Marcus Basketball

Went to Allen High tonight to check out the defending 5A champs, Flower Mound Marcus.  The Marauders are big for a high school team, and not so much height, although they go 6-8, 6-6, 6-4 up front.  They are a very strong team in fact they did not put a player on the court tonight that could be termed skinny.  Their strength and height make them tough to score against and they play a methodical style.  Allen played them man most of the night so I didn't get a good read on their shooters, except the point guard.

The point guard has an unorthodox stroke, but was on target tonight, and has range.  Their center is 6-8 and is a good athlete, but not sure how much overall game he's got.  The main reason I went was to see Marcus Smart, the "point-forward".  First thing, he is physically ready for college, in fact he is quite a specimen at 6-4 and looking like a tight end.  As of this post, he is the 3rd ranked national forward, and 14th overall recruit in this class by Rivals.  It can be hard to get a read on his talent because of the Marcus style of play.  He handles the ball a lot and showed some signs of having good floor vision.  His shooting stroke is pretty sound, but he is not a natural shooter.  There is some explosion, as he had a couple of throw-downs tonight.  I watched him hit some 3's in warm-ups.  My impression is that he will have an impact at OK St.  I think he handles well enough to play guard in college and the strength is certainly there.  It would be fun to see him play an AAU game and be turned loose.

S