"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Recruits perform: Williams and Mbakwe lead teams to wins

Nick Williams
Nick Williams led his team with 16 points and was a key player in LeFlore's defensive scheme as the Rattlers overcame Solon (OH) 59-51 in the T-Mobile Invitational. LeFlore, ranked #11 in the latest USA Today poll, moved to 16-0.

Williams hit three 3-pointers (3-6 from deep by my count), and keyed the Rattlers' defensive scheme as the lead defender on their full court press. After trailing by a point at the half, LeFlore took control of the game by outscoring Solon 20-8 in the third quarter thanks to terrific defensive pressure.

Physically, Williams reminded me of Wesley Matthews -- a long, athletic perimeter player. LeFlore is loaded this season and Williams does spend a fair amount of time on the blocks in their offensive set, making his efficient outside game all the more impressive. Its unclear how effective Williams is with the dribble (he rarely handled the ball away from the basket), though his aggressiveness on the offensive glass was impressive.

Here is a recap of last night's game -- check out the remarks from the LeFlore coach....he has a great approach. LeFlore advanced to the championship game tonight at 7:45pm CST against Los Angeles Fairfax. Tonight's game will be televised on the Versus Network, channel 608 on Directv. Versus is the former OLN.

Trevor Mbakwe
Mbakwe's St. Bernard's squad topped Marquette High School last night at The Al, 61-52. Per John Dodds, " Mbakwe slowed by foul trouble...25 min...22 pts...7-14 FG/8-8 FT/9 reb/5 blocks[influenced 4 others...]...very good prospect" Follow the thread here.

The Journal-Sentinel recaps yesterday's games in the WBBY here.

Congratulations to both Nick and Trevor!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good writeup on LeFlore. Sometimes we forget the environment these kids come from. Its great Marquette has a reputation of doing everything possible to have these kids succeed beyond the basketball court.

Anonymous said...

Any news on how Scott did?

Anonymous said...

"Mbakwe slowed by foul trouble...25 min...22 pts...7-14 FG/8-8 FT/9 reb/5 blocks[influenced 4 others...]"

slowed by foul trouble? those numbers are almost ridiculous. what happens when he isn't "slowed"?