Ferg Myrick

Tuesday night I again traveled over to Conshoken to watch more Donofrio Classic games.  On this night, the second round of games began with a pair of quality games.

In the first game the I3 All Stars competed against Hunting Park I, which had a bye in the first round.  Turns out the bye did not help all that much as the I3 All Stars came out with the win in a tight contest.  Final score: I3 All Stars 82, Hunting Park I 77.

The second game was definitely not as close as the first.   Destefano Electric was coming off a strong performance defeating the Sonny Hill Sophomore’s in the first round, but Positive Image I proved to be too much for them.

The game was close up until the second half when Positive image began to pull away, behind the play of Ivory Wells and future Marist Red Fox Sam Prescott.  Destefano Electric never recovered and ended up losing the game 96-86.

The following are player evaluations from these two contests.

Hunting Park I

Ferguson Myrick (2009, 6-5 SF)
With a lot of talent on the floor Ferg probably played the best of anyone.  His defense was outstanding against Khalif Wyatt and he led all scorers with 30 points.  On defense he blocked a shot and made a couple steals.  Ferg was able to score in a couple different ways.  He knocked down at least 3 shots from behind the arc and was able to score attacking off the dribble or from the post.  Two of his 3 pointers were shot right in the defenders face.  On one of Ferg’s more impressive moves of the night he drove right, and then spun back left between two defenders before hitting the layup off the glass.  Ferg also really got after it on the glass, pulling down 13 rebounds.  There were a few times where Ferg had trouble converting in traffic and he missed 3 point shots at the halftime buzzer and a potential game tying shot with only seconds remaining.  Overall though, this was a very strong performance for Ferg.  

Koron Reed (2009, 6-6 SF/PF)
Koron was an absolute beast on the boards, as he pulled down 19 of them. Besides free throws, all of Koron’s points were scored right around the hoop.  Most of his points were either dunks or layups, but he did hit a short bank shot coming right out of a spin move.  This game really put Koron’s athleticism on full display.  His leaping ability allowed him to block shots, rebound over the opposition and throw down crowd-pleasing dunks.  On his most impressive play of the night, he plucked a teammates miss out of the air, just below the rim, and proceeded to bring it back up and threw down a two hand slam before he hit the ground.  Koron scored 18 points to go along with his 19 rebounds.

I3 All Stars

Khalif Wyatt (2009, 6-2 PG'SG) committed to Temple
This was one of the first times I have seen Khalif struggle against single coverage as Ferg Myrick really gave him some trouble.  Khalif struggled with his perimeter game but he distributed the ball well and made some difficult shots around the hoop.  He finished with 16 points for the game.

Jaylen Bond (2011, 6-7 SF/PF)
Jaylen produced some big time numbers in this game with 21 points and an extremely impressive 18 rebounds.  On a couple occasions Jaylen really got to show off his athleticism by throwing down thunderous dunks out on fast breaks.  Again most of Jaylen’s points came from around the hoop and he did a great job grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring on the put backs.  However in order for him to reach his full potential he is definitely needs to improve his jump shot and perimeter skills.

Rakeem Brookins (2010, 5-11 PG/SG)
Rakeem shot the ball well in this game and scored 15 points without firing up too many shots.  As usual his midrange pull up game was working for him and he was able to hit from out around the 3 point line.  Rakeem also hit a running jumper in the lane and made a couple beautiful no look passes.

Positive Image

Sam Prescott (2009, 6-3 SG) committed to Marist
Sam put together a great performance and really fueled his team’s victory along with Ivory Wells’ shooting.  Sam was able to score out on the break and attacking the hoop.  He can really finish in traffic and is an explosive athlete.  Sam demonstrated this athleticism with a pair of rim rocking dunks after getting out ahead of the pack on fast breaks.  What set this game apart from some of the other times I have seen him was his perimeter shooting.  Sam looked confident shooting the ball and hit 3 shots from beyond he arc.  Defensively he applied a lot of pressure and forced turnovers.  Sam was already a very nice pickup for Marist but if he can knock down his perimeter shots like he did Tuesday, then he has a chance to be real special.

Ivory Wells (2009, 6-4 SG/SF)
Ivory put on quite the shooting display in this one, as he hit at least 6 shots from behind the arc and did not miss many.  His shooting really took the wind out of the sails of Destefano Electric.