Here is more from my night at the Barclay's Center watching the Jordan Brand Classic regional and national games. (sorry this got delayed but my internet was out yesterday)
Regional Game: This was by far the most talent ever in this game. They had many players from beyond the tri-state area and cast a wider net to find the talent selected. There were players from various parts of the east coast including, all over New England, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and DC. Almost every player in the game was committed to a High Major D1 program. Schools represented by recruits were: Louisville, Syracuse, Notre Dame, UConn, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Villanova, Florida State, Wake Forest, Cal, UNLV, Temple, Hofstra and Sacred Heart.
The co MVPS of the game were high school backcourt teammates from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire (Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Adams). Mitchell, headed to Louisville, was very dominant. He is a very athletic and physically strong guard who can get to the rim or shoot the three. He finished the game with 30 points and 9 steals. His skillset will be a perfect match for Pitino's brand of intense defense and transition offense. Adams had 27 points and 5 assists. He is headed to UConn. He is an extremely quick guard who blows by people off the dribble and pulls up and shoots the three very well. He will be another in a long line of top UConn guards. Although he did not receive an MVP award Terrance Mann (Florida State) was a total standout. At 6' 5" he dominated bigger players and finished the game with 20 points on (10 of 14 shooting), a game high 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Another player who was outstanding was Donte Divincenzo (Villanova). He had 27 points and 9 rebounds. He is a prototypical Jay Wright player. A 6' 4" guard who sees the floor well, plays with intensity, can shoot or get to the rim. He should have a great career at Nova.
Others who distinguished themselves in the regional game include: Derrick Jones (UNLV) 18 points 10 rebounds, Matt Ryan (Notre Dame) 15 points 7 rebounds 4 assists, Jessie Govan (Georgetown) 10 points 7 rebounds, Davon Dillard (Cal) 18 points 4 assists, Steven Enoch UConn 15 points 9 rebounds and Tyler Lydon (Syracuse) 13 points on 6 for 6 from the field and 6 rebounds.
The National Game:
As mentioned previously Cheick Diallo had a big night. He was named Co-MVP and had 26 points, 11 rebounds and a block in just twenty minutes of court time. It should be noted that Diallo seemed to have a great court chemistry with Isaiah Briscoe. You could tell that they really enjoyed playing together and knew each others games well. Hopefully this will not overly influence Mr. Diallo to join Mr. Briscoe in Kentucky instead of coming to Queens.
In regards to Isaiah Briscoe it is clear to me that he is a special talent. He is very, very quick, has good court vision and fills the role of a facilitator well. When the game came down to crunch time he (spurred on by a raucous home crowd that went nuts every time he touched the ball) took over the game. He wound up with 22 points (most of which came in the last seven minutes of the game) and 6 assists. He is very quick getting to the hole and can shoot the three, although his outside shot seemed inconsistent to me. That being said I am sure he will be a significant contributor at Kentucky.
The other Co-MVP was Allonzo Trier. He is 6' 4" guard who is going to Arizona and is a real scoring machine. He scored from inside and outside and consistently drew fouls from frustrated defenders. He wound up with 28 points on 8 for 10 from the field in just 19 minutes. He is another great addition for Sean Miller.
Skal Labissiere is 6' 10" tall and will be going to Kentucky. He is a really fluid natural athlete and seems to do things effortlessly. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 19 minutes. I thought he was the best big man in either game. He should fit right in with Calipari's machine of elite big men in Lexington.
Ivan Rabb was another really talented big man. He is 6' 10" and is currently undecided as to where he will play college ball, He is very athletic, quick and skilled both offensively and defensively. He wound up with 14 points and 12 rebounds in 23 minutes.
Tyler Dorsey is a 6' 4" guard who is an elite scorer that is going to Oregon. He can shoot it from the outside or get to the rim. He has an advanced offensive game. He wound up scoring 15 points in just 16 minutes of play, going 7 for 11 from the floor.
Although last year's National game probably had better top players like Okafor, Towns and Mudiay there was still plenty of great players to see Friday.It was a really fun night. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how this class develops in college over the next few seasons.[/quote
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What a thoughtful effort on behalf of your fellow posters Ghost!
