Kingwood Classic Report

Our special contributor, Al Butterworth, has more information for us on the Kingwood Classic in Houston, Texas. Al has taken in several games involving Duke recruits and/or prospects, & also has some notes on several additional interesting prospects who may, or may not, be considered possible Duke prospects.

Al got another look at Greg Paulus on Saturday & saw nothing to change his opinion of him from watching Paulus on Friday night. Al saw only a small part of Paulus' SRap team's first game in the elimination round of the Kingwood Classic. During that short period of time Paulus scored on a driving layup which he finished with his left hand, assisted on a couple of baskets, & made 2 straight three-point shots.

Al also took in the early Saturday morning game involving Spiece Indy Heat & Boo Williams. Spiece Indy Heat routed a very good Boo Williams team, which includes UNC recruit Marcus Ginyard & highly-rated Class of 2006 prospect, Vernon Macklin, by a 75-55 margin. Following are Al's impressions of Duke commitment Josh McRoberts, top-ranked Class of 2006 prospect Greg Oden, & another player from Indy Heat who was particularly impressive, Daequan Cook:

Josh McRoberts: Simply a tremendous passer for a player his size. When McRoberts receives the ball in the post he is always looking for the open man & is unselfish, almost to a fault. Although he is naturally left-handed, he is very effective finishing around the basket with either hand. McRoberts has excellent footwork in the post. Was guarded by Vernon Macklin, who is ranked #4 in the Class of 2006, for most of the game & used a beautiful drop-step move to score against Macklin. McRoberts took 2 three-point shots during the game against Boo Williams & made both of them. He finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds, & 6 assists in the win against Boo Williams.

Daequan Cook: Cook is ranked #17 in the Class of 2006. He is 6-5, has exceptional athletic ability, is an explosive leaper, excellent ballhandler, & is a tremendous shooter. In a nutshell, he has the complete package & is one of the more impressive players Al has seen at the Kingwood this weekend.

Al also took in the Illinois Warriors game versus Houston Hoops on Saturday morning. Houston Hoops won the game on a 35 foot three-point shot at the buzzer. Following are Al's impressions of Jon Scheyer & Julian Wright:

Jon Scheyer: Made a couple of clutch three-point shots, as well as made a few clutch free throws in the waning moments of the game vs. Houston Hoops. Obviously is in need of more upper body strength. Has a really nice shooting stroke & has excellent range on his shot. Sometimes needs to play more aggresively, as he tends to disappear from the action, at times.

Julian Wright: Is a natural wing forward who is forced to play in the post for the undersized Illinois Warriors team. Great athlete with long arms & has excellent ballhandling skills & good body control.

Fendi Onobun (Houston Hoops): Onobun is a 6-7 wing forward from the Class of 2005 who recently committed to Lute Olson's Arizona Wildcats. He is a great rebounder, good, not great, shooter, possesses super athletic ability, & is very strong.

Derrick Caracter (New Jersey Panthers): Caracter is ranked #3 in the Class of 2006 by Rivals. He is a big body who stands 6-8 & weighs around 270 lbs. He has excellent hands, possesses a soft shooting touch within 15 feet of the basket, but has a suspect handle. Caracter is interested in Michigan, Miami, Indiana, and St. Johns.

Duke assistant coaches Chris Collins & Wojo were in attendance at the Kingwood on Saturday, as well as several other ACC head coaches. Other ACC coaches in attendance at the Kingwood Classic on Saturday were NC State head coach Herb Sendek, Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell, Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt, Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser, Virginia head coach Pete Gillen, & UNC head coach Roy Williams.