OT: Flyin' to the Hoops Tournament

[Rebel10]

I know, I was followin from my phone and the guys computer. Who played wwell? Who led the team. I'll type up more thoughts when I get home here

Cannen was the game MVP.

[Treadway21]

I know, I was followin from my phone and the guys computer. Who played wwell? Who led the team. I'll type up more thoughts when I get home here

This pretty much describes it:
@JonRothstein: Seven different SMU players score seven or more points in 73-49 win over Hofstra but no one scores more than 14. BALANCE.

Though I think the godfather got annoyed when our play got pretty loose at the end.

[OhioBrownFan]

I know, I was followin from my phone and the guys computer. Who played wwell? Who led the team. I'll type up more thoughts when I get home here

This pretty much describes it:
@JonRothstein: Seven different SMU players score seven or more points in 73-49 win over Hofstra but no one scores more than 14. BALANCE.

Though I think the godfather got annoyed when our play got pretty loose at the end.

Nice, thanks for letting me know guys. I'm definitely trying to catch up on some stuff here. Really wish the tournament today had more guys you all would be interested in, saw an incredible amount of talent in that gym today. Actually talked to Calipari for a while and Huggins. Ton of coaches there.

As for Mudiay, kid has a lot of pop. I'm glad that you've seen PP too LA because I was afraid to report on the game because it wasn't impressive and I didn't want to get a bunch of backlash on here. Nonetheless, PP was very underwhelming and looked very poorly coached. The coach spent one too many days at Steak n Shake I think and not enough days in the gym working on player progressions. It was not what I expected for a team with the talent they have. As for talent, clearly had some guys that were extremely impressive. Mudiay had the quietest 20 point night I may have ever seen. Ton of dunks on clean-ups and run-outs. Has great hops, plays above the rim for the most part, made some [deleted] poor passes but then had some passes that had the crowd in awe. He had one move (didn't finish but tough move), pulled a Rondo where he faked a behind the back pass and tried to lay it in over a 6'10 kid, ended up throwing a pretty wild shot up but pretty move nonetheless and Moreira will clean that up next year with a put-back

He got picked a few times but Garfield has some quick small guards. Mudiay, for those that haven't seen him, isn't a true PG imo. He really plays a lot like John Wall. He has above average handles but is extremely explosive when he wants to be. Again, when he wants to be. He could've dropped 35 based on talent alone if he really wanted to. I think Nic Moore will likely run the PG and Mudiay will play off the wing next year. That said, would be a significant upgrade to Nick Russell, RIGHT NOW. I don't think he'd average much more than 10 PPG but he would give the Ponies someone that can really attack the basket in a way that nobody else on the team offers. I was watching these games with a few big time analysts and everyone pretty much agreed that if you didn't know who he was, you would not think he was the #2 or #5 player in the country. Did not look like the player he was in the summer that got him the ranking on the AAU circuit, I think a lot of that is playing for the team he's on and the coaching. What everyone also agreed on is that he has exceptional athleticism and it was so easy for him to get those 20 points.

My take, I think he's going to be a very good player, needs to work on his range in a major way, he needs to at least develop a semi-reliable jumper that teams have to defend him honestly at the 3 point line (he turned down numerous shots that he should've pulled the trigger on). He's probably a 1 and done player, scouts will be drooling over the athleticism regardless of what his statistics are.

I'm trying to be honest here, I'm going to talk to the guys who watch him again tomorrow and see if he turns it up. PP cruised in the 4th and he still had 20 points, 12 coming in the 3rd. Nothing to worry about, might have been just one of those nights and regardless, he's a significant and transcending talent.

Best players today that I saw:

1) Justin Jackson (clearly the best player, 5* UNC commit out of Houston, TX, probably had 8 blocks and countless changed shots)
2) Keita Bates-Diop (had 31 points, scored in a variety of ways against VJ King who's a top 10 player in his class, 5* OSU commit)
3) Hudson (V Tech commit, had a big night, probably 25 for SVSM, 3*, terribly underrated) One analyst I asked, "what's he rated?" His response, "whatever it is, it's too low." I laughed at that one and agreed. VT is getting a real under the radar gem.
4) VJ King (2016 Super Sophomore, 5* top 10 player, going to have offers from every program in the country, 28 points, needs to improve his decision making and playing within the offense. Tried to go one-on-one too much and took his team out of their offense but he could shoot the rock and hit a few real tough jumpers with hands in his face from the outside)
5) Mudiay (Superior athleticism, posted-up smaller guards, didn't see the package that I saw last time I watched him but still had 20)
6) Esa Ahmad (3* 2014 kid, whoever gets him is getting a very skilled and athletic forward who can finish)

I know a lot of this post is repetitive to earlier posts but it's got all my thoughts in one place. As for going to SMU, he said he'd be at a few games, laughed at the question. Didn't ask who he was recruiting to SMU, would've been kind of awkward because I only talked to him for a few seconds prior to warm-ups. Kid's tall, seems like a real nice dude/good person. Hell of a prospect.

From others that have seen Mudiay this year for PP, did you see the same things?

[OhioBrownFan]

Oh and it's been one long day. I'm beat. Wish I was there tomorrow, gonna be some more great match-ups and good players getting after it. One analyst said Findlay Prep looked like a college team, I guess they're loaded, haven't seen them play yet this year and missed em on Friday. Was surprised at how well the Ohio schools did, especially with some of the top teams not being there combined with a down year at the D1 level. D2 and D3 are absolutely loaded in Ohio and would run a ton of the D1 teams right off the floor. Odd year.

[OhioBrownFan]

One final thing, trying to get video and highlights of Mudiay from today for you guys.

[LA_Mustang]

That is a recruiting pay site worthy recap, OBF. Thanks for the info. Funny, I saw Justin Jackson earlier in the season and I wasn't that impressed. Although, his talent was obvious, he struggled on the offensive end. But as you saw, he was a force defensively. I guess with most of these guys it depends on what night you catch them.

As for Mudiay, what you described is how I felt after seeing a couple of his "off" games. He seemed somewhat disinterested and passed up good looks to get teammates involved. With him you always have the feeling he can score whenever he wants but at times he's too concerned about being a true point and getting others the ball. One thing is very obvious when watching PP, it appears they have received very little coaching, Mudiay in particular. This is where LB will make a world of difference in his game. He will teach him the right way and push him on the defensive end. I have seen him lockdown on other teams best players and play smothering D. He already has NBA length, athleticism and size. As soon as he gets coached up, he's going to be scary good. This is why most sites have him in the top 5 of the 2015 NBA draft.

BTW, I've seen him shoot lights out from deep, he just need to improve his consistency. Another thing I've read is he tends to follow up a subpar outing with a much more focus effort. Hopefully you see that today. Is the game being televised there?

Anyway, thanks for the coverage. Let us know what you see in today's game.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

Agree with your assessment la mustang. Mudiay is a beast and he's as good as anybody in hs right now. He does need to improve his outside shooting but he could get points whenever he wants. He reminds me of Derrick rose when he was at Memphis. He's a beast and with LB coaching him up, he will be a lottery pick if he wants it.

[Pweesey]

really nice work Ohio. Thank you for taking the time.

[Treadway21]

really nice work Ohio. Thank you for taking the time.

This

[OhioBrownFan]

That is a recruiting pay site worthy recap, OBF. Thanks for the info. Funny, I saw Justin Jackson earlier in the season and I wasn't that impressed. Although, his talent was obvious, he struggled on the offensive end. But as you saw, he was a force defensively. I guess with most of these guys it depends on what night you catch them.

As for Mudiay, what you described is how I felt after seeing a couple of his "off" games. He seemed somewhat disinterested and passed up good looks to get teammates involved. With him you always have the feeling he can score whenever he wants but at times he's too concerned about being a true point and getting others the ball. One thing is very obvious when watching PP, it appears they have received very little coaching, Mudiay in particular. This is where LB will make a world of difference in his game. He will teach him the right way and push him on the defensive end. I have seen him lockdown on other teams best players and play smothering D. He already has NBA length, athleticism and size. As soon as he gets coached up, he's going to be scary good. This is why most sites have him in the top 5 of the 2015 NBA draft.

BTW, I've seen him shoot lights out from deep, he just need to improve his consistency. Another thing I've read is he tends to follow up a subpar outing with a much more focus effort. Hopefully you see that today. Is the game being televised there?

Anyway, thanks for the coverage. Let us know what you see in today's game.

If you go to Flying to the Hoops, you could actually pay to watch the stream. It was like $15 for the weekend. For a college coach, well worth it. Actually, it's a very affordable event all the way around, I had looked at tickets and it was only like $22 for the reserved chairbacks and $12 for the GA bench seats per day. And yeah, when I saw him in the summer, he knocked down a few nice 15 footers and a trey. I'm sure he will bounce back, not concerned at all about him being capable. My only real concern walking away yesterday is that I hope he's assertive because SMU is going to need him to put up 12-15 PPG and really hustle to make that next jump. LB will be on him for sure, I have no doubt about that. He's definitely NBA size.

That's funny what you said about Jackson, he put together back-to-back great games. He had like 35 Saturday against Kennard and then followed that up with another 30 points and a defensive nightmare on Sunday. I actually expect him to jump a bit in the rankings.

[OhioBrownFan]

really nice work Ohio. Thank you for taking the time.

This

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

[OhioBrownFan]

I should've posted this last night too, so Sunrise Christian out of Kansas, most impressive looking team I've seen in warm-ups, top 25 in the nation team supposedly which is beyond laughable. All 5 starters are committed to big time programs, MSU, Ceighton, Wichita State, Nebraska and Ole Miss. They started like 5'11, 6'5, 6'8, 6'9, 6'10 and I'm not exaggerating. They had another 4 guys on the bench that were 6'8 or taller. Anyways, they play an inner-city Dayton school and got ran off the floor. Pretty funny to watch considering that they had one player that was 6'8, then nobody else over 6'3 and not even the best team in their own city. Just goes to show how a few top players gets these teams way over-hyped and part of the reason those USA Today rankings are complete trash. Might have the best players, but doesn't make them the best teams.

[OhioBrownFan]

Who knows how to post my pics of Mudiay?

Also, don't know how I missed it, but Esa Ahmad is actually only a junior. He's going to have offers from all over when it's said and done. Jesus, kid's impressive, incredibly underrated.

[OhioBrownFan]

Thought I would throw this up. So when I saw Esa Ahmad, he had very few offers. Indiana came through today and apparently Louisville, MSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Texas are all beginning to recruit him hard. Well Texas has been in contact I should say, the others are recruiting him hard. Wouldn't be surprised to see him blow up and be a national type recruit when it's said and done. The kid was very impressive. I'd love to see Larry Brown take a good look at him at some point. I'm beyond ticked that Matta hasn't offered because I think he is a take no matter what recruits you're in on. He's that good.

Would be almost a perfect 3 in his offense that has the versatility to play the 4. I thought he was going to be a steal for whoever got him but it looks like teams are recognizing the skill-set he possesses now.