C Dallas Lauderdale (official thread)

[jimotis4heisman]

and physical development, "growing into your body" and maturing are more and more important the bigger you are.

also it is sometimes to judge big men bc they have to wait for the game to come to them. big mens game dont evolve around them being able to create. they have to have a good entry pass and set up and can easily be doubled/tripled down. this is why the more athletic kids then to float on the arc becuase they are atheletic that they can create in space rather than making the game come to them. average and even decent coaches have a hard time making their big guys stay down low and brining the game to them. this is why you see development in guys with great gaurd play a la oden. with conley and co oden is able to let the game come to him in a set and not go get the ball, thus he is able to develop his inside game.

[smitty03]

I have had the chance to see Lauderdale play a couple times, and let it be known Lauderdale still can improve his game, but he is not just a "raw" basketball player. I agree with the prior post about him developing his offensive game, but your post are almost making him sound like he is a raw prospect and nothing more. The games I saw of him last year, you would have never believed he was a sophomore. In the regional semi-finals against Toledo Scott at Savage Hall, Lauderdale went for 24 points on 10-11 shooting, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked seven shots. A lot of Dallas's points did come from dunks throughout the year, but he did have a decent jumper from the foul line and in.

[Oh8ch]

I don't mean to make him sound 'raw' at all, only saying that it is rare to see a big man arrive in college with a complete game. Even with HS lottery picks to the NBA you will see guards and small forwards make an immediate impact while centers sit the bench for a year or two.

I am supremely confident in the potential of all of the kids Matta is offering in the 'out years'. He has no reason to offer these kids early unless they are the real deal.

[Oh8ch]

Per this mornings Dispatch Lauderdale is saying reports his commit is imminent are nto true. He may not commit til after the season.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

The denial in public is not that suprising to me, that has been going on for awhile now......eventually he will be a Buckeye.

[wadc45]

put it this way...

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

jjhuddle.com (free)

11/2/05


Quote:

Ohio’s Best Boys Basketball Players
Buckeye state boasts more talent than ever before

By Steve Helwagen

Over the course of the summer, Ohio’s best boys basketball players showed their stuff in various AAU and summer camp events from coast to coast.
These events helped Ohio’s best players earn reputations as the nation’s very best. The national rankings supplied by ScoutHoops.com are dotted with players from Ohio.

Five of the current seniors are in the national top 100, led by Dayton Dunbar’s Daequan Cook at No. 16. Even better is the Class of 2007, where seven Ohio prospects are listed among the top 50. That group is led by the North College Hill duo of O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, ranked first and fourth nationally, respectively.

The sophomore class in Ohio also boasts two of the nation’s top 15 prospects, including Cincinnati Hughes’ Yancey Gates at No. 5.

“You would be hard pressed to go back and find three years consecutively where there is this type of talent in the state of Ohio,” said HoopScoopOnline.com Ohio editor Chris Johnson. “And there is not only talent but also some size. In that sophomore class, there are four or five really good players who are already 6-8 or taller.”

The Ohio talent quotient would be even better if Herb Pope, a 6-8 forward considered a top-10 national junior, had followed through with his stated plan to transfer to a school in Ohio. Instead, he began the new school year at his old school in Aliquippa, Pa.

With the summer camp and AAU season over, Johnson has reassessed his lists of Ohio’s top prospects and updated them. The following is a look at the top prospects in each class in Ohio high school boys basketball, as rated by Johnson.

Juniors-To-Be (Class of 2007)

* 5. Dallas Lauderdale, 6-9, center, Solon (SH, 48<SUP>th</SUP>; HSO, 64th) – Lauderdale averaged 17.5 points, 13 and 4.8 blocks rebounds per game. Lauderdale already has offers from OSU and Syracuse.

“It is pretty much Ohio State and Syracuse,” Johnson said.

“He has tremendously long arms and is a great rebounder and shot blocker. His offense has still not improved that much. A key for him will be his offensive ability, both passing and shooting the ball.”