Ryan Boatright, Roosevelt Jones And Victor Davis Shine At Morris Shootout

July 2, 2009 

12:45 P.M. CST

While the Morris Shootout may now lack the big-time mystique that it enjoyed during the 1980's and early 1990's, it still carries a lot of tradition and is always one of our favorite events to cover.  The following contains our observations and analysis from our time spent at Morris on the first day of action. 

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From an individual talent standpoint, the top three performers were 5'10 class of 2011 point guard Ryan Boatright from East Aurora High School in Aurora, IL; 6'3 class of 2011 point guard Roosevelt Jones from O'Fallon Township High School in O'Fallon, IL and 6'5 class of 2010 forward Victor Davis from Galesburg High School in Galesburg, IL. 

Boatright was outstanding in East Aurora's one point pool play victory over Plainfield South.  He simply did it all in that contest and practically put the team on his back in carrying them to the win.  Above everything else, it is plain to see that Boatright has matured tremendously as a player in comparison with a year ago.  Yes, the tendency to hotdog it at times is still there, but overall he is now showing that he has the makings of a big-time player.  Boatright is at his best with the ball in his hands, as he is superb at breaking down defenses and getting to the basket.  What a lot of people don't immediately realize is that Boatright has outstanding court vision and is therefore a superb passer.  This was clearly evident on the first day at Morris, which is a big reason why Boatright has improved his overall decision-making immensely and is not forcing the action nearly as much as he has in the past.  Although he can also play on the wing and can bury shots from well beyond the 3-point line if you back off of him, there is no question that Boatright's college future is at the point guard position.  Now that he has decided to reopen his recruitment after initially committing to USC, look for Boatright to be an extremely hot recruiting commodity during the July evaluation period.

Jones is undoubtedly a D1 prospect and other than Boatright was the best point guard in attendance at Morris.  He has a terrific combination of size and strength and uses it to his advantage at both ends of the floor.  Jones is stellar in an open-court setting, as he has outstanding ball handling skills which allow him to push the ball up the floor, is an excellent finisher and a superb finisher on the break.  While he thrives in an up-tempo system, he plays under control.  We also like the fact that he is able to consistently post up defenders and score with his back to the basket.  Not only that, but Jones is also quite solid defensively because of his long wing span and ability to get into the passing lanes and force turnovers.  His only real shortcoming is that he currently lacks shooting range, but nevertheless we see Jones as a player who could explode onto the national scene during the July evaluation period playing for the St. Louis Eagles 16-under traveling team, which will compete at the NIKE Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC as well as the 16-Under Super Showcase in Orlando.

Davis is a physical specimen and an absolute workhorse who remains one of the most under the radar players in the state from the 2010 class.  He has the ability to dominate games in the paint because he is a strong rebounder and consistent scorer around the basket.  In addition, Davis can also put the ball on the floor and has shown that he can create his own shot.  Overall, he is an outstanding mid-range scorer who now must expand his range.  Defensively, Davis is capable of defending on the perimeter, with his body we would like to see him improve his post defense, as this is where we believe he could really flourish.  When you add in the intangibles of being a good student and a player with a strong work ethic, there is certainly a lot to like.  Right now we see him as a low D1 prospect whose stock could possibly climb even higher depending on how he plays during the all-important July evaluation period.

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 Additional Notes

... We also liked 5'10 class of 2010 point guard Fabyon Harris from Hyde Park Academy in Chicago, IL.  Harris is not a pure point guard per se, as we see him as a scoring guard first and foremost, but we still believe he has the makings of being a D1 prospect.  He is very good in transition, is extremely quick to the basket and is capable of getting into the lane and finishing against most anybody.  His is also a good ball handler, who now must improve his overall decision-making and the consistency on his jump shot.  Coach Donnie Kirksey's team will feature a bit of a different look in comparison with last season's squad which reached the championship game of the Chicago Public League playoffs and the Class 4A supersectional at Chicago State University, but we still expect them to be right in the thick of things in the Public League's Red-Central division.

... It is extremely difficult right now to evaluate University Of Wisconsin 6'7 class of 2011 commit Devon Hodges from Romeoville High School in Romeoville, IL.  That is because we believe he is currently playing out of position on his high school team, as he plays exclusively with his back to the basket.  The one thing that Hodges has shown is that he can get after it on the glass, but other than that it is virtually impossible to tell whether or not he has the wing skills that we see being necessary for him to have at the next level.  Perhaps we will be able to get a better indicator of this during July while watching him on the traveling team circuit.

... The best team that we saw while at Morris was hands down O'Fallon, as they cruised to a perfect 3-0 record in pool play with the closest margin of victory being 13 points and then went on to capture the tournament championship on the second day of action, defeating Lockport in the title game.  The most impressive thing O'Fallon's run was that they did it without their second best player, 6'4 class of 2011 swing man Charles Joy, who was not in attendance.  We think it is safe to say that O'Fallon is one of the teams to beat next season in the deep south area of Illinois.

... As always, kudos once again to Morris Shootout coordinator Joe Blumberg and all who continue to make the shootout a success.  Blumberg and his volunteers run a first-class event and their hospitality is second to none.

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