Nike Peach Jam: Day 1By: ipowers

The 9am game featured a match up between Each One Teach One (Brandon
Knight and Austin Rivers) and Howard
Pulley Panthers (Harrison Barnes).

The
game was a blowout from the tip. E1T1 jumped out to a 20 point lead in the first
quarter behind Austin Rivers excellent scoring.
Rivers was aggressive from the start getting to the basket and shooting the long
ball. He was able to get any shot he wanted, including a beautiful drive right
and baseline spin move back into the middle of the lane for a three point play.

Brandon
Knight was very solid. He made some heady plays and really
showed an improved floor game that should ease any concerns about him
being a true point guard. He won’t wow you with his athleticism or
burst, but his improved upper body is apparent with his ability to use
his body to get to where he wants to go.

On the flip side, Harrison Barnes‘ team
was overmatched from the start, but he did everything he could to keep his team
within striking distance. While it is apparent that he is relatively new to playing
on the perimeter, it is quite impressive to see what he is capable of doing and
quite scary to imagine what he can become with a little more polish. His jumpshot
is consistent out to three and he has a rapidly improving midrange game. He makes
good decisions in the pick and roll situation and runs the floor extremely well.
Coach K, Bill Self, and Roy Williams were all seated in the same row with a few
seats separating them.

It will be an interesting
situation to see play out over the next few months with regards to his
recruitment. Overall, all 3 players lived up to their hype and lofty
national rankings.

In a later game, top ranked junior Michael
Gilchrist and Team Final was in action against the Georgia Stars. Some have
anointed Gilchrist as the best player in the country regardless of class. I am
not willing to go that far, but he is a very good young player, who has yet to
turn 16 years of age. His best qualities are his all out hustle and his ability
to hit the offensive glass. He was able to step out and knock down a three in
the first half and showed some ball handling ability, highlighted by a nice right
to left crossover and a floater plus the foul. His length and motor are too much
for most defenders to contend with, but he still has a considerable amount of
work to do on his skill level.

His body is another area that could use
improvement, but he’s only 15 and quite possibly still growing. The gym
was packed with coaches from all over the country. Gilchrist is an
intriguing prospect who will be very exciting to watch develop over the
next couple of years.

On the flip side, their were others who failed to match their press clippings.
The much anticipated match up between Jared
Sullinger and Joshua Smith never materialized.
Both guys were taken out early and never got into a rhythm. Sullinger is an undersized
(overweight) power player who will have trouble with anyone with length and athleticism.
He uses his huge body to his advantage around the basket, but will have trouble
at the next level, similar to the struggles that Samardo Samuels experienced this
year at Louisville.

Josh Smith has been criticized this spring and summer and his listless play continued.
He recently had a tonsillectomy, so I am willing to give him a pass today. Smith’s
teammate, Tony Wroten, the much heralded junior
from Seattle also failed to impress in the one half that I watched. He still is
very left hand dominant and has a very flat jumpshot that needs to be improved
before he can take advantage of his natural physical gifts. However he has been
very impressive earlier in the summer, so we’ll have to see how he does the rest
of the way.