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Elite Preview: Team 4 Breakdown

Referee with basketball Elite Preview
17, Mar 2015

Elite Preview: Team 4 Breakdown

The Elite Preview was a tremendous day of basketball at Suwanee Sports Academy Cobb. We had 80 of Georgia's best players from the class of 2016, 2017 and 2018. The camp was so good we decided to break down every player at camp. Here's an examination of Team 4 from our staff of evaluators and media.

Jalen Butler - JB
Kory Keys - KK
Winston Neal - WN
Carter Wilson - CW
Justin Young - JY

DeAundre Ballard, SG/SF, Southwest Atlanta Christian, 2017: At first glance, you already see a kid that's developmentally advanced to his peers at a solid 6'5" and, arguably, pound-for-pound the best athlete at the Elite Preview. The thing you notice immediately is his energy level. It never stops. Whether he's chasing down a loose ball, rebounding out of his area, or chasing down a play from behind for a block, Ballard's motor is never questioned. Where he's really good is scoring off the dribble as a slasher, at this point. He's already a high-major prospect, but could become an even more sought after player as he continues to develop a consistent jump shot from 18-feet and out. - KK

Brian Coffey, PG, Greater Atlanta Christian, 2017: Coffey is a young guard that possesses some of the skills of a veteran point guard. Where Coffey really thrives is in transition where he pushes the ball hard and has his head on a swivel looking for teammates. At Elite Preview, he looked good in ball screen situations in the halfcourt, where he came off of screens looking to score and firing pull up jumpers in the mid range. - CW

Will Crumly, PF, North Cobb Christian, 2017: The sophomore big man knows what he does best, and he came out trying to do just that: shoot the basketball. At 6-foot-9, not many big men have the range that Crumly does. Despite being in an environment with this kind of competition for the first time, Crumly was not fazed by more physical big men and grew more accustomed to the physicality and elite level of the play as the day grew on. This experience will be big for him as his career continues and he continues to grow as a player. - CW

Kris Gardner, PG, Lee County, 2018: The rookie point guard parlayed a great first high school season to an all-region team in South Georgia. He carried over into camp and played well throughout the day. Gardner has a great handle and good knack for getting to his spot in the lane, according to his coach. Gardner created well for others all day and finished well in the paint. - JY

Bebe Iyola, PF, Greenforest, 2017: A veteran of the Preview series, Iyola knows the drill at this level. You can always count on him emptying the effort tank. Iyola, despite being of thin build, will mix it up in the middle on both sides of the ball. Defensively, he's good enough to match-up with a paint-filler or spell minutes on the wing. His camp coach called him an "elite shot blocker" and was high on Iyola's leadership and communication. - JY

Danny Lewis, SG/PG, Westlake, 2017: One of the better jump shooters at the camp on Saturday, Lewis found ways to score all over the hardwood. He is good off the pull-up and confident from deep. A long 6-foot-3 guard, Lewis proved to be a problem for smaller point guards when he ran the show. His versatility on offense is his best strength going into the spring. A greater attention to detail on the defensive end will help continue his progression as a backcourt prospect. - JY

Connor Mannion, PF, Lambert, 2016: We've been big fans of his since watching him shine at the Georgia Cup. After a very productive season at Lambert and earning a spot to the Elite Preview from our Fall Preview camp, Mannion went to work with the state's best. The 6-foot-7 forward solidified himself as a no-brainer Division I player at the Elite Preview. His strength on offense is the midrange jumper. Mannion is the type of player that we love to see at the Elite Preview. He stepped up on the biggest stage in the state. - JY

 

Adrian Martin, SG, Lanier, 2018: An injury slowed his game to a halt at the camp one game into the action. That was disappointing. Martin earned his spot in camp after a strong rookie season at the high school level. He proved himself as a shooter. Looking forward to seeing more of him this travel season. - JY

D'Marcus Simonds, SG, Gainesville, 2016: In terms of scoring versatility I'm not sure there was anyone better at the Elite Preview than Simonds. At roughly 6'4", Simonds got off to a slow start early in the day only to catch fire in the afternoon session. It wasn't that he was scoring from a single area, either. Simonds was hitting jumpers off the catch, off the dribble, and finishing through contact at the rim. He's the type of player that you can see being incredibly streaky at the college level. If he can learn to harness his energy level, Simonds will be really, really good. - KK

 


Justin Young
Editor-in-Chief

Justin Young has been the editor-in-chief of HoopSeen.com since 2013. He manages the day-to-day operations on the site and in conjunction with our national and regional events. He was the national basketball editor for Rivals.com and a contributing editor at Yahoo! Sports. Young has been earned numerous awards for his work in sports journalism, including the Georgia Press Association Columnist of the Year. His Justin Young Basketball recruiting service has been in existence since 2002 and worked with over 300 schools from all levels. He is the director of HoopSeen Elite Preview camps and our national Preview camp series. 

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