As the high school season dwells upon us, I got a chance to observe some of the players, on what should be a top five team in the country this season. Here is what I took from HPCA’s early morning workouts from Friday morning.
(Note: Bruce Pearl (Auburn), Danny Manning (WF), & coaches from Middle Tennessee were observing most of these players during workouts.)
2016 F/C Edrice (Bam) Adebayo (Team Loaded NC): Bam is still athletic and powerful as ever. He may be the most overpowering front court player in his class. He has the tools and potential to be a very dominant college player but still needs to put some things together. If Bam can improve on his overall touch in the post (hook shots, floaters, etc.) and continue to develop his mid-range game, I see him as a DeMarcus Cousins/Blake Griffin hybrid player. He already has the explosive athletic ability Blake has. He will dominate over his final season of his high school basketball career.
2016 PF Amidou Bamba (Canada Elite): Bamba has seemingly improved his post game quite a bit. Possibly a result of practicing and matching up with Thon Maker in practice all the time during the AAU season. He has a soft touch around the rim, and can also step out and hit the 10-12 foot mid-range jumper. He is very strong and agile and will benefit from being paired with Bam in the front court. Look for Bamba’s offer list to possibly grow over the next few months as he only holds a few offers right now.
2017 SG Michael Hueitt Jr. (Team CP3): Quick two guard, very high level scorer. Has great shot mechanics, but still needs to get stronger and beef up so he can finish through contact when slashing the lane and getting fouled by bigger and stronger front court players. Deadly player if you try to cover him on one on during the entire game, he demands the double team.
2017 CG Jalen Seegars (Karolina Diamonds): Seegars has great size and strength for a guard, he reminds me so much of 2016 G Darian Adams of Alabama Challenge. He should have no trouble finishing through contact when he gets in the lane. Seegars is one of my favorite prospects in the 2017 class. I honestly can’t think of any glaring weaknesses, but he still has room to improve on his shooting abilities off the dribble.
2016 G/F Ben Robertson (PSB Select): Even though he is more of a two guard, Ben will probably see a lot of time playing SF because of HPCA’s depth at guard and because of his nice length, and athleticism. Robertson does not look like a player that would rise up and dunk on you, but you would be very surprised. Besides Bam, Ben may be the most athletic player on his team. His outside shooting is deadly, so the defense will have to stay honest with his versatility.
2016 PG Ty Graves (Karolina Diamonds): The Boston College commit will help run the show for the Cougars this season before heading to play college basketball in the ACC. Ty is a pure PG that has good speed, and fantastic handles. His height may affect his game at the next level so he needs to continue to get better at his outside shot over the course of this season. Other than that Graves should have no problem running this team. The big men will love playing with such a pure point like Graves.
2016 PG Michal Seals (Team Winston): Toughness and defense, Seals will be the gritty player that this team will need in desperation moments this coming season. Seals will more than likely be assigned to guard the best backcourt player every game. On offense he can slash the lane and get the defense in foul trouble, he also possesses great half court vision. Michal isn’t afraid to get on the floor, and scrap. He will do whatever it takes to make sure the Cougars come out on top every game.
2017 G Reece Bogan (Team CP3): Bogan was one of the players on this squad that I never got a chance to see during the AAU season. What I got from him during the workout, is that he has potential to be a good combo guard as he has a great jumper and decent athleticism. He will probably spend most of this season as a role player. But may be one of the leaders of the team next season.
Overall I believe this High Point Christian squad has the potential to win the national title this season. They are one of few teams that have the overall strength and power to wear down a very deep Oak Hill team, if they were to meet in the championship game. The overall scoring abilities on this team is another thing that is very special about this team. Almost every player on the roster has the talent to take over a game by themselves and lead the team to win. Not to mention they have a mastermind at head coach with Coach Brandon Clifford, Clifford reads the game so well and will know how to use every strength possible that his team possesses. I don’t see this team losing more than two games this season. Just wish the season would hurry up and get here.
