Anthony Davis Leads Mean Streets To Championship Of The Top 20 Tournament At Hoop City Classic
By Roy & Harv Schmidt
July 26, 2010
2:30 P.M. CST
As far as we are concerned, all that Anthony Davis continues to do is show why he is the #1 player in the nation from the 2011 class. The 6'10 center from Perspective Charter in Chicago took another huge step in that direction by leading his Mean Streets traveling team to the championship of the extremely talented top 20 tournament at the Hoop City Classic in Kansas City. Mean Streets defeated Dallas Showtyme in the final.
Although Davis may not have turned in a signature performance as he did when we watched him at the NIKE Peach Jam, he was dominant throughout every game and there was never a moment when we didn't think that he was the best player on the floor. Even when it appears that Davis is going through lapses, he still effects the game at all times and is a presence every second that he is on the court. At the Hoop City Classic, Davis controlled every game defensively. And while there were moments when he wasn't an offensive force, he still managed to do whatever was necessary to put his team in a position to win. Davis drilled three-pointers, ran the floor and finished with authority, handled and passed to open teammates on the break and simply couldn't be stopped on the glass. It is worth repeating that we have not seen a big man in Illinois with Davis' skill set since Kevin Garnett, which is why we are on record as saying that Davis is one of the five best players that we have ever seen out of Chicago in our 25 years of scouting.
Brown And Traylor Solidify Mid-Major Status
While Davis was undoubtedly the MVP, it was a total team effort that enabled Mean Streets to capture the title. It is therefore no surprise that a number of other players turned in impressive performances, most notably 5'9 class of 2011 point guard Julius Brown from Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, IL and 6'8 class of 2011 power forward Jamari Traylor from Julian High School in Chicago. As for Brown, all we will say is that he wins and based on what we watched in Kansas City, mid-major offers should be pouring in by the end of the July evaluation period. Brown repeatedly hit big shots under pressure and was outstanding during crunch time of every game. The only question is his ability to run a half-court offense, but any mid-major program that likes to play up-tempo should be all over him.
Traylor got better as the event wore on and really stepped it up in his team's first round tournament victory over the San Antonio Rohawks as well as in the second round versus the Dakota Schoolers. He is a consistent finisher and scorer in the paint area, a strong offensive rebounder and is highly athletic. It is only a matter of fine-tuning and consistency, but we believe that Traylor has considerable up side.
The Stock Raiser
No player enhanced his stock more at the Hoop City Classic than 6'3 class of 2011 guard Darien Walker from Simeon Career Academy in Chicago, who is clearly a D1 player. We have always considered Walker to be an off-guard, but in Kansas City he proved that he can also play the point and that it might even be his best position. Walker has a solid handle, can consistently get by defenders and either dish to an open teammate or finish it off at the cup and is terrific in the open court. He is also capable of knocking down shots from beyond the 3-point arc, although he remains streaky from the perimeter. There is no question that Walker opened a lot of eyes with his steady play throughout the course of this event.
Greene--Is He A 1 Or A 2?
6'3 class of 2011 guard Phil Greene from Julian High School in Chicago also performed well and was instrumental in Mean Streets' success. However, questions still abound as to what would be the best fit for Greene at the next level. Contrary to what some others have suggested, we see Greene as being more of a 2-guard as opposed to a point. Greene is actually at his best playing off the ball, as he is a tremendous spot-up shooter with range that extends well beyond the 3-point line and is also terrific at catching the ball on the wing and then finding gaps in the defense and attacking the basket. He also excels in transition and on the break. On the down side, Greene was extremely turnover-prone when asked to man the point guard spot. We know that high majors are recruiting him, but at the present time we see Greene being an ideal upper level mid-major recruit.
Illinois Wolves vs. Howard Pulley A Terrific Matchup
The best game that we witnessed at the Hoop City Classic was the quarterfinal matchup in the top 20 tournament bracket between Howard Pulley and the Illinois Wolves. Simply put, it was one of the best contests that we have seen all summer, with Howard Pulley emerging with a 73-72 victory in double overtime in a game that could have gone either way. Actually, the Wolves turned in a valiant effort, battling back from an 11 point deficit to force overtime despite two of their best players--Tracy Abrams and David Sobolewski both having fouled out.
Jacob Williams Deserves Some Love
We will be among the first to say that 6'5 class of 2011 swing man Jacob Williams from St. Patrick High School in Chicago has been one of the more inconsistent players in Illinois from the 2011 class. However, he showed us a lot in the Wolves-Howard Pulley contest. Williams took a severe fall to the floor toward the end of the first half and in doing so took a blow to the head as well as his ribs. Despite that, Williams returned in the second half and from that point on showed considerable toughness. Williams was the Wolves' go-to-guy down the stretch, as he scored inside and consistently got to the free throw line. Hopefully college coaches were watching, because we believe that Williams' effort in that game was worthy of attracting some additional scholarship offers.
Other Wolves Notes
Although the Wolves fell short versus Howard Pulley, they were dominant throughout pool play with a number of other players looking impressive at various times, including Tracy Abrams, Chasson Randle, David Sobolewski, Frank Kaminsky and Nnanna Egwu. The main reasons why Abrams rates an edge over every other guard in Illinois from the 2011 class are his toughness and his competitive edge. Abrams isn't afraid of anybody and has the best one-on-one ability of any guard in Illinois. Randle had some outstanding moments and was at his best when pulling up and nailing shots from beyond the arc and converting off of the dribble-drive. We still believe that Randle leans more toward being a 2 than a 1, but there is no question that he has the skills which make him an ideal combo guard.
Sobolewski and Kaminsky both showed why they are ideal fits for Northwestern and Wisconsin respectively. Kaminsky only played sparingly in some contests, but when he was on the floor was once again effective. We continue to be amazed at how much improvement he has shown in such a short period of time. Egwu's best performance was in the Wolves' opening game of pool play versus Dallas Showtyme, where he did his usual outstanding job of running the floor, finishing on the break and converting pullup jumpers along the baseline. Unfortunately, from that point on Egwu received limited minutes due to reaggravating his hip pointer injury.
Kudos To Peoria Carver
Despite not really having a big-time prospect and having only seven players in attendance, Peoria Carver succeeded in reaching the final four of the 17-Under Open Division at the Hoop City Classic. Leading the way were 6'5 class of 2011 forward Andrew Jordan from Manual High School in Peoria (probably the team's only D1 prospect), 5'8 class of 2011 point guard Deontray Dorsey and 6'4 class of 2011 forward Darrian White, both from Central High School in Peoria and 6'5 class of 2012 forward Devonte Lawson from Limestone High School in Bartonville, IL.
Editor's Note: We will have a web story which will include analysis from everything that we watched in the 16-Under division at the Hoop City Classic later tonight, so we encourage everyone to stay tuned!
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