Player feature, Thoughts?

In basketball circuits, a player’s future destination is directly related to his performance at major AAU tournaments. A never-ending Congo line of Division coaches surround the courts with Blackberries in hand and it may or may not be the only time a player can impress them. Some prospects will fail, others will thrive.

Brian Oliver, a blossoming prospect in the 2009 class and standout this summer, knows this. He’s a 6-foot-6 rising junior from William Penn in Delaware, who as a sophomore averaged 16.5 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. He can light it up from long range and can use his 6’10 to 6’11 wing span (last time he checked) to block or alter shots.

For Rutgers, Oliver would be a major coup and lethal small forward. He can shoot over smaller guards and attack slower forwards.

The Scarlet Knights have already offered Oliver a scholarship and watched virtually all of his games in Las Vegas, as did a very interested staff at Georgia Tech. Oliver has offers from West Virginia, Pittsburgh, and most recently joining the race are Baylor, Xavier and Miami (FL). He visited the campuses of Georgetown and Virginia, too, meeting both coach John Thompson III and Dave Leitao.

Assistant coach Darren Savino is in charge of recruiting Oliver, who was invited last season to a Rutgers/Georgetown game. He said he liked the RAC, although he didn’t get to see the locker rooms, and believes the close crowd has the ability to get players “hyped” before games.

To gain more notoriety out of state, Oliver, much like an aspiring musician who moves to New York, linked up with a power program in Paterson, New Jersey, the U-16 Playaz AAU team. They are coached by Jerome Smart and it features Rutgers target and St. Anthony guard Dominic Cheek, who, like many others, had prejudices against a player from an unfertile basketball state.

“A lot of people, they look at Delaware and they think ‘That’s not a hotbed for talent,’ like a New Jersey or Philly,” said Oliver. Yet the sweet shooting wing has quieted in-house critics while blending in with the New Jersey ballers, most vividly in Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas is basically the place that will make or break you,” said Oliver, who at last month’s adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas filled the box score much like an NBA Live video game.

He averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, according to Zagsblog.

Oliver rained in 9 3s for a staggering 35 points and posted 6 blocks during one game; he followed that eye-opener with another 30 points with 7 3s and four blocks; finally, he poured in 16 and 19, respectively, as the Playaz advanced past the semifinals and into the championship game, where they lost.

“I knew it was the big stage,” said Oliver. “(Las) Vegas is the spot, basically. That’s where everything goes down. If you play bad in Vegas people label you as being horrible… because it’s such a high-profile tournament with a lot of high-profile players,” and Oliver knows there is too much at stake.

Luckily for Rutgers, Fred Hill has made inroads with Oliver before his star officially blasts off.

 

A quick line edit this morning, Early. Thanks for posting.

 

JG, always appreciate it. Can I post it again? Was there anything good in this piece? Lol.

 

Re-post away, Early.

And there's plenty in the piece that's fine. I just try sometimes to give an edit the same way a crusty old desk editor might.

 

During the summer basketball circuit, a player’s future destination is directly related to his performance at the major AAU tournaments. An impressive conga line of Division I coaches will surround the courts with Blackberries in hand and it may be the only time a player can impress them. Some prospects will fail, others will thrive.

Brian Oliver, a blossoming prospect in the 2009 class and star this summer, knows this. He’s a 6-foot-6 rising junior from William Penn in Delaware, who as a sophomore averaged 16.5 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. He can light it up from long range and can block or alter shots with a 6-foot-10 wingspan.

But to gain more exposure, Oliver joined a power AAU program, the U-16 Playaz, which is coached by Jerome Smart and headed by Jimmy Salmon. Like a musician who moves to New York for fame, Oliver linked up with the Playaz and had an inside track to show off his talents.

“A lot of people, they look at Delaware and they think ‘That’s not a hotbed for talent,’ like a New Jersey or Philly,” said Oliver.

At the adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas, Oliver silenced the doubters. He averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks, according to ZAGSBLOG. He poured in nine 3s for a staggering 35 points and posted six blocks during one game; he followed that eye-opener with another 30 points with seven 3s and four blocks; finally, he poured in 16 and 19, respectively, as the Playaz advanced into the championship game, where they lost.

“Las Vegas is basically the place that will make or break you,” said Oliver. “I knew it was the big stage. Vegas is the spot. That’s where everything goes down. If you play bad in Vegas, people label you because it’s such a high-profile tournament with a lot of high-profile players.”

Oliver, who loves playing on the wing, would be a major coup and a productive small forward at Rutgers. He can shoot over smaller guards and attack slower forwards. Fred Hill was the first coach to watch Oliver in high school this season, which left the prospect “shocked” when he was told by his mother at halftime.

Darren Savino, the Scarlet Knights assistant coach, has since kept tabs on Oliver and wants him up for another visit on the campus. Oliver has visited before and was at the R.A.C. last season to take in a Georgetown/Rutgers matchup.

Yet the interest from the Scarlet Knights’ coach was only the beginning, and Oliver has said West Virginia was his early leader to Justin Young of Rivals.

Oliver holds offers from Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, while Virginia Tech and Baylor joined the race after a string of prolific performances in Las Vegas. He said Georgia Tech watched virtually all of his games there and has shown “heavy interest.”

When Oliver returns for his junior season, the attention will be far greater when he takes the court. Oliver seems ready for that challenge.

“I just have to keep a level head,” said Oliver. “I’m expecting it (the attention,) but I have to stay focused. It’s like I always say: pretend that no one is in the gym.”


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NOTES:
Brian Oliver will join almost 250 high school basketball players as they depart next Thursday for Tampa for the NCAA First Team Summer Conference.

The four-day conference will include sessions on recruiting, study habits, transition from high school and nutrition and training.
The annual program began in Indianapolis in 2002.

 

Much better.

 

A quick thought:

I might start this story from Oliver's point of view and make your first graph kind of a nut graph. Perhaps, you could start by describing Oliver's experience playing under the pressure of an AAU tournament, with all those eyes on him.

I really like the conga line bit.