WESTFIELD — A few quick things from Sunday morning and afternoon at the Under Armour event in Westfield.
BRADEN SMITH
Smith's team dropped a pair of close games on Sunday, the first of them in overtime. I only saw the OT of that game because it conflicted with Will Shaver's game.
The Purdue commitment did play well today, especially in this afternoon's narrow loss to C2K Elite. Smith scored 29 in that game, and scored 16 of Grand Park Premier's first 20, shooting the ball especially well early and getting in a distinct rhythm. He showed what he could do as a scorer when aggressive, and did so against a team with Division I-caliber guards, notably Julian Norris from Evansville, a player who (somehow) got ranked in our first version of the Rivals150 for 2022. Smith got the best of that matchup — and got T'd up at one point for seemingly letting Norris know — but C2K went on to win 80-70, a game that was closer than that final margin.
I'll again say this about Smith. He is a gamer. Whether it's situations or level of competition, he does seem to perform better when it matters a little more. The games I've seen him sort of blend in have mostly been games his team was going to roll over anyway; the games I've seen him really stand out have been games against higher-end competition or after his team really needed him to turn it up. Speaks to competitiveness.
And again, with all due respect to his guys, he is not playing with peer-level players. It would be interesting to see him with a little more athleticism and ability around him, but as is, he sort of must elevate his whole team, and some of these games they've lost, they just haven't had enough. I didn't see this game, but that that team gave Meanstreets all it could handle in Fort Wayne a few weeks back really was a testament to Smith.
This is sort of reminiscent of Ryan Cline his last summer. He played for his dad's Indiana Elite team in the spring and that team beat damn near everyone it played even though Cline was the only player it had that would be a high-major player. That team had other D1 kids though. When Cline joined Indiana Elite's A team in July, he went bonkers and the rest is sort of history. That sort of context matters.
WILL SHAVER
Will Shaver's Pro One team went 2-2 through its first four games and the two losses were not pretty. They lost by 30 on Sunday evening.
Shaver sure had his moments in the games I saw this weekend — he scored a modest 11 points in Pro One's win Sunday afternoon, but I'm pretty sure he had a triple-double, because I counted at least eight assists unofficially — but this couldn't have been his best weekend overall.
He looks really good shooting the ball but didn't make many in the games I saw, and he missed on some high-percentage opportunities around the rim and didn't always catch the ball cleanly at the basket. A lot can go into that, though. He did a nice job as a shot blocker and came up with a number of grown-man rebounds, on top of some of the fine work he did as a passer, but the overall productivity and team results probably weren't where they'd normally be for him.
You see what coaches love about him, though.
He's a big-time physical presence who's fairly light on his feet, sort of reminiscent of a Sean May. He looks natural as an offensive player away from the basket as a ball-handler and shooter and can really pass.
I think he can be a big-time rebounder because he does occupy a lot of space and does have a little bit of bounce to him.
In fairness, he did get double-teamed a lot in the post this weekend, but he did seem at times to post with the intent to pass first and foremost. He generally posted on the wing, invited doubles and moved the ball. I'd have liked to see what he could do if he just dump-trucked people to the rim.
I can't give you a Purdue comparison on Shaver, because other than Caleb Swanigan, Purdue's not had that sort of physical force that adept at playing on the perimeter.
He didn't have a great weekend in the games I saw, but again, you can see the talent and the physical tools.
A FEW OTHER THINGS
• Taj Manning, the Kansas City forward Purdue has been talking to, was outstanding in the two-and-a-half games of his I saw this weekend. I'm sure they'll watch him this summer. A lot of years, he might be an offer sort of guy, based on what I saw this weekend. This year, we'll see. Purdue is pretty far along with a lot of guys, and if they're going to take a forward, his name probably should be Jalen Washington.
We'll see, though. Kid is good and plays hard.
• A 2023 note: Sam Orme from Carmel is a player Purdue ought to be recruiting. He played a fairly prominent role on a state championship team this past year as just a sophomore, and he's all of 6-7, 6-8 already and can really shoot. Reminds me of former Butler player Sean McDermott though he's way ahead from a physical perspective from where McDermott was at this age.
Purdue will likely be watching Linton-Stockton's Joey Hart off that Grand Park Premier 16U team also. He's a big guard type who can shoot. That's what I've got for you on that one based on the one game I watched of theirs.
BRADEN SMITH
Smith's team dropped a pair of close games on Sunday, the first of them in overtime. I only saw the OT of that game because it conflicted with Will Shaver's game.
The Purdue commitment did play well today, especially in this afternoon's narrow loss to C2K Elite. Smith scored 29 in that game, and scored 16 of Grand Park Premier's first 20, shooting the ball especially well early and getting in a distinct rhythm. He showed what he could do as a scorer when aggressive, and did so against a team with Division I-caliber guards, notably Julian Norris from Evansville, a player who (somehow) got ranked in our first version of the Rivals150 for 2022. Smith got the best of that matchup — and got T'd up at one point for seemingly letting Norris know — but C2K went on to win 80-70, a game that was closer than that final margin.
I'll again say this about Smith. He is a gamer. Whether it's situations or level of competition, he does seem to perform better when it matters a little more. The games I've seen him sort of blend in have mostly been games his team was going to roll over anyway; the games I've seen him really stand out have been games against higher-end competition or after his team really needed him to turn it up. Speaks to competitiveness.
And again, with all due respect to his guys, he is not playing with peer-level players. It would be interesting to see him with a little more athleticism and ability around him, but as is, he sort of must elevate his whole team, and some of these games they've lost, they just haven't had enough. I didn't see this game, but that that team gave Meanstreets all it could handle in Fort Wayne a few weeks back really was a testament to Smith.
This is sort of reminiscent of Ryan Cline his last summer. He played for his dad's Indiana Elite team in the spring and that team beat damn near everyone it played even though Cline was the only player it had that would be a high-major player. That team had other D1 kids though. When Cline joined Indiana Elite's A team in July, he went bonkers and the rest is sort of history. That sort of context matters.
WILL SHAVER
Will Shaver's Pro One team went 2-2 through its first four games and the two losses were not pretty. They lost by 30 on Sunday evening.
Shaver sure had his moments in the games I saw this weekend — he scored a modest 11 points in Pro One's win Sunday afternoon, but I'm pretty sure he had a triple-double, because I counted at least eight assists unofficially — but this couldn't have been his best weekend overall.
He looks really good shooting the ball but didn't make many in the games I saw, and he missed on some high-percentage opportunities around the rim and didn't always catch the ball cleanly at the basket. A lot can go into that, though. He did a nice job as a shot blocker and came up with a number of grown-man rebounds, on top of some of the fine work he did as a passer, but the overall productivity and team results probably weren't where they'd normally be for him.
You see what coaches love about him, though.
He's a big-time physical presence who's fairly light on his feet, sort of reminiscent of a Sean May. He looks natural as an offensive player away from the basket as a ball-handler and shooter and can really pass.
I think he can be a big-time rebounder because he does occupy a lot of space and does have a little bit of bounce to him.
In fairness, he did get double-teamed a lot in the post this weekend, but he did seem at times to post with the intent to pass first and foremost. He generally posted on the wing, invited doubles and moved the ball. I'd have liked to see what he could do if he just dump-trucked people to the rim.
I can't give you a Purdue comparison on Shaver, because other than Caleb Swanigan, Purdue's not had that sort of physical force that adept at playing on the perimeter.
He didn't have a great weekend in the games I saw, but again, you can see the talent and the physical tools.
A FEW OTHER THINGS
• Taj Manning, the Kansas City forward Purdue has been talking to, was outstanding in the two-and-a-half games of his I saw this weekend. I'm sure they'll watch him this summer. A lot of years, he might be an offer sort of guy, based on what I saw this weekend. This year, we'll see. Purdue is pretty far along with a lot of guys, and if they're going to take a forward, his name probably should be Jalen Washington.
We'll see, though. Kid is good and plays hard.
• A 2023 note: Sam Orme from Carmel is a player Purdue ought to be recruiting. He played a fairly prominent role on a state championship team this past year as just a sophomore, and he's all of 6-7, 6-8 already and can really shoot. Reminds me of former Butler player Sean McDermott though he's way ahead from a physical perspective from where McDermott was at this age.
Purdue will likely be watching Linton-Stockton's Joey Hart off that Grand Park Premier 16U team also. He's a big guard type who can shoot. That's what I've got for you on that one based on the one game I watched of theirs.
