Holiday Hoops Tournament: 2018 Evaluations
We continue with our look back at the holiday season hoops tournaments and showcases with our breakdown of the 2018 prospects at the Holiday Hoops Tournament. We were only able to make it up for three games due to weather.
River West – 6’3 SG 2018 – Whitko (IN)
West is solid scoring guard with a really good stroke from distance. He’s got good size and a solid frame. Not an on-ball guard but he can create a bit along the perimeter and even drive little. Best when he can take it off the catch. Is a really solid fit as a role player with his shooting ability and can get a bit better with improved ball handling. When he can get to his spots he showed a good pull-up game. Could expand that more and be really interesting.
Jaylon Holmes – 6’5 SF 2018 – Merrillville (IN)
Holmes is a long, lengthy athlete with some raw skills. Not a great shooter, will really need to add that too his game. However, his ball handling has improved and he’s got the ability to slash and now handle the ball heading at the rim. He was good off the bounce getting all the way and finishing using his length and athleticism. Will need to expand his game but he has tools to score the ball now. Really a wing that could have more upside down the road as a defender with little work.
Johnny Bernard – 6’3 SG 2018 – Merrillville (IN)
Bernard is a tall scoring guard that was solid in this game. He was solid as a perimeter shooter in stretches but looked better when he was going off the bounce from the deep wing and trying to create. Is decent at times but would like to see him be more aggressive. The amount of ways he can score is really good but the amount of times you see him take advantage needs to be increased. If he can show more consistency during the game, that would go a long way into helping him.
Mitchell Geller – 6’6 C 2018 – Huntington North (IN)
Geller is a big, tough post player with a great body and mobility. He’s really strong for his size but doesn’t give up mobility for it. Is really good in the post where he is able to get the ball in the mid-post and get at the rim while drawing a ton of contact. Was big in this one getting a bunch of and-one chances and not really giving away points. Was really efficient as a post scorer. Want to see if there is more of a face up game but as a true post he has enough scoring to play at the next level.
Chaz Birchfield – 6’5 SF 2018 – Hamilton Southeastern (IN)
This was a better game for Birchfield who has been up and down this year a bit. He’s got to finish with more consistency at the rim. Has been doing really well getting at the rim and in different ways whether off the bounce or on rebounds. He was good in this one drawing contact and finishing at the free throw line. If he can finish better on first contact, he could really see his game take off.