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Post by hchoops on Jan 20, 2019 18:00:28 GMT -5
1-3-1 works best with length and speed. Looking at our team for next year, I think we’ll be as well positioned to run it effectively as we have ever been in the Carmody era. Here are some potential spots for each guy in that defense. As Xmass notes, same guys can often play top and bottom. Top - Grandison 6’6” and Copeland 6’4” Bottom - Pridgen 6’5” and Hargis 6’7” Middle - Faw 6’9”, Niego 6’8” and Verbeek 6’10” Wings - Green 5’10”, Butler 6’5”, Louder 6’0”, Wade 6’2”, Clayton 6’4” The wings of the 1-3-1 have big rebounding responsibility. Green, Lowder and Wade do not have the size to play the wing. Grandy and .Butler have usually been there this season. It is ideal to have size at the top and bottom, but Green has to play one of them, as will Lowder and Wade when they are in.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 20, 2019 18:04:53 GMT -5
Had the opportunity to watch Joe Pridgen in action yesterday, as Governor's Academy took on the Groton School. Both schools are members of the Class B Massachusetts Independent School League (ISL), which doesn't feature a high level of competition, though it does produce some D1 payers (Pat Benzan, for one). Pridgen is the only 2019 player from the ISL in NERR's 2019 top forty. Governor's (which won this game handily) is currently running in the middle of the ISL pack, while Groton is (understandably, imo) winless. The halves are 16 minutes long and the Governor's coach pulled Pridgen and the rest of the starting five for good, just four minutes into the second half. JP played 16 minutes total. Mentioning all this to give some context. Physically, Pridgen is lean, but solidly built, strong upper body. Pretty athletic, quicK hands, good hops, fast in transition. Guessing he's a legit 6'5" - he jumped center vs. (and mostly guarded) Groton's 6'8" soph, Robbie StanKard (27th in NERR's New England Class of 2021), and appeared to be a few inches shorter. Pridgen won the jump, btw. Offensively, JP spent most of his time in and around the paint, and wasn't featured in the half-court offense in large measure because Groton was very conscious of his whereabouts each possesson. Groton opened in a 3-2 zone, in part it seemed to deny entry passes to Pridgen who rotated around the lane the first few possessions, following the ball. He moved to the corner and short corner as the game progressed, but attempted only one shot outside the paint (a miss from about 12 feet). I had him 6-8 from the field - three flushes on breaK-aways, a straight drive and flush from the short corner out of a half-court set, a post-up, and a put-bacK. He made both his FTs. Also made two very nice touch passes from mid-post to teammates down low. On the down side he also had a couple bad TOs trying to force his way through the lane. Defensively, he played very tight, aggressive man against Groton's big, and generally held him out of scoring range. Governor's also mixed in a half-court 1-2-2 press and Pridgen played at the top meeting the ball handler and influencing him to the sideline. He had a pair of steals and two rejections. Clear to me, he could have guarded anybody, 1-5, on the court vs. this level of competition, and guessing his assignment each time out is to guard the opponent's top threat regardless of position (he's Governor's tallest player btw). This was the most impressive part of his performance yesterday. Best guess on his box score line . . . 16m, 14p (6-8 FG, 2-2 FT), 4r, 2a, 2st Thanks for the thorough report, WG. it seems as if Joe had far tougher comp in his AAU experience, and fared very well.
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Post by HC92 on Jan 20, 2019 18:40:20 GMT -5
1-3-1 works best with length and speed. Looking at our team for next year, I think we’ll be as well positioned to run it effectively as we have ever been in the Carmody era. Here are some potential spots for each guy in that defense. As Xmass notes, same guys can often play top and bottom. Top - Grandison 6’6” and Copeland 6’4” Bottom - Pridgen 6’5” and Hargis 6’7” Middle - Faw 6’9”, Niego 6’8” and Verbeek 6’10” Wings - Green 5’10”, Butler 6’5”, Louder 6’0”, Wade 6’2”, Clayton 6’4” The wings of the 1-3-1 have big rebounding responsibility. Green, Lowder and Wade do not have the size to play the wing. Grandy and .Butler have usually been there this season. It is ideal to have size at the top and bottom, but Green has to play one of them, as will Lowder and Wade when they are in. Probably right. I like a long guy up top but definitely creates a challenge rebounding if you have a 5’10” guy on the wing.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 29, 2019 14:40:02 GMT -5
In today’s new NERR ranking, Joe is #54 in New England
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Post by WorcesterGray on Jan 29, 2019 15:22:44 GMT -5
A big drop in the rankings for Pridgen, who was somewhere in the #25-#35 range in the fall.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 29, 2019 15:25:06 GMT -5
Probably most of those who passed him are playing in stronger divisions.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Jan 29, 2019 15:34:29 GMT -5
Looking back at his commitment thread, he was #29 in New England in August. As was discussed at the time, the ranking then didn't consider the dozens of 2019s coming into New England prep schools for their PG year.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jan 29, 2019 15:52:57 GMT -5
Wouldn't worry too much about these rankings. CLS was ranked 78, and Eric Green......80th!
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Post by hchoops on Feb 9, 2019 8:47:21 GMT -5
Joe is listed in his area’s scoring leaders in yesterday’s Newburyport paper, but it is behind a paywall
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Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 9, 2019 10:50:42 GMT -5
Governor's has lost three straight, now 10-10 overall - they will almost certainly not make the post-season Class B tournament.
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Post by hchoops on Feb 9, 2019 10:54:19 GMT -5
Governor's has lost three straight, now 10-10 overall - they will almost certainly not make the post-season Class B tournament. Not surprising When I saw a brief clip of one game, the rest of the team seemed very weak.
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Post by HC92 on Feb 9, 2019 10:58:57 GMT -5
Playing at St. Mark’s at 3:15 today if anyone is interested with HC on the road.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 9, 2019 11:01:22 GMT -5
Last I heard, NAD was planning to go.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Feb 9, 2019 11:04:48 GMT -5
Governor's has lost three straight, now 10-10 overall - they will almost certainly not make the post-season Class B tournament. Shame they caved and changed their name from Governor Dummer.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 9, 2019 14:52:26 GMT -5
Watching warm-ups. Are we sure this is his game? Looks like JVs; can't believe the drop off from when i last saw St Marks. And....no sign of Pridgen!!
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Post by HC92 on Feb 9, 2019 15:07:33 GMT -5
Watching warm-ups. Are we sure this is his game? Looks like JVs; can't believe the drop off from when i last saw St Marks. And....no sign of Pridgen!! JV schedule also shows them at St. Mark’s at 3:15. Either there are two gyms and you’re in the wrong one or the varsity game follows the JV.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 9, 2019 15:11:16 GMT -5
Thank you! Was in the JV gym!!!!
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Post by WorcesterGray on Feb 9, 2019 15:31:58 GMT -5
St. Mark's, a once-proud program, is 1-16 this year, twelve of the losses by double-digits.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 9, 2019 16:02:57 GMT -5
Body wise, reminds me a bit of Greg Kinsey. Maybe an inch taller than AB.
Played the top in a 1-3-1 in the first half for a couple of possessions, got deflections and turnovers both times. Stopped a kid at the rim, then went coast to coast. Competition not good.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 9, 2019 16:08:40 GMT -5
Now a power baseline drive for a dunk.
Telling this now because I WILL forget!
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 9, 2019 16:35:25 GMT -5
Might be done for the day, Gov Smarter up 56-32. Played about 20 minutes; maybe 13 points
Oops back in and just got a fast break layup.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 9, 2019 18:27:53 GMT -5
Might be done for the day, Gov Smarter up 56-32. Played about 20 minutes; maybe 13 points Oops back in and just got a fast break layup. He knows you’re there, Dave
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Post by hchoops on Feb 9, 2019 23:29:31 GMT -5
Thanks, Dave Will he contribute next year ?
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Feb 9, 2019 23:33:11 GMT -5
Thank you for your service, Dave.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Feb 10, 2019 7:53:49 GMT -5
Finally able to sit down and hammer out a few more notes. Thanks again to '92 for mentioning the JV game. I entered the complex from a different entrance than my last visit 7 years ago, and had no idea they had 2 gyms. I finally asked and confirmed I was in the JV gym. The Governors JV coach (with about 3 minutes before his game) then walked me out of the gym and down the hallway to the varsity gym. How's that for service! Back to Joe. As for next year, I think at least from a purely physical standpoint, he would be ready to contribute right away. He is aggressive, has a wiry but strong looking body, and is not lacking for confidence. It's just so hard to gauge his skills in a game that really did not look any more competitive than your average Central Mass high school game. With one exception outside of Joe, there may have been 3-4 kids out there imho that would be D3 candidates, but that's about it. Having said that, here are some of the things l liked: first, he has a nice looking shot, no weird looking release, nice rotation and arc on the ball. Think he was 1-3 on triples. His drives to the basket, while predominately right handed, were very strong and aggressive. I could see him someday drawing a lot of fouls. I think he was 4-7 on free throws, but again, nice looking form. I think he just didn't have enough forward lean on his misses. On the other side of the ledger, he was a bit sloppy at times with the ball (one travel, another time he dribbled the ball off his foot, had a ill advised pass). Finally, he ran the offensive on many occasions, except when they brought this other kid off the bench. Defensively, he is very interesting. They played quite a bit of zone, with both 1-3-1 and 2-3 (where he played both out front and in the back). In a 1-3-1 I could see him playing both out top (where he did yesterday) and running the baseline (just enough height and quickness I think). He seems to like playing D, which is encouraging. As for intangibles - no doubt he is their leader, and is very enthusiastic. At halftime, he ran to the exit, then turned and waited for his teammates, hand slapping each one as they came off the court. In pregame, at the very end, they ran a football style drill when he faced all his teammates. They then followed his movements, first laterally both ways, then backwards, then forwards before coming together. I think he could be a very interesting piece of the puzzle. We'll see. This visit reminded me of my trip to Exeter to see Kyle C 2 years ago. It was during this game where this unknown kid caught my eye....turned out to be Jacob Grandison. Yesterday, there was one other kid who I thought stood out. His name is Eljay Morris, from England. He is class of 2020, about Joe's size. He came over here with Marcus Bucknall, son of former Governor's (and UNC) great Steve Bucknall. Not much info out there on him, but I'll be curious to see how he develops: www.newburyportnews.com/sports/local_sports/british-baller-london-s-eljay-morris-taking-game-to-new/article_1a6d1319-99ca-5b0c-aaad-ccaa6008637f.html
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