SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Summer Retro: Salt Lake Metro--(Aug. 11, 1999)

So here we go again, writing about guys from Utah.  No they're not from SoCal, but they spent a lot of time here, and lately we've been taking some e-mail hits from the folks in Utah, complaining that we don't write about their boys. . . Well, there are a lot of players from Utah, and we can't possibly hope to write about them all, especially the ones we didn't see this summer. So, we'll just have to stick with what we know.  And one team we got to see many times this summer was Salt Lake Metro.

Salt Lake Metro had a good summer, albeit not a prodigiously successful one.  They performed decently (there were some nice individual performances), but not spectacularly as a team in Vegas at the Big Time. The result was that even though they were among the top 48  "seeded" teams, and guaranteed a berth in the 100 team "Open Bracket" that may not have been such a good thing after all, and had they been in any other bracket, they would have perhaps ended up playing until Monday in Vegas for the "A" or "B" Bracket titles.  As it was, they were one-and-out in bracket play in Vegas.  In pool play, they started out by losing to the eventual tournament finalist, T1T Playaz, a team which had perhaps one of the best players of the summer, Eddie Griffin (6'-8" Sr. PF) who just recently committed to Seton Hall. They then got an easy recovery day, beating a very young Mater Dei team in pool play 80-54, and when we say young, we mean it:   Mater Dei was without Cedric Bozeman, Jamal Sampson, or Steve Scoggin and several others, and they led off with an inexperienced lineup of guys, including talented freshman Harrison Schaen, but even he wasn't enough to stop Salt Lake.  Metro then lost to the Raliegh Razorbacks 66-53, and wound up losing their first game in bracket play in the "Open Bracket" to the Atlanta Celtics. Here are the game-by-game results for the team in Vegas:

Vegas Pool Play Results:

T1T Playaz (NJ) 98, Salt Lake Metro (UT) 58
Salt Lake Metro (UT) 80, Mater Dei (CA) 51
Raleigh Razorbacks (NC) 66, Salt Lake Metro (UT) 53

Vegas Bracket Play--"Open" Bracket No. 3

Atlanta Celtics 74, Salt Lake Metro 61

From Vegas the team traveled to Cal State Dominguez Hills where they played in the Best of Summer Tournament going 3-0 in pool play, and making it to the "Elite 8," where they ultimately lost to Pump N Run Gold in a tough game. From there, the team traveled to San Diego, for the Nike Summer National Championships, where they had a mixed bag, mostly losses but a few wins, and they wound up in the 11th-12th place game, losing ultimately to the Arizona Stars team. But then the real point of most of these games played during the open evaluation period is not who wins or loses, but how well each of the players being scouted plays. . . yeah, right.   That's a nice story, and if you can find a player out there who participated in one of these tournaments who believes that, we'll pay a handsome reward, but unfortunately for the rest of us and the college coaches, the truth really is that no one cares who won or lost, just how well the guys played, which is not always a reflection of the final score.   Who knows, college coaches look for all kinds of things, such as individual defensive ability, size, mobility, quickness, and court-sense, and while several players may standout on a team, the summer-long results for a team doesn't always reflect itself in the individuals comprising a team.  Which is just another long-winded way of saying that even though a team may have done poorly, it may be loaded with great talent. Here's who was on the Salt Lake Metro team:

Derek Dawes (6'-11" Sr. C/F) Cottonwood HS, Salt Lake City-- We've seen and heard so much about Derek that it was hard not to be disappointed with his performance in the first game we saw him in at the Big Time, but then we suspect that any team we saw play againt T1T Playaz with Eddie Griffin and Co., would have been a disappointing performance.   It's not that Derek played badly, it's just that Griffin played so much better, and the rest of the team had tremendous difficulty moving the ball or getting off shots.  Derek is actually a very good post player, with nice footwork, who will need to put on a little more muscle and heft for college, but he's already reasonably strong. He will likely be a mid-major player, and will be a contributor immediately.

Darrin Hammer (5'-11" Sr. PG) East (pictured left)--We actually didn't get to see a lot of Darrin in Vegas or at the Nike tournament. He's a tough ball-handler with good point skills, whose only drawback at the college level will be his lack of height. He's not super-quick, but certainly quick enough to defend players at the low D-I level.  He's definitely a college-level player, we're just not sure who is recruiting him or where he wants to end up.

Andrew Blanchard (6'-8" Sr. F) West Jordan-- Andrew is a good, tall player with a nice shooting touch around the basket, and good, but not great shot-blocking ability.  He is a good rebounder, and with his height and touch around the rim, mostly playing face-up and not much back-to-the-basket stuff, he should be at least a low to mid D-I prospect.  Tons of potential.

Schafer Jackson (6'-2" Sr. SG) Provo-- Guard play was not the forte' of this team, and Schafer, like the rest of the guards, had a very tough time in Vegas with some of the better teams Salt Lake faced. His play got better at the Best of Summer, and he showed a nice touch and good quick release.  He wasn't really able to get open much in the games we saw in Vegas, but he seemed to do much better at the Pump Tournament, and his shooting touch was impressive there.

Jason Baker (6'-2" Sr. SG/PG) South Jordan (pictured left) --Baker is a very athletic player, with good lateral quickness, who is a strong shooter from inside or out.  He has a good handle, can penetrate through traffic, but likes to pull up and take the jumper. Can create his own shot, and we saw him do it several times in Vegas against Mater Dei.   A quick player, with excellent court skills and a nose for the game. Definitely skilled enough to be at least a mid-D-I player. Fundamentally sound.

Mike Higgins (6'-8" Sr. PF) Bingham--Mike is a very strong post player, who rebounds well, moves with and without the ball in the open floor, and plays with great intensity, at least he did in the games we saw.  Did a lot of the dirty work that no one else was either willing or able to do, but hey, he's just one guy, and this team played against some of the best in the country. Definitely D-I material.

Garrett Gregson (6'-5" Sr. F) Skyline-- Garrett is really a very athletic player who also tended to struggle in Vegas, at least in the game against Griffin's team; he did some nice slashing in the game against Mater Dei, but by then the die was cast and Salt Lake's fortunes weren't completely in their hands. Garrett played well at the Best of Summer, and colleges should certainly consider him. An active three man with a nice shot out the arc, he's also a good inside player too.

Tyler Holt (6'-3" Sr. SG) Bingham (pictured left)-- Tyler played well in the game against Mater Dei, but didn't have such a good time against guys like the Atlanta Celtics or against the TIT team, but then nobody did, including the top Salt Lake player Derek Dawes who is about as good a college prospect as anyone on this team.  Tyler has a good shot, nice mobility and plays defense with tenacity.  He struggled a bit in San Diego, but then so did the whole team. 

Seth Scott (6'-9" Sr. PF) Mountain View HS, Orem-- We liked what we saw of Seth. He's got excellent footwork, nice moves and is very agile and has good quickness. He is a good shot from inside and out to about 12'.   Needs to put on a bit of weight, but at 6'-9" he's got the necessary frame to play the college game at the four spot and if he grows a bit more, might even be a five. .

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