Vanderbilt Showcase: The SEC

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This is the first of the reviews from the Vanderbilt
showcase. Today we will tackle the SEC, which consisted of four teams; Tennessee (1-10), Mississippi
State (11-20), Florida (21-30) and Vanderbilt (31-40).

 

Tennessee 1-10 (Orange)

 

1. Donteal Wright (Summertown)
5'7 PG 2010

Has good handles and plays hard on the defensive side of the
floor. He can take the ball to the hoop but as a point will need to make better
decisions with the ball.

 

2. Britt Headden (Franklin Classical) 6'2
WF 2012

Youngster has good length and is not afraid on the court. As
with most his age will grow with strength and confidence. Can score but must
play faster to compete with stronger athletes.

 

3. Christian Little
(McGavock) 6'3 SG 2010

Smooth operator has good lift on his jumper and explosive
hops on the break. Playing with a great deal of confidence and seems primed for
a very good senior campaign. Improving his handles and adding some mid-range
pull-ups will make him dangerous for the next level.

 

4. Devonte Brooks
(McGavock) 5'8 PG 2010

Controls the ball from his point guard spot and is a capable
scorer. He must learn a good from a bad shot and as a lead guard make better
decisions with the ball and with his shot.

 

6. Braxton Bonds
(CPA) 5'2 PG 2014

One of the objectives of having the younger players is to
see their reaction against the older, stronger boys. This one never gave in; he
made some shots from the outside, had some sweet dimes and never showed an
ounce of fear. He has off the charts basketball IQ for his age and will be
deadly when his size and strength finally come through.

 

7. Trey McPherson (Macon County)
5'7 PG 2013

Has a decent outside shot and attempted to go the bucket but
was thwarted by the bigger sized inside players. We love the fact he did not
seem intimidated and gave maximum effort while he was on the court. Strength is
an issue as with most this age.

 

8. Christian Haile
(Shelbyville) 6'1 WF 2012

Has improved the form and lift on his jump shot
dramatically. He is still a very capable defender with his length and effort
but still needs to work on his ball-handling skills to make the move to the two
guard in the future. Crashed the boards hard for numerous easy put backs.

 

10. Ethan Hurt
(Harpeth) 6'0 SG 2013

Youngster ran the court well and gave effort on the
defensive end yet still lacks confidence, understandable as he has never played
in a high school game. He never backed down from the physicality of the older
players and that speaks volumes.

 

 

Mississippi State 11-20 (Maroon)

 

11. Darius Rhodes (Oakland) 5'9 PG 2010

Small guard has good vision, understands the game and plays
unselfish from the lead guard spot. Well schooled on the post entry and cuts
well after making the pass. He tends to make the fancy pass when the easy one
would suffice.

 

12. Eli Matthews
(Summertown) 5'9 SG 2011

He was constant motion and a bundle of energy as he ran all
over the court on the both ends of the floor, knocking down the outside shot
when he was open. Improving his game off the bounce and finding more ways to score
makes him more dangerous.

 

14. JuJuan Williams (Knoxville West) 6'4 WF
2011

He has all the tools when he comes to play on a consistent
basis. He can stroke the deep shot, has incredible rise and can handle. His
reaction to adversity will be a huge factor on his continued development. He's
heading in the right direction.

 

15. Hunter Daniels (Rhea County)
6'5 C 2011

A solid inside player who can board and score in the low
post and has good hands. He will need to refine a go to move to offset the more
athletic defenders that seemed to give him some trouble at times. His effort
was good. Foot work needs improvement.

 

16. Barry Mayes (Marshall County) 5'6 PG 2013

Came in and did a good job of controlling tempo, a trait
rare for his age group. His outside shot was adequate but needs some mechanical
tweaking. As his confidence grows so will his offensive game, which is limited
to the outside shot right now.

 

17. Amol Kaushal
(MBA) 5'11 SG 2013

Played with a nice tempo and found ways to score. He will
need to work on his footwork and lateral speed but his game has an under
control quality and he is a surprisingly good passer from the wing.

 

18. Odgra Bobo (Liberty Tech) 6'0 SG 2011

Has above average athletic skills and can run and jump all
day long. He tended to force the issue on many occasions instead of letting the
game come to him and allowing him to use his natural gifts.

 

19. Aaron Wheeler (Morristown East) 6'2 SG
2012

Must improve his foot speed yet he found numerous creative
ways to score. Decent size and a very capable passer from the high post, his confidence
level will allow him to continue to improve and become a good player on the
high school level.

 

20. Logan
Ramsey (Livingston
Academy) 6'8 C 2012

Much improved inside scorer and rebounder. Still lacking
strength but has gotten stronger which was evident on some tough finishes
through some unsuspecting defenders. Ran the floor well and gave a sound
post-up target for his guards.

 

 

Florida 21-30 (Black)

 

22. Chase Argo (Lancaster Christian) 5'11
SG 2011

He played much better during the controlled games which are
standard for players who prefer the half-court set. He also showed a capable
outside shot that just needs to be released much quicker and improve his foot
work that will help his defensive game immensely.

 

23. James Cox (Brentwood) 6'2 SG 2011

Good size allows him to have numerous avenues to score the
ball. He can score from the perimeter and has a decent floater in the lane; he
also has a knack for grabbing offensive boards and converting. Improving his
defensive effort makes him that much more attractive to coaches.

 

24. Isaac Harris
(FCA) 6'2 WF 2012

Rising sophomore showed great vision when driving to the
hoop and found ways to put the ball in the basket. He has a very capable
outside shot and his length allows him to be very active on the defensive end.

 

25. Andre Brown (Clarksville Northwest)
6'5 WF 2011

This long talent has all the tools to be a major player on
the next level. He can stroke from deep and with his lefty gait can score off
the dribble and is relentless on the glass, getting bunches of put backs on the
offensive end. He played down to the competition early but some positive
encouragement made him realize he should take no prisons.

 

26. Connor Brandon
(Wilson Central) 5'8 PG 2012

If there was a better three point shooter in the event then I
missed it because this little dude was lighting things on fire. Every shot was
on point as he moved around the perimeter finding the open spot and earned the
confidence of his teammates to give him the shot. As he adds strength and more
to his offensive arsenal he could be a specialist.

 

27. Mariel Nicholson
(Marshall County) 5'10 WF 2013

Incoming freshman showed no signs of fear and made the most
of his minutes on the floor. He has good vision when on the wing looking for
opportunistic cutters and has the ability to score when needed.

 

28. Trey Wallace (Hendersonville) 5'8 PG
2013

Very quick and showed absolutely no fear as he took most of
his defenders off the dribble but lacked the size to make the play he had in
mind. He had the right idea in mind but his lack of physical size kept him from
making the play. Decision making will need to improve from the lead guard spot,
which shouldn't be an issue as he gets stronger.

 

29. Kiont Jones
(Spring Hill) 6'1 SG 2012

Impressed right off the bat by taking one of the few charges
we saw the entire day. Defense is his forte and he takes his challenge
seriously. Offensively he showed some good passing skills and as he gains
confidence will look to score more.

 

30. Ben Wankel (Smyrna) 6'7 C 2012

We did not get to see much of him as he injured his ankle
early and had to ice it from the sidelines. He had good size but will need to
get in better basketball shape to be more effective.

 

 

Vanderbilt 31-40
(Gold)

 

31. Bre Hughes (Hillsboro) 5'10 PG 2011

A tough point guard with a stout build who has a desire to
make the players around him better. Has the ability to score from mid-range but
must become a more potent offensive weapon off the dribble. Often makes things
too difficult when the more obvious pass or shot would suffice.

 

32. Cody Ruehlen (Cannon County)
6'1 SG 2011

Good shooter who seemed more comfortable in the half-court
games when the ball was moving around the perimeter and the tempo was slower.
Plays with an aggressive style and does not give up on plays.

 

33. Justin Perry
(Overton) 6'3 SG 2011

Very proud of the way Justin played on Saturday. He showed
he could be a major factor in a game without scoring a basket which he did with
a bundle of assists. He shot the ball well in all the games and used his length
and smooth game to shine in the half court sets.

 

34. Domineek Deveaux
(West Creek) WF 2010

Rising senior was in his element when the game was at a
turbo tempo using his athletic skills and size to convert buckets. He ran the
floor with abandon and often scored using his length to create opportunities.
He was more subdued in the half court offense unsure of his role in the
offense.  

 

35. Seth Jarrell
(Shelbyville) 6'5 C 2011

He has made major strides improving his strength and confidence
on the interior with some bruising scores and tough out of his area caroms. Very
good hands allow him to make tough catches and finish on bad entry possessions
also added a nice mid-range shot to his burgeoning offensive arsenal.

 

36. Nilan Hodge (USN)
5'11 PG 2012

Played very hard on the defensive end of the floor and
showed a much improved offensive attack from the outside and the interior. He
finished at the rim with both hands but tended to drift slightly on his jump
shot. Adding more lead guard skills will help him grow in the future.

 

37. Joshua Erickson
(DCA) 5'9 PG 2012

Very impressed with the array of things this youngster
brought to the table. He displayed very good vision, played unselfish, was very
quick and defended with abandon. He liked to make the fancy pass but had a few
too many turnovers with careless ball-handling.

 

39. Sam Curtis (Summertown)
6'4 PF 2012

Good sized youngster was a bit overwhelmed with the speed of
the game but had some moments in the controlled games that flashed some
potential. He has good physical strength yet just lacks confidence which is
natural for his age group.