King Holiday Hoopfest 2009: Recap and Observations

A litte late, but here is what I observed from the games I watched at Hec Ed on Monday.

Kentwood 55, Bothell 39

I mostly watched Josh Smith play to see if he really is the number one junior recruit in the nation. The first thing that I've noticed is that he is slow. He is always the last one coming down on the offensive end, and he was always the last one back on defense. Teams will beat Kentwood if they can get their posts to run the floor well and tire out Josh.

I haven't seen a lot of Kentwood's games, but it seems Smith had a hard time finishing inside. It doesn't look like he has the natural "touch" around the basket. The only way he can get the ball in the basket for sure is by dunking it.

And even then, he missed two dunks. There are still a lot of perks that need to be fixed about his post game.

Several times he could have gone straight up with the basketball, but instead he took an extra dribble and gave time for the defender to get in front of him. My friend next to me kept on saying how lazy Josh looked and how he didn't seem to show any emotion or hustle.

From what you've heard above it may seem like Josh Smith had a terrible game.

However, Smith put up a line of 15 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

He's good.

Federal Way 71, Decatur 63

Michael Hale is lightning quick. It seemed like he was going at another speed the whole game. He is such a weapon for Federal Way because he is a pest on the defensive end and he has a deadly jumper. I would almost call him a poor man's Peyton Siva, without the range of Siva.

Cole Dickerson may be the most valuable player for Federal Way though. He looked great around the basket and in the paint. He also had a nice consistent jump shot working for him.

For Decatur, it was my first chance to see Marcus Tibbs, Decatur's fifth-year senior star. He was exceptional at penetrating and getting to the whole. Along with that he was a great passer, he could pass with ease when he dribbled down a lane to the basket and he was great at finding guys in the full court.

He's not a great shooter, but his point guard skills make him D-1 talent.

Another impressive player for Decatur was Jerron Smith. He has some freakish athleticism with a nice jump shot with some range.

Bellevue 52, Bellarmine Prep 43

I was eager to see Bellevue play after hearing about their success during Winter break at a high-caliber tournament in California. First things first, Alex Schrempf is the best player on Bellevue.

Without him, Bellevue would not be ranked number three. He is a very strong finisher around the basket. He has decent athleticism and he is an above average rebounder.

Colton Christian does have a nice mid-range jumper, but it seemed like he settled for the outside shot too often. I believe he has the tools and moves to become a bigger threat in the post for Bellevue.

The biggest disappointment for me, was seeing Aaron Bright play. He does have some range for his jump shot, but it seemed like he held on the ball for too long. Instead of helping his teammates get something on the offensive end he is often too busy trying to make his own move.

Maybe he was just having an off-game, but his shot-selection sucked. With that said, he looked really good in transition, but I think he's a little overrated at this point.

I cannot wait for Abdul Gaddy to come play for the Huskies next year. He is an amazing passer. If only he had a supporting cast. He probably would have had 15 assists if his teammates could catch the ball.

His drives to the basket are some of the best I've ever seen at the High school level. He is great at changing pace and dribble driving with hesitations and crossovers.

I would like to see him pick up his dribble less, but other than that he was the best player on the court for both teams in this game. 

Dominguez (California) 90, Rainier Beach 84 DOUBLE OT

This game was the most exciting out of all the games I watched at Hec Ed on Monday. Aaron Dotson is legit. He was extremely active on the boards and was probably Beach's best defender. He might need to pass the ball a little more in order to improve Beach's offensive chemistry, but he is without a doubt their first option.

Oh yea, and he did hit the game-tying three to send the game to overtime.

D'Vonne Pickett might be one of the most underrated players in the state. He is an above average passer, he's able to break down his defender, and he is Beach's court general. When it's crunch time, the ball needs to be in his hands.

At the same time, Jaamon Echols played really bad. He definitely had an off-game but he turned the ball over a lot and was non-existent against a superior defender. One positive though was his ability to get to the free-throw line. He is excellent at drawing contact which is a tool that will help him a lot in the future.

Dominguez exposed a lot of things that is wrong with Rainier Beach. First, the Vikings do not box out well. I'm sure that they use their athleticism to grab rebounds against bad metro teams, but to beat top teams like Bellevue they'll need to box out better. Along with that, they are pretty careless with the basketball.

They don't value offensive possessions.

Rainier Beach is at its best when they are aggressive at attacking the basket and not settling for long jump shots. When Pickett and Echols started to penetrate, Beach was able to get some momentum in the 4th quarter and the 1st overtime period.

Franklin 75, Garfield 60

Tony Wroten has the ability to score at will. His passing skill rivals that of Gaddy's. But Wroten does not pass the ball enough. He is Garfield's one and only offensive option. Unlike Siva he is not able to make his teammates around him better.

This is one area of his game he needs to work on. Judging by his body language and his free-throw routine, he seems to be really arrogant out on the court.

With that said, he's the best player I've ever seen at his age. Only a sophomore. Ridiculous. Garfield is terrible at defense. Until Haskins can get his team to defend better, they won't be able to beat Franklin.

The Quakers were able to easily penetrate the hole. The Quakers settled a lot from the three-point line, if I were playing Franklin I'd seriously think of throwing some kind of zone at them. Siva can score at will. He was the fastest player I saw the whole day.