NCAA 2017-2018 – The Young Veteran

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 14 & 15 – Saturday Doubleheader

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 14 & 15

Saturday Doubleheader

March 2 – Game 1 – New Hampshire vs UMBC

So, I was fortunate enough to get to sleep in before my big day of basketball. I slept until 10:30 or so. Now granted this was after I had already been woken up by my kids countless times, but the wife got up with them this time! My morning was pretty basic. I had some coffee, cinnamon toast crunch and a shower before I left for UMBC around 12:30. Tip-off was at 1 p.m. I arrived literally during player introductions. I am getting pretty good at timing things. Or so I think. See what happens later…..

This game was the last placed team in the America East, which is New Hampshire; against UMBC, who is battling for third place. UMBC was struggling all game long. A couple of journalists that were sitting next to me were expecting a 15-0 patented UMBC run. Well, they sure took their time to do so. New Hampshire went scoreless for like eight minutes mid way into the second half, to about the two minute mark. UMBC was down by as much as 18 at one point. Brandon Horvath, a slender 6’10 200 forward, led the charge. Horvath 13 points and made nine free throws to close the gap. The game was capped off by Jose Placer. Placer hit a game winning three with just 2.4 seconds left. Before that UMBC was 2-19 from three. During this span UMBC pressured New Hampshire and they had no answer. They turned the ball over 20 times and struggled to get into their offense. New Hampshire is a young squad and it showed. Leading the way for them was point guard Marque Maultsby. Maultsby had 15 points, four steals and four turnovers. Senior guard Jordan Reed had 10 points, five rebounds and three turnovers.

UMBC escaped in this one. They have been battling injuries all year, but the consistent senior Joe Sherburne was once again the main constant. Sherburne finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.

After the game, I left as soon as I could. Of course it was raining. I believe it has during every trip to UMBC this year. I rushed home so I could eat some of the wife’s loaded bake potato soup. I had to pick up some sourdough bread on the way home. I stopped by Panera Bread and they were fresh out, so I went to Food Lion, which is closer to where I live. Objective complete. I got home and watched some of the UCF vs Houston game I had recorded. Then I ate some soup while watching some Kid’s Baking Championship with the family. I watched more of the UCF vs Houston game, then departed around 6:15 for the nightcap at Loyola MD.

Game 2 – Lehigh vs Loyola MD

So, I thought I would have plenty of time to get to this game. Remember earlier in the day I was thinking man I’m good at this timing thing…… Wrong. Loyola is located in the middle of Baltimore city. There is no easy way of getting there. Waze, my gps friend, took me right through the middle of downtown. I was supposed to arrive at 6:57 for the 7 p.m. tip. Well, I did arrive around that time. I had to park, then go to will call to pick up my credential. Needless to say, I walked in 25 seconds after the tip off. Objective not complete.

Lehigh came into the game looking to end the season tied at the top of the Patriot League standings. Loyola was trying to finish top eight. Well, Loyola played extremely well on senior night. They controlled the game from the start and won by a final of 92-73.

Lehigh was led by their normal trio of guards. The two seniors, Kyle Leufroy and Lance Tejada, combined for 30 points. Leufroy is a steady shooting guard that has the ability to play some point in small doses. He has a solid three-point jumper and is a good mid range shooter as well. Tejada likes to use his quickness to blow by defenders and cause chaos in the lane. He also has the ability to shoot from three. Junior point guard Jordan Cohen displayed his great vision all night. He is a knockdown shooter as well. Cohen finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Lehigh has a solid trio on the perimeter. They just lack overall size as a team. However, big man Nic Lynch did provide solid minutes in the paint. He had 13 points, twelve rebounds and three blocks.

For Loyola they also excel in guard play. Freshman Jaylin Andrews exploded for 21 points and hit five three-pointers. He will be a player to keep an eye on. He has good size and length at 6’4 for a shooting guard. Point guard Isaiah Hart delivered 18 points and seven assists. Hart cut his turnovers down this season and is going to be a factor for Loyola the next couple of years. The consistent Andrew Kostecka chipped in 19 points. Kostecka seems to shoot better with a hand in his face. Some guys are just like that. He is also a pest on defense. He uses his quickness and anticipation to disrupt passing lanes and ball handlers regularly.

Once the game was over I ran out a soon as possible. I went home and my kids were already put in bed. I got home around 9:45p.m. My kids keep waking up super early on the weekends, like 7 a.m. This is earlier than they wake up for school. Maybe we should let them stay up super late on the weekends…. Nah, sounds too risky. The rest of my night consisted of some IPA’s, leftover Chinese food, “Friends”, “This Is Us” t.v. show, finishing the UCF vs Houston game, watching some of the Saint Mary’s vs Gonzaga game and a little bit of the UFC fights. So, yeah I didn’t go to sleep until 2:30 a.m.!

Senior Pro Prospects and Portsmouth Reports 2017-2018

The 2017-2018 college basketball has finished. We have completed 112 scouting reports for college seniors from Division 1,2,3 and NAIA. We also have a recap of the Portsmouth Invitational. This includes a report about all 64 players that were in attendance.

The fee’s are as follows. They are all in US dollars.

75$ for the senior scouting reports

75$ for the Portsmouth reports

125$ for all of the reports

If you’re interested a link to my PayPal is included. Or we can use Venmo or the Cash app. Please send me an email to thewall24hrs@yahoo.com to confirm and get more info from each other.

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Haas and Mathias Fuel Boilermakers to Win over Terps

College Park, MD – Seniors Isaac Haas and Dakota Mathias combined for 41 points, as Pudue (7-2, 1-0) opened up Big Ten play with an impressive win at Maryland (6-3, 0-1), 80-75. Mathias (6’4 200 Senior Shooting Guard) shined in the first half scoring 18 of his 20 points, while shooting a perfect seven for seven from the field, including four three-pointers. In the second half the giant Isaac Haas (7’2 290 Senior Center) took over. Haas had several key baskets in the paint and was just too much for Maryland to overcome late. Maryland did have a shot to tie with 14 second left, but Jared Nickens’ shot was just short to tie the game at 78.

P.J. Thompson (5’10 185 Senior Point Guard) then closed the game with two free throws. Amazingly Purdue received zero points from its bench in the game. With that said their senior laden lineup was more than enough.

Purdue proved to be the more experienced and better overall team tonight. Every time Maryland cut the lead Purdue would answer back with a run. That is a sign of composure and veteran leadership. Mathias showed his overall skills tonight. In the first half he showed his ability to score from deep. In the second half he was not a factor in scoring the ball, but he made sure to set his teammates up since Maryland was all over him. Mathias would use pump fakes to get defenders closing out on him to fly by and then he would penetrate and kick out to open shooters. He also showed his ability to defend. He was matched up on Kevin Huerter a lot and really limited his attempts and looks at the basket.

Although Huerter had a solid night Mathias was right there on him. Mathias finished with 20 points, four three-pointers, five rebounds and nine assists. The other large factor was Isaac Haas. When Haas received the ball in the post it was game over. His massive size and strength allowed him to get great position all night. He has a very dependable right hand hook and has surprisingly soft touch for a man his size. At one point Haas even made a turn around fade away jumper from about twelve feet. Haas is so large that it is tough for him to stay out of foul trouble at times. He managed to do so tonight only having two fouls and registering four blocked shots. Haas finished with 21 points, on 10 of 13 shooting, with five rebounds and four blocks.

The other starters for Purdue that contributed were NBA prospects Carsen Edwards (6’1 200 Sophomore Point Guard) and Vince Edwards (6’8 225 Senior Small Forward). Carsen is Purdue’s lightning rod on offense. He can get hot and fill it up in a hurry. He has a smooth jumper and a very quick release that allows him to get his shot off over bigger defenders. Carsen finished with 18 points and six rebounds. Vince is a solid overall player. He plays with a high basketball IQ on both ends of the floor. He can drive the lane or even step out and make an open three. On defense he has the versatility to guard players in the back court or the front court. Vince finished with ten points, eleven rebounds and four assists.

The other lone starter P.J. Thompson had eleven points and four rebounds.

For Maryland Anthony Cowan (6’0 170 Sophomore Point Guard) and Kevin Huerter (6’7 190 Sophomore Shooting Guard) did all they could to keep Maryland within striking distance. Cowan has continued to do his part to lead the young Terps from the point guard position. Cowan hit several big three’s including a four point play late in the game to draw closer, eventually letting Maryland have a shot to tie late. Cowan had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and zero turnovers. Huerter impacted the game on both ends. He plays tough defense and has become more aggressive on the offensive end recently. Huerter is starting to develop into a leader for the young Terps and it shows with his confidence recently. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Two players that really struggled in the game were NBA prospect Justin Jackson (6’7 225 Sophomore Forward) and Darryl Morsell (6’4 205 Freshman Shooting Guard). Jackson has struggled with his three-point shot all season. He seems to be pressing. He is either too passive or he forces the issue. With the passers he has on his team he will continue to get open looks and should eventually break out of his slump. While Jackson is struggling on offense he still makes an impact on defense as well as rebounding. He finished with five points, on 1 of 8 shooting, eight rebounds and four assists. Morsell had his worst shooting night of his young career. Purdue coach Matt Painter said in the post game press conference they were ok with slacking off some on the perimeter on Morsell to help in other places. This worked out just fine as he shot 3 of 16 on the night and 0 of 4 from three. Morsell had plenty of open looks, but also forced the issue in the lane quite often. These decisions led to blocks or ill-advised shots to end possessions. Morsell finished with nine points and three rebounds.

Highly touted big man Bruno Fernando had twelve points and seven rebounds. He struggled defending big man Isaac Haas at times, giving him too deep of position.

Next in Line

For Pudue – Home vs Northwestern Sunday

For Maryland – At Illinois Sunday

Cowan Leads His Terps Past Butler

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).

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