FORT WAYNE - In Fort Wayne this weekend, we watched the first two days of the Spiece Run 'N Slam and saw at least part of most of the games played by Purdue's commitments.
Here are some general impressions from the weekend on some of those 2012 and 2013 players committed to the Boilermakers and some of those being targeted as well.
We'll do these one at a time, starting with Bryson Scott.
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Scott, the 2013 Purdue commitment, was really good this weekend, producing big-time for a skeleton crew of a Spiece Indy Heat 17s team that played all weekend without big man A.J. Hammons and injured Boilermaker recruit Rapheal Davis. It didn't have DeJuan Marrero on Friday night or Notre Dame commitment Austin Burgett Saturday.
But as a 16-year-old playing against 17s and operating alongside the ball-dominant D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Scott stood out.
Maybe the fact that I've watched him closer than many others has biased me, but I think he's pretty clearly the No. 1 player in the state in that 2013 class right now. There are guys with greater ceilings for improvement, guys who may still be prospects more than they are players, but Scott is a hell of a player right now.
As noted during the weekend, it's hard to imagine a player having a more aggressive mentality offensively. Scott's always looking to score, but as determined as he is to put the ball in the basket and being a volume shooter, meaning a guy who'll take a ton of shots, he doesn't shot-hunt all that much. This weekend, he really didn't take many bad shots that I saw. It would be for a player as aggressive and strong-willed as Scott to force things that aren't there, but this weekend, there wasn't much evidence of that.
Splitting duties bringing the ball up the floor with Smith-Rivera, Scott constantly looked to push it in transition whenever possible and looked significantly faster and quicker than the last time I saw him, which was early in the high school season when he was still rounding back into form after suffering an ankle injury.
Scott isn't an elite athlete and is only about 6-foot-1, but his physicality and aggressive demeanor sort of trump those things. When he gets into the lane, he has a real knack for creating space for himself and finishing.
He's a good three-point shooter and can play off the shot fake to drive and pull up. Everything he does with the ball in his hands is done with a purpose and he puts tremendous pressure on whoever's guarding him.
Offensively, the value-added component to Scott in college could be his versatility. He was recruited to play point guard, but seems like a player who could easily slide over and play off the ball, which would give Purdue, in essence, two ball-handlers and decision-makers on the floor without sacrificing shooting, which the Boilermakers do now when Kelsey Barlow's on the floor alongside Lewis Jackson.
Scott's going to give Purdue a different kind of point guard than it's used to having, because he's such a scorer.
Defensively, Scott won't possess Jackson's quickness or Barlow's size, but his mentality should lend itself well to Purdue's way of doing things.
To call the kid 'tenacious' would probably be understating things. To call him 'competitive' might be, too. To call him a 'mean, little (colorful term of your choice)' in as complimentary a context as possible would be probably be just about right.
Scott's a hyper-competitive, emotional player. He may have to dial down the emotion some as he grows older for the sake of composure, but we are still talking about 16-year-olds here. There are always things players have to grow into as they mature.
But as is, Scott is clearly a gem for Purdue, certainly a guy who'll be considered a big-time recruit and certainly someone who's got a very strong case to be ranked - for whatever that's worth - in that top-50 range.
This post was edited on 5/9 2:30 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
Here are some general impressions from the weekend on some of those 2012 and 2013 players committed to the Boilermakers and some of those being targeted as well.
We'll do these one at a time, starting with Bryson Scott.
..................
Scott, the 2013 Purdue commitment, was really good this weekend, producing big-time for a skeleton crew of a Spiece Indy Heat 17s team that played all weekend without big man A.J. Hammons and injured Boilermaker recruit Rapheal Davis. It didn't have DeJuan Marrero on Friday night or Notre Dame commitment Austin Burgett Saturday.
But as a 16-year-old playing against 17s and operating alongside the ball-dominant D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Scott stood out.
Maybe the fact that I've watched him closer than many others has biased me, but I think he's pretty clearly the No. 1 player in the state in that 2013 class right now. There are guys with greater ceilings for improvement, guys who may still be prospects more than they are players, but Scott is a hell of a player right now.
As noted during the weekend, it's hard to imagine a player having a more aggressive mentality offensively. Scott's always looking to score, but as determined as he is to put the ball in the basket and being a volume shooter, meaning a guy who'll take a ton of shots, he doesn't shot-hunt all that much. This weekend, he really didn't take many bad shots that I saw. It would be for a player as aggressive and strong-willed as Scott to force things that aren't there, but this weekend, there wasn't much evidence of that.
Splitting duties bringing the ball up the floor with Smith-Rivera, Scott constantly looked to push it in transition whenever possible and looked significantly faster and quicker than the last time I saw him, which was early in the high school season when he was still rounding back into form after suffering an ankle injury.
Scott isn't an elite athlete and is only about 6-foot-1, but his physicality and aggressive demeanor sort of trump those things. When he gets into the lane, he has a real knack for creating space for himself and finishing.
He's a good three-point shooter and can play off the shot fake to drive and pull up. Everything he does with the ball in his hands is done with a purpose and he puts tremendous pressure on whoever's guarding him.
Offensively, the value-added component to Scott in college could be his versatility. He was recruited to play point guard, but seems like a player who could easily slide over and play off the ball, which would give Purdue, in essence, two ball-handlers and decision-makers on the floor without sacrificing shooting, which the Boilermakers do now when Kelsey Barlow's on the floor alongside Lewis Jackson.
Scott's going to give Purdue a different kind of point guard than it's used to having, because he's such a scorer.
Defensively, Scott won't possess Jackson's quickness or Barlow's size, but his mentality should lend itself well to Purdue's way of doing things.
To call the kid 'tenacious' would probably be understating things. To call him 'competitive' might be, too. To call him a 'mean, little (colorful term of your choice)' in as complimentary a context as possible would be probably be just about right.
Scott's a hyper-competitive, emotional player. He may have to dial down the emotion some as he grows older for the sake of composure, but we are still talking about 16-year-olds here. There are always things players have to grow into as they mature.
But as is, Scott is clearly a gem for Purdue, certainly a guy who'll be considered a big-time recruit and certainly someone who's got a very strong case to be ranked - for whatever that's worth - in that top-50 range.
This post was edited on 5/9 2:30 PM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
