Man, diving into this high school hoops scouting project was something else. Kicked things off Tuesday morning feeling pumped, but man, the grunt work hit me fast. Grabbed my laptop, a cold Diet Coke, and just plopped down at the kitchen table ready to dig. Needed to figure out who was really lighting it up before states.
First hurdle? Where to even look. My buddy Pete coaches over at Jefferson High, so I texted him right up: “Yo Pete, who scares you most in the tourney?” Got a novel back fast, names scribbled all over – Marcus Fuller from Oakridge? Kid sounds legit. Pete mentioned some power forward from Westfield too, Jamal something. That was gold.
Next up, stats land. Hopped onto the usual high school sports sites. Felt like cracking some ancient code trying to navigate their pages – super slow, layout was messy. Had stats tabs open everywhere: points per game, rebounds, assists, you name it. Scribbled notes like crazy on a yellow pad:
- Marcus Fuller (Oakridge): Dropping 24 PPG? Wild. Smooth jumper apparently.
- Jamal Carter (Westfield): Beast on the boards? Double-doubles every night? Raw.
- Sam Riley (Lincoln): Point guard with crazy vision? 8 assists a night?
Wednesday rolled around, time to watch real footage. YouTubed highlights, scrolled through school Twitter feeds hunting for games. Took hours! Riley’s clips blew my mind – kid passes like he’s got eyes in the back of his head. Saw Fuller nail a deep three with two hands in his face, ice in his veins. Carter though? Dunking on dudes left and right, powerful moves inside. Felt fired up seeing the raw talent.
Hit a wall Thursday trying to get personal takes. Hit up Coach Mitchell from Riverside, begged for 5 minutes. He was swamped prepping his own team, kinda brushed me off: “All those guys on your list can play, kid.” Got a couple sentences about their hustle, nothing deep. Annoying. Called Coach Reynolds later, got his voicemail twice. Finally connected midday. He talked Riley up big time – smart player, glue guy. Pushed him higher on my radar.
Friday was crunch time. Sat staring at my messy pad notes, trying to make sense of it all. Who genuinely stood out? Fuller clearly had that top-scorer shine. Carter felt like the enforcer inside – that physical presence you notice immediately. Riley seemed like the engine making everything click for Lincoln. Just sat there, rearranged the names a dozen times, crossed out others. My neck hurt staring at the screen so long.
Finally nailed it down to those three heavy hitters. Fuller, Carter, Riley. Guys I saw carrying teams, putting up numbers, just… different. Wrapped up the post, threw it online, felt wiped but solid about the picks. Kept it simple: Here’s who you better watch. Now? Just praying they actually blow up at the tourney like my notes say!