THE INNOVATIVE AMPLIFICATION CONTINUES. MOST IMITATED, MOST RESPECTED, THE BEST.
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T.J. Bell |
The Class of Versatility: Looking into 2012
by Pat Benninger
June 24, 2008
The class of 2012 has a chance to be very solid. Where as most classes have great point guards (Derrick Rose - 2007; Sherron Collins - 2006), shooting guards (Jon Scheyer - 2006), small forwards (Julian Wright - 2005), or posts (Mike Dunigan - 2008), this will be the class of versatility. They are deep with combo-everythings.
The top "point" guard looks to be Rantouls Travis Britt. At 63 170 lbs, he has the most size and strength for his position at this current point in time. He is very smooth and sees thing on the floor before they happen. He can also score the ball. He is often considered as a top 5 statewide player for his class.
Malcolm Hill, a 59 Mt. Carmel-bound prodigy is the best pure point guard in the class. Hes very quick, speedy, and a good passer. 510 Antonio Drummond and Landis Farmer of the Peoria area and 58 Darron Smith and Derrick Randolph of the Chicago area also have a chance to develop into high level point guards.
62 Cameron Harvey (St. Joseph) and 60 Aaron Simpson (North Chicago) are widely regarded as the best players in the city of Chicago and rightfully so. They score the ball very well and play at a very high level. Simpson will be a varsity starter at North Chicago while Harvey will likely have to wait his chance as the legendary Coach Pingatore usually does not play freshmen on the varsity squad. While both are shooting guards right now, they project as combo's due to their "projected" size as does Chicago St. Patrick's Keith Carter. 6'2" Charles Harris of Lake Forest Academy will also be a scoring guard to look out for.
Prospects dont get much better than T.J. Bell. Bell, who just turned 14, is a 66 190 lbs wing that has yet to hit the weight room. He has a very solid build, is skilled on the perimeter, and can shoot and rebound the ball. He is a shy kid and it does show in his game but once he adopts a "takeover" mentality much like Eric Gordon or Lewis Jackson had in high school, the sky is truly the limit for him. As of right now, he is capable of filling four positions (point guard, shooting guard, small forward, and power forward). Against conference teams, he will also be able to play some center. 6'6" Denzell McCauley of Rock Island is a big time potential guy as well. The combo forward's skills are not quite in place yet and his potential is very untapped but, with the right coaching and motivation, he too has a chance to be special. Others who show good skill and potential are 65 Alex Becker of Olympia and 66 Steve Taylor of Mt. Carmel, two multi-purpose forwards with both inside and outside games.
The states top player will be Zach Peters IF HIS TRANSFER GOES THROUGH. Hes a 68 210 lbs combo forward from Plano, Texas and is expected to move from Texas to Effingham and attend St. Anthonys High School, as his family is originally from the area. Peters was a class of 2011 prospect a two years ago and was considered top 15 nationally. As a 2012 prospect, most believe he will be the nations number one guy. He's a lot like Duke's Kyle Singler in the fact that he handles it very well and is a versatile performer.
Colin Ferguson has a real chance. He is teammates with T.J. Bell and, like Bell, has great upside. At 68 225 lbs Ferguson has great size and will definitely continue to grow as evident by his size 18 shoe. He has a soft touch and runs the floor well which will definitely set him apart from other bigs in his class. 64 Trashaun Carroll (Whitney Young), 66 Issac Lazerus (Hales Franciscan), 65 Romeo Johnson (Peoria Manual), and 68 Jermaine Morgan (Whitney Young) are also players to lookout for.
A strong class, especially at the top with Peters, Bell, Harvey, Simpson, Britt, Hill, and Ferguson. It will be fun to watch this entire group of players develop as the years pass into high level "combo" or possibly "pure" position players.
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