MARTINSVILLE — I was a split-second from covering a Final Four this weekend, but Saturday in Martinsville was cool, too.
Anyway, some stuff from the North/South All-Star Classic at John Wooden's other alma mater.
Jake LaRavia: The newly open Lawrence Central forward, coming off a breakout senior season, can really play, and looked the part of a high-major sort of prospect, even though he was originally signed with Edwardsville.
LaRavia is a legit 6-7/6-8 and not skinny or anything like that, and he's a year young for his grade, so it stands to reason to suggest there's physical potential there too.
He calls himself a 3. I'd say more like a four-out sort of 4, and I think most college coaches would see him that way, too, understanding that the 3 is a guard nowadays.
LaRavia is known for his shooting, but took just one three today and looked good shooting it, but missed it.
I informally had him for 16 points on roughly 8-of-12 shooting. Scorebook had him for 21.
All his points came at the rim, and how he got them was impressive. His first four buckets came off the dribble, driving against set defenders in halfcourt offense and finishing with authority at the basket. Later there was an acrobatic reverse layup off a baseline drive and later then a dunk off a lob in which he caught the ball, spun in the air and dunked it. There was a nice finger-roll at the basket, too, and numerous offensive rebounds, a bunch of them contested. He can definitely jump.
This was a defense-optional all-star game in which the two sides combined for only 289 points, and LaRavia was tipping rebounds to himself, hustling for offensive rebounds, closing out on shooters and in one case, bluffing a closeout on a shooter, then releasing and scoring in transition after the shot was missed, little stuff that you don't often see in all-star games. One thing I think we bring you in our recruiting coverage as opposed to others is a decent understanding of what the guy calling the shots likes in a player, and between the skills and intangibles shown today, ding, ding, ding.
Thing is, and I'm basing this solely on one all-star game, is Purdue exclusively looking for players who impact their won-loss record next season? Because while LaRavia is a nice prospect, I don't know if he does that. He looks like a Purdue sort of player and certainly good enough to be a winning player at this level. But he also looks like a guy where Years 2, 3 or 4 are the payout more than Year 1 is.
We'll see what happens here, but expect Purdue to be serious about this one.
Also, Ben Davis' Jalen Windham says he hasn't heard from Purdue, but he had a nice game. Can really shoot it. David Teague-like 2-guard. Not sure that's Purdue's need right now, but he may wind up high-major, too, if his house is in order beyond his talent.
SIGNEES
Brandon Newman: Barely recognizable with all his hair cut off (below), Newman was solid in this game, picking up a slew of early fouls, but finishing with 17 points, per the scorebook, and making some nice plays attacking the basket off the dribble, an area of his game where he will want to strike a balance between the urge to disprove perceived vulnerabilities in his game and understanding the importance of playing to his strengths — shooting. Newman did some good things as a passer, including a gorgeous pocket pass for a layup in a pick-and-roll and a couple of nice outlet passes.
Isaiah Thompson: Thompson also had 17, provided I'm interpreting the scorekeeper's squiggly lines correctly, and made a handful of threes. Really like what Thompson might be able to give Purdue not only as a shooter, but with the legitimate quickness he has to break people down, get under them and earn the lane. Purdue may have a dearth of quickness on its roster next season, but Thompson will be part of the solution. He does have some savvy about him in terms of his ability to use hesitation dribbles and whatnot. Thompson is always going to be small, but I do think he's graduated out of it inhibiting him tremendously at the next level. He's going to play a meaningful role for them next season, IMO.
Mason Gillis: Here's our story from this afternoon on idled signee Mason Gillis, who also cut off his hair.
Anyway, some stuff from the North/South All-Star Classic at John Wooden's other alma mater.
Jake LaRavia: The newly open Lawrence Central forward, coming off a breakout senior season, can really play, and looked the part of a high-major sort of prospect, even though he was originally signed with Edwardsville.
LaRavia is a legit 6-7/6-8 and not skinny or anything like that, and he's a year young for his grade, so it stands to reason to suggest there's physical potential there too.
He calls himself a 3. I'd say more like a four-out sort of 4, and I think most college coaches would see him that way, too, understanding that the 3 is a guard nowadays.
LaRavia is known for his shooting, but took just one three today and looked good shooting it, but missed it.
I informally had him for 16 points on roughly 8-of-12 shooting. Scorebook had him for 21.
All his points came at the rim, and how he got them was impressive. His first four buckets came off the dribble, driving against set defenders in halfcourt offense and finishing with authority at the basket. Later there was an acrobatic reverse layup off a baseline drive and later then a dunk off a lob in which he caught the ball, spun in the air and dunked it. There was a nice finger-roll at the basket, too, and numerous offensive rebounds, a bunch of them contested. He can definitely jump.
This was a defense-optional all-star game in which the two sides combined for only 289 points, and LaRavia was tipping rebounds to himself, hustling for offensive rebounds, closing out on shooters and in one case, bluffing a closeout on a shooter, then releasing and scoring in transition after the shot was missed, little stuff that you don't often see in all-star games. One thing I think we bring you in our recruiting coverage as opposed to others is a decent understanding of what the guy calling the shots likes in a player, and between the skills and intangibles shown today, ding, ding, ding.
Thing is, and I'm basing this solely on one all-star game, is Purdue exclusively looking for players who impact their won-loss record next season? Because while LaRavia is a nice prospect, I don't know if he does that. He looks like a Purdue sort of player and certainly good enough to be a winning player at this level. But he also looks like a guy where Years 2, 3 or 4 are the payout more than Year 1 is.
We'll see what happens here, but expect Purdue to be serious about this one.
Also, Ben Davis' Jalen Windham says he hasn't heard from Purdue, but he had a nice game. Can really shoot it. David Teague-like 2-guard. Not sure that's Purdue's need right now, but he may wind up high-major, too, if his house is in order beyond his talent.
SIGNEES
Brandon Newman: Barely recognizable with all his hair cut off (below), Newman was solid in this game, picking up a slew of early fouls, but finishing with 17 points, per the scorebook, and making some nice plays attacking the basket off the dribble, an area of his game where he will want to strike a balance between the urge to disprove perceived vulnerabilities in his game and understanding the importance of playing to his strengths — shooting. Newman did some good things as a passer, including a gorgeous pocket pass for a layup in a pick-and-roll and a couple of nice outlet passes.
Isaiah Thompson: Thompson also had 17, provided I'm interpreting the scorekeeper's squiggly lines correctly, and made a handful of threes. Really like what Thompson might be able to give Purdue not only as a shooter, but with the legitimate quickness he has to break people down, get under them and earn the lane. Purdue may have a dearth of quickness on its roster next season, but Thompson will be part of the solution. He does have some savvy about him in terms of his ability to use hesitation dribbles and whatnot. Thompson is always going to be small, but I do think he's graduated out of it inhibiting him tremendously at the next level. He's going to play a meaningful role for them next season, IMO.
Mason Gillis: Here's our story from this afternoon on idled signee Mason Gillis, who also cut off his hair.
Last edited:
