5 Takeaways : DeMatha at St. Johns (WCAC)
12-15-17 St Johns College HS. Military Road, NW. Washington, DC.
I would like to than the great hospitality from St. Johns College HS, Head Coach Patrick Behan, his great staff & players, DeMatha Head Coach Mike Jones, his great Assistants & players. This was a great game played before a packed house, loaded with great fans. The WCAC is the best HS basketball conference in he nation on & off the court.
DeMatha Catholic Stags 69. St. Johns Cadets 51
Hunter Dickinson has the “IT” Factor
Hunter Dickinson, 7’0″.Center, 2020. I have been watching Hunter for over a year & I was positive Hunter would improve, but his development in less than a year is amazing. Last season Hunter was a true freshmen & displayed a very advanced skill set for 6’10” center. Over the course of last season his playing time increased & each time out he improved. In a January game an opposing team tried to bully Hunter & he more than stood his ground. On a loose ball he dove to the floor & won the possession proving his intense competitiveness. Hunter plays with superb focus & he is always zoned in. Almost every match up this summer (various Elite camps) & fall, he won his match-ups throwing the opposing team in chaos on both sides of the ball. Hunter has learned & continues to learn how to use his great height & abilities to impact games on every level. Last season scouting reports for Hunter labeled him heavy footed. At this time Hunter had not grown into his body. However, he despised the label & wanted to remove it from the books.. This spring & summer Hunter, his family, DeMatha Coaches & his Trainers developed a game plan on what Hunter needed to do to expand his game taking it to to the next level. The game plan has worked to perfection. Hunter has grown to a legitimate 7’0″ & he is in elite condition for a 7 footer. He looks to be at his perfect target weight of 255 to 260 with lean muscle. Hunter can run the court very well, & use his body to power over defenders. He has developed a superb jump hook with either hand, up & under moves, drop steps, & more. In the post Hunter always goes towards the rim on his FG attempts, very seldom if any does he fade. On his rebound put backs, passes,& FG attempts his movements begin well above his shoulders making defenders hopeless. He does not bring the ball down, rarely gets stripped or blocked. Hunter always knows his location & how to score based on where he is. He uses the backboard to perfection & his reactions to every scenario on the court are outstanding. Hunter is always prepared & one step ahead of the game. He is tremendously well coached, from DeMatha Head Coach Mike Jones & his staff, Team Takeover founder Keith Stevens & his trainers. Last but not least, Hunter gets much more coaching at home from his mom & dad (Tim Dickinson), his brother Ben who is an Assistant DeMatha Varsity Coach,Grant who is an outstanding basketball player at college in Nova Scotia who will play overseas professionally & his oldest brother Jason.
Hunter possesses excellent hip swivel & his first jump is looking very good. In the video clip below Hunter catches a post entry pass, turns & goes right up in one motion for a hard dunk. When he goes to the rim on a breakway, post feed, off the dribble from the baseline, Hunter is going to throw a dunk down with ferocity. His energy & power gives DeMatha energy. Tonight Hunter drained an 18 footer with his excellent shot mechanics. This season we will see Hunter step outside & drain some 3s, but his bread & butter is in the post where he overpowers. hunter is an elite facilitator from anywhere & tonight hit Justin Moore, Jhamir Young, Carsten Kolgenik & Earl Timberlake on precision passes from any location setting them up in great position to score. On defense Hunter has the ability to shut down the lane. His hands and long wingspan are always up & Hunter can reject shots. On defense his closeout & recovery speed continually improve. So why does Hunter have the IT factor ? He will run thru a wall for a win & is all about winning. Hunter possesses a determination aura around him that his teammates feed off. I have not seen many Bigs with Hunter’s will to win He is an ultra competitor, who wants to go against #1 teams & centers & defeat them. His intelligence & effort is off the charts. Hunter receives his game plan from Coach Jones & delivers.. Hunter is an excellent student & in great hands with his family, DeMatha & Trainers. Currently Hunter is rated @ # 7 nationally for 2020 by ESPN & the #1 center. When 2020 comes Hunter will be improved due his super work-ethic, inner circle & upside. He already holds 10 plus high major offers which include Maryland & Notre Dame. It is way to early to ask Hunter about college, & we just want him to have a safe & great basketball & academic career at DeMatha.
He's 7'1 and he just DUNKED ON YOU 😱😱😱… His name is Hunter Dickinson (@H_Dickinson24) he's ranked 7th in the class of 2020 pic.twitter.com/BdjzoOFrcd
— Monumental Sports Network (@MonSportsNet) December 10, 2017
Jhamir Young is much more than Mr. Efficiency
Jhamir Young 6’1.5″, CG, 2019. Jahmir Young is not getting his due respect for his superb play this summer & early season. Tonight Jahmir scored 15 points, passed & defended at high level. He hit 3s & converted on 3 fast breaks. in the half court Jahmir plays PG & Earl Timblerlake basically plays point forward. While Jhamir has a very solid handle & can run the half court, Coach Jones allows Jahmir to fan out to the open corners & wings where he can hits 3s, attack the rim or facilitate. The most common scenario is when Jhamir goes right up with his superb & underrated jumper. He gets his J off with high elevation & an ultra quick release. Before the defender can adjust, Jahmir gets great lift after his catch & drains a 3. He has great shot preparation in his footwork & arms. Jahmir has a very nice mid range which he displayed tonight. He is a superb transition player & rim attacker. He takes perfect angles, and finishes from both sides with with either hand. Jahmir’s right hand is excellent & I believe he told me he was ambidextrous earlier this year. He is a long 6’1″ & can defend. Jahmir is very underrated as an athlete with excellent explosion & lateral movement. He has a burst & another gear he uses to blow by defenders. This is his 1st year at DeMatha & Jahmir is a perfect fit. His adjustment to DeMatha in 3 months has been superb. He should be ranked in the national top 120 -130 range for 2019. Jahmir is a top 2019 sleeper, but the DMV is beginning to realize just how good he is.
Carsten Kolgenik has begun to Shine
Carsten Kolgenik, 6’6″, Wing, 2019. Over the last 2 games Carsten has begun to figure it out as a DeMatha starter. Some think he is just a knockdown shooter, but Carsten is a complete player. He is a long 6’6″ & a very underrated defender & facilitator. Tonight his defense was stellar & Carsten performed all the intangibles & more. He possesses a deadly 3 point shot which has been off early in the season. The last 2 games Carsten’s jumper is showing nice signs of coming back & it will. Many do not realize Carsten can go the rim off the dribble very well & tonight he converted a close mid-range shot in heavy traffic off the dribble. This shot was very difficult & displayed his superb coordination. Carsten possesses excellent fundamentals & plays with a very high IQ. He can play & defend the 2 0r 3 & he is an excellent college prospect. We chatted with Carsten after the game & said,” I think I becoming more acclimated & finding my role as a starter, We technicality have 5 new starters in Hunter, Earl, Jahmir, Justin (lost for season on 1-3-17) & myself. Our chemistry is great, but we will be a better team very soon”. We see very positive signs from Carsten in regard to his role & comfort level. He has the ability & desire to break out very soon.
St. Johns Cadets are still getting acclimated, but will get there.
DeMatha took control of the game early & maintained a 10 point margin or greater for the remainder of the contest. However, SJC did make some nice runs & have a few nice stretches. After the game SJC Head Coach Patrick Behan had a very long Coaches meeting. On Monday the Cadets make the long commute to St. Mary Ryken where Coach Behan Coached last season. DeMatha is currently ranked @ #14 in the nation by Max Preps this Monday. Last night DeMatha had a clear height & strength advantage over SJC & the Stags are on the brink of developing their chemistry to perfection Contrary, SJC is not quite there. The Cadets have 2 new starter sin Ishmael Leggett & Jalin Abbott in addition to new key reserves in Devon Dunn, Darius Maddox & Devon Savage. The only other SJC Big besides Richard Njoku is 6’8′” plus freshmen Victory Naboya who is raw with little experience. He is very athletic with huge upside. Last night the SJC defense broke down & 6 or 7 shots were dead on & just rimmed out. Despite the loss there are some positive signs. Tre Wood scored 5 points & had several shots which just rimmed out & Casey Morsell had a season low of 9 points. I expect Tre & Casey to bounce back very quickly. I still believe the Cadets are top 4 WCAC team, but Bishop O’Connell is next line & knocking on he door. 2020 5’9″ PG Delonnie Hunt continues to to excel. On 2 occasions Delonnie got to the rim with his elite athleticism & scored over Hunter at least once. Delonnie could be the biggest stock riser in the WCAC & we will write a report for him next week. Coach Behan has been adding minutes for Delonnie each game out including the 4th quarter.Tonight Delonnie cramped up several times in he final quarter, went back into the game after stretching & taking fluids with great intensity.
Richard the Relentless : Richard Njoku (SJC)
Richard Njoku, 6’7″, F/C, 2018. As always Richard Njoku played with superb intensity & great heart. Similar to the last weekends game vs # 5 nationally ranked IMG, Richard battled a much bigger team & was very effective. Tonight he scored 9 points which game on superb in the paint conversions with several dunks over the DeMatha Bigs. In heavy traffic Richard utilized his superb explosion to rise up & dunk on DeMatha. He rebounded at a high level & performed every single intangible going out of bounds for saves, diving on the floor for possessions. Richard is always 100% for SJC & is the Cadets leader. He will have a great career at the US Naval Academy next season in the classroom & on the court. His heart, loyalty, will to win & being am ultimate team player make Richard the perfect fit in Annapolis as a Midshipmen.
Special Note: Justin Moore : DeMatha Catholic HS
Tonight Justin’s perimeter shot was not dropping, so he took his game inside. Justin (left with Earl Timberlake) converted on several elite spin moves, a Euro Step & Step Thru at the rim. Justin played stellar defense & made several superb passes. Justin gains more pop & lift on his jumper each time out, & I theorize his shot will need adjustment as his legs get stronger & he moves closer to 100%.Tonight he missed a corner 3 that was very long, but he elevated very well. Justin totaled 12 points & played a very solid game. He is making great strides & in practice he does use his knee brace. In January we are told it will come off for actual games .Justin will be a star player. He is special.
JV Notes from tonight. DeMatha won a a very close game over SJC by 3 points. There were many excellent players from both teams, a few are mentioned below, but I have missed some players. We will be scouting the JVs teams this month & the rest of the season. Some DeMatha key JV players:
Donovan Mitchell: 6’0″ CG, 2020. Donovan is very athletic & scored game high score 26 points. He can score from all 3 levels & in bunches. Tonight he attacked the rim very hard & played a great game. I really like Donovan & he is very skilled & underrated.
Jaylen Hall, 6’0″ CG, we wrote about Jaylen this summer & he is an outstanding player. He has been battling some knee issues related to a growth spurt. He looked great in the 4th quarter & displayed his athleticism & heart. Jaylen hit several clutch shots, one from 3 & another form the mid range. He grabbed a key rebound with 10 seconds remaining to persevere a 59-56 win.
Malik Carson, 2020. Malik could be the 1st JV Player to go up to the varsity, in fact he has suited for them this season, Head Coach Mike Jones moved Malik down. so he could get moire playing time. Malik is very long 6’4″ to 6’5″ with great potential. We wrote a Recruiting Report for him this fall.
Some St. Johns key JV players:
Treyvon Dodd, 6’8″, PF, 2020. Treyvon has a lot of upside & tonight he was very active. Every-time I watch Treyvon he is improved. He needs reps & his body & conditioning is really shaping up. Treyvon is receiving great Coaching from SJC JV Coach Artie Bryant & in January could be moved up to varsity.
Guy Faunterloy, 5’10”, PG, 2021. Guy has been a standout in SJC scrimmages this fall, He is very scrappy & can shoot & attack. He is an outstanding PG & last night played great. Guy is very skilled & we predict we will see Guy on the varsity this season after he plays a few more games. He has superb poise.
Video courtesy of our friend Marc Stern of Capitol Hoops.