Wisconsin Freshman Showcase: Team 9 Evaluation

The amount of freshman talent was off the charts at The Champion Center on Saturday. This week I will be going through evaluations of the four teams that I covered starting with Team 9.    Fritz, an incoming Platteville freshman, stood out for a couple of reasons. Not super ball dominant, Fritz moved well without the ball and his constant motion helped get him away from his defender. Once he did catch it, he wasted no time getting it off with a very high release. The other attribute that stood out was his court vision making some nice lead passes resulting in fast break buckets for teammates.     Doll, a 5-8 incoming freshman for Winneconne, impressed me as one of the top outside shooters that I watched on Saturday. Knocking down several long balls, Doll was lethal off of catch-and-shoot opportunities showing good footwork and hand positioning.     Flanigan, another incoming Winneconne freshman, had a nice coming out on Saturday. Showing a nice feel for the game, the 6-0 Flanigan's handles and overall quickness stood out and was one of Team 9's "glue guys" who seemed to do everything well on both sides of the ball.     Brancel was a player that I had not watched before but came away impressed with his shooting ability knocking down multiple long balls in the first game of the day. Making good decisions, when he had the ball, Brancel played good complimentary basketball, and comes across like a team first player that makes his teammates better and any coach would love to have.     While not the biggest guy on the court, Ortiz plays much larger than his listed height of 5-5. Doing all the little things well, Ortiz boxed out aggressively, hustled back to break up a fastbreak layup, and dove on the floor for loose balls. Offensively he showed good court vision making some nifty passes and had a really nice up-and-under finish on a fast break.     Ebert stood out as one of the top overall Freshman that I had the opportunity to watch. One of the more dynamic ball handlers, Ebert was to setup his defender getting downhill, at will, showing off some nice hesitation moves in the process and the strength to finish over and through contact at the rim.     Lewis impressed me first with his finishing ability, around the rim, exhibiting great body control. Once he got a head of steam, Lewis would not be denied in getting to the paint. Given the opportunity, Lewis showed that he could knock down the 3 ball which help keep the defense on it's heels.     What first stands out, while watching the 6-6 Pierre, is his combination of height and strength. One of the better rebounders, Pierre was a beast on the offensive glass accounting for (unofficially) four putback buckets. One thing I was not prepared for was his handles on one occasion leading a fast break, with a behind the back dribble, and a nice pass for a transition layup. On defense, Pierre moved his feet well, staying with smaller, quicker players, and used his size well to stymie dribble drives.

The amount of freshman talent was off the charts at The Champion Center on Saturday. This week I will be going through evaluations of the four teams that I covered starting with Team 9.