Noblesville Holiday Tournament: Evaluations Part I
The Holiday season is over and we are spending time doing a bunch of recaps. Our work this week will focus more on evaluations from the events over the holiday season. Today, we have our breakdown of those players we saw on the final day of the Noblesville Holiday Tournament. Here are our top guys from the first two games of the day.
Bailey Hester – 5’11 PG 2018 – Columbus North (IN)
Hester is a smaller guard with some quickness and a really good stroke from three. He showed some speed off the bounce when he looked to drive but most of his offense came in the form of a triple. He got a lot of looks off the catch and was able to hit six threes in the game. He’s a good enough ball handler to play on the ball but wasn’t able to see a lot else with the quality of this game. However, his offensive game is best suited for him to play off the ball. Solid game and a player to track this year.
Nicholas Schiavello – 6’3 SG 2020 – Columbus North (IN)
Nick didn’t do a ton in this game but it was a little bit of a wash with the quality. However, we saw him look really solid off the bounce and making more plays with the ball on drives. While being a primary shooter to this point, it was good to see a different focus. He also looked a little stronger and his body has filled out pretty well so far. He’s got some room to grow still but he looks more like he is ready to take advantage of his skill set now.
Jake Wadding – 6’4 SG 2020 – Chesterton (IN)
Wadding is a tall guard with handles and tons of strength. He plays exactly how you want, very aggressive and skilled. Really tough to stop when he wanted to play on the low block late in the game. However, he is pretty athletic and was able to play out on the wing where he can take guys off the bounce. Isn’t a big shooter right now which is about his only hold up. Was really good on defense as he could cut off passing lanes and be physical with smaller guards or go inside and deal with Crown Point’s post players. Versatile with his size and athleticism.
Noah Mahoney – 6’3 SF 2018 – Chesterton (IN)
Mahoney is a slender wing with some handles and a really good ability to play along the baseline. He’s really crafty after he catches it on his cuts to the rim. Able to play up against the line and pass or drive inside to finish. Good size and was really solid around the rim while being more of a perimeter player. He’s speed and length was an asset for him. If he can add strength, he can be a bit of a creator from the wing spot at the next level. Good niche scorer.
Ky Palombizio – 6’1 SG 2018 – Chesterton (IN)
Palombizio is a tall shooter with a good frame and plenty of strength. He was able to hit a big three later even though most everyone for Chesterton struggled to shoot for the first third of the game. He did look a little better off the bounce and had a couple big drives where he was drawing contact. Will need to be a little more consistent but definitely has a high-end skill with his shooting that should draw plenty of interest.
Sam Snodgrass – 6’3 SG 2019 – Crown Point (IN)
Snodgrass was limited in this game as he went out early after an injury. However, while he was in the game he looked solid doing most of his work on his drives. Was trying a little much on his layups, being a bit too creative and leaving some points at the rim but in general, his ability to get to the rim with the ball was impressive. Had a couple creations in the mid-range as well. Has a pretty solid offensive game and with a little more development he could be one of the better offensive players from the northern part of the state in 2019.
Sam Decker – 6’3 SF 2019 – Crown Point (IN)
Decker is an undersized forward with some mobility but the toughness to post up down low and good enough footwork to be able to readjust his body to get it off. Did well battling in the post against 6’7 Austin Peterson. He was also able to play faced up along the perimeter and had a couple drives at the rim. A little bit of a odd skillset relative to the body but definitely skilled enough right now. Even showed he could step out and knocked down a long jumper.