Dru Joyce Classic: Guards
Throughout today, we will recap this past weekend’s Dru Joyce Classic by evaluating players by position.
More specifically, the players who weren’t written about yesterday. For the players who were evaluated yesterday, those articles will be linked to below their names.
Without further ado …
Samari Curtis (2019), 6’4”, NEO Shooting Stars / Xenia
Jayson Woodrich (2019), 6’4”, NEO Shooting Stars / Beachwood
It’s pretty clear that Woodrich is, even at this point in time, a very talented shooter. Obviously, he knocks down the open catch-and-shoot opportunities. More impressively, Woodrich showed consistency when he was catching off movement. For example, Woodrich swished home a mid-range jumper coming off a curl-action. Appears to have a lot of self-confidence with that jumper. Would like to see Woodrich deal with ball-pressure better — he committed a poor turnover in a trap on one occasion.
Harrison Jewell (2020), 6’1”, Northwest Ohio Basketball Club / Lakeview (MI)
Jewell is just very tough. He welcomed individual challenges all weekend, as opponents apparently thought he was an easy target for trash talk. Instead, Jewell aggressively drove the basket and found high-percentage shots. Also, he pushes the ball with outlet passes. Struggles with lateral movement on the defensive end.
Brady Parrish (2020), 6’3”, Northwest Ohio Basketball Club / Delphos St. John’s
It’s not that Parrish had thee best weekend, it’s that his body type shows a lot of promise. Kid has upside. He’s a long 6’3”, giving him flexibility on the defensive side, at the very least. He converted a couple tough lay-ups, including a clutch and-one, over shorter guards.
Reese Leone (2020), 5’9”, NEO Shooting Stars / West Branch
Leone shot the ball from outside at high rate. After a few dropped in, the defense assumed that’s all he had in the arsenal. Instead, Leone took advantage of some driving lanes and finished inside.
Jalen Ross (2020), 6’3”, NEO Shooting Stars / Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary
Ross nearly made the Prep Hoops Ohio All Tournament Team. His performance on Saturday was far better than anyone else on this talented team.
Against the Rebels, Ross hovered around the free throw line. On the catch from there, Ross hurt the defense with the drive, shot, and pass. He continually impressed us with his decision making in that role. Ross also spent time running the point guard in previous games, although he’s listed as a power forward in the roster packet. Ross was most effective on the dribble drive when he played on the perimeter.
Gbolohan Adio (2020), 6’2”, Rebels / Villa Angela-St. Joseph
Coming away from this weekend, Adio impressed us with his change of speed on the drive. It’s not quite “herky-jerky,” but he definitely goes to the hesitation move quite often. At times, he completely turns his back to the basket before taking his one dribble towards the rim for a finish.
Also, Adio informed us via DM on Twitter that he’s suffering some pain currently because of growing pains. This means that Adio may become more explosive after the pain is gone.
Connor Boclear (2020), 6’2”, Rebels / Lawrence Upper
Boclear is very athletic. The athletic prowess is most threatening when he gets out in transition. Playing alongside plenty of intelligent point guards, Boclear understands that if he fills the lane, there’s a good chance he’ll get an easy two points. But even though the points seem to come easy, it doesn’t change the fact that Boclear is exceptional in that role.
Chris Herbort (2020), 6’1”, All Ohio Elite / Beavercreek
We weren’t completely sure if Herbort was simply a three-point specialist after our trip to Columbus earlier in the month. Well, he’s not. Herbort is tough — a trait that carries him in a lot of facets of the game. For example, he doesn’t show much body language, even when the defense is begging him to. Herbort also made a nice spinning jump shot, where he drew separation by going into a defender’s chest.
Fred Benton (2020), 5’7”, Queen City Prophets / Cincinnati Taft
Benton has an unorthodox release, where you’re tricked into thinking that he’s incapable of hitting from outside. Wrong! This kid splashed home threes in bunches in the game we saw them play on Saturday. In general, Benton’s game looks a little weird. But, he makes the appropriate passes and shoots it very well.
Steven Grau (2020), 6’ G, Queen City Prophets / Cincinnati Northwest
If you start pressuring Grau on the outside, in order to take away his three-point threat, the one-dribble pull-up will make you regret it. He really isn’t flashy, as he usually takes one dribble at most when he has it. But, as mentioned, Grau shoots it very well. We’re concerned about his pace of play, as he appears somewhat slow at times.