Geico Nationals: La Lumiere vs IMG Acad. (Pt 2)

Joel Francisco

April 5, 2022 @ 10:55 PM

Geico Nationals: La Lumiere vs IMG Acad. (Pt 2) FORT MEYERS, FL—It’s hard to believe but Geico Nationals is in its thirteenth year of existence and its been quite a ride with a staggering amount of players that have ended up in the NBA, including Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Jaylen Brown to name a few. This year is no different as there are a plethora of highly-talented ballers in Jordan Walsh, Chris Livingston, [player_tooltip player_id="546187" first="Dariq" last="Whitehead"], [player_tooltip player_id="781876" first="Keyonte" last="George"], and Gatorade National POY [player_tooltip player_id="787613" first="Gradey" last="Dick"]. Basketball Player [player_tooltip player_id="781876" first="Keyonte" last="George"] (IMG Academy) 2022, G, 6-foot-3, 185 pounds Joel’s Take: Baylor got an exceptional player in George. The best way to describe him is he is a well-rounded basketball player. He can impact the game in a variety of ways and he does it with no wasted motion. He had a tremendous start in this one where he drained some 3s and set up his teammates a number of ways with the pass. Whether it was dropping off a nifty dime in the paint or kicking out to an open shooter, his overall game was tight. On the Rise [player_tooltip player_id="787630" first="Taj" last="Manning"] (La Lumiere) 2022, F, 6-foot-8, 200 pounds <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2019/07/Taj-Manning.png"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-792165 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2019/07/Taj-Manning-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> Joel’s Take: Manning, who is headed to Kansas State, is a potential diamond in the rough. He has a wide shoulder base and overall his frame should fill out nicely at the next level. He impacts the game with his rebounding, finishing through contact, and he displayed a touch from the perimeter. Defensively, he showed the potential to be a multi-positional defender at the next level due to his length, good feet, and lateral quickness. No Nonsense PG Jeremy Fears Jr (La Lumiere) 2023, PG, 6-foot-1, 165 pounds Joel’s Take: Tom Izzo has a particular taste for how he wants his point guard to operate (grit, on balance, leader, etc.), and Fears checks all those boxes. He will not “wow” you with a scoring outburst or an acrobatic play in transition, but he’ll run his team, play grinding defense, and isn’t afraid to make the “clutch” play. He reminds me a bit of Duke’s Jeremy Roach at the same stage. Shooter’s Touch Ryan Mabrey (La Lumiere) 2022, G, 6-foot-4, 180 pounds Joel’s Take: One of the best shooters in all the quarterfinal games was Mabrey. He has a nice size for the shooting guard position and he has a high basketball IQ. He is impeccable off the catch and he sets up his shot well. He moves very well without the ball and his head is always up monitoring the defense., Blue-collar Lefty Eric Dailey Jr (IMG Academy) 2022, F, 6-foot-7, 225 pounds Joel’s Take: Eric Dailey is a blue-collar 4-man who impacts the game with his nose for the ball and motor. He can take some ill-advised shots at times, but he is productive. He can drive from the elbow, convert elbow shots, and he can finish over his right shoulder.