Friday, January 14, 2011

Murray St. vs. Jacksonville St. Prospect Review

In this contest, several minor league prospects demonstrated their long term potential. While Jacksonville St. was able to take a lead early in this contest and maintain it throughout the first half, poor shot selection and a completely unnecessary technical foul allowed Murray St. to go into halftime tied. In the second half, Murray St.'s press created turnovers and really limited the number of Jacksonville St.'s offensive possessions. Additionally, the Racers were able to shut down Nick Murphy in the second half, forcing him to take unwarranted perimeter jump shots.


Murray St.

Isaac Miles- Miles is a 6'2 slasher that is physical attacking the basket. Miles is rather explosive off the dribble, and thereby probably has the most long run potential on his Racers squad. Not only is he able to embrace contact in the lane, but he also has the handle to drive past defenses and run plays from the point guard slot. On the defensive end, Miles has quick hands and is able to defend bigger players due to his physicality.

Isaiah Canaan- Canaan is the unquestioned leader of his team, standing at a diminutive 6'0. Canaan is an excellent passer and decision maker, who is able to thread the needle for post passes. Canaan is also explosive enough off the dribble to beat his man and score inside amongst bigger players. Canaan has a pretty shooting form and is able to pick his spots. Defensively, Canaan is small for his position, but has the quick hands and the lateral quickness to defend point guards. While he does have two seasons left, look for Canaan to play overseas after he finishes his career with Murray St.

Edward Daniel- Daniel is a combo forward with the ability to finish through contact. On several occasions, he was able to contort his body in order to move past his defender, and take it to the basket. Daniel was active on the glass and collected several key offensive rebounds.

Donte Poole- Poole is one of the more efficient offensive weapons on this Murray St. squad. He is the most efficient three point shooter on this squad. Poole is also probably the team's best decision maker with the ball in his hands. While he does not collect many assists, Poole willingly reverts to set offensive plays and always tries to swing the ball around the perimeter instead of opting for a hockey-assist type of play.

Jeffrey McClain- McClain is an undersized interior player that is a capable scorer on the low block. He was able to seal his man and score on several occasions in this contest. He also was crafty inside, constantly in motion to get open. As a result, he was the recipient of several good passes for easy baskets. Defensively, McClain is fairly physical, but he will struggle against the height and length of professional players.

Ivan Aska- He is the most physically imposing player that Murray St. has to offer. He is willing to fight inside for rebounds and position himself to score. While he has had a distinguished career with the Racers, Aska has taken a step back this season in terms of his confidence scoring the basketball. While his play of late may have diminished his confidence, he was still able to seal his man effectively and create contact inside. Because of his physicality, he is able to draw fouls rather easily- converting on 72% of his attempts from the line. As part of his offensive repertoire, Aska employs an effective jump hook shot in the paint.

Juwuan Long- He is an excellent decision maker, who can slash to the basket. Long has emerged this season as a defensive role player that works to lock down top offensive players on the perimeter. Also, he is able to steal the ball out of the Murray St. full court press.

Jacksonville St.

Nick Murphy- Murphy is a solid athlete that can hit the mid range jump shot. He must look to become more aware of his spot on the floor, as he was regularly shooting the ball with his foot on the three point line. When he is not stepping out for the jumper, Murphy looks to score most of his points inside off of post ups. When facing up on the block, his fadeaway jumper was fairly intriguing. At 6'4, Murphy must continue to improve his handle in order to become more of a slasher though. Also, his first step is not explosive by professional standards. On the defensive end, Murphy demonstrated that he will be a solid perimeter defender at the next level by picking up Isaiah Canaan for spurts during the second half. Overall, Murphy is a decent athlete that can rebound the ball; therein, he may become a role player at the next level.

Jeremy Bynum- Bynum is a decent three point shooter when he is able to square his body to the basket. On the defensive end, Bynum is fairly active with his hands, and was able to corral some steals when he was posted up on the block. When his team had the lead, however, he took several ill-advised shots from the perimeter, which allowed Murray St. cut the margin down late in the first half. Bynum displayed a fairly decent three point stroke when he had some time though. Early in the second half, he suffered an eye injury and had to sit out for a while. Moreover, Bynum is a decent positional defender inside, and was able to take a critical charge in this contest.

B.J. Miller- This undersized point guard was dynamic slashing to the basket. While he is not physically imposing enough to thrive at higher levels of play, Miller has the quickness to get to the basket and set up his teammates. Also, he has a pretty stroke and a quick release, which he uses to keep defenses honest. Miller was able to hit several difficult long range shots in this contest. In the second half, his 3 point shooting kept Jacksonville St. in the game. From a decision making standpoint, however, Miller is still adjusting to Division 1 basketball after transferring from Georgia Perimeter College. For example, several of his quick perimeter shots led to transition baskets for Murray St. On the defensive end, Miller has decent lateral quickness, but struggles against more physical players.

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