2016 IndyBall Shootout: Stock Raisers
Along with our efforts to find new faces each week, we will also focus on guys who raised their stock. We want to find guys who have shown improvements since the last time we saw them whether that is their…
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Continue ReadingAlong with our efforts to find new faces each week, we will also focus on guys who raised their stock. We want to find guys who have shown improvements since the last time we saw them whether that is their shooting, defense, skills, or just overall game. Here are a few guys from this past weekend we thought stood out.
Stock Raisers:
Maurice Knight
6’4 | SF | 2017 | Frankton | Indiana Elite Green 2017
Maurice might have had the biggest weekend in terms of raising his stock in my eyes. He’s a thin wing who didn’t really have an identity until this weekend. His game against EG10 2017 was stellar as he attacked and attacked using his length, shooting touch, and strength to keep his team in the game until the end. He didn’t have to be the guy on a team until this high school season at Frankton after he was the only player with any minutes on the team remaining. Hopefully, that has triggered a switch because his confidence against a talented team like EG10.
Andrew Owens
6’4 | SF | 2019 | Carmel | Indiana Elite Diesel 2019
Owens is a member of our 2019 Freshman Showcase this past fall where he showed a little of what we saw all day Sunday at IndyBall. Liked him more as a possible forward that could play inside out early on but as he showed on Sunday, he might be more of a wing player similar to the skillset of his Carmel teammate Preston Flamion. He’s guy who can stay on perimeter and knock down a jumper but has shown he can also go off the bounce and attack. If he grows, things could change but could probably be a good wing player down the road.
Tyler Smith
6’2 | PG | 2017 | Northeastern | EG10 2017
I’ll be honest, I’m probably not the biggest Tyler Smith fan in the world but he showed some things that were big improvements this weekend. His jump shot is the biggest. I’ll categorize it as passeable which is a big improvment. The best part of Smith is his athleticism but a year ago I’m not sure he knew how to use that to his advantage. Sunday he was great on defense, creating turnovers and finishing using his speed and size at the rim. If the jumper improves even more, I’ll jump on the bandwagon.
Tim Leavell
5’11 | SG | 2017 | Marion | Indiana Elite Magic 2017
I’m interested to see where Tim Leavell is at at the end of the year. He’s a kid I really liked during the season who I thought could be an under-the-radar guy, and while I’m think I’m right, he could surpass that pretty easily. Tim isn’t going to be a guard everyone loves because he’s more of a combo guard than a point but he’s got some aspect of his game, namely his shooting ability, that are great. He did well running the point this weekend beside Mateo Rivera and that should be an indication of how you could use him at the next level, a combo guard that can help on the ball and bring some much needed offense.
Jay Hines
6’5 | SF | 2018 | Warren Central | EG10 2018
Much like Maurice, I’m not sure Jay had an identity to his game yet. Big kid, forced to play in the post but not skilled enough to do a ton else. I think that is behind him now. He played very well this weekend as a mid-range scoring threat. Not going to be a guy I feel comfortable with on the arc but put him at 15′ and face him up and he can make plays. Was able to put the ball on the floor and score as well as rebound and gets second chance points. He’s a little more bouncy and his motor looked improved as well. He showed a jumper behind the three-point line but we will see how that holds this summer. Hines is a lot more polished that a year ago and that was evident this weekend.