Phenom Hoop Report courtesy of Rick Lewis, coming out of Saturday’s Elite 80 Showcase at Proehlific Park, in Greenboro….
Phenom Hoop Report
Scouting Report: October 30th, 2011
Event: Scout Focus Elite 80 Showcase Part 1
Evaluator: Rick Lewis
Phenom Quote of the Day: “What you achieve through the journey of life is
not as important as who you become.”
Phenom Hoop Report Philosophy: “Balanced, thorough, and detailed evaluations
based upon the 3 P’s philosophy of Performance, Production, and Potential”
We travelled to Proehlific Park in Greensboro, North Carolina to cover the
Scout Focus Elite 80 Showcase. Every year, Joe Davis has a lot of young
players from eastern North Carolina that I usually don’t get a chance to
evaluate. That being said, the marquee names coming into the camp was 6’4
explosive and athletic WG James Demery and 6’7 WF Gary Clark, but it was 6’6
Dante Buford who stole the show. In all honesty, I hadn’t heard a great deal
of Buford who played on the South Carolina Raptors Elite AAU program and
must have played out of position. This Saturday, Buford introduced himself
as a possible high elite level player.
There is an old saying, “if it walks like a duck, if he quacks like a duck,
and if it looks like a duck, it is probably a duck.” In regard to Buford,
“if you have high major athleticism and high major skills then you may just
be a high major player.” In addition, another name to closely monitor of
having a breakout season is 6’8 junior “man-child” Tony Nunn. We will have
more on each in the below write up.
Let’s get started!
Player: 6’6 Dante “Dr. Dunk” Buford
Hometown: Greenville, NC (recently transferred)
School: Oakwood School
Grade: 10 (Class 2014)
Evaluation: Simply put, Buford was a “man among boys” at this event and
without question was the top prospect in attendance. We are talking about a
super athletic 6’6 wing that can do a little bit of everything as he used
the courts at Proehlific Park as his “personal playground” to showcase his
athleticism and skill sets. Of course, like many athletic wings, they love
to get out in transition and dunk everything in sight and yes Buford had his
fair share of highlight dunks. Without question, he was a “dunking machine”
in transition, but his impeccable timing off missed shots for slam dunks
were more impressive. In addition, he was equally impressive with his
outstanding range on 3 pointers as in one sequence made 3 consecutive 3
pointers from NBA range. He was coming down in transition and pulling up 3
and was making nifty moves off the dribble for 3s. (Has great elevation and
lift on his jumper) In addition, Buford has above average ball handling
abilities and is also unselfish in the open court as he made “no look”
passes to open teammates. Buford plays extremely hard on both ends of the
court and competes like a warrior as he goes hard and high for every
rebound! While one can become intoxicated with his performance at an
exposure/evaluation event, Buford is definitely a prospect high major
schools should follow and monitor over the next few years.
Player: 6’8 Tony Nunn
Hometown: Salisbury, NC
School: Salisbury HS
Grade: 11 (Class 2013)
Evaluation: While Tony Nunn only has a few mid major offers on the table, he
stated he is getting interest from a few ACC and SEC schools. Get this; Nunn
is a wide body youngster that looks like he still has room for growth. He
wears a size 18 shoe and has an impressive 7’2 wing span and he is a young
junior since he played some 15U AAU basketball last season and what’s
equally important is what you currently see is not the finished prospect
quite yet. He still has a little “baby fat” and has a young looking face.
First of all, Nunn has extremely “soft hands” which is number one on my
criteria for a low post presence. Second, he is a wide body that takes up a
lot of space and does have good footwork in the post. Third, he moves well
without the ball and doesn’t mind playing the post. Fourth, he gets off the
floor well for his size while he is a good but not great athlete. While Nunn
can improve his conditioning and get in a little better shape physically,
but if that was the case, high majors would have already been on him
already. While we are not ready to put Nunn in a high major category, he is
definitely a prospect high majors should monitor based upon supply and
demand of big physically low post players, plus if he continues to grow and
develop he could be a sleeper in the class of 2013.
Player: 6’7 Logan McClane
Hometown: Greenville, NC (transferred to Oakwood School)
School: Oakwood School
Grade: 10 (Class 2014)
Evaluation: McClane is a promising young prospect that has a tremendous
skill set, fundamentals and high basketball IQ. The southpaw simply knows
how to play the game. He sets picks to get teammates open and is an
excellent “pick and pop” player. He has outstanding range and his shot is
“textbook.” He has a high release point with excellent extension and
follow-through. More importantly, he has good handles and is an above
average passer. He has a little flair to his game as he likes to make a few
nifty “no look” passes in transition. One of his best moves of the day was
receiving the ball behind the arch and made a hard jab step to create space
and stepped back to knock down the 3 pointer. He plays smart and under
control. The next step in his development is to get stronger and quicker.
That being said, mid major schools should carefully monitor his progress
over the next 3 years.
Player: 6’5 Sharwyn McGee
Hometown: High Point (transferred to Upper Room Academy)
School: Upper Room Academy
Grade: 11 (Class 2013)
Evaluation: McGee transferred to Upper Room Academy from High Point
Ragsdale. In the past, McGee has been regulated to playing on the interior
and was primarily known as an undersized PF. McGee is a strong and physical
wing that loves to attack the rim. He plays with a passion and purpose with
a high intensity motor that makes him valuable at the next level. He was
excellent with his mid range pull up jumper and even extended the defense by
knocking down 3 pointers for the day and his may erase some doubts
concerning his perimeter skills. The most impressive feat of the day was
slam dunk off a miss shot and then coming down in transition on the next
possession with a pull up 3 pointer. It will be interesting to chart his
progress over his junior season with Upper Room Academy and see if he can
continue to make vast improvements in his perimeter game. All that being
said, his young man plays as hard as any young player I have seen.
Player: 6’4 James Demery
Hometown: Washington, NC
School: Oakwood
Grade: 10 (Class 2014)
Evaluation: Demery probably came into the camp with the most hype and
according to him, already has received high major offers from Kansas and
others. It is no secret that Demery has an extra gear and is quite athletic
and explosive. He has a strong and quick first step and passes well off the
dribble in transition. He does have excellent elevation and lift on his pull
up jumper and has all the physical tools to be a high major player. That
being said, he had a very “quiet” camp, but showed glimpses of stardom at
times. He did play on the same team as future Oakwood teammate Dante Buford
and may have just let him have his day in the sun. More importantly, after
the game I approached Demery that he needed to be more assertive and
aggressive since I already knew of his abilities, but the conversation with
his young man afterward made one of the strongest and memorable impressions
on me as an adult. First of all, Demery responded with a “yes sir” or “no
sir” in our conversation, but also told me “thank you” for mentioning that
to him and how much it meant to him. In our “microwave society” and “me
first mentality” with so many young players, it is refreshing to see such a
talented and humble young player exhibit the mannerism and maturity of
Demery. While he has high major ability, in my opinion, he has high major
character which is far more important in the game of life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=Va4jTXGZliI&feature=endscreen