One and Doners in the Class of 2010 – Josh Selby

There are many talented players in next season’s recruiting class. In this series, I will give a closer look at some of the best players who are probably one year and done college players in the Class of 2010.

While the 2010 recruiting class is lacking in big men, it more than makes up with backcourt talent. At or near the top of that list is combo guard Josh Selby. He ranks right up there with Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight.

Selby could be the most aggresive and attacking scoring point guards in the country. Many potential suitors shouldn’t discount his lack of overwhelming height at 6’3 because can finish above the rim as well as anyone in the class. He can knock down three’s at alarming rates and competes with toughness and never allows his opponent to relax.

He is ranked anywhere from #8 at ESPN to #4 by Rivals. He impressed recently at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game in NY by totaling 18 points, 6 assists, and an ferocious 1 handed dunk over another top player, Kendall Marshall, which by now is all over the Internet. Brandon Jennings and Kevin Love were in attendance and described his performance “bananas”, “crazy“, and ‘Vince Carter like“. Selby averaged more than 16 points during his Junior season.

Selby, out of Baltimore Lake Clifton, recently decommited from Tennessee and is scheduling visits to top tier schools like Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, and UCONN. Much has been made about Selby’s relationship with college hoops power broker William Wesley, who is a close personal friend of John Calipari.  Many speculate that he will now be leaning towards Kentucky.  Josh insists that will have no influence on his choice of college he will be attending.

Selby reminds scouts of a young Gary Payton or Ben Gordon, because of his temperamental attitude. It may do him good at the next level because he is a competitor and will do anything to win a ball game. It will be interesting to see where he winds up, because the sky is the limit for Josh Selby.

One and Doners in the Class of 2010 – Kyrie Irving

There are many talented players in next season’s recruiting class. In this series, I will give a closer look at some of the best players who are probably one year and done college players in the Class of 2010.

 

One of the top point guards in the Class of 2010 is Kyrie Irving.  Irving has regularly impressed since transfering a year ago from Montclair Kimberley Academy(NJ) to national powerhouse  St. Patrick’s HS in New Jersey.  That’s an impressive feat considering that the annual HS power  has steadily produced Division 1 and NBA talent like Al Harrington, Quintrell Thomas, who is a sophomore at Kansas, and Dexter Strickland, a top 50 freshman recruit for UNC, along with Irving’s current teammate Mike Gilchrist, who is the #1 rated recruit in the 2011 class.

Irving is 6’2 and 175 lbs and is ranked #7 by Scout and in the top 10 by both ESPN and Rivals.  He has a good basketball pedigree since his father Dedrick, played at Boston University and his godfather, Rod Strickland was a good NBA player and current Kentucky assistant coach.

Irving could turn out to be the most polished  guard out of the top tier “big three” of  Josh Selby, Brandon Knight, and Irving.  Irving has the perfect blend of flash and substance.  He seemingly never takes a bad shot and is a consumate floor general who always makes the right play and is rarely out of control.  Posessing a high hoops IQ helps  Irving run an offense smoothly by passing to  open teammates in a scoring position and scoring when the opportunity presents itself.    He impressed recently, at the Nike Global Summit in Portland and proved to be the best point guard in attendance.  I have personally seen Irving in action at numerous HS Hoops Showcases inthe PA/NJ area, and he somehow emerges as his team’s best player once the game is over, never forcing the ball, taking what the defense gives him.

  The widespread belief is that Irving has the skills to be a major weapon in the open court at the next level. But he also has the instinct and decision making to pick teams apart in the half-court as well.  Most major Division 1 schools have interest but it seems that Irving has narrowed his focus to three schools, namely Duke, Kentucky, and Indiana.  Most scouts are in love with Irving’s savvy and decision making. At the AAU Nationals a few weeks ago in Orlando, Irving, with his NJ Roadrunners team, turned in the best performance of any player,  a 39-point explosion in a loss to the Baltimore Stars, which earned him MVP.  He has pledged to narrow his college choices after the Elite 24 Hoops Classic on August 22nd at Rucker Park, in NY.

Offensively, Kyrie Irving can do it all. He can get to the cup with ease, dunk the ball, hit shots beyond the arc, and distribute the rock. He has already identified the fact that he needs to work on his mid-range game, so expect that to improve.

At the NBA level he compares to Chris Paul on the high end to Deron Williams, or Randy Foye, since he doesn’t play with the flash of some other high recruits.  One thing is for sure, this will not be the last time you read about Kyrie Irving.