Mount Carmel/St. John’s Evaluations

<p>Yesterday was my first chance to get into a gym for a high school scrimmage and I was lucky enough to catch a good matchup between two teams who are expected to finish in the top tier of their respective conferences. Both of which are some of the best conferences in the region as Mt. Carmel (BCL/MIAA) hosted St. John’s DC (WCAC). Here were some evaluations from the contest:</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="904624" first="Christian" last="Watson"] | 6’7 | St. John’s ’22</strong></span></p> <p>Watson made his presence felt immediately and maintained steady production throughout. The Miami signee converted on his looks from beyond the arc both off the catch and off step back’s after breaking his man down off the dribble. He attacked off the catch, got into his spot within the mid-range area and made plays for others by reading the rotating defense. He made plays in transition and finished above the rim on multiple occasions.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="904628" first="Deon" last="Perry"] | 5’9 | Mt. Carmel ’22</strong></span></p> <p>Considering how many new faces are on this Mt. Carmel roster, Perry seemed to get limited action in the four quarters as head coach Trevor Quinn was looking to figure some things out in the backend of his rotation. He got off to a slow start, but Perry turned it around in the second half when he feasted in ball screen scenarios by making his defender pay whenever they went under the screen. He nailed multiple three’s a few feet behind the line all while being a pest on the ball as a defender.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1127309" first="Donavan" last="Freeman"] | 6’9 | St. John’s ’24</strong></span></p> <p>It’s no secret that Freeman is one of the most talented prospects in his respective class. His elite length caused issues for Mt. Carmel when St. John’s applied a press. Freeman was the top man and caused numerous deflections thanks to his active hands. He finished a couple of dunks in the open floor, hit a nice turnaround in the mid-range and rebounded the ball at a decent rate. </p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Luke Bamgboye | 6’9 | Mt. Carmel ’24</strong></span></p> <p>The matchup between Freeman and Bamgboye was one I looked forward to coming into this scrimmage. Freeman is more polished at this point, but Bamgboye is adjusting to the American game quickly since making his way over from London just six months ago. He protected the basket and recorded at least a handful of blocks, pursued rebounds at their peak and had a nice put back dunk over a St. John’s player in the first quarter.</p> <p><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="957026" first="Malik" last="Mack"] | 6’0 St. John’s ’23</strong></span></p> <p>This was my first time catching Mack live and I walked away impressed. He commands control as the primary ball handler and will be extremely valuable for this Cadets squad. The 6-foot southpaw made several sound reads as a passer operating in ball screens or simply reading the defense after beating his man off the dribble. He gets into his mid-range jumper with good pace and balance. Mack brought great energy defensively and refused to allow his man an easy trip up the floor.</p>