Big Ten McDonald's All-American Game Recruit Evaluations Part 2

Earlier this spring, the McDonald's All-American game took place featuring some of the nation's top future college players. Last year's game featured the likes of Melo Trimble, D'Angelo Russell, and James Blackmon Jr., all of whom were unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. 

This year's team featured four future Big Ten players in Caleb Swanigan, Deyonta Davis, Diamond Stone, Thomas Bryant, and one player who is being heavily recruited by Michigan: Jaylen Brown. Below I have included my thoughts on each players performance. It should be noted that all star games do usually highlight various one vs. one matchups but leave a bit to be desired when it comes to actually running plays, taking care of the ball, making proper shot selections, etc.

The first part of this breakdown focused on Michigan State commit Deyonta Davis and (now) Purdue commit Caleb Swanigan and the today's part will focus on Indiana commit Thomas Bryant, Maryland commit Diamond Stone and Michigan target Jaylen Brown.

Player Evaluations

- Diamond Stone (5-Star Center)

Of all the projected centers in the game, Diamond Stone proved to be the most polished and complete. Stone already has great size for the 5 spot and had soft hands and great footwork. Stone was able to use his 6'10" length to alter shots and showed the ability to step out on outside shooters which will come in handy when defending pick and rolls. Stone showed tremendous poise around the hoop and was even able to knock down a shot at the elbow.

Stone is one of the most complete and advanced high school centers I've seen. I believe he will start from day one for Mark Turgeon's Terrapins and will be one of the big reasons why the Terrapins will be favored to win the Big Ten and will have legitimate final four hype. Stone's post skills will force teams to stay honest on defense which will should help open things up for Trimble and Layman. Stone could also prove to be deadly in the pick and roll with his size and shooting skill.

[Read more after the break.]

- Thomas Bryant (5-Star Center)

One of the things I find most frustrating about games like this is when forwards and centers find themselves drifting to the perimeter on most offensive possessions because they have spent a bit of time working on an outside shot. Thomas Bryant is not that type of player. Bryant knows his bread and butter is in the paint and I found this to be extremely refreshing. My favorite part of Bryant's game was his hustle to get into his spot. Bryant would sprint to his position which lead to plays where he would be able to take his man one vs. one for an easy score. On multiple occasions Bryant used his 6'10" frame to seal his man and finish above the rim with ease. In the half court set Bryant showed a high motor and put in the work to gain good positioning off the ball. When he finally received the ball he showed great patience and poise to maneuver for an easy finish.

To become a truly dominant college center, Bryant desperately needs to put on more weight. This will prevent him from getting bodied out of the lane and will help him to become more of a rebounding force. At this point, Bryant relies too much on his above average length to get by. Look for Bryant to easily add 15-20 lbs this summer to his 220 lb frame.

The player comparison that comes to mind when I watch Bryant is former Hoosier Cody "Big Handsome" Zeller. Zeller was great at running the court and putting himself in a position to attack before the defense was set. Look for Bryant to lockdown the starting center position for Tom Crean's Hoosiers.

Other Links:

- Terran Petteway To Leave Nebraska Huskers For 2015 NBA Draft

- McDonald's All-American Game Breakdown

- Three Takeaways from Wisconsin vs. Duke

- Jake Layman to Return to Maryland

- Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) Declares For 2015 NBA Draft

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