Here's a rundown of the action, including the top performers from Day 1 of the Portsmouth Invitational:Game 1 (Boxscore):
K.C. Rivers: 3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1-9 FG, 0-4 3FG
Diamon Simpson: 13 points, 15 rebounds
Paul Delaney: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 7-15 FG
Courtney Fells: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 7-12 FG, 3-4 3FG
Jimmy Baron: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 4-17 FG, 4-14 3FG
Josh Carter: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 4-6 FG
Comments: K.C. Rivers is one of my draft sleepers, but he didn't get off to a good start missing all of his three point shots and shooting just 1-9 from the floor. He did chip in with some other things though. Courtney Fells out of NC State was the star in this game though, so I'll keep an eye on him. Jimmy Baron has come out firing, but looks to be shooting blanks.
Game 2 (Boxscore):
Josh Akognon: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 6-12 FG, 4-5 3FG
A.D. Vassallo: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 9-17 FG, 3-6 3FG
DeMarre Carroll: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
Robert Vaden: 7 points, 3-8 FG, 0-1 3FG
Geoff McDermott: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 3-8 FG
Micah Downs: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal
Alex Ruoff: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, 6-17 FG, 1-7 3FG
Alfred Aboya: 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1-5 FG
Gary Wilkinson: 11 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 4-8 FG
Comments: Josh Akognon, A.D. Vassallo, and DeMarre Carroll showed up the strongest in this game. Vassallo is interesting because has good height at 6'6, so if he can knock down the three consistently then he could definitely help an NBA team. I still think Carroll is a tweener, but he played well here. He most likely will get drafted, I'm just not sure how he will perform in the NBA. Akognon can shoot the ball, but the fact he also dished out 6 assists could benefit him in the long run if he continues to show his PG skills.
Here are some more observations, via Draft Express:
Courtney Fells: Courtney Fells had an extremely productive outting in the opening game of this season’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, having easily the best showing of any player in attendance. Though he did a lot of good for his stock, he also made his limitations very clear. Fells drained a number of catch and shoot jumpers coming off of screens from three point range, putting his excellent perimeter shooting stroke on full display. He also knocked down two one-dribble jumpers from the outside, seeming unfazed by the fact that he was very well defended on both occasions. Despite his proficiency from the perimeter, Fells had very little success putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket, showing very underdeveloped ball handling ability and looking very shaky going left. That weakness, coupled with his only average first-step, rendered Fells unable to create separation on a number of his touches today. Moving forward, Fells needs to recognize his limitations off the dribble and make a concerted effort not to force the issue, which was likely an issue during the season at N.C. State as well, judging by his negative assist to turnover ratio.Fells’s lack of standout athleticism didn’t plague him at the defensive end today, as he was working hard to keep his man out of the lane on most possessions. If he can maintain his defensive intensity and continue to shoot the ball well, Fells should turn heads all week—maybe making a case for himself as a Keith Bogans type rotation wing player. Though he still has a ton of work to do to hear his name called on draft day, Fells was the standout performer of day one.
Diamon Simpson: The most active player on the floor for the first two games here in Portsmouth, Diamon Simpson is holding nothing back in showing NBA teams why he thinks he belongs. The undersized power forward filled up the hustle categories yesterday, pulling in an outstanding 15 rebounds while picking up 4 steals and a handful more deflections. Simpson was a menace on the defensive end, playing pressure defense both on his man and off the ball, defending past the three-point line on most possessions. Showing very good mobility and reflexes, Simpson gave the opposition plenty of problems getting into their sets, and really impressed with his non-stop effort, especially seeing he played a game-high 35 minutes. On the glass, Simpson was equally menacing, getting his hands on every ball he could, showing good timing and pursuit abilities. On the offensive glass, Simpson showed some trouble powering up to finish once he got the ball, not being the most explosive athlete. His persistence paid off here, but he'll need to work on either his finesse or power-finishing to translate this ability. Working on his touch around the rim, his lower body strength and leaping ability should be among his priorities. Other than his hustle plays, Simpson didn't show much else here, not being a great shooter or having much ball-handling ability, which is not a surprise considering his role player status. A number of NBA executives we spoke with mentioned how impressed they were with his play, and one went as far as to compare him to another Portsmouth alumni—Chuck Hayes.
Paul Delaney: UAB’s Paul Delaney had one of the more impressive showings of day one, especially considering how far off the radar screen he was coming into this tournament. Delaney was one of the more aggressive players seen here early on, getting into the lane time after time and finishing strong, sometimes emphatically with a violent jam. He may have forced the issue a bit at times, clearly trying to make a strong impression, but he did show some solid unselfishness whipping the ball around the floor and finding teammates with creative passes. He was extremely active as well, crashing the offensive glass, getting in the passing lanes, and generally doing what players need to in order to stand out in this setting. A few potential weaknesses that seemed to stand out were his limited perimeter shooting ability, so-so playmaking skills, and struggles driving left, although we’ll have to look a little bit closer at these in the coming games.
A.D. Vassallo: A.D Vassallo had a strong statistical performance, putting in 21 points on 17 shots in his team’s losing effort, showing the versatile scoring ability he’s known for, hitting from behind the arc as well as with some mid-range shots on the move. Despite scoring impressively, Vassallo didn’t alleviate any concerns about the rest of his game, however, as he is a below average athlete and defender and shows very questionable shot-selection at times.
K.C. Rivers: K.C. Rivers had one of the more unimpressive performances in the first day, relative to his draft stock coming into the event, hitting just 1-for-9 from the field while missing all of his three-point attempts. Rivers created some impressive lay-up attempts in the lane with his creativity, but wasn’t able to finish consistently, and his outside shot just wasn’t falling, in part because he was taking some higher difficulty attempts. Rivers is probably not the type of player who will stand out in a setting like this, as he’s a system guy who needs a clearly defined role to bring out his biggest strengths.
Josh Akognon: Josh Akognon displayed the same aggressive scoring mentality that he did throughout his career at Cal State Fullerton, finishing with 16 points on 4-5 from three-point range. Though he forced a couple of tough shots from the perimeter, he did a solid job running his team, and needs to continue to distribute the ball effectively moving forward.
DeMarre Carroll: DeMarre Carroll was extremely active today, and finished the game with 18 points on 8-11 from the field due in large part to how hard he played. He had no trouble performing well in this up-tempo contest, but didn’t show a great deal of skill with the ball.
Micah Downs: Micah Downs showed better defensive intensity today than we're used to seeing from him, looking very good defending the perimeter and blocking four shots. He also knocked down a couple of three pointers as well, and had a very athletic dunk in transition. He likely helped himself with the way he played.
Alex Ruoff: Alex Ruoff didn't have a good day shooting the ball, going 6-17 from the field and 1-7 from three, but showed good court vision and was a vocal leader for his team. He was very aggressive defensively, coming up with a number of loose balls and tallying four steals in total. Considering that he made 2.7 3-pointers per game at West Virginia on 37% shooting, his struggles from beyond the arc probably aren’t the end of the world.
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