Blake Justice

[zippyman23]

Getting word that Blake Justice, 6'3" SG from Peebles, Ohio, has committed to Akron today. I'm working to find a link to confirm this.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/re...e-Justice-97428

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/...26season%3d2011

[ZachTheZip]

If true, that only leaves one spot left open for the 2011 class.

Also, those two links have drastically different measurements. Rivals says he's 6'3" and 170lbs, but ESPN says he's 6'1" and 180lbs.

[Quickzips]

If true this could be a very nice pickup for the Zips. Justice is a knock down shooter who holds pretty much all of the scoring records for Peebles High School. His listed height keeps going up and up (the ESPN information looks a little older at 6'1", last summer had him listed at 6'2", now 6'3") which could put him in the 6'4"-6'5" range by the time he gets here. That gives us the bigger 2 guard we've been looking for. Combine him with a pure PG who can create shots for others like Abreu and Ennis and you've got a real nice backcourt combination.

Check out the numbers from his Sophomore season, 24PPG on 46% shooting, 39% from three as a sophomore:

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/tGz9pVnQC...ake-justice.htm

[Quickzips]

For those of you looking for us to develop a go to scorer on the offensive end, this kid could be it. In addition to the 24PPG he scored as a sophomore he averaged 22PPG as a true freshman and late last year set the career record for scoring at Peebles High School as a junior.

[Zipmeister]

If true this could be a very nice pickup for the Zips. Justice is a knock down shooter who holds pretty much all of the scoring records for Peebles High School. His listed height keeps going up and up (the ESPN information looks a little older at 6'1", last summer had him listed at 6'2", now 6'3") which could put him in the 6'4"-6'5" range by the time he gets here. That gives us the bigger 2 guard we've been looking for. Combine him with a pure PG who can create shots for others like Abreu and Ennis and you've got a real nice backcourt combination.

Check out the numbers from his Sophomore season, 24PPG on 46% shooting, 39% from three as a sophomore:

http://www.maxpreps.com/athletes/tGz9pVnQC...ake-justice.htm

So you have this kid projected to be our 6'5" knock down shooter. My, your glass is half full isn't it? I don't care if he is the best basketball player between Scrubb Ridge and Bacon Flat (located to the south and east of Peeble, respectively), he's doing all his scoring against division 17 or whatever high school competition and that's a long way from Division I college hoops (even MAC division I college hoops). I'm going to refrain from doing cartwheels at this point.

[zip37]

Everybody KNOWS that no good players come from the 'lower' division schools, and that KD goes for players that can't compete at the Div I level.

[Blue & Gold]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

[Zipmeister]

Everybody KNOWS that no good players come from the 'lower' division schools, and that KD goes for players that can't compete at the Div I level.

Which begs the question, "what do you get if you combine Quickzip with zip37? A full glass.

[vmd9]

The Zips live by the 3ball...if this kid can shoot well, we'll be alright

[Blue & Gold]

Well, I Googled Brock & got a little info. One scouting service says he's the best shooter in the state regardless of division. One OU Bobcat fan who saw him play said he has good hops as well.

He is a natural scorer, so that's good - we do need a player who just wants to put the ball in the hole. One scouting service says he needs to work on his D. KD'll fix that. Another service said he is absolutely great shooting coming off screens (which we never do). I guess he's deadly if given time to square up. That's what worries me because it seems like often the small school deadeye just has to rush his shot too much to shoot well @ the D-1 college level. One OU fan observed his game reminded him of Bailey from Indiana a number of years back. Miami, OU & Can't were all after him, so he seems like a good MAC get! He was also apparently receiving a lot of mail from Notre Dame.

Welcome aboard Brock! Glad you're here! Welcome to the family! And if you're reading this, stop now and never come back! We're just a bunch of fans who don't really know what we're talking about! Lol.

Go Zips!

[Quickzips]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

[Blue & Gold]

<br />

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit. I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.<br /><a href="http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/5/5/justices-return-helps-fuel-team-cbiz-at-the-bill-hensley-memorial-run-n-slam" target="_blank">http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Eaaaasy there, cowboy. "Blind hatred"?! Blind? Ok, I'll give you that. Lol. But "hatred?" Dude, way too harsh.

[zippyman23]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Slight correction in that they defeated the AOR 16u team, not the loaded AOR 17u team that featured Sullinger/Payne/Weatherspoon.

[Quickzips]

<br />

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit. I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.<br /><a href="http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009/5/5/justices-return-helps-fuel-team-cbiz-at-the-bill-hensley-memorial-run-n-slam" target="_blank">http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Eaaaasy there, cowboy. "Blind hatred"?! Blind? Ok, I'll give you that. Lol. But "hatred?" Dude, way too harsh.

Bottom line is that we are getting a kid who is a big-time scorer at a number of levels who is highly thought of by a lot of experts and a lot of programs and people on here are bashing him without doing any research on him other than looking at his high school.

Look I wanna see Akron landing top 50 talent like Zeke every year just as much as the next guy, but the bottom line is that Zeke was a special case of a kid who was looking for something different in a college experience than the typical top 50 recruit. We got lucky with him, and hopefully it is going to lead us to a better place, but the reality is that mid-majors, MAC teams, the Zips aren't going to be landing top 50 recruits all the time. How highly touted was Jeremiah Wood when he came out of high school? Did anybody else even offer him a scholarship? Would any of you have traded him for some highly touted kid with a bad attitude who ends up never panning out? How about Cedrick Middleton? Look, any one of these kids could flame out spectacularly, or they could all end up being first team all-MAC. Give the kid a chance.

[ZachTheZip]

ESPN has him rated at the same level as Josh Egner. I don't see how that's a bad thing.

[zip37]

There was a player for the Zips that came from 'Podunk' Peterson, not Kyle the tall dude from SW Ohio.

[zippyman23]

Rasor confirms.

http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/zips/2010/04/g...mmits-to-akron/

[zip37]

By the way-- Jerry West, & the Huggins brothers were from 'Podunk'

[Zipmeister]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Oh great. Now you are telling me not only is he from Backwater, Ohio but he is also prone to injury.

[Quickzips]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Oh great. Now you are telling me not only is he from Backwater, Ohio but he is also prone to injury.

Didn't Zeke have some tendenitis in his knees (or some other knee problems) early in the year this year? Better get rid of him too. Can't have injury prone guys like that on our sidelines. I mean, it isn't like Basketball takes any kind of physical toll on your body now does it?

[skip-zip]

It goes without saying that oftentimes prolific high school scorers just can't make the big jump to D-1 basketball. You simply don't know until you get them on the court. Coaches use as much information as they have to project these kinds of things. Sometimes they are right, and sometimes they are wrong. We see this in our own program every year. To me, this kid would be a concern because this seems like such a big jump for him. But, does he have some qualties that appear to give him the ability to make that jump? I'm sure he does, and that's why we want him here. But, will it actually happen? That's anyone's guess.

[bearcat65]

Hey, I know absolutely nothing about this dude. But I can say I'm not at all excited about this one. I don't want Podunk's top scorer (we've had this type of player before and none have panned out - McClanahan.) I want a player who's torn up the AAU circuit.

I wanna see Remy Abell in the blue and gold!

I love how I'm the only one who seems to do any research on these kids. This is about the only free article I can find about Justice's AAU exploits. In his return to AAU ball after a month off because of tendonitis he scores 18 in upset win for AAU team CBIZ over powerhouse All-Ohio Red (you remember them, the AAU team that features high-major recruits like Jared Sullinger, J.D. Weatherspoon, Adriean Payne, Stevie Taylor, Trey Burke and Traevon Jackson) at last years Bill Hensley's Memorial Run-n-Slam.

http://www.jjhuddle.com/news/articles/2009...rial-run-n-slam

I guess we shouldn't let little things like facts get in the way of blind hatred though.

Oh great. Now you are telling me not only is he from Backwater, Ohio but he is also prone to injury.

Checking in from Backwater Ohio. My kids go to another school in the same district as Peebles and I have seen 2 or more of Blake's games each year since he was in 3rd grade. He is about 6'2" and 180-185lbs. I doubt he will be any taller when he gets to Akron. He has a very good perimeter game and has played the 2 guard since he was a freshman. If he is open he is going to knock down the shot. At the high school level he rebounds well, plays good defense, and can attack the rim. I would not consider him injury prone and while he may have missed some AAU ball I can't recall any games missed during the regular season due to injury. Some of the other concerns that I've read may be legitimate. I wouldn't expect him to be an immediate impact player and think it may take some time for him to adjust to the college level. I think he will do whatever it takes to make that adjustment as he is as hard a working player as you will see. I think fans will be pleased with Justice as long as they have reasonable expectations.

[Dave in Green]

Wow, this thread blossomed into a true ZN.O classic in no time. It's obvious that none of us had much detailed information about Blake Justice before this thread started, so maybe we can work together to dig up enough information to make more informed opinions about him.

Justice sounds a lot like the kind of student athlete KD said at the basketball banquet that he would continue to recruit. In addition to his great outside shooting, he's reportedly also a 3.9 GPA student.

According to rivals.com, one of the schools showing interest in Justice should be of special note to Zips fans trying to evaluate just how much potential he might have:

Blake Justice is hearing from Butler, Eastern Michigan, and numerous Mid-American Conference schools.

rivals.com

According to what jjhuddle.com posted last September, Justice was starting to draw a lot of interest from a lot of schools:

Blake Justice (6'2/175) 2011 wing of Peebles High School has been offered by Albany.

"They will be coming down this Thursday to watch me work out," Justice said. "Then I go there on the September twenty-fifth. I go to Akron on the twenty-fourth and Miami (OH) on October third. I have already visited Wright State, which all schools have said they are going to come to open gym. I have not scheduled a visit yet for Eastern Michigan or Ohio University and Notre Dame has been sending me a lot of stuff lately."

jjhuddle.com

According to ohshoops.com last September:

He (Justice) has also been hearing from Elon, Davidson, and Can't State.

ohshoops.com

So it appears as if Justice was not only on the radar of every MAC team, but some bigger name schools such as Butler, Notre Dame and Davidson. If he was a "can't miss" star with obvious future NBA potential, he would likely be signing with Duke, Michigan State, Kansas or Kentucky, and UA would not even be in the running.

Of course we won't know for sure how good he might be until he actually hits the court in a Zips uniform. But I'm sure that won't stop the flow of fearless predictions here.

[GoZips]

Let's be completely honest here.

If this young man had just committed to tOSU no one, and I mean no one, would be faulting his

pedigree. The UA coaching staff and a number of other staffs would not be recruiting this young

man if he did not have more going for him than shooting a ball through a hoop.

Being a guard requires more dimensions than shooting. Ball handling, quicks, smarts, stamina,

defensive skills, understanding the game, to name some attributes required. This youngster

seems to have the qualities UA seeks for a shooting guard. I think he will be up to the challenge.

[Zip Watcher]

+2

Nice posts by GoZips and the "D.i.G. right out of Compton."

Go Zips!