Monday, March 27, 2006

Hoops - McDonalds All-American Practice Updates

Well, the players have been practicing for the McD's AA game. Various internet sites are running premium and some freebie info. Here's the recap of our two guys in that game:

From the ACC Area Sports Journal:

For all the exploits of his prodigious teammates, Thaddeus Young may have been the best guy on the East court. The 6-7 WF headed to Georgia Tech was sensational from behind the arc, shooting over a good defender in Gerald Henderson repeatedly and adding a few alley-oops and rebounds for good measure. Young must become stronger and more active defensively, but he's the most complete wing player in the class this side of Kevin Durant. In addition to his scoring ability, he also blended very well and continued to play team basketball.



This on Javaris Crittenton and Young:

Crittenton tried to force several passes which resulted in turnovers. Really wants to make the difficult pass. Wanted to play faster, but the East was working on half court stuff. The West was more up and down. Rebounded very well and finished around the basket. Crittenton looked fine against Lawson. Lawson did have a better practice. East was tougher to evaluate than the West because of nature of practice. Not as competitive and up and down.


Young looked good. Shot the three ball well and made plays off the dribble.


In addition, evidently Crittenton and Lawson have been having MAJOR practice battles in day 2, going at each other bigtime. Those watching have declared it a draw. JC had a better day, not forcing as many passes, although he did settlte for a number of contested jumpers. Javaris looks very strong as a rebounding guard - probably the best in the class............. Thad had the dunk of the day over Brandon Wright. In addition, Young continues to hit shots from all ranges. Right now, both JC and TY are on the 2nd squad for the east team.


This on Tywon Lawson (UNC):

The world was Tywon Lawson's oyster as a senior. Leading the always-dominant Oak Hill attack, Lawson put together a season for the books, which at Oak Hill is an incredibly strong statement. On Sunday he wasn't a dominant player, picking his spots, standing up too much defensively and getting bothered on his slower, low-release jumpers from deep. Beyond that, he was the usual Lawson. He scored on teardrops over big guys, knocked in several threes (despite the questionable form), beating athlete-deluxe Javaris Crittenton off the dribble and slicing some very tough passes through traffic. There's little question here that he's the top point guard in the class. For what it's worth, the only discussion is how high he should rank -- top 15, top 10 or top five?



By the way, both Javaris and Thaddeus will participate in the dunk contest, which will be held tonight, but televised Wednesday night.