2008 Las Vegas AAUs: Top 10 ProspectsBy: Aran_Smith

1.) John Wall 6’4
182 PG Word of God (Raleigh, NC) HSSr.

Wall is truly a breathtaking talent capable of single handedly
talking over games. His blinding speed in the open floor is extremely rare in
a 6’4 point guard. All it takes for Wall to get by his man is one quick head fake
in either direction and he’s off to the races. He also handles and passes the
ball extremely well. His skill set and attributes fall somewhere between Derrick
Rose and Dwyane Wade. He’s adept at the drive and kick using his tremendous vision
and reflexes to find teammates around the basket for easy buckets. Wall’s lack
of a consistent shot is the one area of his game that is still missing. He’s got
solid form, but struggles to consistently knock down his jumper making him a candidate
to zone, which is exactly how Team Breakdown (Knight and Boynton) was able to
beat him. Adding a mid-range jump shot would allow him to get shots off instead
of having to deal with bigmen around the rim every time he wants to score.

2.) Tony Wroten 6’4 185 SG Garfield
(Seattle, WA) HSSo.

At just 15, a strong case could be made that Wroten is the best player in all
of high school basketball regardless of class. He has a package of skills rarely
seen in a sophomore, with the ability to create for himself and others. He’s every
bit as good as OJ Mayo was at the same age (when Mayo was a freshman). Wroten
is extremely explosive around the rim, has great vision showing the ability to
log time at point guard and shows a high motor and intensity level that makes
him a fierce competitor. While he would certainly benefit by growing a few inches,
Wroten looks to be a can’t miss prospect capable of playing at the highest level.
He’s just 15 and would be a star at the college level right now. He’s that good.

3.) Brandon Knight 6’3 175 PG Pine
Crest (Coral Springs, FL) HSJr.

The best way to describe Knight’s game is effortless. Everything he does makes
the game appear very easy. His maturity, confidence, feel, and passion for the
game are tremendous. Along with teammate Boynton, the pair are assassins, ripping
out the heart of the competition regularly. Knight has above average athleticism
with the ability to rise up and dunk in a crowd. He’s got an excellent mid-range
game with great speed and quickness to create shots for himself against quality
defenders. Knight has some drawbacks for the NBA level. He’s not a specimen athlete
lacking a strong body, and doesn’t appear as if he’ll be able to add a great deal
of weight. Also taking away from his NBA potential is the fact that he appears
to be more combo than pure point guard. However his positives far outweigh the
negatives.

4.) Derrick Favors 6’9 220 PF South
Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) HSSr.

	Derrick Favors

Favors is a supremely agile and fluid forward who plays much
bigger than his size due to his huge wingspan and excellent leaping ability. He
dominates at the high school level at both ends of the floor using his tremendous
timing to block shots. He still has a ways to go developing his offensive game.
Right now he scores a majority of his points in transition and put back dunks.
He needs to develop some go to moves and the ability to create offense for himself.
While he’s probably the most dominant bigman in the entire senior class, there
are still some question marks regarding his position, as with his current skill
set he’ll need to add weight in order to be as dominant at the college and pro
levels.

5.)Tristan Thompson 6’8 210
SF St Benedict’s Prep (Newark, NJ) HSJr.

With a positive outlook and attitude, Thompson is an intriguing forward prospect.
The Canada native still has a long ways to go to develop into a small forward,
but shows the physical attributes to be a pro at the position With a weak crop
of juniors, Thompson is right at the head of the class. While he’s nearly a year
old for his grade, he appears to have a lot of untapped potential to improve.
Right now he prefers to back his man down, but can knock down the 10-12 foot jumper
with good regularity. Over time, he should be able to develop the ability to face
the basket and get by defenders using the dribble. He shows a soft touch and should
be able to extend his range and consistency with hard work.

6.) Kenny
Boynton 6’2 190 PG/SG American Heritage (Plantation, FL) HSSr.

Boynton is a stone cold killer. His passion and intensity is rarely matched, and
when he gets in the zone shooting from outside, he’s deadly. While the form on
his shot isn’t textbook, you can’t knock the results. He’s particularly impressive
shooting with a hand in his face and regularly fires up shots with defenders out
on him behind the stripe with solid results. Defensively he gives opponents fits
as he’s got great body strength and puts a lot of attention into that end of the
floor. While not a true point guard, Boynton is more of a Ben Gordon type of small
2-guard with the explosiveness to finish and make plays in the paint as well as
knock down mid-range jumpers. Boynton always brings his "A" game showing
a tremendous level of desire and intensity. If he can expand his passing and point
guard skills, it will increase his value for the highest level.

7.) John
Henson 6’10 190 PF Round Rock (Round Rock, TX) North Carolina HSSr.

Henson has a lot of upside, especially if he can develop his body. His speed and
fluidity in the open floor is exceptional for a player with his height and length.
But there are questions about his body as he has narrow shoulders and lacks any
real strength. But don’t tell him that as he’s willing to go inside and mix it
up with bigger players as he did against Renardo Sidney who might have 100 lbs
on Henson. He completely outplayed Sidney beating him to the punch repeatedly
and getting inside Sidney’s head, pestering him into making some dumb fouls. Henson
shows a nice shot with good form and touch and developing range. While he is likely
a 2-3 year college guy due to his undeveloped body, he’s a very intriguing prospect
due to his size and agility.

	Abdul Gaddy

8.) Abdul Gaddy
6’3 180 PG Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, WA.)

Gaddy is a true point guard with polished skills, being able to shoot off the
dribble as well as create offense for teammates. He’s an intriguing prospect and
although he lacks the physical attributes of a John Wall, right now he has a much
more complete game. Gaddy protects the ball better and has the ability to pull
up off the dribble as well as run a pick and roll. Both Gaddy and (teammate) Bradley
could learn a thing or two about delivering the knock out punch from Knight and
Boynton, as they had the duo on the ropes in their first match up only to be overwhelmed
and blow away in the second half. While the Washington duo have more clear cut
positions and skills, their intensity and killer instinct are way behind the Breakdown
duo.

9.) Avery Bradley 6’3 180 SG Bellarmine
Prep (Tacoma, WA)

Bradley is an undersized 2-guard at 6’3 but has a big wingspan and very impressive
skills. Defensively he uses his tremendous lateral speed and long arms to lock
down opposing guards. On the offensive end, his excellent ball handling ability
and great range make him difficult to defend. He had one of the most impressive
plays of the week crossing over Team Breakdown and driving to the basket for a
dunk. Bradley also possesses one of the purest strokes on the high school level.
Despite standing just 6’3, there’s a lot to like about his game, and he has the
goods to overcome his lack of height and make it at the highest level.

10.) Joshua
Smith 6’10 300 C Kentwood (Covington, WA)

Eddy Curry was nicknamed"Baby Shaq", so Smith’s nickname should be "Baby
Curry". Smith has a very similar build only he’s smaller than Curry and has
less lift and therefore has less potential than Curry showed at the same age.
Whether or not he will work hard at his game and become as good or better than
Curry is another story. Smith shows solid offensive skills with the ability to
make post moves and finish with soft touch. On the negative side, he lacks great
lateral speed and takes time to get into transition and could stand to drop 20
pounds or so, but his girth is a commodity as his strength makes him a handful
for opponents inside.