Best of the Best: Wabash Valley Classic
The Wabash Valley Classic is only one day into the four day event but there were many solid performances through the first 8 games on the day. This tournament showcased the best of the Terre Haute area. We come in…
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Continue ReadingThe Wabash Valley Classic is only one day into the four day event but there were many solid performances through the first 8 games on the day. This tournament showcased the best of the Terre Haute area. We come in to breakdown the best of the best from the 8-game first round.
5 Guys Who You Should Know
Cooper Neese (Cloverdale) – Neese is the first commit of the 2017 class in Indiana and probably the best all-around shooter in the state. Really fun to watch and is putting up near 30 points every night. Had 36 to start the tournament.
Lance Hopkins (Rockville) – Hopkins has been on my radar for a long time. He’s a guy that has much more in front of him than behind him as he learns his craft. Tough, physical, and active and he looked better in all of those areas on Saturday.
Matt Deady (Terre Haute South) – One of the more unknown commodities in the state. I’ve always seen him as a good shooter with size from the behind the arc. However, on Saturday he only took a few shots and had 3 of them for dunks. Good, high flying dunks, too.
Jaylen Minnett (Terre Haute South) – Minnett is electric and one of the most fun players to watch in the state. When he is going, he can hit from well beyond the three point line. He’s hit 9 threes in a game before and could be one of the best scoring point guards in the state.
DeAvion Washington (Terre Haute South) – Washington looks quite a bit more comfortable in his game this year than even this summer. The talented sophomore is going to be a really nice scoring wing soon as he puts the combination of shooting and scoring together.
5 Guys To Watch Next Year
Josh Dieball (Linton-Stockton) – Dieball is a legit small college prospect and a pretty good one. Great body, great skill set and looked really good on Saturday. He projects well as a SG and with the way his body is filling out, he could be a plug and play guy for most NAIA teams in 2017.
Cooper Bybee (Edgewood) – Loved his whole package on Saturday. Tall shooter with some strength. Didn’t take as many shots as I was hoping, especially after he got off to a great start hitting 10 points in the first half. Could be a high-level scorer next year.
Jensen Kellett (Northview) – Was really surprised with all of the Northview bigs in this one, much more confident than I expected. Kellett looked more like a wing than a big, though, and that really made him interesting. A little more strength, and confidence and he could be a ton better in 12 months.
Drew Lumsdon (Northview) – Drew was skinny and looked weak last season. This year, he is still skinny but much stronger and confident. Looked good stretching the floor and found places on offense where he could make plays and not falter. Big with upside in 2017.
Austin Sappingfield (West Vigo) – Sappingfield is a name everyone knows but he’s not even close to a finished product and who knows if he will ever hit it but progress was shown after he spent quite a bit of time in the paint in this game. He needs to make advances down there and this was a big step forward.
5 Guys I Didn’t Know
Jake Lautenschlager (West Vigo) – Freshman are pretty easy to spot if they are going to be at least somewhat decent and Jake was pretty easy. He got minutes on Varsity, first guy off the bench, and made plays. Solid frame at 6’3. Enough to watch in the next few years.
Richard Suggs (Terre Haute South) – When you come out of the box and hit the first four points for your team in under a minute, that gets me atleast watching. Doing it as a sophomore makes it better. Suggs looks like a sophomore in a seniors body and in football shape but he can play basketball, that much is for sure.
Ty Drake (Sullivan) – You get good players on bad teams and you aren’t sure what to make of it. Every so often you catch a kid on a bad team and you know he has talent. That is where I caught Ty Drake. Good player with size and quite a bit of skill for a country boy from Sullivan.
Casius Bell (Terre Haute North) – I lied, I knew who Bell was before this game, but only for one week. Saw him twice in 7 days and was impressed both times. Great body at 6’4 that is only going to get better with time. Shot the ball well in first game, showed athleticism in second game.
Chayton Howard (Edgewood) – Things I like from underclassmen in rural areas of the state, I love to see size and I love to see aggressiveness. Howard showed that to me. Give me a guy that has something unique (size) and a willingness to play hard and usually some amount of skill can be built up.