Observations on Josh Reaves, Dylan Osetkowski, and Milik Yarbrough in the Second Game of the 2019 PIT

April 18, 2019

The second contest started out as just as interesting as the first one, but it became more of a one-sided affair as the game wore on. Roger Brown’s took the early lead, but the Norfolk Sports Club had a strong second half to cruise to a double-digit victory. In this game, Josh Reaves, Dylan Osetkowski, Matt Morgan, and Cameron Jackson stood out as the best players in this contest in this part of the match. For those that are interested in the box score of this contest, you can find the link here.

Penn State’s 6-4 senior guard, Josh Reaves played very well, as he showed off versatile scoring skills, and defended very well to help the Norfolk Sports Club get a win over the Roger Brown’s Restaurant and Sports Bar. Reaves did a good job of making spot-up threes off the catch, and he also showed a strong ability to score on hustle plays. He was able to score on a quick backdoor cut to the hoop, and he also ran the floor to score on an alley-oop dunk in transition. In addition, he also was able to accelerate to score on a jam off of a left-handed drive to the basket.

Reaves is an unselfish player that can get balls to shooters to notch assists, and he was quite active at crashing the glass to get offensive rebounds. He also played terrific defense. He would intercept passes, jump on loose balls, and poke balls away to get a plethora of steals, and he also excelled at playing passes to get deflections. Overall, Josh Reaves is a smart, skilled player that made solid plays on both ends of the floor, and he could be a second round pick in this year’s draft, as he could excel as a role player in the NBA.

Texas’ 6-9 senior big man, Dylan Osetkowski played well in his team’s win over Roger Brown’s. He excelled at scoring in the post, as he would often back down his man to score on jump hooks, and he also made an open three to show his shooting range from beyond the arc. He also passed the ball well out of the post, and he did a great job of hauling in boards, as he would often leap up to haul them in on both ends of the floor. He is a mobile player that can roll or pop off of screens, and he is a skilled player that can space the floor for his team. With his skill set, he could be a potential second round pick this year, as he could find a niche role as a stretch big off the bench in the NBA.

Illinois State’s 6-6 senior swingman, Milik Yarbrough had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to the Norfolk Sports Club. He showed a variety of skills for Roger Brown’s, but he would tend to play too wildly and out of control, which would cause him to commit a handful of turnovers. He did show an adequate ability to score on quick drives to the basket. He can quickly get past his man to get to the hoop, and he would tend to draw fouls upon his defenders, as Yarbrough generally did a good job of getting to the free throw line on drives in transition. He also used a crossover to make a pull-up long two, and he also made a deep three, but Yarbrough struggled more to knock down three-pointers from long distance.

While he was able to make a drop off pass on a drive in transition to get an assist, and he also can find open shooters, Yarbrough tended to play too fast and out of control. He tended to throw hasty, inaccurate passes, and there was one play where he waited too long to make a decision before trying to find a shooter, which led to a shot clock violation. Another time, he lost the ball on a drive to the rim due to wildness.

Yarbrough showed a good ability to rebound the basketball. He also played decent defense. Yarbrough was able to intercept a pass to get a steal, but he also committed a foul on a drive on the break. Overall, Yarbrough is an athletic swingman that can attack the basket to garner scores, but he will need to improve his jump shot and play more under control. Right now, he may be a borderline second round candidate, but if he can improve upon his weaknesses, he could end up being an effective role player at the next level.

Cornell’s senior guard, Matt Morgan played fairly well in his team’s win over Roger Brown’s. He excelled at knocking down spot-up threes off the catch, and he also used a quick crossover to make a pull-up, long two-point shot. He also can score on drives to the basket. He also was able to find a cutter to notch an assist. However, he also was turnover prone, as he had some trouble handling ball pressure, which caused him to lose the basketball a couple of times, and he also threw a bad pass backwards another time. Overall, Morgan is an athletic combo guard that can score the basketball, and he could end up being a solid addition to an NBA team’s summer league roster.

Wofford’s senior forward, Cameron Jackson excelled as an inside scorer and rebounder for Roger Brown’s in this game, and he generally played well, though he also was a bit foul prone on the defensive end. Jackson excelled as a finisher around the basket, as he would run the floor to score on the break, and he also managed to score on a put back. He was able to score on a couple of dunks in this game, and he also showed some lost post scoring skills, as he drew free throws on a turnaround jumper.

He also rebounded the ball well. Jackson also played decent defense. He was able to rotate to block a shot off of a drive, and he also was able to deflect an entry pass out of bounds. Also, he managed to contest a shot from a roll man inside the paint to force a miss, and Jackson was active in challenging shots around the basket. However, he also tended to commit fouls in the post, and he ran into some foul trouble at times in this match. Overall, Jackson is a high motor, undersized big man that will hustle to make plays on both ends of the floor, and he could compete for a roster spot in the NBA, as he could be a similar player to Lou Amundson at the next level.

Other Notes:

Nebraska’s senior swingman, James Palmer Jr. had a decent showing, and while he did not shoot the ball efficiently, he made some solid plays in the second half that could help get him second round consideration in this year’s draft. Palmer showed a decent ability to score on quick drives to the basket, as he is a patient player that changes speeds fairly well, and he is a physical specimen that can score on strong, acrobatic layups around the basket. He also would score on put backs off of offensive rebounds due to possessing a good motor. However, Palmer tended to miss on jumpers, as he missed all of his three-point attempts, and he also missed a turnaround jumper in the post another time.

Palmer played very good defense in this game. He was able to intercept a pass and poke a ball away to get steals for his team, and he showed great agility and footwork to hound opposing ball handlers. He also would deflect passes and contest shots to force misses. Overall, Palmer is an athletic basketball player that can score and defend on the court. He will need to be a more consistent shooter, but his ability to make plays on both ends of the floor could enable him to potentially excel as a role player at the next level.

Eastern Michigan’s senior center, James Thompson IV made all of his field goals, even though he did not attempt many of them in this game. He excelled at scoring on hustle plays around the basket, and he is a strong, physical player that can get deep position in the post. He also would run in to get offensive rebounds. But sometimes he would not show great hands, as he fumbled a pass once, and was tied up on an offensive rebound another time that led to a jump ball. All in all, Thompson is a mobile big man that could be a good addition to an NBA team’s summer league roster.

San Diego’s senior forward, Isaiah Pineiro is an athletic, high motor player that made some solid hustle plays on both ends of the court for Roger Brown’s in this game. He will run the floor to score in transition, and he also scored on a quick runner off of a drive to the hoop. Pineiro also was able to knock down a corner three to space the floor for his team on offense. He showed good footwork to hound his opponents defensively, and he also managed to jump a pass to get a steal. Pineiro did not seem to stand out initially, but he quietly played a solid all-around game for his team, and Pineiro could may have the skills to end up in the NBA, as he may have a similar skill set to Dallas Mavericks’ forward, Dorian Finney-Smith.

Texas’ senior guard, Kerwin Roach II was expected to dominate in this match, but he did not do so, and he did not have a very good game on this day. He did play better towards the end, but he generally struggled with his jump shot and with his decision-making ability, as he did not seem to show that he can capably run the point. Roach did show a solid ability to draw free throws on strong drives to the basket in transition. He was able to make a couple of pull-up jumpers, and he even was fouled after making a fadeaway, pull-up three once. However, Roach tended to miss too often on jumpers, as he had trouble getting into a rhythm on offense.

He did handle the ball very well, but Roach tended to be very inaccurate on his passes, and he would often miss his targets or throw the ball too far, which would cause him to commit turnovers. He also played fairly good defense. Roach is a feisty defender that applies very good ball pressure, and he would hound opposing ball handlers to poke balls away to get steals, and he also tied up another opponent to force a jump ball, but sometimes he would commit fouls due to over-aggressiveness.

Right now, Kerwin Roach may be one of the most talented players at this event, and he has had a very good senior season that was capped off by his team winning the NIT this year. But he’s had some character concerns, as he has been suspended multiple times due to violating team rules. He also did not play very well in this game against the Norfolk Sports Club. Roach is a borderline second round candidate whose character concerns could potentially cause him to slip out of the draft, but his vast athleticism combined with his scoring and defensive skills could perhaps enable him to end up being an effective role player in the NBA.

Mississippi State’s 6-10 senior big man, Aric Holman did not have a great game, and he often had trouble getting good passes from his teammates. Roger Brown’s did not really seem to have a point guard that was capable of consistently throwing very good passes on the move to their teammates in this contest, and Holman seemed to suffer as a result of this. Holman is a player that may be highly dependent on ball and player movement, as he did not look to create his own shot off the dribble very often, and he also struggled to knock down threes in this game.

He did take a lot of threes, and he made one from well beyond the arc, but he was unable to get into a rhythm on offense. Holman did make a turnaround mid-range jumper another time. Holman did play fairly good defense. He was able to block a shot and deflect a pass out of bounds, and he also managed to jump on a loose ball to help his team get a steal. Overall, Holman is an intriguing prospect that has had an up and down season this year at Mississippi State. He’s been too streaky of a shooter at times, and he might not be as good of a shot creator as initially thought, but Holman’s ability to shoot and block shots could allow him to compete for a roster spot in the NBA. If he does end up making his way to the NBA, Holman could at best end up being an effective role player similar to Philadelphia 76ers’ rookie big man, Jonah Bolden.

IPFW’s 6-5 senior guard, John Konchar did not stand out overall, but he did have some good moments in the first half. On offense, he showed some scoring skills, as he was able to make a long three, and he also ran the floor to score in transition. He played solid defense, as he dove for a loose ball on the ground to get a steal, and he also ran back to make an impressive shot block to swat a shot out of bounds. Konchar flashed the potential to run the point, as he can kick balls to shooters to set up scoring chances for them, but he was also too passive on offense, as there were too many times where he generally seemed to fade into the background. Right now, Konchar may be a potential second round pick, but if he does make his way into the NBA, he could perhaps be a similar player to former Memphis Grizzlies’ guard, Nick Calathes in the association.