Tag: NBA Scouts

The Life of a Freelance Scout

The Life of a Freelance Scout- Game 8

Seton Hall vs Maryland

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 8

 

December 22 – Seton Hall vs Maryland

 I left my house around 3:30 for a 5:30 tip-off. My morning consisted of waking up at 6:30 on a Saturday…. Already not ideal. The flooring company came to put in our new lvt flooring in the basement and hardwood in the living room. I was not fully prepared. I was unaware that I would have to pull-up all my surround sound wiring in my man cave in the basement. I was not too happy. I still have not set that back up haha. So, hopefully this toilet flooding fiasco is behind us now. I’m sure you will be happy if there’s no more updates on that front. During this time frame I dropped off some Christmas stocking donations that my wife was able to fundraise through her job and give them to Sarah’s House, which is a homeless mission that helps house the unfortunate. I also watched the Goonies with the wife and kids and made a last second run to McDonald’s. Pretty interesting Saturday overall.

 I arrived at the game around 4:45 or so. Traffic wasn’t too bad. Weird timing for a Saturday game, but I guess since it was close to the holidays it made some sense. I was hoping for a solid meal, but ended up eating some chips and salsa. Which is fine….. Once again can’t complain about free food.

 

The game was pretty competitive. It was back and forth most of the time. Maryland led by 4 at half, 34-30. In the second half Seton Hall dropped 48, on a Maryland squad that seemed to pride itself on defense. The final was 78-74 Seton Hall with a big W. Myles Powell for Hall is a legit problem. His isolation game is at a different level than any player on the court. He has an explosive burst to him, a deadly crossover dribble to keep defenders off balance. Once he gets by the defender he draws a lot of contact and can finish through it. He gets to the foul line over 6 times a game and currently shoots 87%. That’s a winning formula right there. The other bright spot for the pirates was Myles Cale. Cale was very good. He went off for 23 points and was 3-4 from three-point land. He was very aggressive. He has a strong build at 6’6 210. He can spot up or take the ball to the basket. Has some length that allows him to get his shot off against taller interior defenders. Between the two of them they scored 50 points and went 16-16 from the foul line…… Once again that is a winning formula.

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Maryland was led by its two big fellas, Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith. Fernando scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half. Seton Hall did a good job blitzing him with double teams in the second half forcing him to pass. Fernando is still developing his feel on offense when it comes to passing out of double teams. He has made some strides recently. Smith had 14 points and 8 rebounds on the day. Smith just doesn’t get involved enough. The guards for the Terps need to take advantage of these two big men. Both are future NBA bigs and it would be a shame to waste that talent. Fernando and Smith should be touching the ball every possession, but that is definitely not the case.

 

I was sitting next to an Eastern Conference NBA scout during the game. We chatted about the lack of “identity” on Maryland’s part on offense. How they avoid using their big men to their advantage. I told him that they don’t always play on the court at the same time as well. He was pretty dumbfounded by that. Especially since Fernando and Smith compliment each other well. Fernando is a force in the post and Smith has the ability to hit an occasional three-pointer. We both agreed that basketball is a simple game, yet it seems players, coaches and whoever else seem to complicate things that are very straight forward. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS. DO WHAT YOU DO WELL. DON’T PLAY THE WAY YOU OPPONENT PLAYS.

 

SIDE NOTE – During halftime of the game I was watching the Redskins and Titans game. It was a huge game for both teams who were trying to stay in playoff contention. Of course the Redskins threw a late pick and ended their chances. I am a Ravens fan so I was rooting for the Titans to lose to help us out. Not so fast. Blaine Gabbert to the rescue for an injured Marcus Mariota.

 

I left the Maryland game a few minutes early to get home to see the Ravens play the Chargers at 8:20. Nothing like Saturday night football around the Holidays. I sped down I-295 as fast as legally possible! Yeah it’s possible to legally speed. Around Maryland/DC anything within 7mph over the speed limit is acceptable. Any more than that and you are playing with fire (everyone does on the Baltimore/DC beltway). I was excited, my wife Kelly was making buffalo chicken dip. I called her on the way home and little did I know we were out of buffalo sauce and had no chips…… So, I had to stop at Food Lion on the way home. It was worth it as the Ravens smashed the Chargers. Phillip Rivers is the most entertaining QB of all-time. His reactions to every penalty or lack thereof is just great entertainment. God bless his wife as she is pregnant with their 9th child! The Ravens now sit in the driver seat to make the playoffs and win the AFC North over their rival the Steelers. 

Cowan Leads His Terps Past Butler

Cowan Leads His Terps Past Butler

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College Park, MD – Anthony Cowan made sure everyone realizes this is now his team with Melo Trimble gone. Cowan led the Terps (3-0) to a 79-65 win over a scrappy Butler (2-1) team. This game was part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which is a series of games between the Big Ten and Big East teams.

 

Cowan (6’0 170) a super quick sophomore point guard, has some pretty big shoes to fill with Melo Trimble moving on to the pro’s. So far Cowan is delivering in impressive fashion averaging 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He has an ability to get into the paint and draw contact at a high rate. Cowan was 12-15 from the free throw line on the night. When he wasn’t setting the offense or setting up his teammates he was chasing down loose ball rebounds or flying through the air to coral misses off the rim. Cowan impacted the game on three levels, offense, defense and rebounding. These are all quantifiable qualities a team leader can exemplify. His final stat line was 25 points, ten rebounds, five assists, two steals and only one turnover.

The two other players that provided Maryland with a spark were its two coveted freshman, Darryl Morsell (6’4 205) and Bruno Fernando (6’10 245).

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Fernando is a ball of energy. Whether its diving on the floor for a lose ball, or challenging shots at the rim, he is someone his teammates feed off of for sure. Fernando has the physique of a pro already. He has great length and is built like a much more physically mature player, despite being just 19 years old. Fernando finished with eight points, four rebounds and one block in 20 minutes. Morsell impacted the game on defense more than any other player on the court. For much of the night when he was on the floor, he was matched up against NBA prospect and senior Kelan Martin (6’7 220). Morsell is a very physical player. He does not back down from anyone and plays with an edge that has been lacking for Maryland teams under coach Mark Turgeon. Morsell pressured the preseason all Big East player, on and off ball. At one point he pick pocketed the normally sure handed senior and took it the other way for a big two handed slam. On offense Morsell showed toughness as well. He is a very physical driver in the lane and also has the ability to hit the mid range jumper. Morsell had 13 points, two assists, two blocks and one big steal on the night.

 

For Butler the game did not quite go as planned. They struggled to take advantage of Maryland’s 20 turnovers. Butler seemed out of sync at times on offense and lost focus on defense several times. Although prized senior forward Martin struggled, there were a couple of bright spots for Butler. Kamar Baldwin (6’1 170), a sophomore point guard, was a nuisance on defense and took what the Terps gave him on offense. Baldwin is a tough guard one vs. one on the perimeter. He uses his quick first step and solid body control to penetrate to create scoring opportunities for his teammates and himself. Kamar only ended up going 6-21 from the field, but he showed promise for what he can bring to the table for the rest of the year for Butler. Kamar had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. The leading scorer for the Bulldogs was sophomore, shooting guard Sean McDermott (6’6 190). McDermott is a three-point specialist and has the length to get his shot off with hands in his face. McDermott has a smooth stroke and seems to find open spaces on the floor with regularity. He finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three three-pointers. Kelan Martin had twelve points and six rebounds in the contest.

 

There were many NBA scouts in attendance for this game. Most were probably interested in watching Justin Jackson (6’7 225) and fellow sophomore Kevin Huerter (6’7 190) for Maryland. Jackson struggled on offense, finishing with just four points. However, he did have eleven rebounds and played solid defense. Huerter struggled as well scoring just nine points and turning the ball over five times. Although it was not his best offensive game he still found a way to make an impact with five assists, seven rebounds and played solid defense.

 

Next up for Butler is Furman on Saturday

 

Next up for Maryland is Bucknell on Saturday