John Goodman reports that sources have informed FoxSports.com that West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks is likely to play in tomorrows game.
Fox Sports: Ebanks Likely To Play Tomorrow
November 26, 2009
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Devin Ebanks, NCAA Prospects | Tagged: Devin Ebanks, NCAA, West Virginia | 
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Posted by Jack Kett
Ohio State’s Evan Turner Turns In His 2nd Triple-Double Of The Season
November 25, 2009Ohio State’s Evan Turner continued his hot start last night by recording his 2nd triple-double of the young season in a win over Lipscomb.
The junior guard is now averaging 20.6 points to go along with 7 assist and just under 14 rebounds a game in the Buckeyes first five contests.
Turner, who has been forced into the point guard role this year due to the lack of ball handlers on the OSU squad, has done a great job distributing the ball and getting his teammates open looks thus far. This experience will greatly benefit his play-making ability at the next level when he will be moved off the ball.
I currently have Turner rated as the 4th best prospect in this years draft. His versatility will be a welcome addition to any team. With his skill-set he will be able to contribute right away in any system.
I also want to pass along a great piece that ESPN’s Dana O’Neil wrote about the tough times that Turner faced while growing up.
We know how great of a player that Turner is on the court but this article shed’s light on how terrific of a young man that he is off the court as well.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Ebanks Rejoins Team, Still Not In The Lineup
November 25, 2009West Virginia’s Devin Ebanks was back with the team for Tuesday nights game, but did not play. West Virginia’s head coach, Bob Huggins, has now held his star sophomore out of the Mountaineers first two games for what he has referred to as, “personal issues.”
“I understand you all have a job to do,” Huggins said. “You also have to understand that if it was your kid, you don’t want your kid’s business all over the newspaper, radio and TV because it isn’t anybody’s business. My responsibility is to those kids.”
On Saturday Jonathan Givony from DraftExpress posted the following reason for Ebanks’ absense on his Twitter page…
“Was told that Devin Ebanks’ suspension at West Virginia was marijuana related. Supposedly failed second drug test. No comment from WVU SID.”
As I posted on Saturday, This incident will not be forgotten by NBA general managers come June. The longer West Virginia coach Bob Huggins decides to hold Ebanks out of the lineup, the more his stock will continue to drop.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Under The Radar: Washington State’s Klay Thompson
November 23, 2009Vince Grippi of The Spokesman-Review had a nice article on Washington State guard Klay Thompson’s 37 point effort on Thursday night.
Thompson is off to a hot start this season averaging 27 points a game on 55% shooting through Washington State’s first three games. The 6’6” sophomore’s hot start earned him the Pac-10′s player of the week award.
He has already attempted 28 free throws over the first 3 games. He only attempted 31 free throws in the 33 games that he played in last season. This has been the key to his improvement thus far.
Thompson is someone who we will continue to follow closely. As of right now, I consider him a 2nd round pick. If he can keep up his good play, he will continue to rise up the board and into the 1st round.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Givony: Ebanks Suspension Marijuana Related
November 21, 2009Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress just posted this update on the Devin Ebanks situation on his Twitter page.
“Was told that Devin Ebanks’ suspension at West Virginia was marijuana related. Supposedly failed second drug test. No comment from WVU SID.”
If that’s true, that could come back to haunt him this June. Still no word on when Ebanks is due back.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Goodman’s Studs And Duds From Last Night
November 20, 2009John Goodman of FoxSports.com posted his Studs and Duds from yesterday’s busy day in college hoops.
Kentucky PF/C DeMarcus Cousins was among his studs of Thursday’s games after putting up a monstrous performance of 27 points and 18 boards on 10-15 shooting from the field. As you have read here on HoopsNext over the past week, Cousins is one of the most talented players in the NCAA. When he is motivated as he was yesterday, he can be a force down low on both ends of the floor. The problem is he goes through stretches where he gets very lazy and coasts through games. That is a reputation that he is going to have to shed this year if he wants to be seriously considered in the top half of the lottery.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Aran Smith’s Draft Stock Watch
November 20, 2009Aran Smith from nbadraft.net fills us in with who he thinks has helped and hurt their draft stock in the early going of the season.
The players that he believes have helped their stock:
- Wake Forest Sophomore SF/PF Al-Farouq Aminu
- Syracuse Junior SF Wesley Johnson
- Ohio State Junior SG Evan Turner
- Kansas Freshman SG Xavier Henry
- Oklahoma Junior SG James Anderson
- Tennessee Sophomore SG Scotty Hopson
The players that he believes have hurt their stock:
- Kentucky Freshman PF/C DeMarcus Cousins
- North Carolina Sophomore PF Ed Davis
- Georgetown Sophomore PF Greg Monroe
- UCLA Sophomore PG/SG Malcolm Lee
- Texas Freshman PG/SG Avery Bradley
I agree with Aran on just about everything that he says in the article, but I believe that it is still a tad early to say that someone has really helped or hurt their stock after roughly one week into the season. I’m not sure how much stock you can put into a few guys that are beating up on ‘cupcake’ teams. Once teams start to get about 10 or so games in, then I believe you can start to judge who’s helped or done damage to their draft stock.
Look for me to post scouting reports on all of the players listed above, along with many more over the next week or so.
Leave a Comment » | Al-Farouq Aminu, Avery Bradley, DeMarcus Cousins, Ed Davis, Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, James Anderson, Malcolm Lee, NCAA Prospects, Scotty Hopson, Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry | Tagged: Al-Farouq Aminu, Avery Bradley, DeMarcus Cousins, Ed Davis, Evan Turner, Georgetown, Greg Monroe, James Anderson, Kansas, Kentucky, Malcolm Lee, NCAA, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Scotty Hopson, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, Wake Forest, Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry | Permalink
Posted by Jack Kett
Ebanks Still Out; No Timetable For Return
November 19, 2009FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman just recently posted this update on West Virgina forward Devin Ebanks, on his Twitter page.
“Spoke to Bob Huggins last night – Devin Ebanks still out with ‘personal issues’. Huggins said still no timetable for his return to team.”
Ebanks has now been away from the team for a full week, and still no word on what’s really going on here. If this goes on much longer it could potentially hurt Ebanks in the eyes of NBA general managers. From everything that I can gather, this does not sound like a typical ‘family issue’ that a player would miss time for. I will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as soon as they become available.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Pondexter’s Hot Start Generating Buzz
November 19, 2009Washington Huskies Swingman Quincy Pondexter‘s early season play is starting to turn some heads. Seattle Times Columnist Percy Allen had this to say yesterday in an online chat:
“Pondexter is a mystery for many NBA scouts. I know at least one who will be at Friday’s game and he wants to see Pondexter for himself. Pondexter is starting to remind me of Michael Dickerson. Obviously he’s a tweener and that’s not such a great thing. But he’s playing so well right now and let’s remember Brandon Roy was considered a non-NBA guy at the start of his final year.”
The 6’6” Senior is averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds over Washington’s first three games, which all resulted in wins for the Huskies.
After three disappointing seasons, it looks as if Pondexter is finally starting to put it together. His lack of a jump shot has hindered his draft stock since entering college, but he has been shooting it better in the early going of the season. If he can continue to show improvement, we could be talking about Pondexter as a potential early 2nd round pick come June.
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Posted by Jack Kett
Under The Radar: Hofstra’s Charles Jenkins
November 18, 2009Mike Anthony of The Hartford Courant writes about the praise that Hofstra’s junior Charles Jenkins received from UConn’s head coach Jim Calhoun.
Said Calhoun: “He’s such an unusual player. He’s certainly got an opportunity, with some work on range, to maybe play at the next level.”
Jenkins recorded 25 points and dished out 8 assist in Hofstra’s loss to the Huskies on Tuesday night. The 6’3” Junior also scored 23 points in a loss to the #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks last week.
Jenkins is definitely someone who I will continue to watch. Right now I would have to say he is a 2nd round type player since he is more of a combo guard than anything else. If he can improve his outside jumper and limit the turnovers he has potential to be a good sleeper pick in the second round.
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Posted by Jack Kett
