Prince shoots lights out, but not enough

[realdeal02]

In a narrow 64-62 loss to the Ridgeway RoadRunners, White Station senior J.P. Prince poured in 27 points on 7-9 shooting from beyond the arc (that's right 7-9 from trey land) to go along with 11 rebounds and a vicious tomahawk dunk over Ridgeway pg. Jordan Mincy. Prince still needs to fine tune his point of his release on his jump shot, but he seems to be more comfortable shooting the ball from the outside and seems to love playing before a packed house. If Prince continues to shoot like he did against Ridgeway and if either 6'6 wg Colin Cunningham or 6'4 soph DeAndre Bynum can step thier game up White Station could be a dangerous team in the postseason. J.P. Prince is looking more like the best player in AAA basketball these days.

[btowntigers]

yea as much as i like the Delk boys Prince seems to be pullin away from the pack for Mr. Basketball. Anyone know his averages for the season?

[TraderB]

In a narrow 64-62 loss to the Ridgeway RoadRunners, White Station senior J.P. Prince poured in 27 points on 7-9 shooting from beyond the arc (that's right 7-9 from trey land) to go along with 11 rebounds and a vicious tomahawk dunk over Ridgeway pg. Jordan Mincy. Prince still needs to fine tune his point of his release on his jump shot, but he seems to be more comfortable shooting the ball from the outside and seems to love playing before a packed house. If Prince continues to shoot like he did against Ridgeway and if either 6'6 wg Colin Cunningham or 6'4 soph DeAndre Bynum can step thier game up White Station could be a dangerous team in the postseason. J.P. Prince is looking more like the best player in AAA basketball these days.

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RealDeal, I'd like to offer a few observations on your comments:

 

I agree about JP's jumpshot. Although he hit many 3's VS. Ridgeway, his outside shot appears very awkward, not very smooth. In fact, I was shocked EVERY single time one of his outside shots (beyond 15') went in.

 

As for White Station postseason...I do NOT expect them to be a threat to win the AAA title, this year. They do not have as good a TEAM, as years past. Frankly, I do not expect them to get out of Memphis! I see Fairley and Ridgeway advancing to the sub-state.

 

Your comments about DeAndre Bynum & Cunningham are dead-on accurate. The problem is this....Bynum is absolutely TOO passive on the offensive end. He's fully capable of averaging 16-20 pts per game...easily! Personally, I think he yields to JP too much, instead of looking for/taking his shot--even when its there. It's almost as if he's afraid that JP will get mad or something, if he takes more shots...Bynum passes up way too many open jumpers! He does not use his quickeness and shooting ability often enough.

 

Cunningham is just not that skillful a player, period. He likes shooting 3's...makes a few. He drives to the hole a lot but, often, does not "finish (score)." IMO, He would be more productive in the low post. Yet, he rarely posts up.

 

Basketball is a TEAM game. The best TEAMS win championships.

 

This year's WS squad is not as team-oriented (offensively, anyway) as it's successful predecessors. That's not likely to change between now and playoff time, though the necessary components are actually there. JP is simply allowed to carry too much of the load! I fault the coach. The result: the other players (especially Bynum & Cunningham) don't become as involved in the offense--there's a lot of standing around watching/waiting for JP to do whatever it is that he's going to do. Then, when these players are later needed...they're (obviously) not as comfortable taking the clutch shots as they, otherwise, would be.

 

That ain't a formula for long-term success in basketball.

 

In conclusion, JP is a bona-fide "Mr. Basketball" candidate. His team...well, let just say that White Station will be LUCKY to make it out of Memphis, this year! TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!

 

--TraderB

[gomab2]

btown,

I disagree with you on this one. JP is having a great season, but to say he is "pullin away from the pack for Mr. Basketball" is ridiculous...

 

Reginald Delk is averaging 22 ppg on a team where he shares the ball to two other 15 ppg scorers (Delk and Coleman), and two 9 ppg scorers (Coman and Campbell). That he is unselfish, and still puts up great numbers is a testament to his play... JP is also putting up great numbers, but is shooting the ball a lot more, and doesn't have anyone else on his team averaging double digits: and its not that there is not talent on WS (at least two other D-1 guys in Cunningham and Bynam)...

 

In addition, Reginald is doing this in a much tougher schedule. Northside has wins over Ridgeway, Bolivar (twice), Shannon (MS), Liberty, and Haywood, among others. I can't even name one quality White Station's win outside of Wooddale (and they lost to Haywood by 21)...

 

Northisde is the better team than White Station right now and has many more quality victories, which should give the current edge to Reginald Delk, since their numbers are similar...

Edited January 25, 2005 by gomab2

[btowntigers]

gomab,

everything you said is true and i think reginald is a much more valuable player but as far as Mr. Basketball goes the people that havent seen them play are gonna give the edge to the man whose puttin up bigger numbers which is Prince. Let me compare this to AA...Tyler Smith is the run away favorite for the award, i think you'll agree, but all the things you said about Prince are true for Smith as well. His schedule is much weaker than the ones Willie Kemp or Thad Young plays put he is puttin up bigger numbers. Willie and Reginald have very similar cases, both do way more for the team than score points and have other scorers around them but they still put up great numbers, but you personally have said that your vote goes to Smith.

 

you also have said that you thought Richard Delk would be a finalist as well. Dont you think that Richard would pull some of his votes away, especially from the east TN people who dont know much about them.

 

I agree with you that Reginald is much more valuable and is playing for the better team but in past years the award always goes to the man putting up the bigger numbers, Prince will get the votes from the people who havent seen the 2 play much.

[gomab2]

Actually, great post btown...

As much as I hate to admit it, you're right on the dot with most of your points. Hype also has a lot to do with the process, and Tyler Smith has more than any player in the state, which also gives him the edge in AA...

 

Though in AAA, I think Reginald's stats are similar enough to JP's to not make that big of a difference, while Reginald's team, schedule, sharing points, etc are all superior to JP... Reginald at 22 ppg compared to JP at 24 ppg is not as big of a gap at Tyler's 27 ppg to Willie's 18 ppg... This is why I think Reginald is still the frontrunner, even with the hype JP gets...

 

You did, however, make a very valid point concerning Richard Delk. Though not unreal stats, Richard deserves to be a finalsist as well, and that could take votes from Reginald. Richard, at 15 ppg, 7 apg, and 8 rpg will be competing with Hickman's Dotson, Ridgeway's Niles, Fairley's Mason, and Hunters Lane's Springer for the final spot...

[realdeal02]

Gomab, J.P. shoots over 50% form the field and can score 30 points on 10 shots because he gets to the foul line and those don't count for shot attempts. Reginald Delk might be the front runner because of his teammates but numbers don't lie. 25 points 8 rebounds and almost 7 assist a ball game doesn't lie. Jackson Northside doesn't travel to the big time tournaments White Station does either. Nonetheless, White Station isn't as good as Jackson Northside but J.P. is better than Reginald Delk selfish or not selfish. J.P. has always been known as a pass-first point guard but he's now showing the ability to put the ball in the whole better than anyone in the state. When J.P. starts getting 20 shots a ball game you can compare shot numbers since White Station averages less than 65 points a ball game. Hype is a one game wonder, the truth is J.P.'s one of the top 30 players in the nation. Does Jackson Northside have a first year coach?

[gomab2]

Let me start by saying both are great players... You really can't go wrong with either...

 

No, North Side doesn't have a 1st year coach, but Prince wouldn't be scoring this much if Tippett was still at the helm. I guarantee the scoring would be more balanced...

 

No doubt about it: North Side plays the tougher schedule... Thats not even an argument...

 

Great stats and future college careers for both: JP at 25 ppg, 8 rpg, 7 apg, and Reginald at 22 ppg, 8 rpg, and 6 apg... Both great statlines, but Reginald's stats are diminished due to supporting cast (RiDelk 15 ppg, Coleman 15 ppg)...

 

Anthony Mason Jr may be the third best player, and his stats look like 16 ppg, 8 rpg, and 4 apg, due to balance... But he shares with Jeremy Jones (17 ppg), Reginald Owens (14 ppg), etc...

Richard Delk is also a Top 4 candidate, and his stats read 15 ppg, 7 rpg, and 7 apg... He also shares a lot with ReDelk 22 ppg and Coleman 15 ppg...

___________________________________________________________________

 

Slightly off topic, but who is running PG for White Station??? Just wondering, cause I've read a number of articles lately on national recruiting sites that make claim that JP is a true wing and no longer a PG at the next level, calling into question several key PG attributes that may be lacking from JP's game. Don't get me wrong, they still love him, but he is being called a WG/WF now...

[realdeal02]

After Coacht Tippett left the helm of White Station J.P.'s role of a pg has changed at White Station. DeAndre Bynum is now at the point and J.P. is running the 2 spot. J.P. will still play the point when he gets to Arizona but the fact that Bynum Cunningham,etc aren't making shots forced Coach Will Warren to place J.P. off the ball so his team doesn't get blown out of the building. National publications who have spoken on J.P. being a true wing have written thus because he's been dynamic playing off the ball because he's also a scorer. This only adds to the J.P.'s versatility as it's been said all along along he can guard and play 3 positions on the basketball floor. If I'm a scout or a writer and I see a kid pass the ball all summer and the next time I see him he's scoring 30 points and not bringing the ball up the floor I can only assume that this guys a wing. When Prince gets to Arizona and can pass to shooters and throw lobs and no-looks to Hassan Adams and company he'll rack up a number of assists. Bottom line, Prince is good with the ball in his hands and even better in the open floor where he can create for himself or others. However, playing off the ball is a new role for Prince thus he must learn to move without the ball.

[slimdaddy2005]

I see ya Realdeal. Jp is the leader for Mr. Basketball but Reginald is a close second. IT s gonna be fun to see out it ends up. Traderb you make valid points about Dre and Colin and we will see how the end of the season plays out. Ill holla Realdeal