Top 10 Players: Nathan McCurry Classic
Photo Credit to the News-Enterprise
I made the trip to Elizabethtown on Saturday and watched 4 and a half games of the Nathan McCurry Classic. There was a lot of talent on display as the 5th region teams faced off against schools from out of town. Three of the five games were tightly contested and down to the wire. There were several players who shined and others who didn’t have their best day. Here’s who stood out to me over the course of the day, in no particular order.
1. Anthony Adkins, LaRue County – The 6’5″ junior is averaging right at 14 points and 7 rebounds per game and is built like a really athletic tank. It looks like his college future lies with football but he could be a small school college basketball player.
2. Malik Wright, John Hardin – Great size for a guard and an athletic freak (vertically), the senior has a bright future. His issue will be needing to become a better shooter if he plays the 2 or tighten his handle if he’ll play the point in college. Whatever school gets him next year will be getting a young man with a super high ceiling.
3. Jacob Hobbs, Central Hardin – The 6’6″ junior grabbed 7 rebounds and scored 15 points on an efficient 5/9 from the floor in the win over Central Hardin. At this point, I’m not sure what level Hobbs projects to as he never created his own offense and isn’t a great athlete but he plays hard and flashed a solid skill level on Saturday.
4. Darius Harding, Elizabethtown – Darius narrowly missed a double double on Saturday as he scored 16 points and grabbed 9 boards in the big win over CAL. Much has been written about Darius here and elsewhere and he’s one of the top unsigned seniors in Kentucky.
5. Tyler Durbin, Elizabethtown – Durbin is a kid who was way off my radar heading into Saturday but made a big impression in their victory. Durbin scored 20 points and shot 4/8 from the 3 and shocked me when he took off on a drive from the wing and finished by hammering a dunk with 2 hands. Durbin could be a kid who can play D3 basketball at a school like Centre.
6. Mark Goode, LaRue County – Goode is a pure post with good hands and solid post moves. The 6’7 sophomore knows who he is and sticks to his role. Goode is capable of scoring over either shoulder and showed nice touch in the lane on a couple of floaters. He’s a player for D2 schools to track unless he continues to grow.
7. Jaago Kalakon, Waggener – Kalakon didn’t light up the stat sheet but his passing and leadership were on display on Saturday as he dished out close to 10 assists and calmed his teammates down late in the game and enabled them to run over a minute and a half off the clock to finish off the win.
8. Travis Henderson, Oldham County – The 6’4 senior showed ability to score at all 3 levels even though his team was struggling. While he has some work to do to prove he can guard in college, Henderson can definitely be a solid contributor for any small school looking for a high academic kid.
9. Gavin George, Central Hardin – The sophomore was a surprise on Saturday. George is very quick and shifty with the ball. He scored 22 points on 6/12 from the floor. While George missed both of his 3 point attempts (including an ugly airball), he did hit 10 out of 13 free throws in the game and helped Central to the win with his ballhandling.
10. Mickey Pearson, John Hardin – Pearson looked like Mr. Basketball on Saturday. Mickey poured in 33 points and was basically unguardable for the Bulldogs. Oldham had no answer for the 6’8 senior as he went 13 for 16 from the field and pulled down 11 rebounds. It will be interesting to see how Pearson matches up with junior Michael Moreno this Saturday afternoon.