Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 2, 2020 10:18:36 GMT -5
I took a ride up to The Brooks School yesterday to watch George Smith, a 6-3 southpaw shooting guard we have offered.
Brooks has dominated the Class B Independent School League (Pridgen and Benzan both played on ISL teams) for a decade. Unlike most ISL teams, they've been very successful against higher levels of competition, winning 68 straight games against any and all comers between January 2016 and December 2018. Yesterday they demolished (91-53) a AA team, Buckingham Browne and Nichols, which was smallish, but had beaten AAA New Hampton earlier in the season.
A few impressions of Smith, in no particular order, fwiw . . .
2. Not muscular like Pridgen, but not a skinny guy like Wade - good frame, especially upper body, that he can build on. Played physically at times on the defensive end, fronting and bodying up his man off-ball. Low, wide stance and very good lateral movement on-ball enabled him to stay in front of his assignment consistently. Cheated a little too much to help on a couple occasions, resulting in late close-outs, but overall was solid defensively
3. Brought the ball up a few times, showed pretty good handle, might be able to fill in at the point in a pinch at the next level, but a natural 2-guard.
4. Plus peripheral vision, and overall awareness at both ends, especially on defense - never looked directly at his man when that guy didn't have the ball, but always knew where the ball was. Good anticipation enabled him to get three steals. Offensively, he saw the whole court - side to side and end to end.
5. Excellent passer in every context - long downcourt in transition, entry pass from 18' or so for a layup, sharp cross-court, short and accurate bounce pass inside for another easy finish by a teammate. Really snapped the ball, and as noted above, seemed to know where everybody else was throughout a possession.
A lot to like - competing offers already from several schools (including Penn), and he will undoubtedly add more this coming summer. Would be a very good get for us, imho.
Brooks has dominated the Class B Independent School League (Pridgen and Benzan both played on ISL teams) for a decade. Unlike most ISL teams, they've been very successful against higher levels of competition, winning 68 straight games against any and all comers between January 2016 and December 2018. Yesterday they demolished (91-53) a AA team, Buckingham Browne and Nichols, which was smallish, but had beaten AAA New Hampton earlier in the season.
A few impressions of Smith, in no particular order, fwiw . . .
1. Impressive catch-and-shoot guy with easy range beyond the arc. Classic form, squares quickly and consistently, very quick release just above eye level, repeats everything well. He wasn't featured in the first half (5 points, on a corner three and a turnaround at the elbow), but scored 14 points in the first six minutes of the second half - baseline drive, a fast-break layup, a pair of threes, and four FTs. (After personally turning a 25 point lead into a 35 point one, he went to the bench for the duration of the game.) Started and often stayed at/around the perimeter in the half-court set. But he also showed a willingness to play through (and even invite) contact to draw fouls, using his long-range ability to up-fake and drive the lane on a couple occasions. Had a little trouble elevating in traffic underneath, but compensated with quick changes of direction, and showed he can finish with either hand.
Finished 6-8 (3-4) from the floor, 4-4 FTs.
2. Not muscular like Pridgen, but not a skinny guy like Wade - good frame, especially upper body, that he can build on. Played physically at times on the defensive end, fronting and bodying up his man off-ball. Low, wide stance and very good lateral movement on-ball enabled him to stay in front of his assignment consistently. Cheated a little too much to help on a couple occasions, resulting in late close-outs, but overall was solid defensively
3. Brought the ball up a few times, showed pretty good handle, might be able to fill in at the point in a pinch at the next level, but a natural 2-guard.
4. Plus peripheral vision, and overall awareness at both ends, especially on defense - never looked directly at his man when that guy didn't have the ball, but always knew where the ball was. Good anticipation enabled him to get three steals. Offensively, he saw the whole court - side to side and end to end.
5. Excellent passer in every context - long downcourt in transition, entry pass from 18' or so for a layup, sharp cross-court, short and accurate bounce pass inside for another easy finish by a teammate. Really snapped the ball, and as noted above, seemed to know where everybody else was throughout a possession.
A lot to like - competing offers already from several schools (including Penn), and he will undoubtedly add more this coming summer. Would be a very good get for us, imho.
