Thanks! I think I might’ve been at that game.
Oh yeah I was. From my not the best upper deck seats.
Looks like the gameday crew was there too.
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Tony Bennett has a phenomenal eye for talent, especially talent that fits his playing system.
Real question here, how much of a rankings jump is attributable to a guy actually improving over the course of recruiting season (meaning Tony Bennett identified a guy with potential before other coaches and the kid started realizing that potential while still in HS) and how much can be attributed to recruiting rankings sites noticing that Tony Bennett really likes a guy, so we better go back and take another look and see what we missed (meaning the kid was always this good, but Tony Bennett saw it first)?
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Definitely a great question. my guess is as players get more attention from talent identifiers (TB and staff) recruiting services etc start paying more attention. A service may think so and so is top 100 but if the player has no big offers then they wont be top 100, right?
Anyhow it seems impossible to rank these guys to me but there are not 50 players in the country better in his class than Elijah, I think
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A lot of recruiting scouts have their own connections in the field as well and are going to open gyms and tournaments big and small checking out kids and have their own preferences as well (as we see in ranking differences).
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I think there’s a feedback loop (and there should be)
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Not a recruiting expert by any means, but logically if you are a scout with a rating service you are going to follow who the blue bloods are watching and making offers to, and maybe you have a couple of non-blue blood coaches like Tony and Few that you do the same. The coaches are the ones who’s big buck jobs depend a lot on getting the right kids for their team, and the top coaches are always going to know more than you.
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Am sure following the top AAU programs as well
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Watching a bit more tape … he’s very much a rhythm player … next step offensively would be to develop his off schedule in between game … keeps the defense from being able to time your moves.
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It seems like he is a guy, that at the end of a shotclock may be able to break down the defense and get his shot off ie: Beekman like.
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Question for Fresh - how does EJude compare to older school Hoo - Adam Hall?
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Ooooh good one. I think only similar because of big time athleticism. Trying to remember but I thought Adam was more of a forward than wing? Man he was explosive though
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This is a great observation Dave. He plays kind straight up on O and definitely times his drives with the right to left or left to right dribble to get by his defender. His game will expand a lot this year and then of course at UVa
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Great defender, explosive athleticism (still one of the best dunkers UVA has seen), lanky but 6’5" if I recall correctly, aggressive to the basket and somewhat iffy on his 3 pt. shot. I thought of him as a wing, not a forward in the Roger Mason/Chris Williams/Travis Watson years.
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You would know better than me. Looked his stats up (different era) and yes, iffy shooter for sure. Similar to Elijah in that they both have that ability to have huge bursts in small amounts of time for sure
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Wait wait wait … was that a last second long throw-in by an opponent that the Hoos actually intercepted??? Incredible!!!
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I was thinking Adam Hall in terms of explosiveness, but Elijah is way smoother. Closest comp I thought of in our program was Darius Thompson, but Elijah is better at this stage. When you said we’ve never had a guy like this, you were right. He’s unique, I’m excited to see how he develops.
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Smooth and explosive is a great way to describe him. Will do amazing things outta nowhere that you didnt anticipate happening
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Someone was saying that he may compare to a taller Ja-Morant, of course with differences but I get the comparison.
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