Player Observations from the WBY Shootout

So I spent 2 days and 18 games worth at the WBY Shootout in Milwaukee. The Al McGuire Center is a nice building. My thoughts on the players

DeMarcus Cousins (LeFlore), played little in the blowout of Pius but he hit 9 of 1o FTs down the stretch against Vincent before fouling out in OT. Was unstoppable inside and has range to the 3 pt line. Against Pius he made a steal at 3 Quarter court, made a behind the back dribble and dunked. Sick move, despite the fact that he probably walked on the play. My play of the year.

Nick Williams (LeFlore), played little in the blowout of Pius but had 10 pts in a 13-0 run to lead them back against Vincent. He finished that game with 29 and was dominant in the 2nd half. Strong, can shoot it, post up and rebound it. Could be another in the long line of good Marquette guards.

Larry Bradley (Vincent). He doesn't play like a freshman. Solid guard and you'll hear more about him down the road. Vincent ran a surprising amount of stuff for him.

John Benkoske (Oshkosh West). Great big guy, he hit 2 clutch FTs with 0.8 left to beat Vincent on day 1. Goot feet, good shooter. Will be a nice player with his former HS coach at Loyola of Chicago.

David Anderson (Oshkosh West). Another solid big, but at 6-8 he plays smaller because he brings the ball down too much where even I could get at it. But he's only a sophomore and he'll be the man for them next year. It shows a lot when you have a sophomore big doing large amounts of ball handling.

Flavien Davis (Wisconsin Lutheran). Gets to the rim at will and can finish. Can defend when he wants to, but that was all of about 4 plays in 2 games.

Jamil Wilson (Racine Horlick). Great athlete, so-so shooter. Played within himself in the upset win over Whitefish Bay Dominican. Was in foul trouble, but still got 14 and 10 along with a late lob dunk.

Nathan Zastrow (Manitowoc). Exciting player, think Zach Towle of Concordia. Still got points after Tosa East put a 6-5 guy on him to face guard him.

Korie Lucious (Milwaukee Pius XI). Very quick, good handle. Forced shots and shot poorly in the event (5-22 and 9-25). He'll need to get stronger for Tom Izzo. He did come up big to get Pius back in the game vs Dominican in the 4th quarter.

Kwamain Mitchell (Whitefish Bay Dominican). Solid point guard, rebounds well. Good vision. Quick enough to get his own offense.

Jake Barnett (Wauwatosa East). Very underrated. I thought he was better than a couple of other seniors who were higher ranked in the event (Tom Neary and Dan Kratz). Can defend, hit 3 NBA 3s , good vision, will be a nice pickup for a D2 team. May be overshadowed by the fact that his team is so loaded.

Kameron Cerroni (Sussex Hamilton). Great footwork with 2 foot jump stops and stepping thru, solid shooter, good vision. Plays for a small and young team who's building for 2 years from now. Had a tournament record 36 in a double OT win over Wausau East and 23 in their loss to Germantown. Takes too many tough shots and can be turnover prone.

Ben Averkamp (Germantown). Nice big guy for the Warhawks. Can block shots and shoot it and is strong enough to play inside.

Marquis Mason (Madison East). Quiet 2 days, but he had 8 in a row vs St. Bernard's when they fell asleep to get them back in the game. A force on the low block.

Tom Neary (Waukesha Catholic Memorial). Nice shooter, had 27 vs Germantown.

TJ Bray (Waukesha Catholic Memorial). Nice young point guard. Good shooter and good vision, plays within their system.

Jordan Fischer (Wausau East). Struggled in their 1st game, but had 27 and a clutch 3 vs Sussex Hamilton. Nice pickup for UW-Parkside

Andy Smith (S. Milwaukee). Nice big guy. Plays a bit too soft for my liking since he has enough bulk to play strong. Good feet but could have been more active. Had 21 in a loss to Milwaukee Madison. Servicable big guy for Mercer.

Rick Bowers (Germantown). Good point guard, really made them go. Quick.