FanPost

2014 Donofrio Classic: Villanova targets & commits on April 14th

Josh Verline

I was able to attended the Donofrio Classic last night in Conshohocken at the Fellowship House and saw some great talent on display, including some 'Nova commitments and potential targets. Here is my report of the action:

Game 1

The first game was won by the Old School Cavaliers who were led in scoring by 2016 G/F Lamarr Stevens. Stevens currently has an offer outstanding from Nova so I paid special notice to his game. As mentioned, he led his team in scoring with 25 points but he had to work hard for all of them.

None of his scoring came in any spectacular fashion (no dunks or 3's). Most of his scoring was done at the foul line and scoring off of second chances after he missed some bunnies. Stevens is a legit 6'6" right now and may continue to grow as he is only a sophomore. His game right now reminds me a lot of JayVaughn Pinkston. He did alot of attacking from the wing using spin moves and also banged down low in the post. Pretty sure he didn't even attempt an outside shot.

I did watch him in warmups and his form needs lots of work. He shoots the ball from in front of his head as he brings his right arm in instead of textbook elbow directly under the ball forming a nice 90 degree angle. He was the tallest player on the court and he does possess a pretty nice build for a kid who is just finishing his sophomore year. He used his size and strength to get to the basket but missed a lot of shots within 2-3 feet.

He worked hard on the glass and got a lot of his own misses and recorded multiple and 1's with his putbacks. His handle was pretty nice for a 6'6" wing player and he has nice change of direction that allows him to get his defender on his hip and then uses his size and strength to get to the rack. All in all I wasn't that impressed by him at this point in his career. He is a D1 prospect for sure with his size, handle and energy he plays with but I don't think he is a high major recruit. It is interesting that Nova is the only Big 5 school to offer him at this time. Lot of talk that he will have a huge summer and pickup for high major offers and for his sake I hope he does.

Game 2

The 2nd game was won by Bucks County All Stars who featured 2015 shooting guard commitment Donte DiVincenzo. The first game went into OT so admittedly I only stayed for the first half this game.

Donte started on the bench and didn't check in until about 5 minutes into the game. He didn't get a chance to do much while I was watching but you can see that you definitley plays with a swagger and confidence. His shooting form is great but what really stood out was his athleticism. He put on a dunk show in warmups and the bounce in this kids legs are ridiculous, especially for a 6'4" white kid. He threw down a nice dunk in the first half when he was able to leak out and get in front of the pack. He looks equally able to get good lift if dunking of one or two feet.

He will likely get a lot of Arch and Nardi comparisons but he is much more of a Randy Foye type with his athleticism. He threw a great half court alley-oop lob to from just inside half court that looked effortless and was exactly where it needed to be. I checked out at half time so I can't comment on his second half.

The recipient of the perfect lob that Donte threw was 2015 shooting guard Trey Lowe. Lowe led all scorers w/ 39 points and is apparenlty starting to get interest from 'Nova. Not gonna write much on him but he did look real nice. He was hitting threes from deep and also had some crazy bounce in his legs.

The championship of the Donofrio Classic is tonight and features Stevens vs. DiVincenzo. Admission to the game is only $6 and the proceeds go to charity. Check it out!

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