INDIANAPOLIS - Thursday, LaLumiere School played Traders Point Academy of Zionsville at Covenant Christian in Indy, upgrading from a tiny gym to a less tiny one to accommodate the Purdue fans interested in seeing Rapheal Davis and Jay Simpson and whatever Indiana fans there were content to follow the IU game on their phones while seeing dunk machine Hanner Perea live.
Indianapolis being significantly closer than South Dakota, Wisconsin, the moon and all the other places LaLumiere has played this season, we figured this would be a good opportunity to go see these guys and get some video and stuff.
We have highlights and video interviews with both Purdue signees, but for tonight we'll leave it at a breakdown of how Davis and Simpson played against a Traders Point team with two Northwestern recruits - 7-footer Alex Olah can really play; forward Milos Kostic seems like a reach to me even for Bill Carmody, who's made a living making unathletic kids with weird jump shots into real pains in the a$$ in the Big Ten - and an underclassman who had coaches from Vandy, Providence, Dayton and a bunch of others there to see him.
But even though Traders Point has some players, this was a mismatch that didn't quite play out that way.
Last time these two teams met, LaLumiere won by 40.
But this time, Traders Point's well-orchestrated Carmody-ish offense exposed the Lakers' pressuring defense enough in the first half to give it a 31-27 lead at the half.
In the second half, though, Davis imposed his will on the game and LaLumiere rolled to a 65-49 win, with the Boilermaker recruit racking up 30.
Playing at the talent-rich prep school, Davis doesn't have to handle the ball primarily as much as he did at South Side High School prior to his move.
That allows him to operate mostly from the wing, which plays right into his hands because he's so good driving the ball baseline. When he catches it and defenders close on him and he gets a step, he's getting to the basket one way or another.
What really defines him is his strength. That and the fact that when he really gets going, he literally skips. Skips into his dribble, skips through the lane. It's his tell when he's really confident.
Driving on high school kids, Davis has this mini-LeBron thing going where he's just so physical and so much stronger, he just trucks people in getting to the rim and is very good at finishing, though he did miss his first four shots Thursday night, before making 10-of-12 or something like that. He draws contact and finishes anyway. I had him for 13 free throws, 10 of them he made.
The word "heart" was thrown around a bit afterward in relation to Davis and you saw that during one particular instance in the first half. Davis was looking to post up a smaller guard, but looked up and saw the 7-foot Olah instead, because of a switch. Davis posted the 260-pounder anyway and backed him down to near the rim before drawing a foul. Couldn't help but think of this after that moment.
At the next level, Davis will have to evolve. His three-point game is going to have to be credible enough to command respect - he only shot one tonight and missed - because the harder defenders have to close out on him, the easier it will be for him to get that first step. Davis is more bullish and more adept at navigating traffic than he is purely quick, so he'll want angles and leverage on his side.
Additionally, he's going to have to make pull-ups in college or else he could be a charge machine against the savvier defenders of the college level, a lesson Terone Johnson learned last year and still looks at times like he's learning to this day.
But Davis, who also had four steals, was really good Thursday night. He took over the game, really.
Simpson was 1-of-7 for two points.
That said, I didn't think he played bad.
The shots Simpson got were good ones, most of them out of the post, where he possesses just a really well refined and diverse set of options, and all of them shots he can make.
He's a quadruple threat out of the post, because he can go over either shoulder, face up and drive or shoot the jumper. Purdue hasn't had a player like him. He's also an excellent passer who both sees the floor around him and anticipates well.
Provided he knows what's going on in college, he has the skills to be a nice option for Purdue against zones, as that big man can operating in the lane, drawing defenders, then either distributing inside-out, driving or shooting.
Simpson admitted himself - and this was a revelation of sorts - that he can't fall in love with the three. He can shoot it, but his post game can be so effective, to me, that that needs to be his first, second and third option.
The 6-foot-8 forward is uncommonly skilled, but he has to produce. I'd give him a pass tonight on his thin line, because again, the shots he got were good ones that he'll make most times - a couple rim-outs - and because the second half, LaLumiere was extremely guard-oriented, with Davis just dominating the game.
It will be real interesting to see with Simpson next season. He's got a college body and college skills, but there's so much more that goes into it.
How will he handle conditioning? Will he go hard every play? How quickly will he - and all the freshmen, for that matter - pick up the system?
Time will tell.
But he absolutely, positively has the tools to be good.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
Check out GoldandBlack.com on
