Ohio Kentucky All Star Game Review

I did attend the 18th annual Ohio Kentucky All Star Basketball game Saturday evening. Kentucky ended a five year losing streak against the Ohio boys. However I don't go to watch the outcome of the game, moreso to see the talent in the game and here are my thoughts on a few of the guys on both sides:

Ohio All Stars:

Ryan Borden (Oak Hill): He has not selected a college yet but a Division 1 school should invite him as a walk on. He hits from deep very consistently and hit big time shots from there in the Division 4 state championship game this year.

Darian Cartharn (Canal Winchester): This powerfully built guard is headed to Wright State. He seems to be a combo guard instead of a pure 1 or 2 guard. I didn't see much of his jumpshot but his broad shoulders certainly assist him on drives to the basket.

Bill Edwards (Middletown): First team all state Division 1 player is undecided. From Tom Groeschen in the Enquirer he recently visited Central Florida and also is getting interest from Oklahoma State. It should be noted that Travis Ford also liked Bill when TF was at UMASS. Wright State would love to have him for obvious reasons and I think Miami-OH has been involved for some time. My question is does either UC or XU get involved with him? I know Mick has some open scholarships and my bet is Kevin Parrom never enrolls at Xavier for next season. For this reason I watched Bill very closely. He has nice form on his jumpshot. He is a right handed dribbler. He predominately drives to his right, however I saw him switch to his left hand on a shot from the leftside in mid air and draw the 'and one' call. I am not sure if he is 6-7, appears to be closer to 6-6. He also shed some baby fat from his junior year. From what I saw in this game he plays the game in an even demeanor. Why I certainly don't see him coming in a being a difference maker at a high major program, he would look like he belonged. I think by his junior and senior seasons he could be a solid player at that level.

Matt Kavanaugh (Centerville): Matt is headed to UD next fall. In the first five minutes of the game Matt was the MVP. He has great size and runs the floor very well. He is aggressive and every bit of the 6-9 he is listed at. However in his second rotation and in the final period he was inaccurate on his shots to say the least. He showed nice rotation on a three point shot that was missed. To me he certainly was the best recruit on the floor tonight. To show he belongs at Dayton as a big man he was also in foul trouble (sorry couldn't resist one jab). He is already better than Kurt Huelsman on the offensive end and will join redshirt freshman Josh Benson in bolstering the Flyers front line next season.

Danny McElroy (LaSalle): It is easy to see (from this game) why UC backed off of Danny. He certainly passes the look test but his offensive game isn't fluid at all out on the floor. I imagine Louis Orr and George Jackson will keep him in the paint next year at Bowling Green. He has solid attributes to build off of. Danny runs the floor very well and seems to be very active on the glass.

Allen Roberts (Middletown): Powerfully built guard showed off his athleticism with a monster dunk over some Kentucky All Stars. I didn't see much of his jumpshot. However sitting behind the Ohio bench I got to witness plenty of his attitude. He jawed with the officials too much for my taste. As his team was starting to get back into it he was hit with a costly technical foul. I would hope this was an exception to his behavior on the floor and not the norm. Charlie Coles runs a tight ship in Oxford and I am sure he will get the most out of Allen at Miami.

Jon Smith (Grove City): I kept a close eye on this skinny gazelle because he is headed to play for St. Louis next season. Honestly I see him redshirting to get stronger for Rick Majerus. Jon runs the floor very well, is active on the glass, and shows a knack for timely shot blocking. Ideally you would like to see a player of his size and length to have a consistent jump shot and that may come with time. However if he were to grow another inch or two he could develop into a effective post option in the A10 down the line.

Orlando Williams (Princeton): One of the most active players for the Ohio All Stars all night. He took a lot of trips to the free throw line and showed good form and accuracy. He has a good perimeter jump shot and is also effective driving the ball to score. He gets a little loose on his handle from time to time but I see him playing sooner rather than later at Miami-OH. A little more weight on his frame may be the only thing holding him back from doing that.

Kentucky All Stars:

Devin Adams (Shelby Valley): They must use different measuring sticks down in the hills of Kentucky. Seriously, no way this kid is 6-10, more like 6-8. Thus I think Devin's ultimate destination is at the D2 level or NAIA. He did have a nice block on a shot after running all out from one end to the other to get to it. He also plays like a '5' in all other aspects. Overall though his skill set and physical strength look like they place him out of the D1 category.

Darrin Ballou (Adair County): This Morehead State signee is very solid. He hit a couple from three point land and his stroke looked solid and consistent. Darrin also mixed it up down low and is very effective on the glass. He will be a solid four man in the Ohio Valley Conference before his career is done with the Eagles.

Ethan Faulkner (Elliot County): This co-MVP for the Kentucky All Stars lead the team in floor burns. This kid is just a winner. I know NKU coach Dave Bezold was looking on in satisfaction. What Ethan lacks in foot speed he makes up with desire and leadership. He is reputed a good jumpshooter but he scored most of his ten points off of drives to the basket. He could compete for PT right away at Northern.

Evan Faulkner (Elliot County): Ethan's twin was less impressive too me. On paper he would seem to be the better player because he is going to D1 Radford University to play for Brad Greenberg. However in this game he never got into a good flow.

Eric Mosley (Louisville Moore): This guy is a very heady player and a good scoring point guard. He is no where near the 6'0" they list him at and probably closer to 5'10". That doesn't mean a whole lot to me and I could see Eric doing well at a CUSA or a SUN BELT type school.

Jordan Reves (Jeffersontown): This big fella is a legit 6'10". He has committed to UT-Arlington over limited interest from other programs. Jordan will need to get stronger as it looks like he goes about 210-215 now. He shows good insticts but drifts a little too much away from the paint. Granted this was an all star showcase I was viewing him in but he shows enough upside to warrant his scholarhip at the D1 level.