IS8 Tip Off Fall Classic
Posted: Sunday, September 17, 2006
by Joseph Jagde
I was at the opening day for the afternoon games at the opening day Saturday the 15th at the IS8 Fall Classic.
The D.C. Eagles had a particularly impressive afternoon with some sharp offense especially weaving the basketball with some excellent passes. This was an impressive contingent from Washington D.C.
Jeff Ryan, a mobile 6’8 forward ran the court with aplomb, showing excellent quickness with the ball and a sweet lefty jumper to boot. He gives that Jarred Jeffries type look. I liked both the timing of his moves and his quickness to the basket and his excellent ball handling skills in the open court.
Pete Bonilla, showed an alert game on the outside and drilled some deep jumpers at the guard position.
Quillen Marlon was also impressive for the Eagles, showing a lot of lift in his game with resounding dunks, ability to drill the long jumper, hit the jumper in the lane and pass the ball well, all from the guard position.
The final game featured the N.Y. Elite against St. Mary’s, a long time powerhouse from the Long Island Catholic league. Playing with the N.Y. Elite was Ring Ayeul, who is listed at 7’5. At the same time, he was very skinny and this somewhat negated his height advantage especially on offense. On defense he patrolled the lane, blocked some nice shots and kept the ball in play and released the ball for good outlet passes. He also contested shots on the outside, running to outside shooters and putting a hand up. I was watching him at halftime shoot around and he displayed a good mid range touch consistently hitting 15 footers. I would say though a lot of the opposing players were a lot stronger than him. He did run the floor well, and played the defensive position alertly and well. Things to work on would be his jumping ability and strength, but he certainly affected the outcome of this game as his team pulled away in the second half.
The dominant player on the court, was Tyvon Williams, who looked about 5’11 as well, and who put on an entertaining show. He will be attending prep school at St. Thomas Moore. At times he was a bit wild, but showed great skills to thread the needle on the break, reminding me a bit of Omar Cook, a great NYC point guard from several years back. St. Mary’s today was extremely tenacious on defense, but a little bit out of sync on offense. It was one of the lower scoring games you would see at IS8. This made the show by Tyvon Williams all the more impressive, as he showed acrobatic ball handling skills under the duress of chasing defenders and the ability to finish with outstanding double dip lay-ups with the opposite hand and to turn sharply on the dime while racing to the hoop. He certainly had a good outside shot. I was told he has interest from an ACC program and it looked like he could play at that level in this game.
Leek Leek, a 6’5 guard, was dunking often and easily in heavy traffic. He shoots the lefty jumper as well. What was unusual was just how easy it looked for him to get above the basket. He had an amazing block on defense, where he came out of now where from completely out of position to pin the ball high against the backboard. Impressive enough but when I spoke to him after the game; he said he is only starting high school as a freshman right now. He said he came over from Sudan last year and will be playing for Our Savior New American of New York. So Leek Leek is a player to look at as one of the top nationally in this year’s freshman class and it would be interesting if he grows as well.
In additional games observed Sunday, I was particularly impressed with 6'7 Michael Glover, who is committed to Seton Hall. He is very nimble in the lane, finding his way through for soft bank shots or 12 footers. He races up and down the court both on offense and defense and blocks innumerable shots. He doesn't dunk in twisting fashion, but he gets so high above the rim on his dunks that is it almost comical. One of the comments, was," Another one". He might be getting as much as two feet above the rim on some of these dunks.
Jeff Robinson, a strong 6'7 wing forward who is committed to Memphis and now plays for St. Patrick's high school in New Jersey, hustles all over the court including on the defensive end. He has excellent form on his outside shot, and can hit to deep, I would like to see him hit somewhat of a higher percentage though of his outside shots but this is only one game and he certainly has the form. But what I was particularly impressed with was his passing, both from the backcourt to the front court on breaks and in half court sets. He really has almost a pro level passing game at this position. He hit most of his foul shots and leaps for resounding dunks off the break.
The last game, the NY Guachos against Boys and Girls High school was partcularly rough and tumble. Touted NYC propects, Curtis Loving and Durand Scott, besides their skill, showed just how strong they were for the Guachos. Most impressive this game was Zamal Nixon, for the Boys and Girls team. He showed excellent moves in dancing smoothly and speedily to the hoop and finishing in heavy and rough traffic in key moments of the game as well showing more than once a sweet left handed jumper off the dribble from the key. He also passes proficiently and plays with a combo guard style. His smoothness over the rough surfaces of this game really stood out. He is a high potential player.
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