Hey hoops fans! I had the chance to check out a great game last night, Avon at Danville in the Hendricks County Tournament. Avon (6-3) won this defensive slugfest against the Warriors (8-2) 44-37, while doing an outstanding job guarding Danville's stellar center, Purdue-bound Travis Carroll (pictured, number fifty) . Here are some quick game notes and assessments, followed by the transcript of my interview with the winning coach, Avon's Jason Young.
* Carroll is big, long, and pretty strong. He's not only a legit 6'9", but he has a really long reach as well. He plays closer to 6'11" than 6'9" because of his length. His lower body is built, but he definitely needs to add upper body strength, but he's just a junior. Travis was blanketed all night by a rotation of Avon defenders, but mainly by Avon 6'5" senior Aaron Childs, who did a heck of a job making him work for every touch, and then make him work hard again to get a good shot. Carroll struggled, finishing with eleven points, well below his season average. He did attack the glass well, as he always does. A few of his buckets came off of offensive boards. He also has a soft touch from 15-17 feet, and is solid from the free throw line. No doubt he's a great get for Purdue, but just had an off night, mainly due to Avon's defensive scheme against him.
* Danville junior guard Michael Humphrey is a gritty competitor. He finished with a game high 14 points, and he had the ball in his hands during the Warriors' attempted comeback at the end. He is small at 5'9", but reminds me of another quality undersized point, Casey Coons of Franklin Central.
* Kendall Griffin, the star 6'5" sophomore guard from Avon, also had an off night, but you can see why college coaches are investing their time in evaluating him right now. He has great form and range on his shot. He is good with the ball in his hands, getting shots off the bounce. You can see that he has the ability to be a slashing scorer who can also hurt you from outside. He also rebounds extremely well for a guard. He only had nine points on the night and missed a few free throws once the game was in hand, but there is no denying his talent.
* Avon hardly played their other big-name sophomore guard JuJuan Sarver at all in this one. From talking with Avon fans, some seem to think Coach Young is trying to send him a message about being a pass-first point rather than a shoot-first point. He finished with three points in limited action.
* Avon has another up-and-comer in 6'7" freshman Austin Burgett. He did not score and dealt with some foul trouble in this game, but he has a ton of talent. He is also expected to grow a few more inches. He shot up recently, and before his spurt, he was a point guard, which makes him an even more intriguing prospect, since he will likely be a 6'9"-or so two or three man, something like Gonzaga's Austin Daye. He is a sure-fire D1 prospect.
* Jack Owens,an assistant coach from Purdue, was there watching Carroll, but likely also watching the two Avon youngsters.
And now, here is the transcript of my interview with Avon head coach Jason Young, which contains some pretty cool information for IU fans, in particular.
P-Hoops - Coach, thanks for taking a minute of your time to have a word with me. First question: Obviously a tough battle and a big win for you guys tonight. What was the key to the victory from your perspective?
Jason Young - I'd say our defensive intensity and our rebounding were two big things. I think Carroll finished with what, nine or ten points? That was a big thing. Our senior Aaron Childs dis a great job on him and deserves a lot of credit. If you would have told me before the game that we'd hold Carroll around ten points and ten or twelve boards, I'd have been really happy with it.
PH - So stopping Carroll, was that a big key for you guys in practice this week? What was your plan for him?
JY - Not sending him to the free throw line was a big thing. In our first game against them (note: a 70-67 OT win for Danville) I think he had around fifteen free throw attempts. We wanted to keep him off the line. Make him earn it.
PH - This season has been a big turnaround from last year. What would you say the key has been to this season's success?
JY - Focus. I would say the overall focus of this team is the big thing. Yeah, more experience is a part of it, but just the every day focus and intensity of this year's team is better.
PH - You guys are now 6-3. What will this win over a highly ranked team do for your kids?
JY - Well, I'm hoping it will help us put some games together. Back to back games where we play well.
PH - Word is that Tom Crean and Tim Buckley were in your practice yesterday. Is that right?
JY - Yes.
PH - What was that like for the kids?
JY - Well, I can tell you that the intensity went way up. We has pretty high intensity for a practice the day before a game with him there. I mean, if your a kid playing ball in Indiana and the Indiana University head coach comes to your practice...
PH - Was he there for anyone in particular?
JY - Yes, he was there to see Kendall Griffin and our freshman Austin Burgett.
PH - Did he have any words for you guys?
JY - He was just very complimentary of the program as a whole.
PH - Both of those guys are relatively new on the Indiana high school basketball scene and in recruiting. Can you describe Kendall as a player for those who haven't see him?
JY - Sure. Kendall is a heady, very heady player. He makes good decisions. He's a 4.0 student. He's a great scorer. He's our leading scorer and our leading rebounder as a sophomore.
PH - How about the freshman, Burgett?
JY - He has huge upside. He's already 6'7". He sees the floor very well. Can go left or right with the dribble. He is a natural three of four position. He needs to work on his strength and his jump shot some. He makes very good passes.
PH - Last question: What are your goals for the team this year?
JY - Well, we want to win County. We want to win this tournament. Also, we want to win our conference.
PH - Thanks for your time, Coach.
JY - No problem.
Check back later on today for the transcript of my interview with Avon sophomore star Kendall Griffin. He's a great kid with a big time future.
* Carroll is big, long, and pretty strong. He's not only a legit 6'9", but he has a really long reach as well. He plays closer to 6'11" than 6'9" because of his length. His lower body is built, but he definitely needs to add upper body strength, but he's just a junior. Travis was blanketed all night by a rotation of Avon defenders, but mainly by Avon 6'5" senior Aaron Childs, who did a heck of a job making him work for every touch, and then make him work hard again to get a good shot. Carroll struggled, finishing with eleven points, well below his season average. He did attack the glass well, as he always does. A few of his buckets came off of offensive boards. He also has a soft touch from 15-17 feet, and is solid from the free throw line. No doubt he's a great get for Purdue, but just had an off night, mainly due to Avon's defensive scheme against him.
* Danville junior guard Michael Humphrey is a gritty competitor. He finished with a game high 14 points, and he had the ball in his hands during the Warriors' attempted comeback at the end. He is small at 5'9", but reminds me of another quality undersized point, Casey Coons of Franklin Central.
* Kendall Griffin, the star 6'5" sophomore guard from Avon, also had an off night, but you can see why college coaches are investing their time in evaluating him right now. He has great form and range on his shot. He is good with the ball in his hands, getting shots off the bounce. You can see that he has the ability to be a slashing scorer who can also hurt you from outside. He also rebounds extremely well for a guard. He only had nine points on the night and missed a few free throws once the game was in hand, but there is no denying his talent.
* Avon hardly played their other big-name sophomore guard JuJuan Sarver at all in this one. From talking with Avon fans, some seem to think Coach Young is trying to send him a message about being a pass-first point rather than a shoot-first point. He finished with three points in limited action.
* Avon has another up-and-comer in 6'7" freshman Austin Burgett. He did not score and dealt with some foul trouble in this game, but he has a ton of talent. He is also expected to grow a few more inches. He shot up recently, and before his spurt, he was a point guard, which makes him an even more intriguing prospect, since he will likely be a 6'9"-or so two or three man, something like Gonzaga's Austin Daye. He is a sure-fire D1 prospect.
* Jack Owens,an assistant coach from Purdue, was there watching Carroll, but likely also watching the two Avon youngsters.
And now, here is the transcript of my interview with Avon head coach Jason Young, which contains some pretty cool information for IU fans, in particular.
P-Hoops - Coach, thanks for taking a minute of your time to have a word with me. First question: Obviously a tough battle and a big win for you guys tonight. What was the key to the victory from your perspective?
Jason Young - I'd say our defensive intensity and our rebounding were two big things. I think Carroll finished with what, nine or ten points? That was a big thing. Our senior Aaron Childs dis a great job on him and deserves a lot of credit. If you would have told me before the game that we'd hold Carroll around ten points and ten or twelve boards, I'd have been really happy with it.
PH - So stopping Carroll, was that a big key for you guys in practice this week? What was your plan for him?
JY - Not sending him to the free throw line was a big thing. In our first game against them (note: a 70-67 OT win for Danville) I think he had around fifteen free throw attempts. We wanted to keep him off the line. Make him earn it.
PH - This season has been a big turnaround from last year. What would you say the key has been to this season's success?
JY - Focus. I would say the overall focus of this team is the big thing. Yeah, more experience is a part of it, but just the every day focus and intensity of this year's team is better.
PH - You guys are now 6-3. What will this win over a highly ranked team do for your kids?
JY - Well, I'm hoping it will help us put some games together. Back to back games where we play well.
PH - Word is that Tom Crean and Tim Buckley were in your practice yesterday. Is that right?
JY - Yes.
PH - What was that like for the kids?
JY - Well, I can tell you that the intensity went way up. We has pretty high intensity for a practice the day before a game with him there. I mean, if your a kid playing ball in Indiana and the Indiana University head coach comes to your practice...
PH - Was he there for anyone in particular?
JY - Yes, he was there to see Kendall Griffin and our freshman Austin Burgett.
PH - Did he have any words for you guys?
JY - He was just very complimentary of the program as a whole.
PH - Both of those guys are relatively new on the Indiana high school basketball scene and in recruiting. Can you describe Kendall as a player for those who haven't see him?
JY - Sure. Kendall is a heady, very heady player. He makes good decisions. He's a 4.0 student. He's a great scorer. He's our leading scorer and our leading rebounder as a sophomore.
PH - How about the freshman, Burgett?
JY - He has huge upside. He's already 6'7". He sees the floor very well. Can go left or right with the dribble. He is a natural three of four position. He needs to work on his strength and his jump shot some. He makes very good passes.
PH - Last question: What are your goals for the team this year?
JY - Well, we want to win County. We want to win this tournament. Also, we want to win our conference.
PH - Thanks for your time, Coach.
JY - No problem.
Check back later on today for the transcript of my interview with Avon sophomore star Kendall Griffin. He's a great kid with a big time future.
2 comments:
Great work P-Hoops!
GO AVON!
thanks cuz...
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