again this is glorified pickup so it's tough to put too much stock in that. Williams didn't seem as interested on defense but again, this is Howard Pulley so I'm not too concerned. He definitely has the athletic ability to be a shutdown defender. Hoffarber looked solid but besides a little streak he wasn't hitting from deep. Hopefully that turns around before the fall.

In the second game I was much more impressed by HP than by Hudson's crew. Joe Coleman was a beast, and if he grows a little he'll be really solid. Seems like he has a tenacity and sense of urgency to his game that his brother lacked. Singleton looked good too (despite losing 4 D-I recruits Hopkins will be just fine next year). Thomas was absolutely lights out. Late in the game he was putting up 3s in double coverage and hitting everything to keep the game close. He jacked a couple up at the end but that doesn't take away from his performance. On the other side White looked good with an *. He dominated at times but when T-Hud started launching shots and White was no longer getting touches he seemed a little pouty. Sulked around the floor and didn't really do much on offense or defense. He stepped it up at the end of the game but that 10 minute stretch gives me some concern. Hopefully it's nothing and like I said he ended the game strong but that was my observation of the second game.