Five Things to Know: Howard Pulley Sunday
NHR spent Sunday following the pair of games that Howard Pulley played closely and had the following five take-a-ways from their EYBL games.
One. The EYBL has statistically has had more five star players, top 100 players, etc etc than other other circuits/leagues. The numbers are there to show that game to game it often has the most high end talent, not to mention plays the most weekends in the spring. What I always find interesting is that game to game you can often count on teams playing zone over man to man in EYBL which is quite strange considering that most other AAU basketball games at any level or on any circuit don’t include much zone, most colleges at the highest level play man, and of course in the NBA you rarely see a zone. But in the league with the most talent, it’s such a constant to see a zone. Why? Many will tell you that most teams don’t seem to know what to do against a zone, at all. That’s not the Howard Pulley Panthers though. Game after game, year after year, this program moves the ball and gets open shots better than any team I can remember seeing play on the Nike circuit. It’s a credit to the kids in Minnesota that they know the importance of ball movement and have the knowledge of how to beat a zone, and credit to Coach Harris each each for his teams consistently moving the ball well to get quality shots. With their backs against the wall this weekend the Howard Pulley Panthers went 3-1 building their record to 7-9 on the year. It doesn’t look like the Panthers will play in the Peach Jam this year with that record, but there are many who didn’t feel that Pulley would earn seven wins but the way they played together helped the team earn their victories.
Two. It was a big weekend for Courtney Brown Jr. Brown has a lot of pieces to his game that make him an attractive prospect to college programs but some schools want to see him shoot the ball better. Well colleges, get a hold of some of the games from this weekend including the Sunday morning contest against The Family when Brown’s four threes gave his team a chance to win. Brown has shown that he is a willing worker/defender and his length as a multi-position player is a big positive. Courtney scored 16 points a game in EYBL play this weekend adding a consistent jumper to his game by game production.
Three. The EYBL stats have not been updated yet but when they are, I’m willing to bet you can go to “three point leaders” and see Blaise Beauchamp among the league leaders in threes made and likely somewhere in the top 20 of three point shooting percentage. Blaise has proven to be three point weapon that has the green light playing in this high level of basketball and within the framework of the Pulley offense Blaise does a great getting his feet set quickly to catch and sink. Also, Blaise has a couple other things that get him on the floor over other good shooters: he can handle for his team and Blaise is really sneaky good at using a dribble to make that floater. With 76 points in four games Beauchamp averaged 19 points a contest which is of course something that few guys can do.
Four. David Roddy looks to be in great shape which is likely why the other teams have such a hard time getting a body on him. He’s too skilled away from the bucket for bigs to move with, and Roddy is way too strong for any wing or guard to defend around the basket. In game four Roddy scored the first 14 points for his team which included a pair of threes, active scores, a post move, and everything in between. Comparisons? Roddy is like a 6-foot-5 Jordan Murphy although not quite that level of explosion but a better track record of perimeter shooting. This weekend Roddy averaged 15 points and eight rebounds a game as he of course rebounds at a high level too.
Five. Others. I thought this was the perfect weekend for Kendall Brown to step in and support off the bench and I think he did a great job in the minutes he received. With the length at guard, skills, and experience of an older player Kendall looked like he belonged despite being two years younger than most. With 40 points in four games Lu’Cye Patterson averaged double figures for the weekend in EYBL play and not many guys can say that. Bennett Otto has found a nice role as a shooter off the bench for the Panthers scoring nine points in each game on Sunday. Love the toughness and dependable handling that Antwan Kimmons gives the team.