Sean Williams and I rolled into Carterville, Georgia this afternoon for the Under Armour Finals at the immaculate Lake Point Sports Complex Pavilion. The gymnasium is brand new and has twelve basketball courts and/or twenty-five volleyball courts. Several Vanderbilt prospects including one commit was here tonight, and we certainly saw an eyeful.
I'll start out on a down note. We watched the Florida Vipers in the very first game and their seven-footer Victor Uyaelsumno. He is every bit that tall with length and athleticism. He has natural shot blocking skills and good hands. I feel like he has all of the tools except current weight. He's around 200 pounds and needs to get to 240. He can't sustain a hit right now to maintain possession or to wrestle inside. He can finish though if he is given space and a body is not on him. I also like the way he keeps the ball high. Tragically though, with just over a minute left in the game, he went down in a heap after blocking a shot. He immediately grabbed his ankle, and one he rolled over, it was apparent he had a Joe Theismann type injury. I don't want to speculate, but the human leg is not supposed to bend in that direction. Thoughts and prayers need to be with him and his family because it was gruesome to see, and I'm sure traumatic for him.
Vanderbilt's most pressing priority in the 2017 Class was to find a post. I'm curious if they stick with Uyaelumno, or go to the next option. If they do the latter, then I'm not sure at this time who that might be. Victor Enoh has been offered a scholarship, but at 6-foot-8, he isn't a candidate for the five spot.
Nate Pierre-Louis has a nice body for a guard. He is strong, handles the ball, finishes around the rim, competes, and is a team leader. He is very athletic and strong. He will take it all the way to the rim and finish through contact. He is also an excellent defender. He is not a good outside shooter. The lefty fires it from his belt, and it is obvious there are mechanical issues. He needs to find other ways to score besides shooting layups. If I'm playing against him right now and am competitive defensively, I play off of him and try to take away the drive, and see if he can beat me form outside.
Jack Nunge is a player. He scored twenty-seven tonight. He's every bit of 6-foot-8. He is fundamentally sound, can pass it, handle it, and shoot from deep. His point production was sort of the quiet kind. It got very fast-paced against a smaller, quicker team, which wasn't in his wheel house. But he had a huge night despite that. Nunge has also been in the weight room, and has a nice frame for someone as tall and long as he is. He wasn't the most athletic guy here, but that part of his game is not a detriment either. He hasn't gotten an offer yet, but I would not be surprised if one doesn't roll out before the week is over.
One player we did not know about coming in was Jerald Butler. The 6-foot-4 wing from the Florida Vipers already has a big, thick 220 pound body. He actually brought the ball up the floor some against tough pressure. He has a slow outside shot delivery that he needs to shorten up, but he did make three 3's when left open. He rebounds, guards and recovers well for a young man his size. He attacks the rim and runs and finishes in transition. He made a couple of fast break layups under a high degree of difficulty. He also really, really, likes Vanderbilt. He does a lot of things well. He's simply one of those type kids that wins games for you. We will have more on him very shortly.
Sean saw Saben Lee tonight and was very impressed. He called him a solid all-around point guard who defends very well. He has good vision, is very quick with an explosive first step. He says he has side to side quickness and can get to the bucket. He needs to get more consistency to his jump shot, but he can hit the three. When he does get to the rim, he will either finish or draw a foul. Sean also stated that he has "monster hops."
Sean also saw recent 2018 point guard, Jahvon Quinerly, who received a Vanderbilt offer Monday night. In Sean's own words, "he is really good." He said that Quinerly may not be as good defensively as Lee, but has that elite-level quickness and will be a consistent scorer and shooter on the next level. He apparently is a three-level scorer: deep, mid-range, at the bucket. He seems to be every bit of a Top-50 player.
On another note, Alabama's Alex Reese and Jamal Johnson both say they haven't heard much from Vanderbilt for awhile. Most feel that Reese will end up in Tuscaloosa, and surprisingly to me, most SEC schools have pulled off Johnson. A friend of mine who covers basketball recruiting in that state won't be surprised if he ends up at UAB.
Once again, thanks for taking your time to read my thoughts. We will bring you more tomorrow.
I'll start out on a down note. We watched the Florida Vipers in the very first game and their seven-footer Victor Uyaelsumno. He is every bit that tall with length and athleticism. He has natural shot blocking skills and good hands. I feel like he has all of the tools except current weight. He's around 200 pounds and needs to get to 240. He can't sustain a hit right now to maintain possession or to wrestle inside. He can finish though if he is given space and a body is not on him. I also like the way he keeps the ball high. Tragically though, with just over a minute left in the game, he went down in a heap after blocking a shot. He immediately grabbed his ankle, and one he rolled over, it was apparent he had a Joe Theismann type injury. I don't want to speculate, but the human leg is not supposed to bend in that direction. Thoughts and prayers need to be with him and his family because it was gruesome to see, and I'm sure traumatic for him.
Vanderbilt's most pressing priority in the 2017 Class was to find a post. I'm curious if they stick with Uyaelumno, or go to the next option. If they do the latter, then I'm not sure at this time who that might be. Victor Enoh has been offered a scholarship, but at 6-foot-8, he isn't a candidate for the five spot.
Nate Pierre-Louis has a nice body for a guard. He is strong, handles the ball, finishes around the rim, competes, and is a team leader. He is very athletic and strong. He will take it all the way to the rim and finish through contact. He is also an excellent defender. He is not a good outside shooter. The lefty fires it from his belt, and it is obvious there are mechanical issues. He needs to find other ways to score besides shooting layups. If I'm playing against him right now and am competitive defensively, I play off of him and try to take away the drive, and see if he can beat me form outside.
Jack Nunge is a player. He scored twenty-seven tonight. He's every bit of 6-foot-8. He is fundamentally sound, can pass it, handle it, and shoot from deep. His point production was sort of the quiet kind. It got very fast-paced against a smaller, quicker team, which wasn't in his wheel house. But he had a huge night despite that. Nunge has also been in the weight room, and has a nice frame for someone as tall and long as he is. He wasn't the most athletic guy here, but that part of his game is not a detriment either. He hasn't gotten an offer yet, but I would not be surprised if one doesn't roll out before the week is over.
One player we did not know about coming in was Jerald Butler. The 6-foot-4 wing from the Florida Vipers already has a big, thick 220 pound body. He actually brought the ball up the floor some against tough pressure. He has a slow outside shot delivery that he needs to shorten up, but he did make three 3's when left open. He rebounds, guards and recovers well for a young man his size. He attacks the rim and runs and finishes in transition. He made a couple of fast break layups under a high degree of difficulty. He also really, really, likes Vanderbilt. He does a lot of things well. He's simply one of those type kids that wins games for you. We will have more on him very shortly.
Sean saw Saben Lee tonight and was very impressed. He called him a solid all-around point guard who defends very well. He has good vision, is very quick with an explosive first step. He says he has side to side quickness and can get to the bucket. He needs to get more consistency to his jump shot, but he can hit the three. When he does get to the rim, he will either finish or draw a foul. Sean also stated that he has "monster hops."
Sean also saw recent 2018 point guard, Jahvon Quinerly, who received a Vanderbilt offer Monday night. In Sean's own words, "he is really good." He said that Quinerly may not be as good defensively as Lee, but has that elite-level quickness and will be a consistent scorer and shooter on the next level. He apparently is a three-level scorer: deep, mid-range, at the bucket. He seems to be every bit of a Top-50 player.
On another note, Alabama's Alex Reese and Jamal Johnson both say they haven't heard much from Vanderbilt for awhile. Most feel that Reese will end up in Tuscaloosa, and surprisingly to me, most SEC schools have pulled off Johnson. A friend of mine who covers basketball recruiting in that state won't be surprised if he ends up at UAB.
Once again, thanks for taking your time to read my thoughts. We will bring you more tomorrow.
