By Brian Crownover

{mosImage}Here is a look at the remaining standout players from the Southern Invitational this past weekend.

Triple Threat

Kevon Moore (2008, 6-2 165 PG/SG)
Kevon is a shifty scoring guard.  He can change directions quickly in the lane.  The lefty is a good transition player who likes to push the ball.  He can also score off the mid range jump shot and from beyond the arc as well.  Kevon hit a tough fall away three pointer to end the first half.  He showed his athletic ability off as well with a dunk.  With the balance attack of Triple Threat, I have yet to see Kevon really go off.  It’s easy to tell he’s a pretty good scorer though.

CJ Gardner (2008, 5-10 PG)
CJ is a quick handling point guard who is tough to keep in front of you. He’ll often use his crossover move to get into the lane in a hurry. He hit a tough mid range jumper and added in a nice finish around the basket after contact as well. CJ doesn’t seem to have any big games on this squad, but he’s steady every time out. He would certainly benefit by showing that he can be more of a setup man. He’s a bit on the small side and would be able to score in the lane with more frequently if he added some weight.

Jason Burns (2008, 6-3 160 PG/SG)
Jason is another talented guard on this balanced Triple Threat attack. He has good size for a mid level guard, although he could get stronger. Jason played very well in transition on the weekend. He also showed a smooth mid range jump shot. 

Rodriquo Pegau (2008, 6-7 SF/PF)
Rodriquo is a skilled forward with a good all around game. He can finish around the hoop, including after contact. He’s an active rebounder on the inside. He hustles and runs the floor. Rodriquo also added a blocked shot and a couple nice passes. His shot wasn’t falling much, but he looked to have a pretty good stroke. Rodriquo is a solid ball handler, but isn’t going to get into the lane frequently off the bounce. He looks to be a high level mid major prospect or possibly a lower major level prospect right now.

Maurice Creek (2009, 6-3 185 SG)
Maurice is a very gifted perimeter shooter. With good size and a smooth stroke, he can light up the scoreboard quickly. Most of his damage was done on the perimeter in this event.

Brad Bald (2008, 6-7 185 SF/PF)
Brad only sees limited minutes for this team, but he is still able to produce. The skilled forward dropped in a nice left handed hook shot from the low block. He ran the floor too and scored in that fashion. One of the nice things about this team is they are so talented that they often blow opponents out and you get to see more of players like Brad than you normally would. 

Ernest Watson (2008, 6-7 SF)
Ernest is a player who really stands out physically. He has very long arms and is quite athletic. He was actually rather quiet for most of the weekend, taking a backseat to some of the other talented Triple Threat players. Ernest got everyone’s attention in a big way though. He had the best play I witnessed all weekend and maybe all year. Ernest snatched the ball out of the air with one hand and threw down a big time alley oop. If he’d make more plays like that people would really start to take notice. Unfortunately, he shot an air ball following that fantastic dunk.

DC Blue Devils

Frank Ben-Eze (2008, 6-10 PF/C)
Frank is among the most naturally gifted big men around.  Even though he’s raw right now, you can just envision him being a dominant post player down the road.  He was very active early on in the first game and the Blue Devils ran their offense through him.  He is very athletic, quick and has strong hands.  Frank is inconsistent scoring on the inside on the offensive end though.  His shot is soft, but he doesn’t have a good feel for how to convert from different spots on the court.  He’ll often come up a little short or long.  Frank is a monster on the boards and perhaps even better at blocking shots.  For those in the Philly area, he’s very similar to Michael Eric.  The biggest area of concern right now would be Frank’s shot selection.  As I mentioned above, he’s not a great offensive player, but there doesn’t seem to be a shot he won’t take.  His range is really limited to a few feet from the hoop yet he’ll often take shots from the mid range area or deeper.  Even if his offensive game never develops, Frank can still provide rebounding and shot blocking ability.  If he doesn’t learn a good shot from a bad shot, even those skills won’t help him get on the court.  It’ll be interesting to track his progression. 

Max Kenyi (2008, 6-4 175 SG/SF)
Max is a very athletic guard. Early on, he showed that off with a blocked shot. He also used his long arms to grab and steal and then he finished off the play with a dunk. Max does have a smooth shot, but I have still yet to see a game where he’s really on fire. He loves to shoot the mid range jump shot. He hit several of those throughout the day and he can step behind the arc as well. 

{mosImage}Austin Cooley (2008, 6-4 PG/SG)
Austin is a good size guard with some skills. He doesn’t have a super quick handle, but instead gets into the lane with long strides. He incorporated a nice behind the back dribbling move in one of his games and showed the ability to drive with his left hand as well. Austin is a pretty good athlete too as was evident on a dunk attempt after an offensive rebound. In the second viewing, Austin was very active on the boards. He didn’t shoot the ball often, opting instead to attack the hoop.  

Talib Zanna (2009, 6-9 PF)
Talib combines skill and athleticism to create match up problems for the opposition. Although he’ll battle inside, Talib is most comfortable playing towards the perimeter. He loves to attack off the dribble from the outside. He’s very aggressive on the boards. Talib also showed a good short left handed hook shot off of a spin move in the low block. Right now, he looks to be sort of in between being an interior player and a wing player. If he develops either of those areas, he could really turn into a fantastic player.

Jasper Williams (2008, 6-2 PG)
After a relatively quiet first viewing, Jasper came on strong in the second game for the Blue Devils. He hit several jumpers including a three point. He also stood in the lane and took a charge.

Temidayo Adebayo (2008, 7-0 C)
Temidayo is a long, athletic big man. He’s an active rebounder with a face up offensive game. He’s a decent finisher around the hoop. He can also handle the ball some. Temidayo blocked several shots as well. He’s still a bit raw, but has natural skills that just can’t be taught.

Donyell Marshall

Dane Miller (2009, 6-7 SF/PF)
Dane is a solid inside/outside combo forward. He used a quick spin move to score in the post. He also showed the ability to put the ball on the floor and he banked home a short jump shot. Dane has very good vision and is excellent at finding cutting teammates. He can also rebound the basketball. He’s a solid all around young player.

Rashon Tabb (2008, 6-0 175 PG)
Rashon is a fantastic scorer. He has a very beautiful jump shot with a quick release. His range extends beyond the three point line. Rashon can also get into the lane with a quick handle. He finishes well now, but his size could hurt him some in that area as he steps into the college ranks. He isn’t as good as his All American high school teammate Johnny Flynn was, but he can do a lot of similar things on the basketball court.

National Christian Academy

Wilbur O' Neal (2008, 6-7 220 PF)
Wilbur is a physical forward who loves to bang inside the paint. He has very good hands and looked significantly stronger than I recall from last year’s viewing. He hit a nice short jump hook shot and was active on the boards as well. This tough interior player also added in an explosive drive to the bucket off the dribble. He attempted and missed a deep jumper as well. Although he’s a bit undersized in the post, he makes up for it by really out muscling and outworking the opposition. 

Playaz

Brian Oliver (2009, 6-6 210 SF)
It seems like anytime I question a portion of someone’s game, they show that they are capable of doing exactly what I ask of them. I was watching another game that was going on at the time, but every moment I glanced over it seemed like Brian was shooting from behind the arc. In my limited views of his games, I’ve seen him perform very well in that area, but do little else. On this day his shot actually wasn’t fall. Right after I made a comment about him not driving to the hoop, Brian went on the attack. He put the ball on the floor and either finished strong or got fouled. Brian doesn’t possess an explosive handler, but is solid in that department. He also has the body to score around the hoop if he so chooses. Like a good three pointer shooter does, Brian also kept firing away from deep. He was fouled after hitting a huge three pointer from deep late in the contest. There’s always room on any level throughout on the division one ranks for someone with Brian’s size and three point shooting ability. If he can also prove that he can consistently drive to the basket, even more offers will pile up for this young talent.

U-Turn Warriors

Andre Williamson (2008, 6-7 PF)
I wasn’t specifically watching Andre’s game, but it seemed like every time I would turn in that direction he’d block another shot. The athletic big man was a monster on the defensive end. I didn’t watch closely enough to see how he played on the offensive side of things though.

Tennessee Mavericks

Philip Jurick (2008, 6-11 C) Committed to Tennessee
Philip is one of the more skilled big men I’ve seen around lately. I wasn’t watching his game until he caught my attention when he rattled the basket on a dunk attempt. The Mavericks run most of their sets through him and I quickly saw why. He has good hands, soft touch and is pretty athletic. Philip is also a very good inside to outside passer who finds open men as he commands double teams. He rebounds well and keeps the ball high, allowing him to shoot quickly or pass over the defense. He is a good back to the basket player who hit several impressive turnaround jumpers. He gets positioning rather easily. While strength wasn’t an issue against the players he was facing, he’d definitely benefit by hitting the weight room before getting to college. Philip does play mostly in the post, but also has the ability to step outside. He put the ball on the floor on one occasion, absorbed contact and knocked down a tough mid range jumper. He didn’t always look like he was running up and down the court hard. Philip looks to be a very solid high major pickup. 

Fairfax Stars

Khaleel Headley (2007, 6-5 SF)
Khaleel showed he can score the ball. He has good size for his position. He opened with a deep jumper just inside the three point line. He knocked down several jumpers, but also missed badly on one attempt. He buried a tough banked mid range in this contest. Khaleel’s form could use some improvement. He is also quick off the bounce and can get into the lane using long strides. Khaleel also needs to learn to take better shots.

3D 16s

Matt Rum (2009, 6-2 SG)
Matt’s ability to shoot the ball really stood out. The young guard converted on a number of three point attempts. He is also capable of putting the ball on the floor to get into the mid range area. He has no problem hitting from that part of the court either. On one play, he knocked down a fade away jumper after a beautiful spin move. Matt handles the ball well enough to get by the first defender, but isn’t quick enough to consistently get into the paint off the dribble. He also hustles and runs the floor well.