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niballer81
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DowJonezBFGWith the NBA draft quickly approaching, all kinds of canned stories will be spun by agents, teams and the players themselves. Here is a glimpse into some of the potential lottery picks’ high school days so you can see where they came from.
Courtesy of McDonald’s Game staffAnthony Davis was ranked No. 1 in the 2011 class, just ahead of Andre Drummond.Davis goes from obscurity to stardom
Think about this timeline. In May 2010, Anthony Davis was not on a single national top 100 list, and if anyone says they had him on one, it’s time for a polygraph. My first viewing of him was that month. Never in my life had I seen a guy play for the first time as a junior and thought he was the nation’s best prospect. Walking out of the gym that day, I turned to a friend and said, "I think I just saw the best prospect in the nation." He told me not to get too excited. He was wrong. In three months, Davis leapt from obscurity in Chicago to offers from Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State. None of the head coaches who offered him saw him until going into July before his senior season.
In an era of highlight tapes and camera phones, it’s silly to think the best play Davis made in high school was never captured on video. Each year at the McDonald’s All-American Game, there’s a closed-door scrimmage for family, committee members and NBA brass. While I can’t re-enact the exact play, my best recollection is that he got an offensive rebound, went behind his back to avoid dribbling out of bounds and dunked in traffic with his left hand. It was a jaw-dropper. I had never seen a kid Davis’ size finish a play like that. It might be the best play no one will ever see. Hopefully, one day a Zapruder-type film will pop up.
Self smitten with Robinson at first sight
The NBA team that drafts him won’t have a better nickname than Thomas Robinson’s AAU team. Before Kansas, Robinson played travel-team basketball for an outfit named Squash All Beefs. If that’s not an all-timer, what is?
Fans might think a player this good must have been chased by the Jayhawks for years before committing, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, Bill Self didn’t know who T-Rob was the first day of the 2008 July open period. However, three days into the period, he was arguably the one kid Self felt he needed to have. After he nearly walked out of the gym at the Reebok Breakout Camp, someone tugged on Self’s shirt and told him to watch this kid, and the coach was smitten.
Courtesy of the Adidas Super 64Andre Drummond was the No. 1 player in the 2012 class and then reclassified into the 2011 class. He became No. 2 behind Anthony Davis.Same old Drummond
The same questions NBA executives are asking about Andre Drummond existed when he was in high school. Drummond was an Adonis in terms of body and physical capabilities. Not since Dwight Howard or Greg Oden had a player had as much of a lead on the field in terms of power and athleticism. The maddeningly frustrating part of watching Drummond was that he became unpredictable with his efforts. However, a pattern did emerge during the summer before his senior year.
That year, Drummond, Isaiah Austin and Mitch McGary began the summer as the top post prospects. Drummond would pick each one apart over a few weeks’ span. At Pangos Camp, Drummond owned Austin on opening night. A few weeks later, following as pedestrian a camp as I could remember for a No. 1 player, Drummond stepped up. The two worst teams in camp played in the "Toilet Bowl," which is typically the most competitive game of the week because pride is on the line. Drummond ran into McGary, and it was one-sided again. I just shook my head wondering why he didn’t unleash the beast in his game more often. Sound familiar?
Marshall always looking for an assist
Kendall Marshall made the Hoop Summit team as a senior. In addition to Marshall’s playing behind Brandon Knight, there was another guard who impeded his playing time: Kyrie Irving. Marshall was put on the team because he was good enough, a great passer and a pied piper. Once Marshall was on a team, let him recruit the other players for the squad. Anyone sitting on the fence about playing would be swayed with Marshall at the helm. He’s always been a unifying team guy.
Late in a close game, the coach turned to Marshall and was about to put him in. Marshall, who knew the team better than the coach because he’s a junkie and basically a groupie who is a great player, would have nothing of it. "Coach, Kyrie’s tired, but he’s our best player. Leave him in — he’ll be OK," he said. With 44 seconds remaining, Irving’s hoop put USA up for good. In an era of egos, Marshall’s is tame, and he’s a winner.
Round 1 of Barnes vs. Gilchrist
The 2009 NBA Top 100 Camp was one of the greatest camp collections of talent in the past decade, as 23 of the top 25 prospects attended the camp. During camp, the biggest head-to-head matchup was Michael Gilchrist against Harrison Barnes. At the time, Gilchrist was the nation’s best junior and Barnes the No. 1 senior. If they’d met before, it certainly wasn’t on a stage this big. That year, I ran the camp, and Barnes called me two weeks prior to tip. "Please let me play against the best you have coming to camp," he said. We ran him through the gauntlet — Jereme Richmond, Gilchrist and C.J. Leslie.
AP Photo/Steve PopeHarrison Barnes was ranked No. 1 overall in the 2010 class.The matchup between Barnes and Gilchrist was a tale of two styles. Barnes is a thinker, the guy who examines the situation, formulates a plan and executes. Gilchrist’s approach is much less complex. While Barnes is a planner, Gilchrist is in the moment. He was the aggressor versus Barnes and won the first half. Barnes struck back in the second as Gilchrist suffered an ankle injury. In a great matchup, Gilchrist scored the win on a bad wheel.
Three days later, my phone rang. It was Barnes. "The next time I see him, I’ll know his tendencies," Barnes said. "That won’t happen again."
Barnes, Prather and the offer
Barnes is a list guy. As high school sophomore, he kept a list of higher-ranked players, and he was intent on methodically taking down each one. In the spring of his junior year, North Carolina had a few offers out to players at his position. On the first day of the open period, Roy Williams visited with Barnes. The next day Williams flew to Tennessee and offered fellow SF Casey Prather a scholarship. Barnes took note.
At the Real Deal In The Rock, Barnes saw me as I was walking into the gym.
"What’s his number?" he said. At first, I was caught off guard. It took me a minute to figure out he was asking who Prather was. I told him, and he said, "Make sure you’re there. I’ll give you something to write about."
Barnes held Prather to four points in the first half and scored 21 himself. He also led in cold shoulders given. However, Prather had the final say because he was on a better team and it rallied for a win. Regardless, Barnes made his statement.
Rivers’ knack for making big shots
I guarantee you Austin Rivers’ game-winning shot over North Carolina this past season wasn’t the first time Mike Krzyzewski or Roy Williams saw Rivers win a game. Before Duke (he was also once committed to Florida), Rivers had a reputation for taking and making big shots. There was a game at the AAU Nationals his senior year in which he went ballistic with Coach K in the gym. Still, first impressions rule the day, and Rivers left me with a great one.
To take big shots, you have to be good enough and want the basketball. The first time I saw Rivers, he was down two with fewer than 10 seconds to go in an AAU game. Rivers caught it on the wing, and two defenders forced him to give it up. He didn’t want to — he had to. He then made a hard cut to the corner, caught a pass, jabbed and knocked down a 3-pointer that went down after spinning around the rim. Clutch.
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Jim Rinaldi/Icon SMIJared Sullinger was the No. 2 overall player in the 2010 class.Sullinger shows off his dominance
Many would argue the most memorable moment of Jared Sullinger’s high school career was the lime green shirt his father wore while coaching during an ESPN game his senior year. Aside from Satch Sullinger’s wardrobe selection, my favorite Sullinger moment came at the Spiece Run ‘n Slam.
Everything you needed to know about two players was laid out in one playoff game. It wasn’t often that Jared Sullinger wasn’t the biggest player on the floor, but against Josh Smith, he checked in as such. It was the culmination of two scouting reports, as Sullinger put Smith in the rim. Smith wasn’t in good shape and rarely brought consistent effort, and with Sullinger staring him down, he had no answer.
Sullinger’s game was the polar opposite. He attached and chopped Smith down in the post. It was a clinic. On the high school and AAU level, Sullinger was a huge winner. There were some who wondered whether Smith wasn’t a better prospect. Any reference to that opinion faded after that event.
Melo is a true character
The 7-foot, 255-pound center is the biggest teddy bear since Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Think about this: Syracuse had two Melos, but only one Fab. Fabricio de Melo is one of a kind. He’s the guy who shows up to camp with cuts on his face, and you find out he dove into the shallow end of a pool. He’s the kid who checks in at a camp, gets handed his jersey, goes to the trainer to receive treatment (he hasn’t even played yet) and somehow loses his jersey within the first 30 minutes of receiving his gear. That is Fab Melo, and he’s one of a kind.
Jones reverses course
Good thing for Terrence Jones that when his name is called on draft night, he won’t have to make any decisions. Jones was responsible for one of the better recruiting reversals of the past few years. Jones stood up and announced for Washington at a news conference with his high school teammate Terrence Ross but didn’t sign his letter of intent. Shortly after the news conference, Jones spoke with Kentucky coach John Calipari. Well, we know how that turned out. Jones and Ross never played together in college but will be drafted in the first round this week … together.
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