Thoughts on the 2022 Reese’s College All-Star Game

April 1^st, 2022

By Alan Lu

Today, I took the time to watch the 2022 Reese’s College All-Star Game.  This featured many prospects that could end up being selected in the 2022 NBA Draft.  It was a fun, entertaining, fast-paced game, and a lot of players played well in this match.  The East was able to get a double-digit win over the West, and Grant Golden and Mark Smith were named the MVPs of this game.  Buffalo’s 6-5 senior guard, Jeenathan Williams also had a strong showing in this contest, and he was perfect from the field to help lead the East to get the victory.  Also, for those that are interested in the box score of this game, here is the link, via Kansas State University Athletics.

Jeenathan Williams put forth a magnificent performance to help lead the East to a double-digit win in the 2022 Reese’s College All-Star Game.  He is a smooth scorer that would often score on strong drives to the hoop, and he has a good first step that can enable him to consistently get all the way to the rim.  Williams would tend to favor going to his left, but he can also finish plays using either hand, and he is a strong scorer that can absorb the contact to regularly score and draw fouls off the dribble. 

He also thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  He used a Euro-step move to score on a smooth drive in transition, and he also drove the baseline to score on an emphatic, breakaway dunk another time.  He also ran in to score on a put back.  Plus, he also made a nice step-back three to show his shooting skills from beyond the arc.

Also, Williams showed off decent playmaking skills.  He is an unselfish player that made good passes off the dribble, and he can make swift drop-off passes to set up scores for his teammates.  Sometimes though, he would rush his passes, and he had a couple of them get intercepted.

He also played very good defense in this game.  He did a great job of poking balls away from opposing ball handlers to rack up steals for his team.  Overall, Jeenathan Williams turned in a terrific showing to lead the East to get the win in this game.  He is a strong, athletic swingman that showed a knack for making his shots, and he played very well on both ends of the floor.  Williams looks to be a sleeper prospect for the upcoming draft, and he could end up being a very good pick in the second round on draft day.

Gabe Brown also had a strong showing, and he excelled as a shooter and passer for the West.  He shot the ball very well, especially from beyond the arc.  Brown is a very athletic forward that showed a knack for making spot-up threes off the catch.  He also managed to score on a drive in transition.  Plus, he also passed the ball very well.  He threw accurate passes off the dribble and out of the post, and he would consistently find open shooters.  Brown also dribbled to his left and threw a swift, behind-the-back pass to a shooter to notch an assist early on.

He also was able to haul in boards on both ends of the floor to chip in on the glass.  Brown played adequate defense in this game.  He was able to pick off a pass to get a steal, but he also fouled a three-point shooter another time due to over-aggressiveness.

Overall, Gabe Brown played very well, and he especially thrived as a shooter, scorer, and facilitator on offense.  He is an intriguing prospect that could project well into a 3 and D role in the NBA, and he could be a solid pick for a team in the second round of the 2022 draft.

Grant Golden also played very well, and he consistently played well on offense and grabbed numerous boards to help the East get the win in this game. Golden thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  He excelled at scoring on fast breaks and rolls to the rim.  He is a high-motor big man that would run the floor hard, which would enable him to score on layups around the basket.  Also, he did a great job of scoring in the post.  He has very good hands to catch passes, and he would often score from the block.  He was able to use a quick spin move to score on a smooth, turnaround layup, and he also managed to score on a jump hook another time.  He didn’t really look to take many shots from the outside, but he didn’t really have to in this match.

He also showed off adequate playmaking skills.  Golden is an unselfish player that will pass the ball a lot, and he tends to make good reads on the floor.  He can pass out of the post as well as off the dribble, and he can find his teammates on the move to notch assists.  Sometimes though, he will be too aggressive with his passes, and sometimes his teammates may not always be ready to catch them.  He had a couple of them get intercepted, and he also threw a bounce pass that ended up sailing out of bounds.

Also, Golden did a very good job of rebounding the basketball, and sometimes he would push the ball quickly up the floor off of defensive boards.  Overall, Golden is a skilled big man, and while he may not be a great athlete and still needs to work on his face-up game, his passing skills and feel for the game could enable him to compete for a roster spot in the NBA next season.

Kansas State’s 6-5 senior guard, Mark Smith also played very well for the West, and he had a solid all-around game today.  He especially thrived as a facilitator and rebounder, and he showed that he can be a triple-double threat on the floor.

He excelled at attacking the hoop to score the basketball.  Smith showed a knack for scoring off the dribble in this game.  He would score on strong, left-handed drives to the hoop, and he also threw down an emphatic dunk off of a baseline drive another time.  He also utilized a powerful Euro-step move to score on a finger roll on a drive in transition.  Plus, Smith also managed to score on a cut to the hoop.  He also moved off the ball to make a spot-up three off the catch, but Smith struggled to consistently knock down threes or mid-range jumpers in this game.

Also, Smith generally passed the ball well.  He is an unselfish player that can kick balls out to find open shooters, and he threw good passes off the dribble to rack up assists.  However, there was one play where he had a ball poked away from him that led him to commit a turnover.

Plus, he also rebounded the ball very well, and Smith also was active at crashing the glass to get offensive boards.  He also played adequate defense in this game.  Smith was able to poke a ball away to get a steal.  However, another time, he got beat off the dribble, and he ended up committing a foul and allowing the basket that time.

Overall, Mark Smith is a strong, mobile swingman that has a variety of skills that could prove to be useful for the next level.  He showed off solid all-around skills in this game, and he especially thrived at attacking the hoop to get points, rebounds, and assists.  He will need to be a more consistent outside shooter in games, but his versatility and skill set could enable him to make his way to the NBA someday.

Alondes Williams also had a solid showing to help lead the East to get the win in this game.  He is a strong, athletic swingman that played very well, and he especially thrived as a scorer and facilitator when he was on the floor.

Williams generally thrived at scoring on hustle plays.  He particularly excelled at scoring in transition, and he was able to throw down two thunderous dunks late in this match.  He also managed to score on a quick, backdoor cut.  However, sometimes he would miss shots around the basket due to rushing.  Though he didn’t take many threes in this game, Williams also was able to make a step-back three to show his shooting skills.

He also passed the ball very well.  Williams would throw accurate bounce passes to set up scores for his teammates.  On the downside, he had a ball poked away from him when handling the ball once that led him to turn the ball over that time.  Overall, Williams had a solid all-around performance to help lead his team to get the win in this game.  He had a very good senior season this year.  While he’ll still need to improve his outside shot, Williams has shown that he can consistently score and pass the basketball.  He is a skilled, versatile guard that could be a solid pick for a team in the mid to late second round range of the 2022 draft.

Derek St. Hilaire had a solid showing in this game, and he did a good job of knocking down shots and getting free throws in the second half to help the West.  He showed a knack for scoring and drawing free throws on strong drives to the hoop.  Hilaire is a very athletic point guard that can split double teams, and he has a good first step that can enable him to score and draw fouls upon his defenders.  He also was able to make a step-back mid-range jumper, and he also made a three another time.  On the downside, sometimes he would take tough, contested shots that would result in misses.

Hilaire is a score-first guard that would often look for his own shots.  He was able to throw a nifty, behind-the-back pass to a shooter to notch an assist early on.  However, he also threw a bounce pass that got intercepted another time.  He also was quite active defensively.  In this game, he would poke balls away to get steals and deflections for his team.

Overall, Derek St. Hilaire showed a knack for driving to the basket to score and draw free throws in this game.  He will need to show that he can consistently knock down outside shots and reliably run the point at higher levels, but he is a very athletic point guard that may have the skills to make it to the NBA someday.

Tyrese Martin also played fairly well in the East’s win in the 2022 Reese’s College All-Star Game.  He struggled to knock down outside shots, but he thrived at scoring on hustle plays, and he also led all scorers with 22 points in this game.  Martin showed a knack for scoring on off-ball motion plays.  He would often run the floor to score on fast breaks, and he was able to score on a couple of emphatic jams, as well as on a reverse layup off of a drive in transition.  He also managed to score on a strong put back.  Adding to that, Martin also caught a lob pass off of a cut to score on  an alley-oop dunk.

Plus, Martin was able to score on a strong, right-handed drive to the hoop while drawing an extra free throw afterwards.  He also managed to score on a pull-up, mid-range jumper.  He also made a deep three, but Martin struggled to consistently knock down threes in this game.  He also had some trouble scoring out of the post as well.  He also sometimes struggled to handle the ball when pressured, which would lead him to commit turnovers.

Overall, Tyrese Martin had a fairly good showing in this game.  He showed a knack for attacking the hoop to score the basketball.  However, he didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well from the outside, and he also struggled with his ball-handling at times.  He will need to be a more consistent shooter and defender in games, but his athleticism and offensive skills could enable him to compete for a roster spot in the NBA next season.

E.J. Anosike also had a solid showing in this game.  He thrived at making plays in the post, and he also passed and rebounded the ball well to help the West when he was on the floor.

He did a good job of scoring in the post.  Anosike showed a knack for scoring on fadeaway jumpers, and he also used a jab step and dribbled in to score another time.  He also was able to make a turnaround, mid-range jumper.  Plus, he also showed a knack for scoring on fast breaks, and he also scored on an emphatic dunk.  However, sometimes he would struggle to score in traffic, and he had a couple of his shots blocked.

Also, Anosike passed the ball very well.  He made good passes in this game, as he aws able to make a drop-off pass off of a drive to notch an assist, and he also found a cutter to set up another score for his teammate.  He also rebounded the ball very well.  He did a great job of hauling in boards on both ends of the floor.  He also played decent defense in this game, and he would contest shots off the dribble to force misses.

Overall, E.J. Anosike played very well in this game.  The Cal State-Fullerton big man thrived at making plays on both ends of the floor, and he is a high-motor player that also showed off a mid-range shot as well as some passing skills.  He may need to extend his shooting range even further and he will need to continue to improve his outside shot and show that he can regularly defend upper-echelon opponents on the floor, but Anosike is a productive player whose skill set, motor, and intangibles could enable him to make his way to the NBA someday.

Other Notes:

Here were my thoughts on some of the other players that made a fairly favorable impression on me in this game.

D’Shawn Schwartz generally thrived at attacking the hoop to score the basketball.  He particularly showed a knack for scoring on quick put backs, and he also scored on a cut as well as on a drive in transition.  He also drove in to score on a thunderous dunk late in this game.  He excelled as a slasher, finisher, and rebounder, but he struggled to consistently knock down threes in this game.

He is a strong, athletic forward that plays with a very good motor, and the former Colorado and George Mason standout may project into a 3 and D role in the NBA.

R.J. Cole showed off versatile scoring skills, as he showed that he can score off the dribble, and he also made a quick three and scored on a put back.  Cole passed the ball very well, and he consistently threw good interior passes to rack up assists.  He is an agile playmaker that ran the team well.  He didn’t take many shots, but he was efficient in scoring the basketball, and he could project well into a backup point guard role in the NBA.

Chuba Ohams is an athletic, strong big man that made high motor plays to help his team on both ends of the floor.  He wasn’t consistent as a scorer or finisher in this game, but he was able to throw down some powerful jams on the break, and Ohams managed to score on a thunderous, reverse dunk midway through this match. 

He also defended well.  He would get his hands on passes to help his team get steals, and he also blocked a shot in the post to get a stop for his team.  Overall, Ohams will need to improve his scoring skills and he must expand upon his game offensively, but his athleticism, motor, and defensive potential could enable him to compete for a roster spot in the NBA someday.

Taz Sherman shot the ball fairly well, and he had a really good stretch early in the second half to knock down shots for the West.  He is an agile combo guard that excelled at making corner threes, and he was able to move off the ball to knock one down.  He also can score on crafty drives to the hoop, and he has a good set of dribble moves as well as the body control to regularly finish plays around the basket.  

Also, Sherman was able to jump a pass to get a steal in this game.  He was a bit streaky with his jump shot, and he would be inaccurate with his passes at times, but Sherman is an agile, skilled sharpshooter that can score in bunches, and he could project into a microwave scorer off the bench role in the NBA.

Nick Muszynski shot the ball well in this game.  He was able to pull up to make a fadeaway, mid-range jumper off the dribble, and he also made an open three-pointer off the catch.  He also used a shoulder fake to score on a smooth jump hook over a defender when posting up.  On the downside, he had some trouble making plays at times, as he had a ball poked away, and he threw an inaccurate pass that went out of bounds.  He also didn’t shoot the ball very often, but he is a skilled big man that can make shots from all over the floor.  He’s not the most athletic player, but his ability to make shots could enable him to project into a stretch big role for an NBA team off the bench someday.

In conclusion, it was a fun and interesting event, and I was able to watch numerous players showcase their skills in this game. Thanks for reading.