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The
2009 Robinson Shootout was a nice surprise for Southern Illinois
basketball fans to get to see a match up between two of the
three best players in the state. The #1 junior in the
state of Illinois, Wayne Blackshear, faced the premier big man
in the state and #2 senior Meyers Leonard. Both showed why
they are so highly regarded.
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Wayne Blackshear SF
Morgan Park (IL) Class of 2011
Blackshear has
come out this year ready to prove that he is not just the best
junior in the state, but has an argument for the best player
period in Illinois. He has put up monster numbers
throughout the early part of the season. This game would
be another showcase against a highly touted prospect to put on a
show. Wayne is Morgan Park's main option on the offensive
end. Their 2nd and 3rd options are both very good
freshman, but Wayne puts up a lot of shots for his ball
club. He has great speed and explosion all around the
court. This was shown in transition by consistently
running the floor throughout the game as well as running hard
around screens that were designed to open up a three for the
junior. When he faced up on the perimeter Blackshear liked
to take the ball from the left side of his body and use a strong
rip move to the right to blow by his man. The release
point on his jumper was a little inconsistent. Some were
falling back, others were going to forward, while some were
picture perfect. Blackshear had several spectacular dunks
in transition. As I mentioned earlier his speed on the
wing getting up and down the floor was impressive. In the
half court Morgan Park put him in the post and cleared that side
of the floor several times. Robinson did not have anyone
that could stop the junior in this aspect of his offensive repertoire.
He has the size and wingspan to be a good wing defender at the
next level. Blackshear got big buckets when his team
needed them. Morgan Park was down one point with under a
minute to go. Blackshear got the ball at the elbow and
rose up for a smooth game winning jumper that gave his team the
victory. His final line was 41 points, 13 boards, 2
blocks, and 1 steal. He is definitely a cold blooded
scorer! I would like to see him take better shots throughout
the game and not force his offense, but there is no doubting the
ability. Blackshear is a top 10 player nationally in the
class of 2011 and has significantly surpassed Mike Shaw as the
#1 player in Illinois in 2011.
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Myers Leonard C
Robinson (IL) Class of 2010 (Illinois)
The funny thing
about Myers Leonard is that he is the only player I have ever
known that gets less hype locally than he does nationally.
Last year many felt that his play on the floor did not match up
with his national status. I thought he lived up to his
ranking at the 2009 Illinois Team Tournament in June and he
showed again why he is a top 30 prospect nationally against a
Chicago power. As I mentioned on earlier scouting outings,
Leonard's best asset is his passing in my opinion. His
outlet passing is impressive as well as his passing out of the
post. If he is doubled in the post he will find the open
teammate on the perimeter or interior. Many of his points
in this game came on alley-oop dunks. There was a
particular one that many will remember that were in
attendance. The Robinson guard threw a 3/4 court pass way
to far behind Leonard for a dunk, but Myers reached all the way
back and threw it down. His home gym went nuts! He
runs the floor very well for a big man. His post moves
have improved even more since I saw him last time. There
is good footwork along with the ability to create space for a
quick turnaround. Unfortunately, his team does not get him
the ball enough in the post. He has a high FG% in the
paint, but for some reason they do not feed him enough.
Leonard finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists by my
count. The big man has secured a top 30 rating nationally
in my view. The skill set is at a high level and the
production is coming around.
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