Donivine Stewart @ Pekin

[wily coyote]

Yup. Me too. I certainly didn't come out of the game saying 'Oh man I wish we had Tracy Abrams' like I did when I saw DS play against Kendren Johnson (Vanderbilt recruit). Johnson remains the best HS player I have seen in person in years. While I think Abrams just had a bad game, nothing he did wowed me or made me think he was on a different level than Donivine.

I couldn't agree with you more. Normally a kid going to a BCS school stands out. Didn't see anything like that from TA.

[Deadguy35]

If you can't make it to tonight's Limestone vs. Lanphier game, you can listen to the game on sportsradio1450.com:

http://www.holidaytournament.com/pairings.html

http://www.sportsradio1450.com/

[runninfiend]

i'll say it again, DS is very frustrating to watch. he gives little or no effort on defense, rarely crashes the boards, and is often standing around. his numbers look ok, but if you watched that game, his effort is pathetic. weeks and lawson are the only two rockets who really give anything close to full energy.

abrams to me looked the better player, but only slightly. excellent ballhandler, a bit more athletic than DS, it was hard to tell though since the game was mostly low energy. i was right behind the bench and it sounded to me like abrams was benched for poor effort and attitude. he sat the entire fourth quarter.

what's up with this trend? the entire morton starting five was benched last night for the fourth and almost fell to the 16th seed.

lanphier looks pretty good, i wouldn't be surprised if they beat limestone. at this point i'd make boylan the tournament favorite. athletic, disciplined, and play good d. morton was sleepwalking for much of their game and may be feeling all the hype placed on them. i don't see them as a clear mid illini favorite--more on par with washington (who already crushed them), limestone, and maybe even pekin.

great tournament as always, even if the overall team level is a bit down. pekin is always fun.

[Future Walk-On]

ohhh. Larry Austin is supposed to be real good for Lanphier. That will be a cool matchup with DS. Although he is a freshman, I think he is playing varsity well.

[BradleyBrave]

I have never seen a worse zone than I just saw from Limestone. It was a layup line for Lanphier from start to finish. Donivine shot much better and ended with 31, but Limestone was never really in the game the whole 2nd half. Lanphier wins 74-65.

[BradleyBrave]

Well, the night games left a lot to be desired. Morton looked like they were just practicing for the first time, although I think Boylan had a lot to do with that. Was about a 20 pt game late in the 4th when I left.

[Da Coach]

The Pekin Tournament people do a good job with updates and stats for the game on their website. Also, great pictures!

Springfield Lanphier 74
Limestone 65

http://www.holidaytournament.com/game14.html

stats-

http://www.holidaytournament.com/Game14stats.html

[AE Braves Fan]

DS had a good game against Lanphier. He got to the rim at will. He is always patient and never picks up his dribble early. Great ballhandler.

As another poster noted, he doesn't play defense. This will have to change if he wants to play next year.

I really like Lawson. Still a little raw but very athletic and quick for his position. If he grows another couple inches I think he could be a good college player.

[Da Coach]

Donivine had only 1 turnover in the 2nd game today for a total of 2 turnovers in 3 games despite being the primary ball-handler, and playing almost every minute of the 3 games.
Donivine has spent a lot of time scrimmaging with Bradley players over the summer, and people who have seen him play against college players say his defense is fine. He is a very intelligent player and capable of playing good defense.

[BradleyBrave]

DS had a good game against Lanphier. He got to the rim at will. He is always patient and never picks up his dribble early. Great ballhandler.

As another poster noted, he doesn't play defense. This will have to change if he wants to play next year.

I really like Lawson. Still a little raw but very athletic and quick for his position. If he grows another couple inches I think he could be a good college player.

Agree on all counts. However, I am not overly concerned about his defense. As he and his team showed tonight, they clearly aren't coached at defense whatsoever. He's got the ability to defend, and has shown he can defend when he wants to. He has a very high basketball IQ, so he'll learn.

[real fan]

Looking at the stats Limestone lost the game at the free throw line.

[BradleyBrave]

Looking at the stats Limestone lost the game at the free throw line.

Eh, it may appear that way, but that really wasn't the case. Despite Limestone playing a zone, Lanphier spent most of the 2nd half doing layup drills. A lot of those FT's were in the 4th quarter which kept the game from becoming a total blow out. At no point in the 2nd half was Limestone ever a threat. I'm not sure it ever became less than a 2 possession game at any point in the 2nd half.

[tornado]

Lanphier's AJ Powers had quite a game..13-17 and 27 pts/6 rebs
Their PG, freshman Larry Austin, JR is getting recruiting attention form U of I...

[BradleyBrave]

Lanphier's AJ Powers had quite a game..13-17 and 27 pts/6 rebs
Their PG, freshman Larry Austin, JR is getting recruiting attention form U of I...

I was impressed with Austin. He has the build of a freshman, but definitely the game of an upperclassman, and is fearless going into the lane. FWIW, I was more impressed with Austin than I was Abrams, but again I think I caught Abrams in one of his worst games of the year.

[real fan]

Eh, it may appear that way, but that really wasn't the case. Despite Limestone playing a zone, Lanphier spent most of the 2nd half doing layup drills. A lot of those FT's were in the 4th quarter which kept the game from becoming a total blow out. At no point in the 2nd half was Limestone ever a threat. I'm not sure it ever became less than a 2 possession game at any point in the 2nd half.

12 out of 28 at the line and you lose by 9, was not there but stats do not lie, 21 out of 28 gets you a tie.