Prospect Evaluations: Benedictine at Padua

<p>Benedictine outmatched Padua in their game on Friday night, plain and simple. The Bengals dominated pretty much every facet of the game, winning 75-56 on the road.</p> <p>The win moved Bene to 6-3 and snapped their three-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Bruins sit at 7-3.</p> <p>There’s not much to say about this game, honestly, so let’s get into our standout performers:</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/davin-zeigler/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Davin Zeigler</a> (2019), 6’2” G, Benedictine</strong></h4> <p>The Bowling Green signee likely could’ve gone for 30-plus points tonight. Zeigler, instead, chose to save his energy to ice the game in the second half by using his athletic advantage to keep everyone involved. The explosive combo guard blew past double-teams and traps in the backcourt by explosively changing speeds. Eventually, this led to drop-down passes — easy buckets for teammates. His speed was too much for Padua. Zeigler’s outside jumper looked solid off the dribble. Defensive rebounding was also a strength, an area that will be more important against a larger team. Zeigler finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.</p> <h4><strong>BJ Busbee (2021), 6’2” G, Benedictine</strong></h4> <p>We quickly became a fan of Busbee’s game. The sixth man impressed as a shooter and with his IQ. The shooting mechanics are clean and quick — definitely his standout strength Friday. Busbee has a thick build and can handle contact when he puts it on the floor. Capable ball-handler, although he’s used mostly as a wing for Bene and isn’t asked to be a primary or secondary creator. Plays an efficient game. Busbee scored 11 points on the night, including two 3-pointers.</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/andy-barba/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andy Barba</a> (2020), 6’6” W/F, Benedictine</strong></h4> <p>Barba has added significant muscle, which is especially appropriate for his Benedictine role — a trailing forward who rebounds and defends big. Barba, on pretty much all of his nine rebounds, also has the freedom to push pace off the defensive glass. He’s becoming more physical inside and got to the free throw line to go with a 3-pointer and a couple lay-ins. Added nine points in his near double-double performance. Miami (OH) commit.</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/jashun-cobb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jashun Cobb</a> (2020), 6’0” G, Benedictine</strong></h4> <p>Cobb set the tone early and disrupted Padua by playing ball-denial against their point guard, even getting two early steals. Cobb’s quickness and solid length are assets on the defensive end. Not sure if he’s a primary ball-handler — we just haven’t seen it, but we will definitely find out next year when Zeigler graduates — but he can take the opponents’ one out of the game in a hurry.</p> <p>Offensively, Cobb is super quick with the ball and delivered several drop-down passes once he peeled help-side defenders off the block. He scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers, to go with four assists and three steals.</p> <h4><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/ohio-player/eric-buckner-jr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Buckner Jr.</a> (2020), 5’10” G, Benedictine</strong></h4> <p>Similar to Cobb and Busbee, Buckner is an over-qualified wing-guard for Benedictine that can make plays, handle, and score. Buckner especially impressed with his ball-handling in tight spaces. North and south attacker who evaded defenders with skill and didn’t have to change speeds in doing so. Likes to get out in transition. He had 10 points.</p> <h4><strong>Dan Peterson (2021), 6’3” W, Padua</strong></h4> <p>The lone bright spot for Padua, Peterson dropped in a game-high 24 points. He’s a skilled and confident volume scorer who makes his money in the shallow mid-range. Peterson is good off of one or two dribbles when he catches on the wing. Excellent touch on floaters and runners. His jumper was inconsistent, but we could see that becoming a weapon. Peterson is asked to do <em>a ton</em> for this team, including be a playmaker and secondary ball-handler. We like him more on the wing, but he really is a strong passer, too.</p> <h4><strong>Akinlana Popoola (2022), 5’8” PG, Padua</strong></h4> <p>Not Popoola’s best performance tonight, but Benedictine is a tough draw for a freshman guard. Check that, they’re a nightmare for a freshman guard. Anyways, he ended up with nine points thanks to a late-game flurry. Popoola has promising tools — ball-handling ability, right-hand finishing, and quickness. He’s going to be a nice player, but tonight was a learning experience more than anything.</p>