Who are the best underclassmen in the shl???

[shlfreak]

Who are the best underclassmen in the shl???

[hook em horns]

The top underclassman in the SHL is Peebles High School sophomore guard Blake Justice who is on pace to set the all-time scoring record at the tradition laden school. I project he will also receive a Division I basketball scholarship with a MAC school as his highest potential.

Other top underclassmen include Justice's teammate at Peebles, junior Andrew Seaman. Coupled with Justice, they are as good a 1-2 combo as there is at the Division III level in the Southeast District.

The Ripley Blue Jays feature two promising sophomores in Rayve Williams and Demarco Washington whom coach Mike Kennedy will build around for the next couple of seasons.

Fairfield is led by 6'5" sophomore Chris Cox.

Manchester's young talent include 6'5" sophomore Blake Blevins and junior guard Dylan Hanson. They are two of the top three scorers for the Greyhounds.

I know I've missed a few but those players jump out as top underclassmen.

[60ft.6in.]

The top underclassman in the SHL is Peebles High School sophomore guard Blake Justice who is on pace to set the all-time scoring record at the tradition laden school. I project he will also receive a Division I basketball scholarship with a MAC school as his highest potential

How are you predicting his "highest potential" 3--4 years down the road?

[hook em horns]

Is it fair for me to say I think he can only play at a MAC level school? Of course not, I'm nobody and my opinion doesn't count for anything as I'm not a coach or scout or anybody of relevance. But, to attempt to stir up conversation and offer my opinion as we all have the opportunity to do on this message board I submit that I think he has the potential to get offers from mid-major schools coming out of high school.

But the truth is 60ft.6in. I don't know how much potential he has, just my opinion from watching him play a few times.

[Ironman92]

How much better than Drew Copas, Nathan Copas and Brett Buecler is Justice?.....they all went NAIA....a big difference from D1 at the MAC level.

[Ironman92]

The best comparison to Justice may be Dennis Gagai of Ironton.....he didn't get too near the MAC level....though is doing well.

[hook em horns]

Good comparison with Gagai, Ironman.

Although, I compare him to Doug Williams of Eastern Pike/Piketon who went on to Miami (OH). Rob Preston from Lynchburg-Clay received a scholarship from Akron back in the early 2000's, and Justice is a much better high school player than he was and has more potential in my opinion. Again, not saying he will go that level, I just think from watching him he has that potential.

The key is to get noticed early and I would think Justice is drawing attention with his play the past two seasons and I assume he plays AAU ball in the summer which will aide in garnering attention.

[Ironman92]

Doug Williams was 6'5.....Justice is no where near that.....MAYBE 6'2

I still like the Gagai comparison...with a side of Brett Buecler


Yes, he did indeed get a scholarship to Miami of Ohio....rarely got in (not a slam as playing at Miami is an awesome feat, but a fact)

I can't see Blake wanting to sit the bench for 4 years....when he could play and maybe star a level or two lower.

How much better is he than his Dad and uncle?

[2Legit2Quit]

Justice is nowhere near a Nathan Copas! He has the ability to shoot and score but I guess taking 20 or so shots a game will bring that. I've watched him several times this year and the thing that seperates him from the greats is his defense. It just seemed like he would takes possessions of. And that is due in part to the fact that he gets almost zero reast, as the coach only goes 8 men deep or so.

[hook em horns]

Justice is nowhere near a Nathan Copas!

I disagree , 2Legit. In my opinion Justice is better than Copas was as a sophomore in high school. That's my opinion so feel free to disagree but he has much more experience and notoriety than Nathan had at that age. That's taking nothing away from Nathan as he was a great player who could have played Division I basketball had things been different in my opinion.

[sparky]

it will all boil down to how much better he gets in the next few years. 6'2 guards are a dime a dozen so you have to be an all around player to make it at the top level. how many d1 players have ever come out of the shl? i know brian grant from georgetown made it. georgetown was in the shl then. grant was recruited mostly on potential as he was not a great high school player. he really came into his own at xavier.

[hook em horns]

Paul Cluxton at 6'4" was a great player at Lynchburg-Clay during the early 90's and a player whom Justice shares similar attributes. He went on to a stellar career at Division II Northern Kentucky University. Could he have played at the Division I level? Yes, I think he could have but went to NKU instead and won a Div II national title with the Norse. The point is, I think Justice will have the opportunity to play Division I if that is what he wants. If he wants to be a big fish a la Cluxton or Copas, I'm sure many coaches at that level would love to have him.

Russ Middleton, a Senior at Mason County this year is also somewhat similar to Justice and he has accepted a scholarship to Georgetown College (NAIA) instead of playing Division I. A lot of Division I schools recruited him but he chose the Tigers instead. It's personal preference but is a good situation to be in.

[FLAGMANUSA]

Blake Blevins I heard was getting looked at by Wright State.

[2Legit2Quit]

Hook em Horns-at this point he has more points than Nathan did but he also has had considerable more playing time than Nathan got, too. I don't think its cuz he was better, but rather that the team didn't need him as a freshman, whereas Peebles threw Blake right into the fire. And he did well. I would just like to see Justice play another year and take that team deep into the tourney before I draw comparisons to Nathan Copas.

[hoopin]

That's taking nothing away from Nathan as he was a great player who could have played Division I basketball had things been different in my opinion.

What things are you referring to that kept Nathan from playing D1?

[Ironman92]

Probably height.

Scouts can't measure heart very accurately. Don't tell me Humpty Hitchens couldn't be at a bigger school than Akron...and don't be surprised if you hear a lot more of Akron in the upcoming years with Humpty as a key player.

Wasn't Copas awarded as an all-american his senior year at Rio?

Hopefully Blake will get great advice on what level to go for when the time comes....shoot for D1 of coarse.....but be prepared to accept the best situation.


A loooonnnnngggggg time to go to even bother with all that.


Another question.....how good is the Arey kid compared to how Blake was in 8th grade?

[YC08]

I believe Justice may have the opportunity to play D1. But MAC would def. be the limit. He's an excellent HS player and will only get better but as mentioned many comparable HS players found their best fit at a lower level and I believe this is where Blake falls into place.

At this point I believe Arey would be better left in the junior high forum.

[hook em horns]

hoopin, in my opinion it was an overall lack of exposure that kept him from going to the Division I level. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he played AAU basketball which as been stated is where a lot of players are spotted. He also broke onto the state scene his senior season after many schools had already signed there incoming class thus had no scholarships available. I'm sure he also could have played a year or two at a junior college and then went to a Division I school but chose the Rio Grande path instead which worked out great for him.

[hoopin]

hoopin, in my opinion it was an overall lack of exposure that kept him from going to the Division I level. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think he played AAU basketball which as been stated is where a lot of players are spotted. He also broke onto the state scene his senior season after many schools had already signed there incoming class thus had no scholarships available. I'm sure he also could have played a year or two at a junior college and then went to a Division I school but chose the Rio Grande path instead which worked out great for him.

Sounds about right to me!

[2Legit2Quit]

Copas had some offers from schools like George Mason.