RxRusty
07-13-2008, 12:34 PM
The Nike Peach Jam takes place in North Augusta, SC less than a mile from my house. I've only been able to go for the morning sessions yesterday and the first half of today. However, in the short time I was there I saw several interesting things. My original goal was to check out Daniel Orton and John Wall so I'll start there.
Daniel Orton - Great body, very athletic, nice touch around the basket. I saw a couple really pretty outlet passes and some nice blocks. It was a little hard to evaluate him because I heard he was playing hurt and he fouled out of both games I saw. His team is loaded with talent, especially Xavier Henry and Terrence Boyd. Those three were among the most athletically built of anyone I saw. Orton would be great catch. Coach G was watching him play while chatting with Bill Self.
John Wall - Good all around player. He scored a lot in the first game I saw him and made several good passes. He's quick and plays some defense. Obviously this would be a good pickup too. I saw Coach G watching him too.
Other observations:
KC Ross-Miller - He played solid but not flashy in his first game yesterday AM. It was VERY exciting to see him make the game-winning 3 pointer at the last second. That was the only time I saw him get excited. The shot was a sweet stroke that was in the minute it left his hands. This AM I watched him again and I think he actually played better. Nice defense with a couple steals, some beautiful assists, and a couple nice shots. The best part of his game is that he plays under control with little emotion and doesn't get involved with some of the smack talk going on on the floor. He is listed as 6'1" but I seriously doubt that. I walked next to him and he appeared to be my height exactly (5'11"). He plays on the older AAU team so that made his play even more impressive. I sat down to eat a hot dog outside of the area where they were taking official photos and Ross-Miller's coach saw my Wildcat Nation Blueblood t-shirt and started teasing me about how crazy UK fans are. Ross-Miller was seated within earshot and he smiled.
Other players: I saw Nic Garcia (he lists UK among his schools, I think). He looks pretty good. Also, the kid that was an Illinois commit that may be backing out of it...can't think of his name... I heard UK was interested. He looked really good...very smooth and athletic.
It's hard to recognize players since there are no programs (unless you want to pay $275 for the coaches' program). So I probably saw several other players that I should have recognized but didn't. Marc Maggard saw my UK t-shirt and stood and watched a game next to me for a while. He pointed out Garcia to me. He was bouncing around from game to game taking lots of photos. I hadn't met him before but he seemed knowledgeable and nice.
Coaches: Coach G was usually sitting with Bill Self. They always seems to be watching the same game I was (there are 4 games going on at the same time). I had a chance to speak with him. He was cordial and shook my hand. There was one game where he was sitting with Bruce Pearl. They were laughing and talking like old friends. It just seemed like an odd sight to me. I also met and shook hands with Tubby Smith. Class act as always. Most of the major college coaches were there. It was a treat to see Travis Ford. He never smiled though, always a serious look on his face.
I may get back there tomorrow if I can. I had several conflicts that only allowed me to catch a couple of hours of action. Hope you enjoy these observations.
Daniel Orton - Great body, very athletic, nice touch around the basket. I saw a couple really pretty outlet passes and some nice blocks. It was a little hard to evaluate him because I heard he was playing hurt and he fouled out of both games I saw. His team is loaded with talent, especially Xavier Henry and Terrence Boyd. Those three were among the most athletically built of anyone I saw. Orton would be great catch. Coach G was watching him play while chatting with Bill Self.
John Wall - Good all around player. He scored a lot in the first game I saw him and made several good passes. He's quick and plays some defense. Obviously this would be a good pickup too. I saw Coach G watching him too.
Other observations:
KC Ross-Miller - He played solid but not flashy in his first game yesterday AM. It was VERY exciting to see him make the game-winning 3 pointer at the last second. That was the only time I saw him get excited. The shot was a sweet stroke that was in the minute it left his hands. This AM I watched him again and I think he actually played better. Nice defense with a couple steals, some beautiful assists, and a couple nice shots. The best part of his game is that he plays under control with little emotion and doesn't get involved with some of the smack talk going on on the floor. He is listed as 6'1" but I seriously doubt that. I walked next to him and he appeared to be my height exactly (5'11"). He plays on the older AAU team so that made his play even more impressive. I sat down to eat a hot dog outside of the area where they were taking official photos and Ross-Miller's coach saw my Wildcat Nation Blueblood t-shirt and started teasing me about how crazy UK fans are. Ross-Miller was seated within earshot and he smiled.
Other players: I saw Nic Garcia (he lists UK among his schools, I think). He looks pretty good. Also, the kid that was an Illinois commit that may be backing out of it...can't think of his name... I heard UK was interested. He looked really good...very smooth and athletic.
It's hard to recognize players since there are no programs (unless you want to pay $275 for the coaches' program). So I probably saw several other players that I should have recognized but didn't. Marc Maggard saw my UK t-shirt and stood and watched a game next to me for a while. He pointed out Garcia to me. He was bouncing around from game to game taking lots of photos. I hadn't met him before but he seemed knowledgeable and nice.
Coaches: Coach G was usually sitting with Bill Self. They always seems to be watching the same game I was (there are 4 games going on at the same time). I had a chance to speak with him. He was cordial and shook my hand. There was one game where he was sitting with Bruce Pearl. They were laughing and talking like old friends. It just seemed like an odd sight to me. I also met and shook hands with Tubby Smith. Class act as always. Most of the major college coaches were there. It was a treat to see Travis Ford. He never smiled though, always a serious look on his face.
I may get back there tomorrow if I can. I had several conflicts that only allowed me to catch a couple of hours of action. Hope you enjoy these observations.