Peach Jam Player Evaluations - Part One

Ivan McDowell, Southeast/Mid-South Editor

July 19, 2007 - The recently completed Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC afforded coaches, fans and media types like me the opportunity to witness some of the finest high basketball talent this country has to offer. AAU teams from across the U.S. showcased their hoop abilities and showed off some of their squads’ best individual performers. While I wasn’t able to watch everyone, I was able to see some outstanding ballers from the 2008 and 2009 class. Below are a few:

Greg Monroe, 6’10”, PF, Louisiana Select- Greg followed up a strong performance at the Lebron James Skills Academy with another string of multi-faceted performances in which he stymied defenders with his impressive skill set. Monroe mostly stayed on the perimeter during the week; not to shoot, but to take the opportunity to display his left-handed dribble drive ability and finish at the rim. When he did post however, he was very effective as well. Greg’s repertoire was been well documented over the last year, but he seems to have taken things up a notch since the Memorial Day Classic. A laundry list of schools continues to adorn Monroe’s list, but he plans to narrow things down to five at the end of the summer and take his official visits from those five. My sources tell me he will likely choose from Georgetown, Duke, LSU, UNC and Kansas.

Memphis’ Leslie McDonald

Leslie McDonald, 6’4”, SG, Memphis YOMCA- Leslie wasn’t at his best camp during the games I saw him perform. Save for his 24 point outburst in one contest, McDonald did a lot of facilitation during the week. He is a smooth wing guard with the ability to shoot the deep ball, but excels at the mid-range game. Leslie’s game would lead one to believe he’s not a good athlete because he doesn’t solely rely on his speed, hops and quicks, but don’t get it twisted; He can just as easily rise up and over or blow by you off the dribble. Very skilled, this 2009 prospect was hampered by shin splints, a twisted ankle and fatigue (back-to-back-to-back camps will do that to you), but played valiantly on a weak Memphis team. McDonald offered up Tennessee, Memphis, Georgetown, Ole Miss, Louisville, Kansas, Texas and Georgia Tech as suitors at this point.

Kendall Marshall, 6’2”, PG, Boo Williams- If you hadn’t heard of or seen Kendall before this tournament you would have been asking yourself “Where did this kid come from?” Marshall ran his team, hit the jumper and made all the right passes when I watched him. He is a 2010 kid, so it will be a minute before he hits a college campus, but Marshall already plays with the court savvy, poise and displays leadership skills that some collegiate guards lack. All of the biggies were there to watch his 28-point performance versus the Metro Hawks when it seemed he could do no wrong. Kendall does have deficiencies however. Right now he lacks the overall foot speed and lateral quickness to defend major collegiate point guards, and must continue to work on this as he matures. Villanova, Virginia, Georgetown, Pittsburgh and George Mason have all offered, but that list will expand because there are a dozen other schools monitoring his progression.

Winston-Salem, NC’s Reggie Johnson

Reggie Johnson, 6’8”, PF/C, Boo Williams- Big Reggie was definitely more active at Peach Jam then when I saw him in Nashville at MDC. Johnson combines nimble feet and a soft touch not witnessed often in young men his size. He displayed these skills on more than one occasion, especially against Samardo Samuels and Greg Echinique of the Metro Hawks. Against Samuels, Johnson backed him down and used a turnaround jumper off the glass from 10 feet to score. When Greg was guarding him, Reggie utilized the drop step effectively, scoring in close. According to Johnson, he still needs to work on perfecting going to his left, so as to be more versatile, and his conditioning needs improving. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Miami, Clemson, Fairfield, VCU and Xavier comprise this 2008 post players list of schools. He has no favorite, but all of the aforementioned schools had coaches in attendance.

Deshonte’ Riley, of Detriot, aka The D

Deshonte’ Riley, 6’11, C, The Family- I had never heard of Riley prior to coming to Peach Jam, which means either I missed him in Nashville or he didn’t play or do much there. Well he certainly did damage in North Augusta. Riley is very long and active, especially on the defensive end. Physically, he reminds me of Anthony McLain. He blocked 11 shots versus the NY Gauchos in the semifinal loss. In fact, he almost posted a triple-double of 14 rebounds and nine points on put backs and eating the glass. Riley understands the need for him to get stronger and improve his conditioning. Deshonte’ is a class of 2009 member and was called by a Big 10 assistant “the best big man in the Midwest for his class”. Riley gave me a list of Georgetown, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas State, Ohio State and Michigan State. He stated that the Hoyas are his “dream school”.