KC Hardwood Classic: Panthers are 3-0
Howard Pulley EYBL has earned themselves a 3-0 start in the KC Hardwood Classic and NHR has watched the majority of their games so far. Here are Five Things to Know with the Panthers being 3-0.
David Roddy. David Roddy has dominated some of these games with his offensive rebounding. Not only with his quick bounce to his own misses but his desire to outwork for some and his physical fight to get to others. The floor run of David Roddy at 240 pounds is ridiculous meaning he pretty much gets to position whenever he wants. Against Young & Reckless he went bully ball for his post ups to catch and simply turn to score but his floor run getting out ahead of the defense provided him numbers too. David’s timing on tip-ins is as good as you will see and the vertical bounce at his size defies logic. Roddy had 16 in the opener, 11 in the second game, and I would guess close to 20 in the third.
Blaise Beauchamp. The now Findlay Prep guard simply knocks out jumpers from all angles. His release is so quick and the hunt for Blaise without the ball getting into position to score is a huge part of why he catches and scores before defenses react. Blaise changed the game with Kingdom Hoops by hitting huge triples in the second half. And when it comes to sly guys knowing when to release to get ahead of the transition for a lay-up or quick three, Blaise ranks with the best. I think the most telling sequence with Blaise was just before the halftime buzzer vs Boo Williams: Blaise got beat backdoor for a lay-up making the bench throw up their hands but the other way the two points gave up became three the other way because Blaise hit an NBA three at the halftime buzzer. Oh, and Blaise opened up the second half with a three as well so it was really a plus four. And then he hit a three 30 seconds later on a kickout from Courtney Brown. So after giving up that lay-up Blaise gave nine back in the next three possessions. Oh, and he kept hitting more and more after that. Blaise scored eight threes in the win over Boo plus had 14 points beating Kingdom Hoops.
Lu’Cye Patterson. One of my favorite parts of LuCye’s game is his intelligence of when to pass the basketball, his timing of when to move the ball on the break, and his patience at times versus the times he knows when to attack. I also love the way Patterson uses his head fake to move players. When his feet are set Lu’Cye knocks down jumpers and we surely saw that in the win over Boo Williams. Also versus Boo, after Blaise had his run, Lu’Cye went back to work making more feet set perimeter shots and he also finished that trademark Euro-step finish off the glass. Great body control going at the rim. Finally, when he was moving off the ball vs Boo, Lu’Cye’s court smarts moving to the perfect spot behind the screen was the most important thing to him making another feet set triple. Patterson scored 18 against Boo Williams.
Nobal Days. The main thing he did to help this time is 1) use his length to stop players from taking good shots around the basket and 2) grab d-boards and start the break. The Pulley Panther transition attack has been outstanding all weekend and often times its Days grabbing the board and sending an outlet. Days also uses his length with to create turnovers and get deflections.
Courtney Brown. How is that Brown jumper looking? Again – we can put this on repeat – the percentage results are as good as some better than others Brown hit a corner three versus Boo Williams and then followed that up with a pull-up jumper moments later. Brown is always the guy outworking most and although he sat against Y&R late because the other team played five guards, he was still solid. Scored in double figures in both of the first two games.
Extra. The Youth. After scoring 26 in a 16u game earlier in the week Trejuan Holloman then joined the nine man roster of the EYBL squad for their second and third games. Kendall Brown played in the first couple but we didn’t see him against Y&R. Either way, Holloman and Brown may just be the top players in 2022 and 2021 respectively. Do you have another guy in mind? Fine. Then they are one of the top two in the grade, whatever you think, the bottom line is these two are about to be nationally ranked guys with very high ceilings.