Week 2 Workout Review (Part 2)
The 2nd portion of workouts last week included 3 schools that will have new head coaches this upcoming season. All 3 seem to be making a positive impact on their programs and are working hard to start the fall. Let’s…
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Continue ReadingThe 2nd portion of workouts last week included 3 schools that will have new head coaches this upcoming season. All 3 seem to be making a positive impact on their programs and are working hard to start the fall. Let’s see what Dawson County, Winder-Barrow, and Providence Christian looked like.
Dawson County
Wednesday morning put me in Dawsonville to watch Dawson County’s top guards. Coach Eric Herrick has now come over to the boys side after an impressive run with the North Forsyth girls program. It doesn’t look like the Tigers will experience a drop-off from their recent success with Herrick leading the program. I enjoyed the competitive, fast-paced style of the workout. Guys were challenged throughout and encouraged each other often.
The workout included 3 seniors (Jasper Gibson, Campbell Reed, and Tate Adkins), and 1 junior (Mason Barnes). All 4 are capable shot-makers and make the type of energetic, hustle plays that will be needed on an undersized Dawson County team.
As we saw in June, Gibson and Barnes will be given most of the ball-handling opportunities for the Tigers. Both are skilled, confident players with a good understanding of the game. Gibson had a few rough patches early on in the workout but locked in and got better as the workout progressed. His value comes primarily as a shooter, which he showed this summer both with Dawson and the Atlanta Allstars. He has good size for a guard who can play on or off the ball, and is capable of contributing in areas other than shooting. Gibson is one that local D2 and NAIA programs should check in on this fall. Barnes still isn’t known by many, but that should change soon. The door is wide-open for him to have a big season and he proved that he is ready this summer. Barnes showed his variety of offensive skills as expected, but that’s not what stuck out the most. Although it was just 2v2, he repeatedly secured offensive rebounds, which was pretty impressive considering his size. Don’t be surprised if you hear his name a lot this winter.
Campbell Reed played better than anyone else in the workout without question. Reed connected on lots of outside shots like he normally does, but showed more ability off the dribble than I had seen from him before. He got in a groove pretty quickly and played with supreme confidence the rest of the workout after doing so. Reed seems to have improved his quickness and has an energetic, worry-free personality. His versatile scoring will be very valuable for the Tigers. Tate Adkins gives Dawson another deep threat who will also mix things up and play with physicality. He isn’t tall, but he has some strength to him and uses it. Adkins is fundamentally sound and knows what he can and can’t do. Having a 4th shooter in Adkins should allow this team to put up lots of points.
Winder-Barrow
To start Thursday, I went eastward to Winder-Barrow for their morning workout. Former Discovery assistant Travis McDaniel is entering his 1st year as HC of the Bulldogs and wants to make significant changes within the program quickly. WB had some good moments in June, their progress should be tracked throughout the winter.
Guards Tyreek Perkins, Cam Stillwell, and Tim Loud were joined by forward Isaiah Nelson-Ododa for the workout. Perkins and Stillwell are two senior guards that play with lots of confidence. Perkins has a great body for a lead guard with a chiseled upper-body and legs that give him speed and explosive leaping ability. Perkins thrives in the open court, but can hit shots as well. He’s streaky at times from the outside; improving his consistency will help his recruitment significantly. Stillwell is a thick guard who likes to use his big body and does so effectively. This was evident when the group got into 1v1 drills towards the end of the workout. Stillwell will step out for deep shots sometimes as well.
Loud (2022) and Nelson-Ododa (2021) were the two younger players in the group. Loud appears to be one that could have a bright future for the Bulldogs. He already has confidence in himself and is a respectable shooter. Loud showed in the summer that he is willing to stay active and do the little things to help this team. I’m encouraged to see how he develops the next 3 years. The best prospect on the team is clearly Nelson-Ododa. He has now grown to 6’10” and could be a very impressive finished product. Ododa runs very well and although his shot can be flat, he has good touch and range. Later in the workout, he had a really nice stretch shooting from beyond the arc in a 5-spot drill. If he puts it all together, teams will need to watch out.
Providence Christian
The night stop on Thursday was made to Providence Christian, where the Storm had a large group workout led by well-respected trainer Nick Stapleton. There was a lot of good individual skill development without many breaks or downtime. Joey Thacker is now at the helm of the PCA program and is making a noticeable effort to install a culture of hard work.
Although they are a young team, Providence has some promising pieces to build around for the next few years. It will all start with 2022 G Chance Thacker, who has followed his dad to PCA. As a freshman, he was an important piece on a 7A Lambert team that won 21 games. Thacker has exceptional size for a young guard at 6’4” and has already learned how to impact the game without the ball in his hands. He looks to have added some strength to his frame and improved as a ball-handler recently. Thacker will be the main focus of the Storm’s offense and his nice overall skillset suits him well for such a role.
Two other Storm perimeter players that caught my eye were Davis McCarn and Jamie McDonough. McCarn is just a sophomore and already has exceptional shooting ability. He looks to be around 6’4” and has textbook form on his shot. McCarn averaged 10.1 PPG last year as a freshman. McDonough is a smaller guard and a young junior, he should have a much bigger role than he did last season. It looks like he has some skill off the dribble and is pretty quick with the ball in his hands. Freshman Thomas Malcolm will give the Storm production as well as an active wing with confidence and toughness.
Giving the Storm some size are Skyler Jordan and Brock Albury. Jordan has nice length and athleticism, he should give them a boost on the glass and in transition. I’m interested to see him in live game action. Albury has a solid build and I’ve been told he doesn’t mind playing physically. He led the team in rebounding last year and will also contribute with some scoring.