The Apple's Best
Ballaz
Rumble in the
Bronx 2002
Player Evaluations-
By Keith Mason
17
& Under
2003
Sammy
Mejia 6'6 SG Long Island Panthers 2003- Didn't play as well in this
tournament as he is capable of playing. His jump shot wasn't falling like
it usually does, but he was able to score points in the paint and in transition.
He may have been adjusting to a new team. But he did show the ability to make
the nice pass, which I didn't know he could do. Unlike most scorers he does not
force shots, which is one reason why he didn't score like he could, when
defenses closed out on him he gave the ball up to his teammates.
Lamont Hamilton 6'9 PF Long Island Panthers 2003- Hamilton played very
strong down low. He dunked whenever he got the chance, and rebounded well. His
highlight of the weekend was when Shagari Alleyne tried to dunk on him and he
blocked it, which is the first time I've seen Shagari have a dunk blocked.
Dante Milligan 6'8 SF Long Island Panthers 2003- He started the weekend
off very good but faded after that. He showed a nice outside touch and the
ability to score inside as well. His major weakness is lack of intensity and
consistency. He has a lot of skills but it means nothing if you don't play hard.
Moses Gonzalez 6'2 SG LPAC 2003?- I put a question mark next to his year
because I hear this past year he enrolled in Broward County Community College
but failed out. And I know for a fact he is overage. But since he did play in
this event and played well he can't be ignored. He showed incredible
athleticism, to go along with a nice mid range game. He hit Tim Thomas Gold up
with 22. He has a lot of skills, but will need to get his academics together to
get anything out of them.
Marlon Smith 6'0 PG Gauchos 2003- Smith only played in one game, but the
game he did play he played better then I have seen him in a while. He showed all
the offensive skills, the handle, the quickness, the jumper. He scored 26
against the Panthers but he definitely shot too much, and made some bad
decisions. One particular play where he made a bad decision, he had the ball in
the corner and Shagari Alleyne flashed to the middle and was wide open for a
dunk, but Marlon put the ball on the floor and dribbled through his legs a
couple of times until Alleyne was called for a 3 second violation. He still has
the skills to be a big time D1 point guard, he just has to improve his decision
making and learn how to get his teammates involved.
Shagari Alleyne 7'3 C Gauchos 2003-In the first game I saw him he played
very well. Making his shots in the lane and catching a very nice alley-oop. He
caught it when he wasn't facing the basket, and turned in the air and put it in.
Something he would not have been able to do a year ago. There were even a couple
of times when he grabbed the rebound and dribbled up court. He is improving a
lot and this summer at Nike Camp and in other tournaments that the Gauchos are
playing in he will show how good he really is.
2004
Russell Robinson
6'2 PG Gauchos 2004-Robinson played very well when he was running the team.
He showed off a much improved handle, and as always the ability to score. On
Saturday night he poured in 26 points against NCA (DC). He runs a team
very well, and knows how to get everybody involved when he is at the point. He
didn't force shots, and took what was there which usually resulted in a basket.
Sebastian Telfair 6'0 PG Juice All-Stars 2004- Showed everybody why he is
#1. He scored at will, but at times did shoot too much, but when the shot is
dropping it doesn't matter too much. But he did get the ball to his teammates in
the right spots when they were open. He showed off a sick handle, and the
ability to make very tough shots, including fadeaways off the dribble. He got
fouled on jumpshots more then anybody I have ever seen. Despite having many
highlights the moment that drew the biggest reaction was when he was ripped by
Armando Brace. But he made an example out of Brace, because got confidence and
guarded him full court, so Telfair made him look real bad all the way up court,
then put him in the post and nearly made him fall out of bounds before hitting a
fadeaway. It will be very interesting to see him play against Darius Washington
at ABCD this year.
Brian Laing 6'4 SF New York Ravens 2004- Laing has deceptive athleticism,
most people when they look at him don't think he can rise, but he showed
everybody this weekend that if you give him a lane he is going up for the two
handed dunk. He rebounded the ball very well, and he showed the ability to hit
the outside shot, and handle. If he can continue to improve his guard skills he
will be a high major prospect.
16 & Under
2004
Keith Benjamin 6'1 SG Riverside Church 2004-Benjamin showed me he can hit
the outside shot, which is something I didn't know he could do. He also showed
he can handle the rock. He penetrated very well and finished in the lane. But
the one thing I noticed he didn't do well was rebound well. When a team plays a
zone they need their guards to rebound, but none of the Riverside guards got to
long rebounds.
Arturo Dubois 6'6 C Riverside Church 2004- I finally saw him dunk with
two hands, but he got carried away, because the next time he got on the break he
tried to dunk with two again, and missed and landed hard on the floor. While he
is not athletic, he can score down low. In the team's lost he was the lone
bright spot scoring 26 and made every shot he got around the basket. Arturo will
have to work on his footwork down low if he wants to be a dominant player on
varsity.
Dave McClure 6'5 SF Westchester Hawks 2004- McClure showed a lot of
skills this weekend. He hit the outside shot, got to the basket and is athletic.
McClure will make a lot of noise this summer as well as next season. He showed
me Westchester has some very talented ballaz.
Jason Holmes 6'2 SG Westchester Hawks 2004- Holmes can really shoot the
rock. He was the team's best player against Riverside, he hit the three and took
it to the hole strong. But in the other game I saw him he was a non factor,
scoring 0 points against Philly JMC. He will have to work on his consistency to
be a star.
Wesley Wicks 5'10 PG New York Ravens 2004- He played very well in this
event. He can handle the rock, and finishes very well. He is very creative in
the lane, which allows him to get good looks even when players are on him.
Didn't really take too many outside shots, so I don't know if he has that part
of his game.
Dante Chisolm 5'11 PG New York Ravens 2004- He has a very similar game to
Wicks, but he is not as strong but he shoots better. He played better here then
I've seen him play before. He knocked down plenty of outside shots, and got to
the basket and finished very well.
2005
Shawn Hilliard 6'6 PF New York Ravens 2005- He is a
very talented player. He showed he can handle the rock, and get points down low.
He is not very athletic, but he is a very good rebounder. He showed the ability
to draw the foul, and he knocked down his free throws.
Chris Bethel 6'5 C New York Ravens 2005- He is a very good low post
players, and finishes strong around the basket. He is an excellent rebounder. An
advantage he has over Hilliard is that he is athletic, and can soar over players
for 2 points.
Ricky Torres 6'3 SF New York Ravens 2005-One thing that can be said about
Torres is he will put up shots. He won't pass up open shots, but his major
problem is when he is on a 2 on 1 break he won't give it up either. He had a
couple of games when his shot was dropping, but he also had a couple of games
when he wasn't making anything.
Antonio Pena 6'6 C Juice All-Stars 2005- He may be the best big man in
the class of 2005. He can put the ball on the floor but he knows his place on
the floor is in the paint. He has a nice touch out to 15 feet. The one negative
thing I noticed is that he doesn't go after rebounds as hard as he should. If he
can become a dominant rebounder there will be stopping him.