Stark/Summit All-Star Classic

[Blue & Gold]

I went to the annual (22nd annual?) Stark/Summit Rotary Club All-Star Classic @ Malone last night. Summit beat Stark 140-111. Saw some very good players.

Charles Hearn (Kenmore) - only scored 10 points; wasn't hitting from the outside. But he's a natural baller.

Monte Woods (East) - 6'4" guard who is more explosive than any guard currently on our roster. Can hit from the outside, handle the ball & drive to the hoop.

Elvin Butler (East) - 6'1" guard. Again, more explosive than any of our D-1 college guards. Unacceptable in my opinion.

Jacob North (Barberton) - This guy has an absolutely SICK outside shot. He is a Steve McNees type of player (not as quick as Steve). He's going to Toledo on a baseball scholly. Jacob was named Summit MVP (the award could have gone to a number of players but someone had to win it). He finished w/ 22 points & hit 6 3-pointers, one of which was closer to half court than the 3-point arc (and this was with proper shooting form. Quite crazy.)

Jon Harris (Twinsburg) - for the life of me I can't figure out why we weren't ALL OVER this guy! He's 6'8" and smooth! Can handle the ball, fly out of the rafters and stop and pop from the 3!!! Best player on the floor IMHO (though, of course, all-star games aren't the best venue for rating talent) He's going to Miami for b-ball.

Cameron Black (Roosevelt) - Okay, here's another instance where I'm going to just have to blindly trust KD. I know Cameron wanted to be a Zip, but we chose to give our schollies to other players (Cameron's going to BGSU). Cameron looked excellent. He's a good 6'8" and can handle the ball - he repeatedly brought the ball up the floor on fast breaks! He's got good post moves to boot. Negatives would be that he's not a great outside shooter and is not the most explosive player. Kinda reminds me of a typical UA forward, skilled but not explosive. So I hope that's why KD wanted to bring in the much more athletic Josh Egner.

Josh Egner (Jackson) - Though I thought both Jon Harris and Cameron Black looked like more dangerous players, Josh was the most explosive player on the floor. Hit a 3 to boot. Has the potential to be great; or might just disappear on offense - sometimes it seems like if he can't simply dunk the ball he can't do much. Idk, first time I've seen him play (other than STO state championship game.)

Storm Sanders (GlenOak) - can really handle the ball and penetrate to the basket. Liked to penetrate & then kick the ball out. Was kind of a natural ball hog, but he's obviously used to being "the man" but was struggling w/ his outside shot last night. Though he took a couple 3's from about 6 feet behind the arc.

Isaiah Elliot (McKinley) - I only list him because he was named Stark MVP & ended up w/ 22 points. But quite honestly, as compared to much of the other talent on the floor last night he's not much to write home about. He's going to Malone & I'm sure will have a very fine career there.

From watching one all-star game (this & $1 will get you a cup of coffee) I would rank the players thusly:

Backcourt:

1. Montazine Woods (East)

2. Jacob North (Barberton)

3. Charles Hearn (Kenmore)

4. Elvin Butler (East)

5. Storm Sanders (GlenOak)

Frontcourt:

1. Jon Harris (Twinsburg)

2. Cameron Black (Roosevelt)

3. Josh Egner (Jackson)

All the players were very, very good and the game was a lot of fun to watch. You could tell all the players were having a really great time, which is what it was all about. All of their parents should be proud.

P.s. For some reason Henniger didn't play.

[Dave in Green]

Nice analysis. I'm not too surprised by how Egner looked in this game. All-star games generally promote offense over defense. At Jackson, Egner's main job was to focus on defense and support Henniger on offense. Only in the quarterfinal and semifinal games of the state tournament was Egner really unleashed on offense after the opposing defenses focused on stopping Henniger.

Jackson's Mike Fuline is a defense first coach, so I believe Egner will immediately impress KD with his defensive effort and earn good PT early. I think Egner will require more direction from KD on what kind of offense to provide. Egner will have no problem getting the ball to Zeke or Nik under the basket the way he did with Henniger in HS. But when he should drive to the basket or pull up for a jumper will be very much influenced by how KD instructs him. Egner didn't need to shoot a lot in HS to keep him happy. But he's capable of scoring in bunches when turned loose.

It also doesn't surprise me that Cameron Black handles the ball well for a big man. He started HS as a guard, then had a big growth spurt and went from ball-handling, outside-shooting guard to a big center. Black was a focal point of his HS team's offense like Henniger, so you'd expect him to look good on offense in an all-star game. I sure hope he doesn't turn out to be a better overall college player than Egner, Euton or Green, as we'll be seeing him twice a year when the Zips play Bowling Green.

Then again, Black is really more of a center than a forward, and I doubt he would have wanted to play backup to Zeke.

[mollautt]

Jon Harris (Twinsburg) - for the life of me I can't figure out why we weren't ALL OVER this guy! He's 6'8" and smooth! Can handle the ball, fly out of the rafters and stop and pop from the 3!!! Best player on the floor IMHO (though, of course, all-star games aren't the best venue for rating talent) He's going to Miami for b-ball.

=>Love it!

Nice analysis!

[MDZip]

Jon Harris (Twinsburg) - for the life of me I can't figure out why we weren't ALL OVER this guy! He's 6'8" and smooth! Can handle the ball, fly out of the rafters and stop and pop from the 3!!! Best player on the floor IMHO (though, of course, all-star games aren't the best venue for rating talent) He's going to Miami for b-ball.

Is his number 4? Or maybe he just enjoys being a four seed.

[GoZips]

Can't speak for all the players listed.

Here is what to expect for some of them: GRADES. Not all HS players can hack college.

Cameron Black, a kid the Zips would love to have. Except, bad wheels. Suffers stress fractures

in his ankles and does not heal well. He is headed to Bowling Green.

Coaches recruit the best kids they have any chance at. Coaches are professional analyzers. They

know these kids far better than a casual fan does. I had my concerns about taking Egner over

Henniger until I had the opportunity to watch (not listen on the radio or read in a newspaper) the

players in action. Egner is light years ahead of Henniger in overall skill set. That does not show

up in stat sheets or radio announcers excited voices.

Good luck to all the kids who participated.