Tag: Seton Hall Basketball

Portsmouth Invitational Day 1 Notes

Day 1 Notes From The Portsmouth Invitational

PIT WE BACK!!!

Following two straight cancellations. We are finally getting another PIT. This is by far my favorite even of the year. I love how it’s a showcase for seniors that may be “under the radar” or not “top” prospects for the NBA. A few of these guys may be drafted. But……. All of theses guys will be playing pro basketball at some level next year if they chose to do so. It’s the ultimate job interview.

I just want to highlight some players that stood out to me good or bad in the first day of the PIT.

Good

Jared Rhoden 6’6 210 G/F From Seton Hall

Rhoden played very well. Made some tough shots in iso situations. Showed a nice m/r jumper and also an ability to attack off the dribble. Love his body and size also.

Keve Aluma 6’8 235 PF From Virginia Tech

Aluma showed versatility as a scorer. He can hit the p/pop jumper from 3 and the m/r. He also showed the ability to score in the post with his r/hook. On defense he showed solid lateral movement as well.

Fatts bringing the ball up the court

Fatts Russell 5’11 165 PG From Maryland

Russell showed how he can be very dangerous when attacking the lane under control. He kicked out to open shooters countless times. He was also hitting his 3pt shots as well. When Russell finds the balance of when to pass and when to score he is a solid athletic PG. Now he still loves to gamble on defense, but thats just in his DNA.

JD Notae 6’2 190 G From Arkansas

Notae is electric. He can be erratic at times, but tonight he attacked off the dribble more often that shooting deep 3’s. He got to the rim often and creates space very well off the dribble. I look forward to what else he can do the next few days.

Garrison Brooks 6’9 230 PF From Mississippi State

Brooks dominated in the mid to deep post. He has a solid jump shot. Despite the fact his arc almost touches the ceiling of the gym its intoxicating to watch. Brooks showed the ability to hit the m/r jumper and showcased his much improved 3pt range. Physically he is tough as well on offense and defense. He was definitely one of the most impressive standouts.

Bad

The first few minutes of the first game were rough. Tons of turnovers. Missed shots, air balls etc. It’s expected, but thankfully it got better.

The amount of times players stepped out of bounds looking to pump fake a 3 then drive.

Make your ft’s.

Interesting things I liked

Lucas Williamson having a bad first half shooting, then finding a way to make an impact on defense and as a facilitator in the second half.

Trevor Hudgins D2 PG Legend vs R.J. Cole Former Howard University player that transferred up to UCONN. Both has similar games and styles. And their both lefties. They both also have been overlooked. For Cole not too long, but Hudgins his whole career. Well guess what… Cole had 5 pts, 3 assists and 4 turnovers. Hudgins had 11 pts, 3 assists and 1 turnover.

Darryl Morsell picking up Fatts Russell full court. Being a resident of Maryland and watching both of these players a lot in my career I just found this battle very fun to watch. Two tough minded competitors not giving an inch to each other.

Jordan Usher and Nysier Brooks being great teammates. They talked and cheered while on the bench constantly. I loved it.

Koby McEwen’s quick hands on defense.

Quenton Jackson’s explosiveness. Sometimes it was good, sometimes a little much. But, it made an impression for sure.

The passing of Grant Golden and Tommy Kuhse. I love an unselfish player that understands WHEN to pass a ball without forcing.

Well here we go. Day two is coming soon!

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.

IMG_3181 

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.