Post by Lawdog on Jul 15, 2011 11:16:54 GMT -5
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — The Peach Jam doesn’t hand out an official MVP award, but if they did Nerlens Noel should get it.
As of Friday morning, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound rising junior had his BABC team in the semifinals against the Oakland Soldiers (Memphis meets the Georgia Stars in the other) and he leads the event in blocked shots at 6.8 per game. In one game against CIA Bounce, Noel swatted away 12 shots.
Noel, who attends the Tilton (N.H.) Schools, is part of a trio of uber-talented members of the Class of 2013 here, along with Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. But if you ask coaches which player they would take first in a draft, many go with Noel.
“I’ll take Noel,” one high-major assistant said. “He can dominate without having the ball. You can put players around him who can score, while the other two have to have the ball.”
Veteran New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski also votes for Noel, who’s ranked as the No. 1 center in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.
“[BABC coach] Leo Papile calls him Bill Russell,” he said. “He’s a guy who’s a terrific shot-blocker. He’s had double-figure games with blocks. He’s so quick off the floor. He runs the court extremely well. As Jay Bilas would say, he has great length.
“His offense is improving. His shot-blocking is way ahead of his offensive game, but he is improving.”
Noel is hearing from a Who’s Who of schools but mentioned Kentucky, Florida, Syracuse, UConn and Providence among schools who have reached out.
“It’s just a dream come true to be getting all this attention from colleges,” he said. “I’m just waiting it out to make that final decision.”
He said he’s not close to deciding.
“I don’t think I’ll be deciding anytime soon,” he said, “because I haven’t really gotten to know many of the staff members. I’m in that process right now of getting to know the coaches and planning visits to certain schools that I’m interested in.
“At the end I’ll pick the right school.”
Because he will be a fifth-year senior, Noel “wouldn’t be eligible for the McDonald’s All-American Game [in 2013],” Konchalski said.
“But he’s a guy who really can change the game.”
MY ALL-PEACH JAM TEAM
Nerlens Noel, 2013
Jabari Parker, 2013
Julius Randle, 2013
Kyle Anderson, 2012
Archie Goodwin, 2012
Brandon Ashley, 2012
-Zagsblog
KSR's Peach Jam notes:
As we get ready to leave the Nike Peach Jam for another year, it is time once again to reflect. This year’s event had virtually every top coach in America in attendance and was a great event to get a snapshot of the nation’s recruiting scene. I saw every UK target in attendance at least once and talked to a number of coaches, media members and recruiting gurus to get a sense of exactly where UK stood in the 2012 and 2013 class. A few reflections:
1. Most are unsure as to UK’s overall focus in 2012:
The continuing theme in my conversations throughout the week was uncertainty as to John Calipari’s plan with the 2012 class. While I got some insight from a number of sources, many were asking me for information as they were unsure exactly where UK was headed. Nearly everyone was certain that UK would end up with another great class, but who will make up that class was up for debate. Watching UK and Calipari’s priorities over the last two weeks, it does seem that these players are of a top focus:
Shabazz Muhammad
Dajuan Coleman
Archie Goodwin
Perry Ellis
Brandon Ashley
Kaleb Tarczweski
Anthony Bennett
Mitch McGary
TJ Warren
Darnell Stokes
Tony Parker
There are clearly other players on UK’s radar, but in terms of Calipari focus, these 11 seem to be the primary targets. Calipari spent the last two weeks flying around the country to see these 11 and it is likely that UK’s final class will be 3 or 4 of these young men.
2. Ricardo Ledo is the Wildcard…In More Ways Than One
I always hesitate to comment on the attitude of young players. Sometimes players that we end up liking when we learn more about them (a la Demarcus Cousins) can give off bad first impressions. With that said, having watched him play three times in the last three days, it is awful hard to like Ricardo Ledo. I sat one row behind his bench for a game and heard him curse at his coach, berate his teammates and throw more pouty fits than I have ever seen in an AAU game…which is saying something. His attitude was universally poor in all three games and seemed like a bad teammate in every encounter.
But with that said, Ledo has become a great player. He has improved exponentially in the past year and he may be the best pure perimeter scorer in the class. All of that leaves Kentucky with a bit of a quandary. It is unclear what level of interest Kentucky has in Ledo, and whether a firm offer is on the table for him. His AAU coach said that he wasn’t sure what UK’s interest was, but that Ledo was a big fan of Calipari/UK. Calipari needs a perimeter scorer and if he goes full bore after Ledo, he may very well get him. But Ledo has a lot of maturing to do and that may go into whatever final decision on him the UK staff makes. It is yet another wildcard in a 2012 class that will be full of them.
3. Kentucky is going to LOAD UP in 2013
The 2013 class is loaded. I saw three players in the 2013 class at the Peach Jam that I would take over almost anyone in the 2012 class. Julius Randle, Jabari Parker and Nerlens Noel are special talents that will blow up over the course of the next year. And Kentucky is in contention for all three and will almost certainly get at least one of the group. Add in Chris Thomas, Chris Walker and others, and it becomes clear that Kentucky is going to create a MONSTER class in 2013. Whatever happens in 2012, just know that a boatload of talent is coming that next season and Kentucky is at the head of the pack for just about everyone that matters in that group.
4. The hierarchy of coaches is most apparent at AAU events
When you walk into an AAU event, the most striking sight is the immediacy of all the famous names next to you. In a gym smaller than that of almost any middle school, the biggest names in college basketball are sitting along a wall, watching high school kids play glorified pickup games. It it is bizarrely odd. But even with that group, there is a certain cache that comes with the appearance of particular coaches. It basically comes down to this:
Stop the presses appearances:
Coach K
Roy Williams
John Calipari
If they are in the building, everyone knows and everyone takes notice. These three coaches are the only three that don’t consistently wear the logo of their program and when they arrive a buzz of “K, Roy, Cal is here” goes through the room.
Wow, did you see ____? appearances
Tom Izzo
Jim Calhoun
Jim Boeheim
Bill Self
Rick Pitino
Billy Donovan
This group is small but strong. When these five men arrive in a gym, everyone takes note. They are famous enough to be recognized by all the players and families, and most want to shake their hand.
The “we recognize” that guy group:
A larger group of coaches that includes names like
Tubby Smith (probably at the top of this group but not quite in group 2 anymore)
Ben Howland
Tom Crean
Steve Lavin
Rick Barnes
Jamie Dixon
Brad Stevens
Sean Miller
Lorenzo Romar
There are more in this group, but it is basically every known head coach in America at a relatively popular school. It is the classic, “hey what is that guy’s name?” group and will contain Rick Barnes and Jamie Dixon until the end of time.
Every other head coach
That is the group. You judge a game and its importance by scanning the wall to see what members of each group are there. If any of the top group are there, you watch. If 2 or more of the second group are there, you take notice. If its all third group guys, then stay only if you care about the particular coach in attendance. That is the way the AAU game is played now and Kentucky’s coach is, for the first time since the late Pitino years, squarely in group number one.
As of Friday morning, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound rising junior had his BABC team in the semifinals against the Oakland Soldiers (Memphis meets the Georgia Stars in the other) and he leads the event in blocked shots at 6.8 per game. In one game against CIA Bounce, Noel swatted away 12 shots.
Noel, who attends the Tilton (N.H.) Schools, is part of a trio of uber-talented members of the Class of 2013 here, along with Julius Randle and Jabari Parker. But if you ask coaches which player they would take first in a draft, many go with Noel.
“I’ll take Noel,” one high-major assistant said. “He can dominate without having the ball. You can put players around him who can score, while the other two have to have the ball.”
Veteran New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski also votes for Noel, who’s ranked as the No. 1 center in the Class of 2013 by Rivals.
“[BABC coach] Leo Papile calls him Bill Russell,” he said. “He’s a guy who’s a terrific shot-blocker. He’s had double-figure games with blocks. He’s so quick off the floor. He runs the court extremely well. As Jay Bilas would say, he has great length.
“His offense is improving. His shot-blocking is way ahead of his offensive game, but he is improving.”
Noel is hearing from a Who’s Who of schools but mentioned Kentucky, Florida, Syracuse, UConn and Providence among schools who have reached out.
“It’s just a dream come true to be getting all this attention from colleges,” he said. “I’m just waiting it out to make that final decision.”
He said he’s not close to deciding.
“I don’t think I’ll be deciding anytime soon,” he said, “because I haven’t really gotten to know many of the staff members. I’m in that process right now of getting to know the coaches and planning visits to certain schools that I’m interested in.
“At the end I’ll pick the right school.”
Because he will be a fifth-year senior, Noel “wouldn’t be eligible for the McDonald’s All-American Game [in 2013],” Konchalski said.
“But he’s a guy who really can change the game.”
MY ALL-PEACH JAM TEAM
Nerlens Noel, 2013
Jabari Parker, 2013
Julius Randle, 2013
Kyle Anderson, 2012
Archie Goodwin, 2012
Brandon Ashley, 2012
-Zagsblog
KSR's Peach Jam notes:
As we get ready to leave the Nike Peach Jam for another year, it is time once again to reflect. This year’s event had virtually every top coach in America in attendance and was a great event to get a snapshot of the nation’s recruiting scene. I saw every UK target in attendance at least once and talked to a number of coaches, media members and recruiting gurus to get a sense of exactly where UK stood in the 2012 and 2013 class. A few reflections:
1. Most are unsure as to UK’s overall focus in 2012:
The continuing theme in my conversations throughout the week was uncertainty as to John Calipari’s plan with the 2012 class. While I got some insight from a number of sources, many were asking me for information as they were unsure exactly where UK was headed. Nearly everyone was certain that UK would end up with another great class, but who will make up that class was up for debate. Watching UK and Calipari’s priorities over the last two weeks, it does seem that these players are of a top focus:
Shabazz Muhammad
Dajuan Coleman
Archie Goodwin
Perry Ellis
Brandon Ashley
Kaleb Tarczweski
Anthony Bennett
Mitch McGary
TJ Warren
Darnell Stokes
Tony Parker
There are clearly other players on UK’s radar, but in terms of Calipari focus, these 11 seem to be the primary targets. Calipari spent the last two weeks flying around the country to see these 11 and it is likely that UK’s final class will be 3 or 4 of these young men.
2. Ricardo Ledo is the Wildcard…In More Ways Than One
I always hesitate to comment on the attitude of young players. Sometimes players that we end up liking when we learn more about them (a la Demarcus Cousins) can give off bad first impressions. With that said, having watched him play three times in the last three days, it is awful hard to like Ricardo Ledo. I sat one row behind his bench for a game and heard him curse at his coach, berate his teammates and throw more pouty fits than I have ever seen in an AAU game…which is saying something. His attitude was universally poor in all three games and seemed like a bad teammate in every encounter.
But with that said, Ledo has become a great player. He has improved exponentially in the past year and he may be the best pure perimeter scorer in the class. All of that leaves Kentucky with a bit of a quandary. It is unclear what level of interest Kentucky has in Ledo, and whether a firm offer is on the table for him. His AAU coach said that he wasn’t sure what UK’s interest was, but that Ledo was a big fan of Calipari/UK. Calipari needs a perimeter scorer and if he goes full bore after Ledo, he may very well get him. But Ledo has a lot of maturing to do and that may go into whatever final decision on him the UK staff makes. It is yet another wildcard in a 2012 class that will be full of them.
3. Kentucky is going to LOAD UP in 2013
The 2013 class is loaded. I saw three players in the 2013 class at the Peach Jam that I would take over almost anyone in the 2012 class. Julius Randle, Jabari Parker and Nerlens Noel are special talents that will blow up over the course of the next year. And Kentucky is in contention for all three and will almost certainly get at least one of the group. Add in Chris Thomas, Chris Walker and others, and it becomes clear that Kentucky is going to create a MONSTER class in 2013. Whatever happens in 2012, just know that a boatload of talent is coming that next season and Kentucky is at the head of the pack for just about everyone that matters in that group.
4. The hierarchy of coaches is most apparent at AAU events
When you walk into an AAU event, the most striking sight is the immediacy of all the famous names next to you. In a gym smaller than that of almost any middle school, the biggest names in college basketball are sitting along a wall, watching high school kids play glorified pickup games. It it is bizarrely odd. But even with that group, there is a certain cache that comes with the appearance of particular coaches. It basically comes down to this:
Stop the presses appearances:
Coach K
Roy Williams
John Calipari
If they are in the building, everyone knows and everyone takes notice. These three coaches are the only three that don’t consistently wear the logo of their program and when they arrive a buzz of “K, Roy, Cal is here” goes through the room.
Wow, did you see ____? appearances
Tom Izzo
Jim Calhoun
Jim Boeheim
Bill Self
Rick Pitino
Billy Donovan
This group is small but strong. When these five men arrive in a gym, everyone takes note. They are famous enough to be recognized by all the players and families, and most want to shake their hand.
The “we recognize” that guy group:
A larger group of coaches that includes names like
Tubby Smith (probably at the top of this group but not quite in group 2 anymore)
Ben Howland
Tom Crean
Steve Lavin
Rick Barnes
Jamie Dixon
Brad Stevens
Sean Miller
Lorenzo Romar
There are more in this group, but it is basically every known head coach in America at a relatively popular school. It is the classic, “hey what is that guy’s name?” group and will contain Rick Barnes and Jamie Dixon until the end of time.
Every other head coach
That is the group. You judge a game and its importance by scanning the wall to see what members of each group are there. If any of the top group are there, you watch. If 2 or more of the second group are there, you take notice. If its all third group guys, then stay only if you care about the particular coach in attendance. That is the way the AAU game is played now and Kentucky’s coach is, for the first time since the late Pitino years, squarely in group number one.