Bellaire vs Westside

On Friday I watched Westside vs Bellaire, which is a rival here in Houston.. Westside won the game 67-62. I have watched Bellaire play many times this season and they have some intriguing young kids. I just did an eval on Westside, nothing much has changed in 3 days for Westside-

2013 6’1 Darin Minnefield: plays within himself, doesn’t try to do anything he can’t do. Make simple decisions/simple plays. Good toughness, good motor, good athlete, can score in transition. Will defend. Needs to improve his perimeter shooting. Some Southland schools have showed interest.

2016 6’4 Joshua Hall: Has great upside, good skill set/long /versatile for his age/size. Looks like he’ll grow into at least 6’7. Playing Varsity as a freshman. Doesn’t get a lot done now, but shows flashes. Improving everyday, he’s definitely one to keep an eye on. Definitely a top 5 freshman in Houston

2015 5’11 Jarren Greenwood: Makes plays and big shots already. He’s not scared to take/make big shots. He can get to spots with the ball and finish at the rim. Good toughness. I really like him!

2015 6’4 Christian James: Powerful/athletic wing. Not a 3 ball shooter yet, but really effective from 15ft and in. Can really slash and draw fouls. It will b interesting to see if he can extend his game to more on the perimeter with improved ball skills & perimeter shooting..

2013 6’0 Calvin Dean: undersized 2 guard but really good shooter. Not athletic, can’t break you down off the dibble. But if he gets his feet set can consistently knock down perimeter shots.

Marc Hsu Former Binghamton Coach Joins City League Hoops

Marc Hsu Former Binghamton Coach Joins City League Hoops

Here is an article that a friend of mine created for me!

Village School vs RCHA Jan 17, 2013

The Village school won easily over RCHA. RCHA made it interesting at some stretches in the 2nd and 3rd quarters but never could cut it to more than 4. 2013 Isaiah Taylor, who recently verbally committed to Texas, played the best I’ve seen so far. He confidently made perimeter shots in the first half, which I haven’t seen before. Isaiah is about 6’2/6’3, with a quick/explosive first step. Isaiah has a good feel and can get in the paint whenever he wants, as he matures he will learn a big part of being a good passer is KYP (know your personal). When he matures physically, and improves his perimeter shooting he can be an impact player at Texas. 6’7, Penn signee, 2013 Dylan Jones showed some versatility from the 4 spot. He can step out to about 12-15 feet and also has the ability to put it on the floor to drive slower bigs; He’s got a good motor and competes. I have watched, RCHA 2014 6’9 Khadeem Lattin, many times this season. Khadeem is a good athlete, has a good motor, good hands and runs like a deer. It is very hard to tell what he can do offensively on his current team. His guards are not very good and versus most teams he’s doubled immediately. He showed some toughness and a mean streak last night which was great to see. He’s definitely raw offensively still and with most young bigs, plays the game standing straight up the majority of the time. He will occasionally show us flashes of what can do with a tip dunk or catching an alley oop. His best days will be in college, when he can develop strength and receive consistent attention/teaching.

Memphis vs Rice Jan 16, 2013

Memphis was never in danger of losing from start to finish, although in the first half Rice made it competitive and Memphis definitely played down to the competition. Again, Rice used smoking mirrors defensively, constantly mixing it up between some match-up zone, zone, switching man etc. Rice tried to shorten the game as much as possible and did so in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half Memphis made some early shots and took the life out of Rice. Considering Ben only has one C-USA level player, Tamir Jackson, he’s doing as best of a job as he possibly can..
Josh has done a remarkable job recruiting; they definitely have high major talent. They are long, athletic, big, and deep. I don’t think they have good enough consistent perimeter shooting and without a pure point. Defensively they don’t show a lot of discipline, they break down easily and don’t help. Some of these issues with pose problems in post season play and versus other well coached/talented teams. With that said, if Josh can keep everyone happy and chemistry is good, they will have a chance to get far this post season. They key will be point guard play and Joe Jackson; he has steadily improved at the point guard spot, but I don’t think he will ever be pure. Although he’d definitely doing a better job of getting others involved and has matured a great deal.

Westside vs Madison HS Jan 15, 2013

Westside beat Madison tonight. Although the game was relatively close, it never seemed like Westside was in danger of losing. Westside tried to use their length defensively and face guarded 2013 Dedrick Basile with Rodrick to start with. Unusually, Dedrick forced a couple shots early on, but then got back to his normal/paused self. He didn’t have one of his best games, but still showed his ability to consistently put points on scoreboard no matter who/how they guarded him. 2015 6’9 sophomore, Chris Harris is improving, motor getting better and activity level is improving; it will be interesting to see how he plays in the Spring/Summer on the circuit. 2013 Robert Hatter was steady all game. Not a break down guard, but solid and makes good/simple decisions with the ball and can make open shots. I’ve heard he has great grades and a lot of Ivy schools are recruiting him heavily. I really liked 2013 Rodrick Trimont, he’s about 6’5 good ball skills, good motor/athlete. Hasn’t shown much confidence in his ability to shoot from the perimeter yet..

Jan 15, 2013

Lots of good HS games in Houston today. I am planning on watching Westside HS vs Madison at 6pm today. It will be a great match up of Senior guards. Robert Hatter vs Dedrick Basile, along with some other good players as well.. I will try to catch another HS game as well and post tonight when I get home..

USC’s firing of Kevin O’Neill

I have mixed emotions with the firing of Kevin O’Neill. I think Kevin is a great basketball mind and can really coach. When I was coaching at Oregon St, Kevin was the interim at the University of Arizona. Although it was evident he had a total difference in philosophy with Legendary Coach Lute Olson, I think he did a good job. I don’t think his USC players were good enough to compete at a high level, although good enough to be competitive. I don’t think a BCS level school can win with taking 8 Division I transfers, which I believe is what they had on the roster. That’s almost 75% of your roster. Most times Division I transfers come with some maintenance. Although transfers, Eric Wise and JT Terrell lead the team in scoring it obviously wasn’t enough with a 7-10 start.
Although, I don’t see the benefit in USC making the change right now. Even if one of his Assistants is a better fit for the job, it takes some time to instill your own philosophies and beliefs; time which they don’t have. Will the players maybe feel a little better about themselves now? Maybe, if they really didn’t like playing for Kevin, which we don’t know if they did or didn’t. But I doubt they make a substantial turnaround now that Kevin is no longer coaching. When I coached at Oregon St, Jay John, was relieved mid way through the year as well, and nothing beneficial came out. It actually had more of a negative outcome than positive I thought; whether good or bad kids develop a familiarity and comfort factor from a head coach, now you add the “unknown” with new leadership and that causes a problem with players/kids with no time to develop that “in-season.” But administration felt so much pressure from outside influences to make a change.
Unfortunately, I think Kevin already saw the writing on the wall, and he knew it was just matter of time before he was gone. Rumor around the country was USC job would be open this Spring. Kevin will be back coaching in some capacity very soon, as he is well respected amongst the basketball community. I thought it was classic when he was asked by an LA times reporter what is he going to do now? He replied going home to get my running gear and going running on the beach. I hear that!!!!

Houston HS game:Travis vs Bush Jan 11, 2013

I watched a really good HS game in Houston tonight. Travis vs Bush HS. The twins didn’t play particularly well and missed a lot of shots they normally make. Bush played some 3-2 zone which slowed them down a little as well. The Twins missed some crucial FT’s and lay ups down the stretch, which could have put the game away in regulation. But it was the Shawndre Jones show. The Richmond signee doesn’t wow you with great athleticism or body frame/appearance, but he played with a lot of heart/confidence/swagger tonight. He made the game tieing basket to put the game into OT. He also made a big 3 in OT as well. Kelly Oubre had some key rebounds and foul shots down the stretch, but Shawndre stole the show. It didn’t seem like anyone else wanted the ball when the game was on the line, but Shawndre. No one on Bush showed the ability or competiveness to guard the Twins, but it just wasn’t there night.
6’7 Jaylin LeBlanc is intriguing. His a big time athlete with a nice looking body, would like to see him be more involved throughout the game
6’4 Brandon BJ Jones showed some flashes as well, but he didn’t get a lot of touches

Rice vs S Miss on Wed Jan 9, 2013

Sorry for the last post. On Wednesday, I went to the S Miss vs Rice game to watch former Texas Southern U signee, Mike Craig play. Considering Ben has a depleted roster and his only hope to win games is Tamir Jackson, they competed hard.. Ben tried mixing up his defense and use the “smoking mirrors” strategy but in the 2nd half S Miss just pounded them with their size/toughness. S Miss didn’t take many 3’s, everything was either going to rim or OFF rebs. Donnie has them competing, playing hard as hell, and he has some tough MF’s. S Miss shot lay ups and Rice shot long balls. S Miss doesn’t have one player that has emerged as a consistent 20 or 25 pt scorer yet but they score by committee. Dwayne Davis is a scorer by nature but he’s been up and down this season, along with Jerrold Brooks.. Mike Craig has been in and out of the dog house but he can do a little bit of everything.  I think Jonathan Mills is the key to this team. His toughness and relentlessness on rebounds, loose balls, charges etc sets the tone for this team. S Miss next game vs U of Houston should be interesting.. Houston is playing better and freshmen, Danuel House is coming off a career game of 28 pts.

I over head Ben Braun saying his incoming class will the best during his tenure so far, that will be interesting to see how it plays out..

I’ll be attending a few HS games in Houston today and will post later tonight..

 

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