Perry Ellis: Making a Legacy

By: Kevin Duffy

What's the first thing you think of when you hear "Perry Ellis"? The clothing line? Or maybe the Kansas high school basketball legend?

The latter is a 6'8 forward out of Wichita who has won three State titles and has acquired three Mr. Basketball awards in Kansas. Oh and by the way, he's only a junior.

Ellis,the ball player, previously trimmed his very long list of outstanding schools to six. The six which are Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Memphis, Oklahoma, and Wichita State have all built through relationships with Ellis and his family."Well, all six schools had been recruiting me for a really long time. I had built relationships with all the coaches," Ellis said. "Several have been recruiting me since 8th grade. I want to feel comfortable and all these schools recruiting me have made me feel that way".Ellis said he has no timetable for a decision except that he plans to evaluate his recruitment after the summer.

Last Sunday, Perry participated in the East-West All American Game in Houston. He scored 14 and pulled in a team high 8 boars enough to garner the Most Valuable Player Award.

"It was my first year there",Ellis stated."I wanted to do good so I could come back over the years-putting on a legacy. I feel blessed to be able to go there."

In due time a "legacy" is exactly what Perry will leave on Kansas hoops. Already people are putting him right up there with the best ever in Kansas hoops. However this humble star just wants to play his game and not get caught up in that, he told me, "I really don't think about that too much there have really been a lot of great players in Kansas over the years. I am just honored that I am mentioned with them."

The basketball phenom just wants his game to do the talking. "Hope you get a chance to come and watch me play this summer" is good advice from this young superstar. I suggest you listen.

Additional Questions with Perry

How do you feel about Lon Kruger taking over at Oklahoma?
I have not talked to Coach Kruger yet but he did call my AAU coach Steve Young and is planning to contact me.

What are your best characteristics you bring to a team?
I am a team player, versatile, know how to win, and a hard worker.

Who's game do you study?
Kevin Durant and LeBron James.

What are your goals for next season?
To win a 4th State championship.

What do you feel you have to improve?
I just want to keep working hard on all parts of my game. I think my defense can always improve.

How long do you see yourself in college?
I am not sure yet I will just have to see how things go.

Who do you think is the best player in your class?
Rather not answer this question there are so many great players in the 2012 class. It's just loaded with talent.

What are the best camps you have attended?
I think the best camps I had attended were the Vince Carter and Kevin Durant Nike Skills Academies. Both Vince and Kevin worked with us individually and really cared and wanted to help us get better.

How was the All American Championship?
It was a great experience. It was fun to play with all the great talent. It was even better that the West team won too.

Nerlens Noel talks recruiting, his game, and more

By: Kevin Duffy

He has the old school flat top. He has a "real good" snapback game. Now the class of 2013 big man, Nerlens Noel, has a scholarship offer from Kentucky.

On each major recruiting website, he is among the top ten players in the country.

"I'm very appreciative and humble about the scholarship and will keep working",says Noel after Coach Calipari came to see him play at open gym and discussed the opportunity to play for him at Kentucky.

“Kentucky is a good school,” he stated. “They have pros that go in and out and are consistently running with a deep team in the tournament.”

The Tilton School(MA) star was originally a member of the 2012 class until an injury made him sit out for a long period of time last year. He is being coveted by several other teams already, including Syracuse, Florida, Pittsburgh, Providence and UConn who have all offered. "I plan to develop in college as long as that is and then be in the NBA and be successful", added Noel.

However he is not all too worried about recruiting at the moment, he will make a list in the fall and schedule some visits by the summer. This summer he will also attend the Amare Stoudemire camp and the LeBron James camp.

Noel is one of the top defensive players in the 2013 class, if not the country. He says his best characteristics that he brings to a team are that he is,"humble, hardworking, respectful, loyal, and a good leader".

Nerlens who compares his game to that of Kevin Garnett is very hardworking and determined like KG because of his "intensity,will to win, and his game.". Many may be shocked that a sophomore dares to compare himself to the Boston Celtics forward but it really isn't out of stretch.

Nevertheless the 6'10 center knows he still has a lot to work on. He says,"I think I have to improve my strength. I'm currently doing that now by hitting the gym a lot. I also have to improve my offensive and outside game"

ESPN says, "He may already be in the best shot-blocker in the country with absolutely uncanny physical gifts and defensive instincts. With a rapidly expanding offensive game, and solid work ethic and good court demeanor, the sky is absolutely the limit" about this shot blocking machine. Keep notice of this outstanding player.

NCAA Final Four Preview and Predictions

This year's Final Four features two remarkable Cinderella stories, a Danny Manning esque run, and a freshman dominated team with a controversial coach.

For the first time in the history of the tournament, there is not a one or two seed in the final four. Eight seed,Butler, and eleven seed,VCU, are competing for the chance to go to a national title.

Both teams are very defensive minded.Virginia Commonwealth is very athletic and their pressure is very good. They play various differences too. If you start beating the press, they’ll switch up presses on you. One of the things they’ve done a great job of in the NCAA tournament is they’ll use that zone to change momentum a little bit.

Butler is also an excellent defensive team. They can defend at pretty much every position. That’s the quality you have to have at this time of year, and they certainly have it. They have good interior defenders and good perimeter defenders and a great defender on the ball.

On the other side, you have two elite programs with big-name coaches and a constant flow of NBA talent in UConn and Kentucky.

Connecticut is led by point guard Kemba Walker, who has been one of the best players in all of college basketball this year. The Huskies guard is on a tournament run reminiscent of Danny Manning's in 1988. In this UConn nine-game winning streak, Walker is averaging 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 38.2 minutes a game.
The Huskies have been arguably the hottest team in college basketball over the last four weeks, winning five straight games in the Big East tournament and now competing in the Final Four.

Kentucky lost seven players to the NBA last year, but head coach John Calipari managed to put together a squad that started slow but won the SEC conference tournament and now has a chance to go to the title game. Led by freshman guard Brandon Knight, the Wildcats have won some close games against some very good teams on their way to the Final Four.

Prediction

I think the leadership of Calhoun and Walker is going to lead the Connecticut Huskies to the championship. Walker will keep dominating teams both on the perimeter and with his ability to penetrate. As good as Kentucky freshman guard Brandon Knight is, Walker knows how to play and set up his opponents. Freshman Jeremy Lamb has come on of late, and provides a second scorer to complement Walker.

I like Butler’s experience to end VCU’s magical run. Brad Stevens, head coach of Butler, is among the elite coaches in college basketball and he gives his team the edge of experience, an edge that Shaka Smart, head coach of VCU, lacks.