In Capital Classic, Maryland-bound power forward looks college ready
The good news at the 39th annual Capital Classic Saturday night at T.C. Williams was that the on-again, off-again commitment of Sam Cassell, Jr. is apparently back on. The bad news was the play of the Baltimore guard, who looked the least ready of five Maryland commits on the floor Saturday night to step up to the next level. Here are the five and how they looked, ranked by their readiness to contribute.
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- Shaquille Cleare (14 points) – He was listed in the program at 6-10, 260 pounds. The weight looked correct. The height was probably three inches too generous. He played as advertised. Has very good hands, a no-nonsense, low-post game, and a ferocious rebounder and defender. Should be a perfect complement to skinny center Alex Len. Looks ready to step in and contribute immediately.
- Seth Allen (10 points) – Scored all his points in the second half, all on layups. Jump shot needs work and much more trajectory. Polished, unselfish player. Showed a quick first step and got to the rim without much effort. Scored on driving layups on three straight possessions. Advertised as a combo guard, but looked like a pure point. If Maryland coach Mark Turgeon leaves Terrell Stoglin off the ball, Allen looks like he has the stuff to challenge Pe’Shon Howard for the starting point guard job.
- Damonte Dodd (6 points) – Had a quiet night as he didn’t touch the ball much. Made an impact however with a pair of eye-opening dunks. Showed quickness and plenty of bounce. Listed at 6-7 but actually looked taller and lighter than his listed 240. Angular build but appears broad enough in the shoulders to be able to put on weight. Good basketball body.
- Charles Mitchell (7 points) – Listed at 6-7, 230. Looked at least 25 pounds heavier. Has lots of work to do on his body, but showed amazing quickness for his size and some ball-handling ability as he dribbled three-quarters of the way down floor, driving in traffic for a fast-break basket. Bolted off the wing and rose for a dunk, but didn’t have the lift to get it done. Tired quickly. His best moments were postgame. Fun-loving personality will be welcome in a Maryland locker room devoid of characters since the departure of Greivis Vasquez.
- Sam Cassel, Jr. (12 points) – Showed explosiveness and a sweet shooting stroke. On consecutive possessions, hit three straight jumpers, including two 3-pointers. Trouble is the hot streak only emboldened Cassel who subsequently fired several low-percentage shots, became agitated with calls with little justification, and cursed a referee. Looked like an entitled type who could quickly test the patience of Turgeon.
