Prospects Who Filled in the Gaps at the Freshman Showcase

One of the best parts of getting out to a showcase is finding players you weren't necessarily looking for coming into the gym. The Freshman Showcase gave guys a chance to compete, step into different roles, and show they could impact a game without everything being designed for them. This group found ways to fill in the gaps. They defended, ran the floo,r and did the small things that made me jot their name down.    Gutierrez made his impression on the defensive end, and that is something that excites you at a showcase. He pressured opposing guards and sped them up, stayed in front of his man, and beat them to the spot to turn them to help side, which you don't see too much of. He also had a couple of steals and created more opportunities for teammates with his effort. He didn't need a big scoring stretch to get noticed, and that is something that I wish more showcases pushed because being competitive, locked in defensively, and trying to make plays was enough. Solid day for a kid that is now on the radar.     Beatty was a player who stood out due to how aggressive he was at the showcase. Every time an opportunity presented itself, he tried to make something happen. I liked his face-up game as his first step was a problem for defenders and shifted the defense. He was using dribble-drives to get himself going, stopped and popped for mid-range jumpers, and created separation in iso situations. Beatty played with an attacker's mentality throughout the day, and that willingness to put pressure on his defender as well as creating shots for himself, was noteworthy.     Barney is a player who is full on effort, and he's playing so hard that he's creating the positive plays that happen. He has some strong athletic abilities, and his willingness to work harder than whoever was in front of him freed him up. Barney understands spacing, he ran the baseline and found holes, and teammates dumped it off to him for finishes. He's a rim runner who has a feel down there, and he was either going up or kicking it out to open teammates. He's one of those players you trust out there because you know he'll get the job done.     Lester looked comfortable being a complementary piece, and that's not necessarily a negative in this type of setting with how he played. He ran the floor hard, filled the lane, grabbed boards, and went right up with it. I like that he was using either hand on finishes. He had a couple of scoops with either hand, and he finished despite defenders being around, and still made plays despite not being an iso-heavy prospect. He's very versatile and made a few plays that made me wonder if there's more there.     Royal is a player I had not seen play before, but came away impressed with how he used his size. He was an inside presence who had a couple of drives where he was able to get inside the defense and then extend or use his frame to keep the defender away from the ball. He set screens that got teammates open, he shielded the ball and had a few smooth finishes, and he seemed to work angles. It was a relatively simple thing, but it stood out because Royal understood how to use his body on finishes and keep the ball away from defenders. He's a player I'm curious to see more of after what we saw at the event.     Stiles is a talented 6'4 SG, and that size automatically stands out, but the versatility was also on display. He had an inside-out game at the showcase, grabbed boards and started the break, and had a few coast-to-coast finishes as well. He understood he had a few mismatch opportunities and attacked it, he got out in transition and scored, and he's also shown he's not a player who has to have the ball in his hands to be effective. He's a mix-it-in type of player that we're curious to see what it looks like when he has the ball in his hands more, as there were flashes.

One of the best parts of getting out to a showcase is finding players you weren't necessarily looking for coming into the gym. The Freshman Showcase gave guys a chance to compete, step into different roles, and show they could impact a game without everything being designed for them. This group found ways to fill in the gaps. They defended, ran the floo,r and did the small things that made me jot their name down.