James Michael McAdoo Shows Glimpses of 2012-13 Potential
Game 1
The standout award of the day has to go to Tennessee Tech senior guard Kevin Murphy. He was almost a relative unknown heading into his senior season, but the 6'6" wing swarmed scouts' draft boards when he came through with the season's only 50-point game in January. While Murphy had struggled against superior competition and athleticism (7-of-26 combined for 20 total points against Miami and West Virginia), he was an astounding 11-of-14 from the floor in this game, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc and finished with 27 points in 29 minutes.
The star of the Norfolk State Spartans and cinderellas everywhere, Kyle O'Quinn, burst onto the national scene with 26 points and 14 rebounds in NSU's No. 15 seeded Spartans knocking off No. 2 Missouri in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. Against a similarly sized and similarly game-planned Florida Gators next up, O'Quinn really struggled inside, going 1-for-9 from the field and finishing with just 4 points and 3 rebounds. So in his first appearance since the tournament, there were a number of scouts that were specifically watching the 6'10", 240-pound inside-outside senior and he didn't disappoint. He tallied 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
His teammate, Georgetown center Henry Sims had a strong showing as well, showing off his versatility and ability to play the high-post, low-post and even a facilitator on the perimeter. He had 12 points (albeit he struggled a bit finishing inside), 7 rebounds and a couple of hockey-style assists.
There is some buzz going around combo-forward Wendell McKines, the 6'6" senior from New Mexico State. While McKines led the WAC in scoring (18.7) and rebounding (10.7) he missed out on conference player of the year and appears to be more of a drastically undersized power forward than a skilled small forward at the next level, although, it is quite evident he is putting in the work to transition. After a 15-point, 18-rebound (including 9 on the offensive end) performance in the NABC All-Star game, McKines had another double-double, this time of 16 points and 10 rebounds. He continues to show inconsistencies playing from the perimeter.
Gus Gilchrist of South Florida has been an intriguing prospect throughout his four years for the Bulls because of his size and versatility to play inside and out. While his offensive game is still coming around to him, his defensive game really stood out as one might expect as South Florida was the nation's top defensive team this past season. The 6'10" Gilchrist finishing with 12 rebounds and a couple of blocks to go along with his 12 points.
Gilchrist's teammate is an even more intriguing prospect despite being unheralded in most Draft circles. Buffalo's Mitchell Watt has excellent length and solid athleticism, but one has to wonder why he didn't have better production playing for the Bulls in the MAC (he doubled his previous season-high scoring average this season to 16.3 points, but averaged 7.5 rebounds and just 2.2 blocks, surprising given his size and athleticism). He had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks in the NABC All-Star game a few weeks ago and posted 11 points, including one 3-pointer, with 8 rebounds and a camp-high 7 blocks.
One of the higher rated prospects entering the PIT was shooting guard Alex Young of IUPUI who came through with a disappointing performance. The volume-scorer managed just 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting, making 1-of-4 from the floor and failed to really contribute in any other area of the game.
Game 2
After failing to impact the games near the end of the season due to injury, Long Beach State wing Larry Anderson looked better than advertised out there on the floor. He has good size at 6'5" and good length for a 2-guard and displayed his versatile, stat-filling skill set in this one: he was 5-of-8 from the floor for 14 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. He attacked the defense off the dribble and got to the foul line, but did an excellent job of keeping his head up, drawing the defense and then finding the open man.
Jordan Taylor the pre-season All-American point guard from Wisconsin, was a bit disappointing and looked out of rhythm nearly the entire game. He was an unusual 4-of-12 from the floor, which was only made worse by 5 turnovers. He did dish out 7 assists and collect 6 rebounds, but we expected a more efficient performance from Taylor.
Jarrod Jones, a power forward representing Ball State really struggled to score around the rim, but showed resilience in continuing to attack the basket. He collected 5 offensive rebounds and 11 total to go along with his 7 points on just 3-of-10 shooting.
By President - Corey Ruff - 4-11-12
