Tyler Lewis talks with ex-coach Rusty LaRue during last year's Challenge
Blogger So Dear took a field trip to Cary, North Carolina on Saturday to check out some of the best recruits from 2011, 2012, and 2013 at Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge. The following article explores impact players from this year's Challenge.
Click through to read more on the Carolina Challenge
Top Performers
Tyler Lewis (5-11, 155, PG, 2012):
The sophomore point guard from Forsyth Country Day is a wizard with the basketball. His ball handling and passing abilities are outstanding. He is an elite level passer with supreme court vision who always makes the correct read on the fast break. He was a highlight waiting to happen. One criticism of Lewis has been that he will not be as impressive when he plays against better competition. Yesterday, I watched him play against the best players in the state, and in my opinion, he was the best player on the court. Everything he did was so challenging, yet he made it look effortless.
He makes everyone around him better with his passing ability. In one game, he had 13 assists, which included the game winning assist with less than 5 seconds to go. He also has excellent touch when attacking the basket. There were many times yesterday when he attacked the basket and despite being defended by bigger players, he was able to finish because he has incredible touch with his left hand.
His weaknesses were his jump shot and his lack of speed on defense. Even though he lacks great outstanding lateral quickness, he was not getting beat off the dribble because he has excellent defensive fundamentals. His jump shot could improve, but that will come with time and repetition. I went in not knowing what to expect from Tyler Lewis and came away mesmerized. He was a pleasure to watch.
Quincy Miller (6-8 205 PF 2011):
The junior forward from Quality Education Academy has tremendous upside. In addition to being very long and athletic, he has a lot of ability with the basketball for a player his size. He also appeared to be a very good teammate, as he was often seen encouraging his teammates to keep playing hard and congratulating them on good plays.
His biggest negative, however, is that despite all of his strengths, he would often go away from what he does well. He could score at will on the block, yet he would often be seen dribbling the ball in between his legs 17 feet away from the basket. Between the unnecessary turnovers and several bad passes, he was responsible for several turnovers. I realize that it was a showcase and that he wanted to display his skills, but if he would have stuck to his strengths he would have been much more impressive.
Marquis Rankin (6-0, 160, PG, 2011):
The junior guard from Vance High School was the best defensive player in the Carolina Challenge. He is a very tough guard who loves to defend. He did not back down from any player, including Tyler Lewis. He showed flashes of a good jumper in the second game. During that game, he hit several shots from beyond the arc and also demonstrated solid passing ability. His assist numbers were not as high because there were times when he would hit his teammates in stride, but they would fail to convert routine plays.
He is also a good penetrator, but needs to work on converting once he gets into the lane. The main thing that Marquis needs to work on is overall offensive consistency. He is good on offense, but no one offensive skill in particular stood out. I believe Marquis recognizes this, and will continue to work hard on his jumper shot and ball handling in order to get better.
Bishop Daniels (6-2, 175, SG, 2011):
The junior guard from Word of God Christian Academy demonstrated excellent athletic and jump shooting ability. I only saw him play one game, but in that game he was outstanding. He finished the game with 27 points and 8 assists and made his presence felt from the very beginning. Within the first 5 seconds he was on the court, he had a tip dunk. He made several long range shots and was on both the giving and receiving ends of many alley-oops.
He demonstrated the ability to be an excellent combo guard, but told me that he was working on making the transition from a combo guard to a point guard. I believe that he can make that transition because I saw him make several impressive passes yesterday, as well as display solid ball handling. His defense could use work, but he has all of the physical tools to be a very good defender. Bishop has a lot of talent and I believe that we will start to see his stock rising as he gets more exposure. He is definitely an ACC caliber player.
Impact Players
Marshall Plumlee (6-11, 210, C/PF, 2011):
The younger brother of Miles and Mason, who both attend Duke, Plumlee was a good rebounder inside and had flashes of offensive ability, but was unable to get good looks against some of the bigger post presences. He matched up well with John Cannon, but had a rough time against Jackson Simmons who outworked him inside and was much more fundamentally sound. Not Plumlee's greatest performance and he could certainly look to improve his game.
Joseph Uchebo (7-0, 230, C, 2011):
Uchebo is an NC State commit who is listed at 7'0", but this height may be a little generous as Plumlee was definitely taller than he was and is listed at 6'11". Uchebo was great inside on the boards and showed some athleticism in getting out on the perimeter and knocking down a couple of jump shots. He is pretty built for his age and had a good game with his back to the basket down low. Uchebo will be a good player in the ACC.
Braxton Ogbueze (6-0, 185, SG/PG, 2012):
A high-major guard with interest from a couple of ACC schools, Braxton has a good outside jumper and knocked down a few threes from the corner and elbow. He wasn't asked to carry the ball up court much but he had a good handle with the rock and is certainly a high-caliber player.
Anthony Gill (6-8, 215, PF, 2011):
A South Carolina commit at the forward position, Gill performed well when matched up with Quincy Miller inside. Gill has a knack for being in the right place at the right time to grab the ball off the glass. Miller did a good job of denying Gill the ball on the offensive
