State of the Union (Post Phenom 150)
The state is as strong in hoops as it has ever been. This past weekend we saw a great group of prospects come through the doors at the most recent Phenom 150. Several players in attendance have already seen a spike in their recruitment while others were able to serve notice that their time is now. We have several articles up detailing players of note and scouting reports on the day, but let's now step back and see what this event tells us about the state of hoops in North Carolina. Things that point to the State of Hoops being as strong as ever is as follows:
The floor continues to rise – What does this mean' We always focus on the ceiling on a player but as important as this is to coaches and scouts, where the floor is at matters too. If a player comes in and never develops further than where they are at right now is that enough for them to be able to contribute at the next level' As we saw in the 150, the answer in many of these kids is yes. We have the type of athletes here that will be able to succeed at the next level in some fashion if they can find the right fit for what they do. As long as the floor stays as high as we see it right now we can put money on the fact that colleges will continue to flock to North Carolina in an effort to build their rosters.
Versatile players are made here – The number of kids we saw this past weekend at the 150 that can do a little bit of everything was impressive. Kids that can play and guard multiple positions on the floor at a high level are like gold to coaches for the flexibility they can bring to their roster. We are flush those types of players and colleges have taken notice. Bigs are stepping out and hitting jumpers. Guards are showing the ability to guard 3 spots on the floor and are rebounding at a high level. Add that into the competitive nature here in the state and there is no doubt as to why NC is the place in the union to recruit from.
More athletes than players – One of the things of concern we noticed, especially in the drills session was that many of these players are still learning how to play the game. We have a ton of athletes here in NC but more often than not, they are getting by on pure athletic ability than refined skill. One station in particular, the pick and roll station, comes to mind. One of the more basic moves in hoops, some of these kids had to be taught how to execute it effectively. While this was surprising, it was also encouraging in a way. If the kids in NC are doing what they are doing based on instinct and athletic ability alone, how scary is the talent going to be once they learn how to play the game better'
Make no doubt about it; the home of hoops is North Carolina. Based on what we saw this past weekend, this fact will not be changing anytime soon.
