More Honors for SIU's Jamaal Tatum

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Named the Tournament???‚¬?„?s Sportsmanship Award, and given high praise for his performance at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

"Southern Illinois???‚¬?„? Jamaal Tatum had one of the more impressive stat lines of the week, tallying 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. He also earned the Tournament???‚¬?„?s Sportsmanship Award. He???‚¬?„?s a terrific kid, and a pretty good player to boot. Though his NBA prospects appear slim for the moment, you can???‚¬?„?t discount a player like Tatum."



Regarding Nate Funk:
"Creighton???‚¬?„?s Nate Funk didn???‚¬?„?t score much in his final outing, but dished out 10 assists. He???‚¬?„?s the type of player who doesn???‚¬?„?t jump off the page, but always seems to be in the right spot doing something to help his team. The reviews from NBA teams were very positive."

http://www.nba.com/news/pit_070409.html

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More words on Tatum, et al at Portsmouth:

Jamaal Tatum:
"Applied excellent perimeter defense on any point guard that he was matched up on. Offensively Tatum made some key shots off the dribble. The questions about him not being a point guard where clearly answered as he controlled the tempo and created scoring opportunities for his teammates. Tatum was viewed by some as the best point guard in the camp due to his consistency and defense. Did over penetrate at times but to his credit did an excellent job."

Anthony Tolliver:
" I actually came away a little impressed with Tolliver as he never backed down despite being shorter and lighter than his opponents. Tolliver has a lot of physical gifts. Great hands and an NBA body to absorb contact and convert. Definitely a candidate for the NBDL. Rebounding while not bad should be better when you consider his athletic gifts.

Warren Carter:
" Showed flashes during the camp including consistently hitting his 16 foot jumper. Despite this, he was relatively quiet. He will have to do more if he wants to make it. Carter has the skills but there are some big question marks. For instance, what position will he play and most importantly has his potential peaked as a player/body wise? At the moment he???‚¬?„?s a NBDL candidate with a remote shot of getting drafted."

In the "Unimpressive" category-

Blake Ahearn:
The gifted shooter tried too hard at times to prove other parts of his game. In many of the games it was common for him to get stripped of the ball trying to take quicker guards off the dribble. When he finally settled down and played to his strengths, he nailed a few three point shots. Confidence looked like it may have wavered as his shooting was clearly off for most of the tournament.

And for Da Coach....I know he has feelings about Sammy Mejia:
"Looked to shoot nearly every time he touched the ball. While his ball handling ability shows some promise his erratic shooting leaves much to be desired. Lacks the speed to have much of a chance."


Nate Funk:
".......not terrible"

http://nbadraft.net/2007portsmouth001.asp