I care about it

so I post it. My take on all these players after only seeing them in ONE game Monday in Greensboro, if any of you care.

Eric Wallace
6-5 185 WF
2007
RB Glenn HS
AAU: D-1 Sports

Wallace is a kid who has garnered a lot of hype and attention early in the recruiting game, and on Monday he showed glimpses of the excellence he could bring to the table in a few years. However, he also showed he’s got some serious parts of his game to work on in order to become a truly elite player. Which is to be expected, seeing the kid is a SOPHOMORE. First off, Wallace has a college-ready body right now, and the athleticism to go with it. He’s not sick-athletic, but he had two dunks (well one was a miss, but in spectacular fashion) in the early game that very few players could pull off. Aside from showing a fruitful dedication to snagging rebounds down low, however, Wallace seemed to lack much aim or desire on the offensive end, coasting around the perimeter with nary a demand for the ball. When he did get the rock, he often quickly got rid of it, rarely showing a knack for creating or getting open. And though he seemed content to drift around the perimeter, his outside shot, whether he was employing it in warm-ups or in the game, lacked consistency. His form is solid, though, so I expect that to improve. As well, his defense and all-around savvy constitute weakness in his game right now, as there were numerous plays in which Wallace appeared lost on the court, failing to provide help or support to struggling teammates. He has plenty of time to fix that though, and he has the tools necessary to do so. Unofficially, I had Wallace going off for 26 points (8-19, 0-4 3 pt. 10-14 ft) and 6 rebounds. The stats are slightly inflated as many of those came in the second half on cherry-pick dunks, but he still had a solid game.

Tywon Lawson
5-11 175 PG
2006
Oak Hill HS
AAU: DC Blue Devils

All you need to know: this was my first time seeing Lawson, and he had what appeared to be a pretty poor game. His team, No. 1 in the nation coming into the game, lost, and the opposing backcourt of Louis Williams and Mike Mercer stole the show (though not necessarily at the expense of Lawson). Yet, despite all that, I came away very impressed with the elite floor general. A classic PG with a rugged build, Lawson appeared able to get into the lane with ease, displaying a pretty floater and the strength necessary to finish around the rim. Despite this evident talent, he showed a willingness to defer to his teammates almost to a fault, continually feeding the ball to the post (but not to Durant) as his coach wanted. As well, his defense was at times brilliant, and the hunger and want he displayed in playing it was even more impressive. With only 13 (unofficial) points and more turnovers than assists, he certainly could improve on his performance, but man did it look like he was something special just waiting to be handed the keys to the Oak Hill Lamborghini. Perhaps even more important, though, is his current acceptance of his designated backseat role.

Kevin Durant
6-9.5 190 WF/PF
2006
Oak Hill H.S.
AAU: DC Blue Devils

Drool. That’s what happens when you watch Kevin Durant. He disappeared in the second half of Oak Hill’s loss to South Gwinnet and the Louis Williams and Mike Mercer duo, but his first half 14 points (on 5-11 shooting and 2-2 threes) and 6 rebounds established him as an unbelievably talented player with straight-to-the-league potential. He finished with 14 and 10 as Oak Hill abandoned him in the second half, but his smooth jumper and effortless skill moves – not to mention surprisingly competent ballhandling) were seriously awe-inspiring. Due to a serious lack of strength, he had some trouble finishing, but with a little weight, a go-to post move, and some confidence, Durant will be nigh unstoppable. The most impressive player of the day, in my opinion.

Eric Devendorf
6-3 SG
2005
Oak Hill H.S.
College: Syracuse

I was expecting more from Devendorf. He definitely has the green light for Oak Hill, but his shot must have been off, because I can’t recall him making one three. Maybe one. Worse, there appeared to be some weird spin on his shot that doesn’t bode well for consistency. He showed more driving ability than I anticipated, though he was often unable to finish among the big boys. Defensively he may struggle in the Big East, but judging that off his performance against Louis Williams isn’t exactly fair to the kid.

Louis Williams
6-2 PG/SG
2005
South Gwinnet HS
College: Georgia/NBA

There’s not much to say that hasn’t been said about Louis Williams. He’s a tremendous talent who’s given a lot of freedom on the high school level to let loose. And let loose he did on Monday, lighting Oak Hill up for 32 points in a stunning upset. His quickness is astounding and his finishing ability equally magnificent. He had a few moves/shots/dunks that left the crowd’s respective jaws on the Coliseum floor. While it’s hard to gauge his unselfishness with the spreadout-and-take offense his team employs, he did have some pretty assists and rifled one pass to a teammate for an open three precisely when it seemed the LEAST likely point for him to do so. College? He’d benefit from it, but he’d benefit from the League as well were he to get drafted. So the key will be how he performs in the All-Star games and where his hype is at come May.

Mike Mercer
6-4 SG/WF
2005
South Gwinnet HS
College: Georgia

Wow, I’ve never had such differing opinions in one game. In the first half, Mercer was horrendous. I might be partly to blame here, as I expected Mercer to be an elite shooting guard, considering his ranking. A shooting guard he is not, as his first three shots proved (the first was a three that hit the opposite upper corner of the backboard, the second was a three that fell three feet short, and the last was perhaps the worst shot I’ve ever seen, seeing as it went 23 feet high and about 11 feet forward). Couple that with a few wild lay-ups and I was not impressed at all. In the second half, though, Mercer showed some RIDICULOUS athleticism, which I had not associated with his game. He made a nice runner to demonstrate some actual, cultivated skill, but most impressive were his speed and leaping ability. Two dunks stand out: a Vince Carter elbow-through-the-rim slam in which he started from a near-standstill at the free-throw line and an absolute rim rattler where he started his acceleration at halfcourt, rapidly picked up speed, essentially dared someone to step in front of him, and then promptly dunked right over the poor dude. Hard. Anyways, I think he’ll struggle a bit in college (at least initially) since his athletic prowess won’t be quite as pronounced, but if he can ever harness his ability a bit more and refine it into skill, Oye. That’s Spanish for “watch the #@$* out.”

Wiliam Graves
6-5 240 SG/WF
2006
Dudley HS (Greensboro)
AAU: NC Gaters
College: North Carolina

While I only caught a half of Graves’ game, it was enough to see that he is quite a unique player. His size is obviously a rare sight on the perimeter, but combine his complete disinterest in banging for rebounds with an impressive ballhandling ability and outside the paint quickly reveals itself as his most effective spot. His shot certainly looked money, and he wasn’t scared to send his jumper off to the pool, but it kept ending up dry. Not the primary focus of Dudley’s offense for most of the half, Graves was content to stay in the background and not force anything, but that changed when Swinton was out and Graves asserted himself – with some success. A few times he looked eager to post up, but never received the ball, so the jury’s still out on his post moves. To his credit, he did show an ability to drive and to create his own shot. Defensively, he was decent; he seemed to at least care and try, which is better than many recruits. With his commitment leaking out recently, the real question has to be how his game translates to North Carolina’s system. Roy Williams will probably welcome his ballhandling and unselfishness, but the consistency of his shot, his athleticism and skill package, as well as his ability to run the Carolina fast break for an extended period of time (even if he loses weight) have to be big question marks for ACC-level play at this time.

Kevin Swinton
6-7 230 WF
2006
Dudley HS (Greensboro)
AAU: NC Gaters
College: Wake Forest

Swinton was impressive, having finally gained the weight and strength that were holding back some parts of his game. Still, questions abound about his position at the next level. He seems undersized for an ACC big man, but displayed little to know outside ability in this game, though he wasn’t given much of an opportunity to do so. He had some powerful scoring moves in the post and rebounded well, showing constant effort, but how this translates when his opponents are bigger than him instead of the other way around remains to be seen. To be fair, his job was to man the post in this game, and he did that quite well.