The West defeated the East 105-92. The top players in the class, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa led the way as the top scorers but had solid contribution from the others. The 16 more shot attempts and +10 rebounding margin were the keys to winning this one.
Darryn Peterson 6’6 195 PG/SG – Kansas
Peterson (pictured) brought home the MVP award for the West with 18 points on 7-14 shooting. His pull-ups weren’t working for him early on, but he got active on the boards with a tip-slam. He struggled with outside shooting in the game, only going 1-6 from distance, but scorers, like Peterson, find ways to get it done one way or another. He had a few plays in the second half where he scored on dunk opportunities after a steal, a runout, and a give and go on the baseline. Peterson was very good with the ball in his hands and used ball screens very well, whether it was pulling up from midrange, turning the corner to get into the paint, or hitting Chris Cenac after rolling to the rim, which might have been the pass of the game. Peterson also finished with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and had some good plays defensively sticking to the ball-handler and coming away with 3 steals.
AJ Dybantsa 6’9 210 SF – BYU
Dybantsa scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting. He had some good takes to the rim, with his low crossover and quick burst that has created space at will over the past few years. Much of his scoring came on layups showing his body control after hanging in the air, but he still showed his explosive ability early in the game dunking off the vert and late in the game with a two-handed dunk after taking the ball coast to coast. Dybantsa didn’t have a heavy presence outside of scoring with 5 rebounds, but it’s easy to see the freakish, quick twitch movements along with his 6’9 body and overall skill set, to understand why he’s the top player in the class.
Niko Bundalo 6’10 215 PF – Washington
Bundalo kept it simple with his 12 points on an efficient 6-10 shooting night. He didn’t try to do too much and outside running the floor for a dunk, all of his scoring came from cleaning up missed shots thanks to his 6 offensive rebounds. Defensively, I thought he could have tried to keep Malachi Moreno out of the paint better on a few plays but can’t nitpick an exhibition too much.
Chris Cenac 6’10 230 C – Houston
Cenac showed some variety with his 11 points, showing a fadeaway, nice touch on a jump hook, and hitting a corner 3 after chasing down an offensive rebound. He was 5-9 from the floor and also grabbed 7 rebounds, 3 coming on the offensive end. Cenac has a lot of potential as an inside-out offensive player, and although he didn’t block any shots in the game, he intrigues on the defensive end as well.
Alijah Arenas 6’6 195 SG – USC
Arenas struggled connecting early but got into the flow of things in the second half. He’s a talented offensive player, I’m not sure how much he read the defense, somewhat forcing a layup in traffic and dribbling into a 3 with a defender in his face, but it worked for him to score 11 points on 4-9 FG and 2-4 from 3PT range. He also pulled out a nice reverse pivot fadeaway on another play. Arenas didn’t record any other stats outside of scoring besides committing a turnover. Arenas stood out with his length and ball handling ability, it’s apparent there’s a lot of upside left to develop.
Tounde Yessoufou 6’5 210 SF – Baylor
Yessoufou scored 9 points on only 4-13 shooting, while missing all 5 of his 3PT attempts. Where he stood out was on the defensive end. He guarded the ball well but was even better off the ball, as he read and intercepted a lot of passes to turn defense into offense, showing his athleticism on a few transition dunks. Physically, he can defend players taller than him as well as stay in front of guards on the perimeter, ultimately coming away with 6 steals and a block.
Nikolas Khamenia 6’8 210 PF – Duke
Khamenia is a skilled four-man. He scored 7 points going 3-5 on his shot attempts. He was best running the floor to score in transition or on putbacks with 4 of his 7 rebounds coming on the offensive end. He had two and-ones and made a few nice passes to record 3 assists in the game.
Meleek Thomas 6’4 180 PG/SG – Arkansas
Known for his scoring, Thomas only had 6 points in this one. He shot 2-5 from the floor, hitting a nice scoop layup after cutting and a 3PT pull-up off a screen. He also had 4 rebounds and a nice defensive play pressuring Shon Abaev for a turnover.
Brayden Burries 6’4 200 PG/SG – Undecided
Burries also contributed with 6 points. He shot 3-8 FG showing a few nice layups and a transition dunk. He’s a good ball-handler but can play on or off the ball as we saw. He also pulled down 4 rebounds for the West.
Mikel Brown 6’3 170 PG – Louisville
Brown only scored 5 points on 2-4 shooting, but he was great playing off the dribble to get where he wanted and passed the ball very well. He had a nice left-handed take early in the game and a strong drive using a screen for an and-one. He’s a very good pick and roll ball-handler, feeding AJ Dybantsa on one play to ultimately finish with 5 assists to only one turnover.
Caleb Wilson 6’9 205 PF – North Carolina
Wilson’s 3 points all came from the free throw line. He grabbed 6 rebounds and did a good job on the offensive glass where he pulled down 4 of his boards. He must be stronger with the ball as he seems to play off balance a bit, missing all 4 of his shots and recording 1 assist to 3 turnovers.
