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Originally posted by <b>JustinYoung</b>!
Deep South Classic - I will be there from start to finish.
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Louis Williams stole the show and will take on the other host team Brookwood for the final (Williams and South Gwinnett won in OT). He is by far the best scoring sophomore I've ever seen. He can play on the perimeter and burn you with his NBA range. Or he'll blow by his defender with his amazing first step. His athletic ability allows him to play above the rim. Having a competent PG on the roster in Mike Mercer, Williams plays the point and/or brings the ball up court on offense. But his court vision is pretty solid. He could run the point if needed but because he is such a great scorer, there really isn't a point of him being the floor general. He averaged 30+ in the tourney...with an average of 6 dunks a game and was named the MVP.
Defensively he could improve. But most players in HS could. Bryan Smithson scored 27 on him and turned it on in the second half. Williams has shown he can play with quicker players but sometimes seems so content just scoring points.
Despite being so young, he's very mature and handles the pressures of being a "superstar" so young. I'm not one for rankings but I'd be very disappointed if he ever drops below the top 3 of his class. Amazing potential.
Mike Mercer, Williams' back court mate, may get lost in the shadows at the high school level. He is really a good point guard. I would like to see him be the full time PG and allow Williams to slide over to the 2 guard spot. But I'm not the coach...
Mercer is a great passing lane defender and averaged 5 steals a game up to this point (S. Gwinnett is in the finals 12/30 @ 3 PM). But off of ball, he could improve. He rebounds pretty well and jumps better than I thought.
His jumper isn't spectacular but with Williams taking 25 to 30 shots a game, looking for Mercer's Js is a difficult task. He scored 16 points a game roughly but also averaged 7 assists and 5 steals. He too plays above the rim but does it when he has to. He has a dash of Daniel Gibson and Marquie Cooke to his game. I'd like to watch him in the summer time against better competition. He seemed to struggle agaisnt Berkmar two weeks ago. All tourney team.
Channing Toney, 6-3, PG/SG, 2004 Brookwood HS
I thought Toney may have been the most underrated player at the event and perhaps in the state of Georgia. He is a superior passing guard that doubles as the scoring guard as well. The son of former NBA player Andrew Toney (AKA, the Boston Strangler), Channing knows what to expect against the bigger/better competition. Today's championship matchup will be a good measuring stick for the junior.
He is a good scorer that knows when to penetrate and when to pull up. Defensively he almost plays too tight and gets into foul trouble on occassion. But that can be corrected. I'd like to watch him some more but from what I saw of him, you can see the potential there. I've talked to some coaches about him and they really think he can emerge as one of the top players next year despite the rich talent that already exists. All tourney team. Had 36 points in final on Mercer and Williams.
Bradley Strickland, 6-9, C/PF, 2003 Lakeside
Depsite a realitively lackluster performance by Lakeside, Strickland played better than I've ever seen out of him. He was real active inside the paint and blocked a lot of shots, using his long frame. But seemed to only play in spurts. He was very confident though going against another solid 6-9 player in Henderson Co.'s (KY) Russ Gibson. When I saw him over the summer with the Georgia Stars, he looked intimidated at times. But he looked very focused.
He didn't play much outside the paint so I didn't get a chance to see how well of a shooter he is. But he had some nice post moves including a baby hook. He could have used it some more but didn't. He needs a coach too. Lakeside's coach doesn't do much despite getting his team to the Georgia state finals last year.
Paul Bacot, 6-6, SG/PG, 2003 Lakeside (Georgia - baseball)
Either Bacot didn't show off his atheltic ability or his hops over the summer or I just didn't pay much attention to Bacot. He really surprised me with his quickness and jumping (he had a one footed, vertical one handed dunk). Although he didn't score much, he drew a lot of double teams allowing Strickland to be open in the paint. But baseball is his ticket and he knows that.
Demiko Goodman, 6-4, SG, 2004 Newnan HS
I went to watch Newnan because I heard they had a 7-1 center (Joey Waldrop). But after seeing the big fella and laughing at the site, my eyes locked onto Goodman. He was very crafty and played all over the floor. He created off the dribble, he set up his teammates, he rebounded well, he scored 20 something on the Toney and the rest of a fiesty Brookwood team. Still raw but someone who will play after high school.
Russ Gibson, 6-9 SF 2003 Henderson Co. (KY) HS
Gibson was my guy to watch over the event. When I saw he was a coach's son that stood 6-9 and played on the wing, I was intrigued. He didn't live up to the expectations that I had hoped to see in him. Gibson shot the ball fairly well from both elbows and was pretty efficient but he had a hard time of scoring off the dribble as well as getting past Strickland of Lakeside. But Gibson was smart and pass off potential bad shots. He didn't rebound all that well but will raise some eyebrows simply because he's smart, big and has some range.
Bryan Smithson, 5-11 PG, North Cobb HS 2003 (Middle Tenn. State)
Smithson played his normal game...25 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 5 rebounds a game in each day of the tournament and yet went pretty much unnoticed. Teams tried to double team him, trap him, press him. Nothing worked. He is a good ball handler and pretty fast with the rock. He can shoot, great jump shot. Amazing leaping ability, which showed on his two handed reverse dunk in the opener. I'd have to say Smithson is in the same category as another Atlanta product and Georgetown bound Matt Causey but doesn't have the supporting cast that gets the attention. All tourney team.
Holiday Tournaments
White Station is kinda well known though, but I might not start until Sr. year.
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