This morning we attended West Lafayette High School Class of 2016 point guard Nai Carlisle's 7 a.m. open gym session and thought we'd share a couple impressions from the games, played in front of Saint Louis assistant coach Calbert Cheaney.
(Purdue attended last Monday.)
Have to admit: Carlisle looked really, really good, best I have seen to date from the strong young point guard.
Tuesday morning amounted to three pickup sort of games with his West Side teammates, an environment where the sophomore was more aggressive than we've ever seen him. His nature, sometimes, has been to defer, whether it was on his senior-dominated Red Devil team last year or his talent-rich AAU team in the spring and summer.
The aggressiveness he showed this morning shined a light on quickness that I think I probably underestimated thus far, perhaps because it was overshadowed by his physical strength and size for his position. Now, make no mistake: Carlisle isn't Lewis Jackson, but he is plenty quick enough and when you factor in the strength, that's not an easy combination to find.
Granted, Carlisle wasn't facing elite athleticism, by any stretch of the imagination, this morning at his school, but he certainly looked like a player who can break opposing defenders down off the dribble to get in the lane, where he uses his body well and does a good job around the rim typically. He uses both his hands very well.
Jump-shooting has been an area Carlisle's put a lot of work into and that seems to remain a work in progress, but he has his moments.
In the final game Tuesday morning, he started off with a jumper coming out of a post-up and if you've read this site for any period of time, you're aware of our unhealthy obsession with guards who can post up. He followed that up with a few threes, including some tough ones off the dribble. Seems at this stage like he's a more effective shooter off the dribble than anything else, maybe an indication that when he's playing more than he's thinking, natural ability takes hold.
Where Carlisle's value seems to lie most, though, is in a couple intangibles, the sort of "substance" coaches look for. He is a consummate substance-over-superficiality player.
For one thing, he's smart and consistent. He doesn't do silly things at a position where youngsters can get a little crazy sometimes with their passing and decision-making. Carlisle is a safe, reliable point in the sense that he almost never tries to do too much, knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, so to speak. He's fundamentally sound beyond his years, indication he's been well coached and well trained.
Second, he will defend. He will absolutely defend. And with his strength and long arms - and interest in doing it - he's got the potential to be very good at it.
There's a long way to go still. Carlisle is only a sophomore, but this high school season will be an interesting one for him as he transitions from being the freshman point guard surrounded by seniors to being his team's absolute alpha male.
So, yeah, there's a long way to go, but the thought here is that he absolutely has a chance to be a high-major college basketball player and someone Purdue is going to want to really seriously recruit if it's going to look for a point guard in its 2016 recruiting class.
(Purdue attended last Monday.)
Have to admit: Carlisle looked really, really good, best I have seen to date from the strong young point guard.
Tuesday morning amounted to three pickup sort of games with his West Side teammates, an environment where the sophomore was more aggressive than we've ever seen him. His nature, sometimes, has been to defer, whether it was on his senior-dominated Red Devil team last year or his talent-rich AAU team in the spring and summer.
The aggressiveness he showed this morning shined a light on quickness that I think I probably underestimated thus far, perhaps because it was overshadowed by his physical strength and size for his position. Now, make no mistake: Carlisle isn't Lewis Jackson, but he is plenty quick enough and when you factor in the strength, that's not an easy combination to find.
Granted, Carlisle wasn't facing elite athleticism, by any stretch of the imagination, this morning at his school, but he certainly looked like a player who can break opposing defenders down off the dribble to get in the lane, where he uses his body well and does a good job around the rim typically. He uses both his hands very well.
Jump-shooting has been an area Carlisle's put a lot of work into and that seems to remain a work in progress, but he has his moments.
In the final game Tuesday morning, he started off with a jumper coming out of a post-up and if you've read this site for any period of time, you're aware of our unhealthy obsession with guards who can post up. He followed that up with a few threes, including some tough ones off the dribble. Seems at this stage like he's a more effective shooter off the dribble than anything else, maybe an indication that when he's playing more than he's thinking, natural ability takes hold.
Where Carlisle's value seems to lie most, though, is in a couple intangibles, the sort of "substance" coaches look for. He is a consummate substance-over-superficiality player.
For one thing, he's smart and consistent. He doesn't do silly things at a position where youngsters can get a little crazy sometimes with their passing and decision-making. Carlisle is a safe, reliable point in the sense that he almost never tries to do too much, knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, so to speak. He's fundamentally sound beyond his years, indication he's been well coached and well trained.
Second, he will defend. He will absolutely defend. And with his strength and long arms - and interest in doing it - he's got the potential to be very good at it.
There's a long way to go still. Carlisle is only a sophomore, but this high school season will be an interesting one for him as he transitions from being the freshman point guard surrounded by seniors to being his team's absolute alpha male.
So, yeah, there's a long way to go, but the thought here is that he absolutely has a chance to be a high-major college basketball player and someone Purdue is going to want to really seriously recruit if it's going to look for a point guard in its 2016 recruiting class.
