Bell, Shakur and the Playaz at Sonny Hill
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size="3">Sonny Hill Future Stars Tournament
size="3">, vusports.com was on hand to witness four games. The
Tim Thomas Playaz won two contests - defeating the Sonny Hill
Juniors and the Baltimore Bombers Sophs. Rasheed A.Wallace
Foundation defeated the MASAI Warriors and Lehman's Demons.
For the Playaz:
Darryl Watkins (6'11",
Center, Paterson Catholic NJ, Class of 2003, Consensus Top 50):
continued to impress with his shot blocking ability on defense.
Needs to become a constant force on offense. His offense is too
often limited to the bucket off a loose ball or the alley-oop. He
isn't the kind of player who establishes good low post position
consistently, demands the ball and delivers points.
Will Sheridan (6'8", PF,
Hockessin DE, Top 100): Definitely a consistent rebounder and
defender. His offense is very limited for a Top 100 prospect. His
jumper needs work. He is not a great leaper and his moves in the
low post lack quickness. He makes noise defensively with his
ability to anticipate and block shots.
Marquis Webb (6'4",
Guard, Paterson Catholic NJ, Class of 2003, Consensus Top 150):
he has a good (but not great) jumper, plays solid defense and
doesn't make many mistakes with the ball. As athletic and
physical as he is, he does not have great leaping ability.
Jamar Nutter (6'2",
Guard, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange NJ, 2003, Top 100)
size="3">: a solid junior prospect at both ends of the floor. His
J looked better Saturday than Sunday. He can shut down an
opposing guard when asked to, finish on the break and create
offense in the half-court set.
For Rasheed Wallace:
Mustafa Shakur (6'3", WG, Friends
Central HS, Class of 2003, Top 150): Widely considered the top prospect in Philly. Mustafa has fancy ball-handling skills and a
solid mid-range game. Shakur uses behind the back, betwen the leg
and crossover dribbles to fluster his opponent and create space
to release his buttery smooth mid-range pull-up. Though he has a
tendency to over dribble, Shakur has good floor vision. He can
create for teammates as well as for himself. Defensively, Shakur
is capable of tightening the screws on the opposition - using his
quick hands to create turnovers. Mustafa needs to add muscle to his spindly 6'3"
- 6'4" ish frame. Mustafa brought
down what little house there was in the game against Lehman's
href="http://villanova.alliancesports.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=410">Mani
Messy.
David Bell (6'5" 2G Olney High (Now at
Mount Zion Academy) (Top 200 from 2001 - now Class of 2002)):
Villanova is in a very good recruiting position with Bell. Bell
had a break-out performance at the Adidas Tournament in Las Vegas
this summer. Bell is a long armed 2G who could also play the
three. He doesn't have sufficient handle to run a squad from the
PG slot. Bell scored in all kinds of ways on Saturday night. He
froze his defender with a sweet crossover and drained a step-back
trey in his first game, had a viscious power dunk in his second
game and found ways to score off mid-range J's and opportunity
rebounds in both contests. He is a slightly above average
defender. Overall, Bell is a solid player with no glaring
weaknesses.
Others:
size="3">Mani Messy -
though he is not a 'Nova target, I felt obliged to mention Mani
Messy. Though listed at 6'7" and 205 - he looks stronger.
Messy is extremely athletic, has a soft jumper, has a solid
handle, and at times appears able to get to the hole at will. He
must be on many lists as a top sleeper prospect because he looks
to have great potential. He is getting interest from several Big East programs. To me he seems like a better pick up as a
11-13th 'ship guy than a David Bell - just because of
potential. Bell could contribute from day one, Messy
could become a stud player.