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Mintz at summer hoops festival

Team Durant wins 78-63

Mintz finished with 30 points on 9-16 shooting, 2-4 from 3, and 10-12 from the line. Mintz had 2 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 rebound, 3 steals, and he single handily forced 7 total turnovers in this game, the last one being a lose ball turnover he forced that resulted in a team steal and dunk. His defense was lights out dominant.

I love how he fights through screens, hands up and active, in your face pressure, pushes players out of the way to protect the interior, and does an outstanding job keeping his man in front of him. He simply bothers the opposing team with total harassment and is the spark plug for his teams engine on defense. He was sensational today, and sensational is an understatement. Big Time Performance. As noted above, he scored from everywhere. Dribble penetration, fast break, midrange, foul line, 3 point line, everywhere.

Mintz needs to have a conversation with Dominick Barlow. The defensive tandem of those 2 would bring us back to the golden years of the early 2000s on how to shut people down on the defensive end.
Offensively,Mintz had a great game. But defensively, slow down a bit. Today is the third game I have watched of Mintz. And each one, granted he has watched the other team’s leading scorer. But, as I view it, while his hands are pretty active in getting steals, he lacks a lot right now in dealing with screens. Almost each time a big man sets a screen, he doesn’t fight through it and is beaten to the basket by his man. Case in point the guy he was watching all day today, Kenyon Miniefield, shot 50% from the field (10-20) and scored 23 points. He faked Mintz several times out of his shoes. This is not to say Mintz can’t become a good defender, but don’t anoint him as gods gift just yet. He has a lot of work to do on this front. With all that said, he seems to have a great deal of potential in his overall game. Just Interesting how 2 people can watch the same game and come away with different interpretations in some facets of it.
 
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Offensively,Mintz had a great game. But defensively, slow down a bit. Today is the third game I have watched of Mintz. And each one, granted he has watched the other team’s leading scorer. But, as I view it, while his hands are pretty active in getting steals, he lacks a lot right now in dealing with screens. Almost each time a big man sets a screen, he doesn’t fight through it and is beaten to the basket by his man. Case in point the guy he was watching all day today, Kenyon Miniefield, shot 50% from the field (10-20) and scored 23 points. He faked Mintz several times out of his shoes. This is not to say Mintz can’t become a good defender, but don’t anoint him as gods gift just yet. He has a lot of work to do on this front. With all that said, he seems to have a great deal of potential in his overall game. Just Interesting how 2 people can watch the same game and come away with different interpretations in some facets of it.

I dont recall what you write because Team Durant has switched from man to zone to trap defense in the last 3 games and I dont have a rewind button as Im personally keeping the box score numbers as it happens on the fly. I dont remember Mintz getting faked out of his shoes once, but next game Im going to keep a record of how many times Mintz man actually scores on him throughout the game and Ill add in the number of shots made vs missed on him personally

I do know for a fact, that Mintz has switched off his man every game the last 3 games during game play. Meaning, he didnt always guard JHS or any of these players straight up all game. And the same is said for today. I dont know how many baskets Miniefield actually scored on him. Again, Ill lock these numbers down exactly in both games tomorrow in the double header.

I do know for a fact Mintz forced 7 turnovers by himself which is somewhere around 15% of the total possessions. That in itself is insane and the boxscore is wrong on his steal numbers , Im certain of that because I documented it.

I might try and record the next 2 games.
 
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In the nightcap, the Pitt coaches are again on hand watching Dominick Barlow for the 2nd time today. Barlow has 5 / 4 going into the 4th qtr with the Rens hanging on to a 1 point lead.

Big Man Silas Sunday is leading the way for the NY Lightning in their 2nd game today with 10 and 4 and 2. Second strong performance today by Sunday.
 
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In the nightcap, the Pitt coaches are again on hand watching Dominick Barlow for the 2nd time today. Barlow has 5 / 4 going into the 4th qtr with the Rens hanging on to a 1 point lead.

Big Man Silas Sunday is leading the way for the NY Lightning in their 2nd game today with 10 and 4 and 2. Second strong performance today by Sunday.
Matt Filipowski or Silas Sunday if you could only take one C?
 
Matt Filipowski or Silas Sunday if you could only take one C?

Im kind of wait and see with all these centers. If Sunday got his weight under control and got himself into a strength program and really worked on his conditioning, I think he could be effective down the line. He didn't get in shape like Hugley did and its hurt his stock and offer sheet. He is so big and massive with some talent but slow. He eats up a ton of space and controls the paint with his size. He's like an elephant under the basket.

Shawn Phillips is overrated. There is no way he is a top 40 player right now with the way he has played. And he has foul trouble problems. He needs to step up his play.

Matt Filpowski has been pretty solid and consistent. You can win with those type of players. Id like to see him rebound alot better considering his size but he's putting points on the board. I like his size. And, he's from NY so he has the toughness element.
 
Im kind of wait and see with all these centers. If Sunday got his weight under control and got himself into a strength program and really worked on his conditioning, I think he could be effective down the line. He didn't get in shape like Hugley did and its hurt his stock and offer sheet. He is so big and massive with some talent but slow. He eats up a ton of space and controls the paint with his size. He's like an elephant under the basket.

Shawn Phillips is overrated. There is no way he is a top 40 player right now with the way he has played. And he has foul trouble problems. He needs to step up his play.

Matt Filpowski has been pretty solid and consistent. You can win with those type of players. Id like to see him rebound alot better considering his size but he's putting points on the board. I like his size. And, he's from NY so he has the toughness element.

Filipowski reminds me of a more athletic Aaron Gray. I'm not sure why he's not in the top 150 already.
 
Filipowski reminds me of a more athletic Aaron Gray. I'm not sure why he's not in the top 150 already.

He's going to find himself in there or close to it if he continues to average 10ppg for a Peach Jam Contender. The Rens are really well balanced as a team. Barlow is going to get a substantial bump. If I had the chance to add Barlow and Matt together with Mintz, I would take it in a heartbeat.
 
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I think Jalen Hood-Schifino is another James Robinson, 4 Star, Top 150 recruit, 6' 3" PG, and very good floor general! Wasn't the best shooter on the court, shot 37.7 FG % and 31.9% from 3 for his career!
That is what he has reminded me of since we first started recruiting him.
 
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Great info
Yes, great info! Hopefully
his fg% from the field will
improve. He isn't afraid to
shoot, that's for sure. IMO
that a good quality in an
off guard. Also, those #'rs
are against excellent
competition. It appears
that Capel has landed a
good one!
 
Yes, great info! Hopefully
his fg% from the field will
improve. He isn't afraid to
shoot, that's for sure. IMO
that a good quality in an
off guard. Also, those #'rs
are against excellent
competition. It appears
that Capel has landed a
good one!

I better update my above
post. LOL
Yesterday he went off for
30 and led ALL scorers at
the peach jam. He also
was 9-16 from the field. He's
shooting 48% from the field
and 33% from threeland.

All of this is against (from
what I can tell), very good
competition.
Maybe Vader can add to this.
 
I better update my above
post. LOL
Yesterday he went off for
30 and led ALL scorers at
the peach jam. He also
was 9-16 from the field. He's
shooting 48% from the field
and 33% from threeland.

All of this is against (from
what I can tell), very good
competition.
Maybe Vader can add to this.
Started strong on the offensive end again this morning but picked up a couple early fouls (one offensive).

Edit: Another very good offensive game in limited minutes. He easily gets to his spots and converts. His ability to score on highly contested shots will play well at the college level.

Capel, Brown and O'toole all at mid-court.
 
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Team Durant takes down NY City Rocks 70-60 in another double digit win to remain undefeated.

Mintz finished with 18 points on a superb 8-9 shooting and 2-2 from the free throw line and was again the most efficient offensive player in the game. The Force was again strong with Mintz, as Judah "the Jedi" Mintz knocked down 4 different midrange jumpers and floaters all off of dribble penetration and he took this game over in the 4th quarter with the game tight. Mintz had 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 additional forced turnovers he forced off of defensive pressure on JJ Starling. Mintz also sat the entire 2nd quarter with foul trouble.

Mintz defensive sequences

Q1

6:00 Min-JJ Starling made 3, Mintz failed to get through a screen and should have closed much better. Poor Recovery

4:30 Beagle misses layup against Mintz in paint on a defensive mismatch, fouled

4:00 JJ Staling makes 3, Mintz got screened, but the help defense was the problem here, not Mintz

1:30 Starling stopped on fastbreak by Mintz preventing layup, kept him in front, no basket

Q3

7:20 Forced Starling turnover with high ball pressure

7:00 Starling miss on midrange against Mintz

6:00 Beagle miss in the paint against Mintz on mismatch

5:00 Starling dribble drive failed against Mintz, shot miss

3:00 Brett Rumple failed on dribble drive against Mintz, passed ball

40 seconds- Mintz sealed paint, prevented layup

Q4

530- Julian Brown beat Mintz off the dribble, missed shot, but fouled by help recovery

400- Starling turnover off defensive pressure by Mintz

200- Starling scored on Mintz on pick and roll

1:45 Starling turnover against Mintz on out of bounds play

40 sec- Starling misses 3 against Mintz

10 seconds- Starling misses 3 against Mintz



And it was #4 on team Durant that got his ankles broken multiple times in this game. I think the poster yesterday got the players confused because Mintz is #24, not #4.

5 Star Dariq Whitehead lead Team Durant with 23 points, 6 of which came from free throws in the last minute of the game. Mintz finished with 18 points, and was the clutch shot maker in the 4th while forcing multiple turnovers.

3 Pitt Coaches watched, and Mintz plays again later today.
 
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Team Durant takes down NY City Rocks 70-60 in another double digit win to remain undefeated.

Mintz finished with 18 points on a superb 8-9 shooting and 2-2 from the free throw line and was again the most efficient offensive player in the game. The Force was again strong with Mintz, as Judah "the Jedi" Mintz knocked down 4 different midrange jumpers and floaters all off of dribble penetration and he took this game over in the 4th quarter with the game tight. Mintz had 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 3 additional forced turnovers he forced off of defensive pressure on JJ Starling. Mintz also sat the entire 2nd quarter with foul trouble.

Mintz defensive sequences

Q1

6:00 Min-JJ Starling made 3, Mintz failed to get through a screen and should have closed much better. Poor Recovery

4:30 Beagle misses layup against Mintz in paint on a defensive mismatch, fouled

4:00 JJ Staling makes 3, Mintz got screened, but the help defense was the problem here, not Mintz

1:30 Starling stopped on fastbreak by Mintz preventing layup, kept him in front, no basket

Q3

7:20 Forced Starling turnover with high ball pressure

7:00 Starling miss on midrange against Mintz

6:00 Beagle miss in the paint against Mintz on mismatch

5:00 Starling dribble drive failed against Mintz, shot miss

3:00 Brett Rumple failed on dribble drive against Mintz, passed ball

40 seconds- Mintz sealed paint, prevented layup

Q4

530- Julian Brown beat Mintz off the dribble, missed shot, but fouled by help recovery

400- Starling turnover off defensive pressure by Mintz

200- Starling scored on Mintz on pick and roll

1:45 Starling turnover against Mintz on out of bounds play

40 sec- Starling misses 3 against Mintz

10 seconds- Starling misses 3 against Mintz



And it was #4 on team Durant that got his ankles broken multiple times in this game. I think the poster yesterday got the players confused because Mintz is #24, not #4.

5 Star Dariq Whitehead lead Team Durant with 23 points, 6 of which came from free throws in the last minute of the game. Mintz finished with 18 points, and was the clutch shot maker in the 4th while forcing multiple turnovers.

3 Pitt Coaches watched, and Mintz plays again later today.
If you are referring to me as the poster who got the players’ numbers confused, I actually do know the difference between 4 and 24. In terms of his performance offensively, except for his reluctance and/or inability to even attempt 3 point shots, he was very solid. As you said he was in some foul trouble through out the game and missed a number of minutes of playing time as well as not watching Starling the whole game. But your description of Starling missing a lot of shots when Mintz was guarding him, is a little deceiving. Starling did score 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting and 5 of 11 3 point shooting. And he did score 8 points in the 4th quarter all with Mintz guarding him. Not a bad performance wouldn’t you say. Now Starling is an excellent player and to his credit Mintz is taking on responsibility of watching most of the best players on each team. But it’s not like his defensive efforts are actually limiting these other player’ scoring ability as most of them are scoring 20 points or more.
 
If you are referring to me as the poster who got the players’ numbers confused, I actually do know the difference between 4 and 24. In terms of his performance offensively, except for his reluctance and/or inability to even attempt 3 point shots, he was very solid. As you said he was in some foul through out the game and missed a number of minutes of playing time as well as not watching Starling the hole game. But your description of Starling missing a lot of shots when Mintz was guarding him, is a little deceiving. Starling did score 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting and 5 of 11 3 point shooting. And he did score 8 points in the 4th quarter all with Mintz guarding him. Not a bad performance wouldn’t you say. Now Starling is an excellent player and to his credit Mintz is taking on responsibility of watching most of the best players on each team. But it’s not like his defensive efforts are actually limiting these other player’ scoring ability as most of them are scoring 20 points or more.

That isnt true. You are labeling scores by Starling on points he scored on the fastbreak or with no one guarding him as was the case with the late 3 he hit in the final minute of the game. If you are going to say those types of plays are a result of Mintz's defense, well, that is on you because it isn't the case.

No player is at fault for stopping a 2 on 1 fastbreak on defense, or another fast break he scored where Mintz wasn't even in the picture to stop it as Mintz was at the other end of the floor when the break took place.

We can agree to disagree on what you say and that is fine. Mintz is 4th overall in the entire EYBL in scoring. That isn't debatable.
 
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That isnt true. You are labeling scores by Starling on points he scored on the fastbreak or with no one guarding him as was the case with the late 3 he hit in the final minute of the game. If you are going to say those types of plays are a result of Mintz's defense, well, that is on you because it isn't the case.

No player is at fault for stopping a 2 on 1 fastbreak on defense, or another fast break he scored where Mintz wasn't even in the picture to stop it as Mintz was at the other end of the floor when the break took place.

We can agree to disagree on what you say and that is fine. Mintz is 4th overall in the entire EYBL in scoring. That isn't debatable.

Good explanation. When you
give info like this it shows
that you know what you're
talking about.
 
That isnt true. You are labeling scores by Starling on points he scored on the fastbreak or with no one guarding him as was the case with the late 3 he hit in the final minute of the game. If you are going to say those types of plays are a result of Mintz's defense, well, that is on you because it isn't the case.

No player is at fault for stopping a 2 on 1 fastbreak on defense, or another fast break he scored where Mintz wasn't even in the picture to stop it as Mintz was at the other end of the floor when the break took place.

We can agree to disagree on what you say and that is fine. Mintz is 4th overall in the entire EYBL in scoring. That isn't debatable.
Listen, I love Mintz,s game and think this is a great get for Pitt. My only concern is not to build him up to the fans as if he is a top 5 player in the country and then disappoint them when they actually see him play. He isn’t a top 25 player in the country. But, he is an excellent prospect with a ton of potential if developed properly. So we may agree to disagree as much of yours and my analysis is subjective. I will say to continue your coverage as believe it or not, I think a lot of your reporting is spot on and I love reading it from someone who does seem to spend his time thoughtfully analyzing it.
 
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Offensively,Mintz had a great game. But defensively, slow down a bit. Today is the third game I have watched of Mintz. And each one, granted he has watched the other team’s leading scorer. But, as I view it, while his hands are pretty active in getting steals, he lacks a lot right now in dealing with screens. Almost each time a big man sets a screen, he doesn’t fight through it and is beaten to the basket by his man. Case in point the guy he was watching all day today, Kenyon Miniefield, shot 50% from the field (10-20) and scored 23 points. He faked Mintz several times out of his shoes. This is not to say Mintz can’t become a good defender, but don’t anoint him as gods gift just yet. He has a lot of work to do on this front. With all that said, he seems to have a great deal of potential in his overall game. Just Interesting how 2 people can watch the same game and come away with different interpretations in some facets of it.
I also watched today and felt he was hesitant to go after loose balls and fight for rebounds. And I didn’t see a 3pt attempt. Great player but I think Vadar is overhyping.
 
If you are referring to me as the poster who got the players’ numbers confused, I actually do know the difference between 4 and 24. In terms of his performance offensively, except for his reluctance and/or inability to even attempt 3 point shots, he was very solid. As you said he was in some foul trouble through out the game and missed a number of minutes of playing time as well as not watching Starling the whole game. But your description of Starling missing a lot of shots when Mintz was guarding him, is a little deceiving. Starling did score 25 points on 9 of 15 shooting and 5 of 11 3 point shooting. And he did score 8 points in the 4th quarter all with Mintz guarding him. Not a bad performance wouldn’t you say. Now Starling is an excellent player and to his credit Mintz is taking on responsibility of watching most of the best players on each team. But it’s not like his defensive efforts are actually limiting these other player’ scoring ability as most of them are scoring 20 points or more.
Mintz defense was not at all what jumped out at me. It was his offensive skills.
 
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Listen, I love Mintz,s game and think this is a great get for Pitt. My only concern is not to build him up to the fans as if he is a top 5 player in the country and then disappoint them when they actually see him play. He isn’t a top 25 player in the country. But, he is an excellent prospect with a ton of potential if developed properly. So we may agree to disagree as much of yours and my analysis is subjective. I will say to continue your coverage as believe it or not, I think a lot of your reporting is spot on and I love reading it from someone who does seem to spend his time thoughtfully analyzing it.
He looks like maybe top 60.
 
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Good explanation. When you
give info like this it shows
that you know what you're
talking about.


You cant "fraud" your way into a peach jam title if Durant ends up winning it lol, it will be earned by them or some else else as some of these teams are loaded with NBA talent. Team Durant is going to go deep as are the NY Rens.



If Durant continues to win big, and Mintz continues his level of play, he will get himself in the National Top 50 guaranteed without a consistent 3 point shot. You also don't fraud your way into 21 points per game at 56% shooting in the EYBL while beating every team you play soundly with luck. He's currently the top scorer on one of the top teams. I love his defense, but that's me.

What I wrote above on the defensive sequences is what you would see if you watched the game tape on rewind. I specifically wrote it down as it happened, live.
 
Listen, I love Mintz,s game and think this is a great get for Pitt. My only concern is not to build him up to the fans as if he is a top 5 player in the country and then disappoint them when they actually see him play. He isn’t a top 25 player in the country. But, he is an excellent prospect with a ton of potential if developed properly. So we may agree to disagree as much of yours and my analysis is subjective. I will say to continue your coverage as believe it or not, I think a lot of your reporting is spot on and I love reading it from someone who does seem to spend his time thoughtfully analyzing it.
If you think Mintz is being hyped as a top 5 player- that's more your issue than what's actually being said.

IMO, he is underrated today based on his play and probably should be in the top 50 range.
 
If a
Listen, I love Mintz,s game and think this is a great get for Pitt. My only concern is not to build him up to the fans as if he is a top 5 player in the country and then disappoint them when they actually see him play. He isn’t a top 25 player in the country. But, he is an excellent prospect with a ton of potential if developed properly. So we may agree to disagree as much of yours and my analysis is subjective. I will say to continue your coverage as believe it or not, I think a lot of your reporting is spot on and I love reading it from someone who does seem to spend his time thoughtfully analyzing i
If anyone takes what Vader says and thinks Judah is top 25, then they are idiots. He is a top 100 guy for a reason and if he was a top 25 guy, we wouldn't be getting him. However, he and Barlow are the kind of guys we should be able to get and we can win with.
 
Who really knows the difference between a top 40,50,60,70, etc. But, which ever, you need to actually watch him play and see his skill set before you form an educated opinion. Otherwise, that would be your “issue.” in accepting someone else’s interpretation of a play. And when I said top 5, that was what is called a hyperbole in case you were taking me literally. As to Vader’s comment about just writing it down as it happened live, there is nothing factual about that. It is simply how he picked out the plays to prove his point and then how he viewed and interpreted them. If I wanted to emphasize what I saw, I could just pull out several plays that demonstrated my point of view. Also, his idea of what constitutes a well executed fighting through a screen maybe different from mine.
 
@Gondel

Are you fighting with the message board?

I have watched Mintz play multiple times since he committed to Pitt. My opinions of him from watching him play.
 
@Gondel

Are you fighting with the message board?

I have watched Mintz play multiple times since he committed to Pitt. My opinions of him from watching him play.

Rankings are subjective. But Mintz is a winner just like Posh Alexander and Femi Odukale and he is going to be really good in college, Im 100% certain of that. He is far, far more impressive than what James Robinson did in this tournament for example and Robinson was a Top 50 recruit and he has another year to improve at Oak Hill. There are multiple players that I can surely say are overrated and underrated by watching these games. You can put Shawn Phillips in the overrated category, he isnt close to a Top 40 player right now.

Im indifferent on Sean Jones but I think I would prefer to pass. Jones cant shoot. His AtT is strong but I have legit concerns how good he is going to be at the next level on defense as he doesn't have anywhere close to the athletic ability as Posh Alexander. I like his work ethic, his ability to pass, and his ability to create steals, but a player that cannot shoot at his height doesn't warrant a Top 100 ranking. I am concerned with how good he can actually be in college and if the hope is Chris Lykes, a player who I think is heavily overrated, he would be a hard pass for me. Im not sure on Jones, I thought he would at least shoot a little better than what he has done with his shifty play.

Bryce Lindsay has been a no show yesterday and today so far. I would explore other options.



Dominick Barlow's offer sheet is going to continue to grow. This isnt some slam dunk like I wish it was. He's collected 5 power 6 offers in 2 days and Kansas has already reached out. And he is consistently producing on a contender which is what you want but that offer sheet is going to grow. I want him badly with Mintz.



I have to say too, there was one person in this thread who tried to throw salt on me last year with regard to Femi and Alexander a year ago and we see how betting against NY point guards turned out for that person, lol. Betting against a NYC PG, that's a no no.
 
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@Gondel

Are you fighting with the message board?

I have watched Mintz play multiple times since he committed to Pitt. My opinions of him from watching him play.
Not fighting with the board, just had problem pushing the wrong button. Lol. I’m glad you have watched him play multiple times as I have so we can discuss seeing the same things. I agree he could be a top 50 kid eventually but too early to tell as this style of AAU bball doesn’t allow for his assists or rebounds ability (he has few of either one at this point) to be adequately assessed. For all the kids it is mostly get the ball and try to score it with little room for team ball. But, if he is able to develop those skills and add 3 pt shooting to his repertoire as he plays at Oak Hill, he will definitely be a force to contend with in college basketball. Obviously, that may be expecting too much as doing all of that would make him a pro down the line. I guess we can always hope.
 
f anyone takes what Vader says and thinks Judah is top 25, then they are idiots. He is a top 100 guy for a reason and if he was a top 25 guy, we wouldn't be getting him. However, he and Barlow are the kind of guys we should be able to get and we can win with.
I usually find Vader's hype
over the top...perfect example
Coulibay, remember that one?
However IMO this time he's
giving a more realistic opinion
along with statistics that
matter. It sounds like Vader
sees Mintz as a top 100
player who might work
himself into top 50.

I watched some film of Mintz
and he seems really good on
the open floor. He gets to the
hoop and he's showing an
improving fg%. I didn't see
any D that stood out, but
he seems to have quick
hands. He's no top 5, but
he's rated a 4 star.

He had offers from Maryland,
LSU, G'Town, among others.
Right now, he's a very good
get for Capel.
 
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Another very efficient game on the offensive end and he made it look easy. He has to be over 20 pts on 80% shooting.
 
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In the nightcap, Team Durant wins 82-62 to remain undefeated at 5-0. one of the final 3 undefeated teams.

Judah "The Jedi" Mintz finished with 29 points on 12-13 shooting from the field and 4-6 from the line. Mintz added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, 0 turnovers and is now the #2 overall scoring leader in the entire EYBL.

Offensively, Mintz looked like the 2nd coming of Russ Smith in this game as he did whatever he wanted off the dribble drive and in transition. He scored at will in transition, beating his man down the floor over and over repeatedly. In the halfcourt, he got into the paint at will. Pump fakes, Jab steps, spins, crossovers, he did whatever he wanted and finished strong on the inside by creating space with his offensive arsenal of moves. His skillset with the ball in creating space is extremely dangerous, which I said before this tournament started, is why his National Ranking was bumped up to 80th in the cumulative National rankings. He now is finishing at a high level which he has clearly elevated and improved his game. He is without question a Top 50 talent, Now.

Defensively, Mintz met his match in this game. Desmond Claude, who looks to be a 6'6 1/2 point guard with very long arms had a good 2-3 inches on Mintz. He was able to beat Mintz 4 different times off the dribble drive resulting in scores each time. Claude finished 5-10 shooting with 12 points, 5 assists, and is a player we should start recruiting now. He is good, he reads the floor well, has good ball control, and passes over small defenders with ease with his height and wingspan advantage which makes it very difficult to stop. He was impressive and I like the fact of how big he is with that big wingspan.

There were tired legs in this game, on both ends, and the effort was lacking by both teams including Mintz on defense. Especially in the second half, both teams had players with hands on hips, head down, walking, and a lack of hustle. Durant blew them out early in the 2nd half, and both teams proceeded to do a lot of watching and walking overall. This was the 2nd game today for both teams.

Through 5 games, Mintz is averaging 22.4 points per game and is shooting 64.4% for the tournament and Durant is rolling.
 
In the nightcap, Team Durant wins 82-62 to remain undefeated at 5-0. one of the final 3 undefeated teams.

Judah "The Jedi" Mintz finished with 29 points on 12-13 shooting from the field and 4-6 from the line. Mintz added 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, 0 turnovers and is now the #2 overall scoring leader in the entire EYBL.

Offensively, Mintz looked like the 2nd coming of Russ Smith in this game as he did whatever he wanted off the dribble drive and in transition. He scored at will in transition, beating his man down the floor over and over repeatedly. In the halfcourt, he got into the paint at will. Pump fakes, Jab steps, spins, crossovers, he did whatever he wanted and finished strong on the inside by creating space with his offensive arsenal of moves. His skillset with the ball in creating space is extremely dangerous, which I said before this tournament started, is why his National Ranking was bumped up to 80th in the cumulative National rankings. He now is finishing at a high level which he has clearly elevated and improved his game. He is without question a Top 50 talent, Now.

Defensively, Mintz met his match in this game. Desmond Claude, who looks to be a 6'6 1/2 point guard with very long arms had a good 2-3 inches on Mintz. He was able to beat Mintz 4 different times off the dribble drive resulting in scores each time. Claude finished 5-10 shooting with 12 points, 5 assists, and is a player we should start recruiting now. He is good, he reads the floor well, has good ball control, and passes over small defenders with ease with his height and wingspan advantage which makes it very difficult to stop. He was impressive and I like the fact of how big he is with that big wingspan.

There were tired legs in this game, on both ends, and the effort was lacking by both teams including Mintz on defense. Especially in the second half, both teams had players with hands on hips, head down, walking, and a lack of hustle. Durant blew them out early in the 2nd half, and both teams proceeded to do a lot of watching and walking overall. This was the 2nd game today for both teams.

Through 5 games, Mintz is averaging 22.4 points per game and is shooting 64.4% for the tournament and Durant is rolling.
Bingo! You were spot on in your analysis, both offensively and defensively.
 
I'd be shocked if we land Barlow. I read his quotes on PSN after his visit here. He didn't seem all that excited. Now, the big dogs are coming for him? He'll end up at one of those is my bet.
 
I'd be shocked if we land Barlow. I read his quotes on PSN after his visit here. He didn't seem all that excited. Now, the big dogs are coming for him? He'll end up at one of those is my bet.
In fairness, Mintz' post-visit quotes weren't super enthralled, either, and he committed a few weeks later. I don't think you can take too much away from a kid's quotes on paper either way, especially with basketball recruits who seem more reserved than football recruits generally speaking.
 
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