Clash of the Classes – Reloaded
by Griffin Bennett
This last Saturday was the Clash of the Classes down in Beaverton. Oregon. It featured the best players from Washington against the best players from Oregon. As you could expect, many Husky recruits were involved as well as other big names. You can watch the whole game online if you’d like: http://www.ihigh.com/clashoftheclasses/broadcast_131475.html?silverlight=1
If you don’t have the two hours to watch (or hate watching fuzzy online video), here are my thoughts after watching the game.
First of all, I won’t be judging anyone’s defense in this game. Washington ended up winning the game 109-105 so there wasn’t much defense to be seen. With that said, here are my individual player notes.
UW Commits:
Tony Wroten (#1):
- His three-pointer is streaky, but he definitely has the range. His height allows him to shoot over most all guards.
- His pull-up jumper has such a quick release that it’s almost impossible to block. Especially with his height, it may be his best move.
- We all know he loves his flashy passes, but his teammates were rarely ready for them and caused a lot of turnovers. Most weren’t his fault, but it was an All-Star game.
- He showed to be an above-average rebounder with a great nose for the ball. The Washington team lacked height as he ended with at least 10 rebounds.
- For those of you who think that he can’t play the point, you’re wrong. He made good decisions on when to drive, shoot, or pass. And he excels at all three.
- His cross-over made multiple guards lose their footing. He is looking to be the total package.
- Wroten even drew a key charging foul against Kyle Wiltjer, as well as blocked his 3 point attempt in the final minutes to seal the game.
- He was easily the best player on the court and finished with 42 points and upwards of 10 rebounds. I counted 3 blocks and 3 steals as well.
Hikeem Stewart (#32):
- Even though it was only one game, Stewart seemed to fade to the background whenever he and Wroten played together. However, when they got on fast breaks they played it perfectly.
- Stewart did not shoot much, but seemed to want to pass first.
- Stewart and Wroten seemed to REALLY enjoy playing together and it showed on the court.
- Overall, he had an underwhelming performance.
Andrew Andrews (#24):
- Watching Wroten and Andrews go against each other was really fun. Wroten definitely had the upper-hand, but Andrews has some smooth dribble moves.
- Still needs to work on his game, as he got his pocket picked a few times.
- Andrews drained a 3 in Wroten’s eye while getting fouled for a four point play. Impressive.
- He was probably Oregon’s second best player, which is promising considering he is only a junior.
UW Prospects:
Kyle Wiltjer (#14):
- He has amazing post moves for his age. He is every bit of 6’10 and uses his size and strength to dominate players. For looking relatively skinny, he was the strongest guy on the court.
- Had a nice no-look pass on a fast break once, but is very slow. He would (and will) dominate the half-court game in college, though.
- An All-Star type game is not where his skills will shine. He played limited minutes, but he was great when he was on the court.
Anrio Adams (#3):
- He is Tony Wroten light. They’re playing styles are insanely similar and he has the swagger to go with it.
- While I don’t think he has Washington high on his list due to playing time concerns, he looked really good.
Other Notes:
- Oregon’s recent commit, Brett Kingma, had some iffy passes, and started off very cold. Later on in the game on two fast breaks in a row, he shot 3’s and made them both. When he gets hot, the ball doesn’t miss the hoop. He lacks athleticism, but shoots amazingly well off the dribble.
- 2012 Washington recruit, Jordon Tebbutt seemed to not play at all while still being on the roster. No idea whether he changed numbers or played sparingly.
- Gonzaga commit Gary Bell Jr. looked really good as well. Mark Few will turn him into a lottery pick if he has the desire.
- If I had to rank the players on the court from this game:
1. Tony Wroten
2. Kyle Wiltjer
3. Gary Bell Jr.
4. Anrio Adams
5. Andrew Andrews
6. Hikeem Stewart
7. Brett Kingma