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City of Palms Classic: Day 1 Recap

Ft. Myers, Fl.-The nation’s top two senior big men, Samardo Samuels (pictured) and Greg Monroe, were both in action on day one at the City of Palms Classic.  One of them had the performance of the day while the other couldn’t get anything going.  Read more to find out who shined and who didn’t.

Game One

Helen Cox, La.- 53
John Carroll, Md.- 41

This game provided our first chance to watch Greg Monroe, the 3rd ranked senior in the country, play this season.  While his Helen Cox team grinded out a 53-41 win over John Carroll, Monroe had minimal impact on the outcome of the game.

The 6’9 Georgetown-recruit finished with just 7 points and 6 rebounds.  He was a dismal 2-6 from the field and an even worse 3 for 11 from the charity stripe.  After a summer in which he was the top big man at numerous events, including Nike’s Lebron James Skills Academy, Monroe’s play in this game was uninspiring.  He didn’t make any attempts to takeover the game and seemed more interested in bumping his defender than demanding the ball.

We’ll give him a mulligan this time and hope he comes back to form on Thursday when his team takes the court against the winner of the New Hope (Ms.)-American Heritage (Fl.) game.

There were, however, a couple of bright spots for the Helen Cox team on Tuesday.  6’5 junior Taj Givens scored a team-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting (including 2-2 from downtown).  The skinny small forward has plenty of potential as a mid-level prospect, although he isn’t currently receiving much college attention.  He mentioned Baylor, Louisville and Sanford as three schools that he has high interest in.

Givens' teammate Calvin Thompson, a 6’2 Howard-recruit, wasn’t able to connect from the field (0-6), but he did a good job getting to the line where he hit 9 of his 10 free-throw attempts.  Thompson (a 4.2 GPA student) could become an impact player in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference someday.

The game’s leading scorer was John Carroll’s 6’7 junior Isaiah Philmore, who finished with 18 points (6-9 from the field) in addition to 8 rebounds.   The skilled forward is receiving a considerable amount of mid to high-level attention.

Game Two

Scott County, Ky.- 43
Ft. Myers Dunbar, Fl.- 41

Scott County jumped out to a 13-2 lead early and led 24-7 at halftime of another slow-paced game.  Dunbar made it interesting with a second-half rally that came just short as Scott County held on for the 43-41 win.

Scott County was led by 6’5 senior guard Tyler Portwood and 6’7 junior forward Richie Phares, who combined for 28 points.  Both players have appeal as low to mid-level prospects-- Portwood as a tall guard that can shoot the ball and Phares as an efficient forward that scores and rebounds.

Dunbar got 9 points each from 6’6 sophomore Jeffery Evans, 6’3 junior Melvin German, and 6’5 sophomore David Paulk.  5’11 senior Tavaris Edison added 8 points.

Game Three

Fort Myers, Fl.- 69
Arcadia DeSoto County- 59 (OT)

This game needed overtime to decide the winner as regulation ended in a 58-58 tie.  The extra period was all Fort Myers, though, as they outscored Arcadia 11-1 for the 69-59 win.

Fort Myers was led by 6’4 senior guard Jean Louisme’s 19 points and 8 rebounds while 6’1 senior guard David Westburry tallied 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Arcadia was paced by 6’0 senior Shavon Shine’s 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Game Four

Chester, Pa.- 66
Bishop Verot, Fl.- 41

Chester jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never looked back as they knocked off the home team 66-41.  The winners were led by Karon Burton’s 18 points and 7 assists.  Burton, a 5’9 senior, is a crowd-pleaser that prefers the spectacular play (often times over the safe play).  While his behind-the-back passes and dribbling into traffic would frustrate any coach, it was just what the fans needed after enduring three-straight slow-paced games.

Burton’s 6’5 teammate Nasir Robinson, a Pittsburg-recruit, didn’t get many touches but still managed 13 points (6-8 fg)-- mostly off of cleaning up after his teammates’ misses. 

Game Five

St. Benedict’s, NJ- 87
Gainesville, Fl.- 32

St. Benedict’s came into this game as the top-ranked high school team in the country after knocking off previous #1 Oak Hill Academy last Thursday and they did plenty to back up the hype. 

Midway through the first quarter the Gray Bees (of St. Benedict’s) had a one-point lead at 11-10, but they used a perfectly-executed full court press to take Gainesville completely out of their offense and ended the first half on a 38-10 run.

St. Benedict’s opened the second half the same as they closed the first and by early in the fourth quarter all the starters were sent to the bench and their reserves (which could probably compete for a state title in some states) came in to finish the game.  The final score was 87-32.

It should be noted that St. Benedict’s is not only one of the most talented teams that we’ve seen but also extremely disciplined and well-coached.  They are a terror on defense and held Gainesville to just 11 field goals for the game, while they executed their offense to near-perfection hitting 70% of their shots from the field.

The Gray Bees were led by Louisville-signee Samardo Samuels.  The 6’9 senior scored 23 points and hit 9 of his 10 shots from the field (mostly on dunks).  He uses his strength to get excellent position in the post and when he gets the ball down-low it’s a near-automatic two points.  On a day when Greg Monroe had a showing that did anything-but help his stock, Samuels’ performance was good enough to make us consider moving him into the no.3 spot in our national rankings which would make him the country’s top ranked big man.  We’ll see how the rest of the tournament plays out and if we’re lucky enough we just might see Monroe and Samuels go head-to-head later this week.

Almost as impressive as Samuels, was his 6’9 body-double Gregory Echenique.  The Venezuela-native was 8-10 from the field for 16 points.  He’s very mobile for a player his size and he showed off some skill by knocking down the midrange shot and body control with impressive reverse layups.  Echenique also proved to be a monster on the boards and finished with 11 rebounds in just over 20 minutes of play.  We liked him so much that he’s going to move WAY UP when we update the rankings after the first of the year (he currently sits at #64 in the ‘09 rankings).  Echenique recently was offered a scholarship by Duke, but lists Maryland and Miami (Fl.) as the schools to beat at this point.  Other schools involved include Rutgers, Penn, and Notre Dame.

St. Benedict’s backcourt duo of 6’2 senior Mike Machado and 6’2 junior Tamir Jackson combined for 25 points while only missing four shots from the field between them. 

A St. Benedict’s player that we’ll be watching closely over the next couple of years is 6’8 sophomore Tristan Thompson.  Thompson is still developing offensively but he has a long wing span and runs the court effortlessly.  His upside is ridiculous!

Stay tuned to HoopsReport.com for more coverage from the City of Palms Classic!