Super Sophs

If you look around the state, it is not hard to see that there is some serious talent lurking amongst the state sophomore class of 2013. Most of it rests with the guard positions. It is a good crop with some nationally rated or recognized players gracing the hardwood throughout our state. I am going to take a stab at my ratings and assessment of the players I have seen live and those that I have yet to see play in person. Let me pre-qualify by saying that there is very little separation from player to player in my rankings.

1. Monte Morris – Flint Beecher – all around playmaker – can do it all – point guard that can spot up and shoot from outside, pull up off the dribble but most effective when penetrating to the basket. Finds a way to get to the hole. Sees the floor well and an effective passer and gets the ball to the rim in the paint. Extremely poised on the court. May not be the quickest guard but has long strides and gets by his defender with smart body positioning and deceiving first step. Tough to take the ball from this kid. Not flashy but gets the job done and gets a lot of sneaky 20 point games. Growing 6’0” – 6’1”. If he continues to grow will be nice Big Ten point guard.

2. James Young – Troy – Improved tremendously from last year. Has grown to 6-4 or 6-5 and has thinned down a bit. Has a great stroke from the outside – has tremendous range on his jump shot. Can fill it up from 25 easy. Not tremendously quick but deceptive and can create space to get his shot off. Very good slasher player. Would be a nice 2 guard in D-1. Very long and a decent dribbler. Now playing the point a bit, still needs to work on his ball handling for the next level but goes strong to the basket and will stick around the boards and do some clean up work. Can get up as well. Tough to defend in high school at the guard position due to his length and size.


3. Vincent Hunter – Detroit Consortium – this is my dark horse kid. He is extremely athletic, good size (a solid 6-4) manlike body and possesses a lot of raw talent. He just looks natural on the court and is comfortable playing any position you put him at. He can handle the ball, he bangs it up down low, has another level that he can reach when he wants to. Can really get up and is very graceful, yet powerful, when he attacks the basket. Has really good form on his shot and is not afraid to put it up when being defended. Is a pretty decent defender himself. Looks a bit too carefree at times or perhaps not focused but this kid has talent and the build of a definite Big Ten player.


4. Lorenzo Bonnan – Dearborn Heights Robichaud – I have only seen him once this year but I really liked what I saw. I know Spicer gets most of the pub on this team but this is the kid that impressed me the most. He is very active, all over the court. Both on the offensive and defense side of the ball. He is constantly moving on the offensive side and covers a lot of the court in a hurry. He is a very long, rangy, energetic player who is a tremendous glider to the basket. He controls his body extremely well while in air, has great hang time and can get up. Has a nice pull back jumper and a good looking shot. Not sure just yet how good of an outside shooter he is but has the tools. A bit on the skinny side but if he fills out and continues to progress with his ball handling skills – another good D-1 point guard or 2 man in college


5. Cha Cha Tucker – Lansing Eastern – I know he is one of the most highly rated nationally of the Michigan sophomores but his size hurts him a little. What is exceptional about his game is the ability to dribble out of and through traps, his ability to see the entire floor and be one step ahead of everything. He has and creates energy on the floor. A true point guard by the sense of the definition. He looks to create and pass first but can score when he wants. He is probably the quickest of all the players ranked above him here but I am not sold on his outside shot yet and whether or not he is quick enough to create space to knock down the jumpers against the size and speed of the players on the next level.

6. EC Matthews – Romulus – this 6’3” wing guard is very strong and athletic. He could dominate right now on a very talented team but definitely plays team basketball. He defends well for his size. He does not hesitate to take the ball to the hole strong and he mixes it up under the boards as well. Has a good knack for the basketball. I see good leadership skills in this kid as well. In my mind, he is the difference maker for this teams run this year. If they make it to states and contend for the Championship it will because this kid continues to elevate his game.

7. Austin Price – Detroit Country Day – Nice looking point guard that is not getting enough playing time on this team. He has a smooth game, sees the court well, has nice form on his outside jumper – good from 15-18 foot range. Good ball handler and best of the dribble. Having trouble breaking into DCD lineup with strong defensive guards like Kenny Knight, Lee Bailey and Chris Fowler but he would be starting and playing 30-35 minutes on just about any other team.

Top Sophomores that I have not seen live

1. Bo Ziegler – 6’5 Forward – Detroit Community – same last name as Mt. Pleasant superstar now CMU starter, Trey Ziegler but can’t believe there is connection. You never know though. Certainly is getting the type of hype Trey was getting as a sophomore. Have yet to see him but rated nationally so I need to get to the D and see one of his games to assess his game.

2. Derrick Walton Jr – Chandler Park Academy – 5’10” Scoring machine. From what I have read, this kid is a pass first, score second player so his teammates must be guarded extremely well because this kid is dumping 25+ points a game consistently as of late. Will have to make a special trip to go see him play. Just wonder if he is scoring this much off inferior competition.

3. Steve Haney – Lansing Eastern – Have only seen him on you tube and in warm-ups. Has real nice form on his shot and is supposedly a very accurate shooter from the outside. Apparently he can score from inside as well. With a 6’6” frame and ability to shoot from outside he will be a valuable commodity down the road.

4. Denzel Watts – Flint Carmen-Ainsworth – Very, very quick guard from what I have read. Floor leader and scorer that will race the court. Hoping to see him sometimes before states.



High School Rankings: Top 20 - SNOB Style – These ranking are based on the combination of talent, potential and season results of these teams.

1. Detroit Country Day 11-2 Defeated Southfield quite easily – not many weaknesses on this team
2. Ann Arbor Huron 10-1 Should not lose again in regular season
3. Romulus 10-1 Have toughest schedule left – will play anyone
4. Kalamazoo Central 10-1 Plays next toughest schedule to Romulus
5. Detroit Southeastern 12-2 10-0 in PSL East division – very tough to do. Trio of Kearney, Gibson and Brown are good as any
6. Lansing Eastern 10-2 Will see how Haney fits in – if nicely this team should be right at home in East Lansing at the end of March
7. Lansing Sexton 10-0 Moving up my rankings based on ability to play as a team and win without best player Valentine for a number of games
8. Warren DeLaSalle 11-1 Will be challenging for them to stay in top 10 with loss of Bryan Mintzer, their top player. Strong defensively but have not played a very strong schedule compared to teams above.
9. Detroit Cody 12-2 Surprise team and another one that went 10-0 in the PSL West – very difficult to do.
10. Saginaw 11-2 Could be peaking at the right time and ready to make a state run.
11. Bay City Western 11-1 The big man, Matt Costello is turning it up a notch
12. Detroit Douglass 12-1 Still commander of the City league in Class B
13. Southfield 8-3 Talent component is there but results haven’t been
14. Flint Powers 10-1 Have dropped but to no fault of their own. Can climb with some wins over upcoming tougher opponents
15. Gull Lake 10-0 Have got my attention with drubbing (75-38) of a decently talented Otsego team
16. Chandler Park Academy 12-1 In the rankings due to Derrick Walton Jr.
17. Ypsilanti 10-0 Undefeated so they get a ranking but play lesser competition
18. Grand Rapids Christian 11-0 Handles usually tough East Grand Rapids pretty easily
19. Petoskey 11-1 Cory Starkey – 6’7” Bucknell Commit gets them on list
20. East Kentwood 10-2 Lost one point game to Rockford (49-48) last week



Must see upcoming High School games:

National Game
2/5 Poly Long Beach #4 vs. #40 Bishop Gorman Las Vegas – 6 D-1 Players
10:00 PM ESPNU

State Games:
2/5 Rochester at Avondale
2/5 Romulus at Muskegon Heights
2/8 Saginaw Arthur Hill at Romulus
2/11 Flint Powers Catholic at Flint Carmen-Ainsworth
2/12 Kalamazoo Central at Saginaw 3 PM
2/15 Saginaw at Romulus
2/17 Detroit Consortium at Flint Powers Catholic
2/19 Kalamazoo Central at Muskegon Heights
2/24 Kalamazoo Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
2/26 Romulus at Kalamazoo Central
2/26 Detroit Country Day at Saginaw Arthur Hill
3/3 Romulus at Detroit Country Day


Your Basketball SNOB