Eric Ayala
Despite not putting up the gaudy scoring numbers he’s used to posting in high school and AAU, Ayala was nonetheless quite impressive over the course of the week. While most “combo guards” tend to actually be undersized shooting guards, Ayala showed this week that he’s equally adept at playing both backcourt spots.
Standing around 6-foot-4, he remains a scorer at heart, but displayed an improved ability to facilitate for his teammates. He consistently attacked the rim under control and with his head up, looking more to dump off to a slashing teammate or kick out to a shooter than to score it himself. Ayala was also effective in the pick-and-roll, a must for any modern point guard, using his strong frame to get defenders on his hip, read the defense, and make the right play. Off the ball, he was at his best as a jump shooter, showing great versatility to his shot; he made the right reads to get open running off screens and displayed solid footwork, was reliable as a catch-and-shoot guy, and hit a couple tough pull-ups to boot.
Ayala currently sits in an interesting position as far as his recruitment goes, with the ability to go to college as a member of either the 2017 or 2018 classes. Having already graduated--as the valedictorian of his class--from Putnam Science, he could still choose to remain there for a post-graduate year. He said this week he’s still undecided, and will firm things up after the July AAU season. With a dire need at point guard, Syracuse was thought to be a favorite for his services in 2017, but the Orange just filled their last scholarship with graduate transfer Geno Thorpe; he said Oregon, Ohio State, and Maryland remain in pursuit of his services for this fall. While things remain a bit up in the air, Ayala has about 20-30 schools recruiting him for 2018, including Arizona, Syracuse, Maryland, and Indiana.
