Landon’s Week 4 Player Evaluations: 2021 Guards

This week was full of great games that had lots of great players in them. I saw some exciting prospects and look forward to giving you my evaluations each and every Sunday throughout the season. It is time to recap this week and look at what our exciting prospects did. Northeastern @ Blackford - 12/15/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="647199" first="Luke" last="Brown"] (Blackford) – 6’0" PG: Brown is no doubt one of the best players that I have seen this season. He has the ability to score whenever and however he wants to, but he is such an unselfish player that he prefers to get his teammates involved in the game. He tallied 7 assists in the first quarter, pulling off some outstanding no-look and perfectly located passes. He is a playmaker for both himself and his team. In terms of scoring the ball, he can get to the rim, knockdown jumper, and he has an impossible range from deep. There is a reason that he is top 25 in Indiana history for career points, and he has a very good chance to move into the top 5 by the end of the season. He tallied 37 points, 13 assists, and 7 boards in this one, and he tied the school record for free throws made in a game going 21-22. [player_tooltip player_id="874158" first="Kolden" last="Vanlandingham"] (Northeastern) – 6’1" PG: Vanlandinghamwas outstanding scoring the ball in this one. He was hitting shots from both deep and around the rim. He showed the ability to make threes on the catch and shoot as well as the pull-up. He also used his size to finish around the rim. He used both a euro-step move and a nice stutter-step to get to the rim. He needs to work on his free throw shooting as he was 2-6 from the line, but his 35 point performance kept the Knights in this game to the very end.   Fort Wayne Snider vs. South Bend Riley - 12/19/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="569313" first="Blake" last="Wesley"] (South Bend Riley) – 6’5" SG: Wesley is committed to Notre Dame, and he showed why he is going to have a good career there. He is a big guard with lots of length, and he caused big problems on the defensive end. He plays good help-side defense and came up with steals by reading the passing lanes. On the offensive end, his shot just wasn’t falling, but he was able to get to the rim and make plays with his dribble. He was able to get into the lane with ease, and he pushed the ball quickly up the floor off of every defensive rebound. He uses his physicality well inside and that is going to help him quite a bit next season. Wesley’s 36 points and 14 rebound performance almost single-handedly helped South Bend Riley survive the upset bid of Snider. [player_tooltip player_id="874205" first="Phillip" last="Robles II"] (South Bend Riley) – 5’9" PG: Robles is a solid point guard for Riley, and he has shown the ability to make plays when needed. The lefty knocked down a corner three, a floater in the lane, and finished a layup inside. He is much better with his left, but he has the handles to make some plays. He has the potential to play at the Division 3 level, but he will need to fine-tune his skills at the next level. Jade Moore (Fort Wayne Snider) – 6’2" SG: Moore has been a very good addition to the two-headed monster of Aidan Lambert and [player_tooltip player_id="870249" first="Karson" last="Jenkins"]. He is a very good shooter, and he gains confidence with every single shot he takes. He is best off of the catch and shoot, but he also hit a couple of pull-up jumpers as well. On the defensive end, Moore had three steals that helped get Fort Wayne Snider back into the ball game in the second half. He can get hot in a hurry, but his shot selection can be iffy at times. He is definitely a player to watch as he is having a breakout year in his senior season.   Leo vs. Shenandoah - 12/19/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="874191" first="Jake" last="Kinsey"] (Shenandoah) – 5’11" PG: Kinsey is a small, scrappy point guard that will do anything to help his team win. He made some impressive plays with his court vision, totaling 4 assists, but he did show the tendency to get going too fast and out of control at times. His shots also just weren’t falling in this one. He didn’t have nearly his best game, but he showed that he has the experience to make plays, and he is going to be a solid point guard for this talented Raiders team this season. He already holds an offer from Rose-Hulman, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gained a couple more as the season continued. [player_tooltip player_id="874171" first="Kaden" last="McCollough"] (Shenandoah) – 5’11" PG: McCollough was hitting all of his shots early on, but he struggled after the first quarter. He has a good shot stroke and showed that he can knock them down, but they just weren’t falling. He was 2-5 from behind the arc. On the defensive end, he played physical man D, and he kept Leo out of sync at times with some deflections. He should be playing at the Division 3 level next season, and he should be playing deep into March with this good Shenandoah ball club. [player_tooltip player_id="874150" first="Blake" last="Davison"] (Leo) – 6’0" PG: Davison was in control of this game for the Leo offense from the get-go. He scored the ball from all over, made some nice passes, and he was great on the glass. On the defensive end of the floor, he got up to grab the boards and then pushed the ball quickly up the floor. He tallied 5 assists with his court vision and high basketball IQ. He struggled a bit from deep, but his mid-range jumper was on target all game. He also showed some nice moves finishing around the rim, including a nifty reverse lay-in. Davison is the textbook player that coaches want on their team as he can do most of everything including always hustling and having the ability to control the basketball game. He currently holds offers from Indiana Tech and IU-South Bend, and I would expect him to get some more in the coming months.   Central Noble vs. DeKalb - 12/19/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="1077044" first="Sawyer" last="Yoder"] (Central Noble) – 6’3" SG: Yoder was a nice second option for Central Noble in this one. Yoder was good from deep going 2-3, and he made some nice plays off the dribble. He struggled to finish at the rim against the bigger post players, but his outside shot was on target. Yoder is a pretty unselfish player as well. He didn’t take any shots that were contested, and he had good court vision to find the open man. He tallied 10 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists, in the win, and he is going to be key for Central Noble if they want to be successful this season. Yoder currently holds an offer from Lakeland, and he has been on visits to some other Division 3 schools including Manchester and Trine.   Homestead vs. South Bend St. Joseph - 12/19/2020 [player_tooltip player_id="529568" first="Luke" last="Goode"] (Homestead) – 6’5" SG: Goode is one of the best players in the state, and even though he didn’t shoot the best exceptionally well, he still made play after play to help Homestead win the game. He shot well from the outside, going 3-6, but his mid-range shot was just off. Nonetheless, he was very strong on the glass, grabbing 12 boards. He also made some nice plays with his good court vision. He is a big guard with tons of scoring and offensive ability. He also has the ability to create. The combination of Big Ten recruits of Goode and [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"] is giving Homestead a good chance to be one of the best teams in the state. Goode is a great player, and he should have a great remainder of the season and a good year next year at Illinois.