Gopher Freshmen Make Debut

Howard Pulley League

One of the best things about the Howard Pulley League is the opportunity to catch an early glimpse of the incoming Gopher freshmen. That was the case Tuesday night, when Brandon Smith and Damian Johnson made their debuts for the very athletic Sabes/Petters team in the nightcap. Gopher fans weren’t the only ones interested in watching, as Adam Boone, Vincent Grier, Jerry Holman, J’son Stamper, and Jonathan Williams were all in the stands to watch the young guys.

The opening game had a few treats and surprises as well. Perennial power A&A Millwork, with former Gophers Randy Carter and Arriel McDonald, appears to have had the best offseason, as they bolstered their lineup with Moe Hargrow and the Timberwolves’ Trenton Hassell.

Still, the Errol Carlstrom Playaz gave them a run for their money, thanks to strong play from former Gophers Mike Bauer and Mitch Ohnstad and a very impressive showing from Minnesota State’s Jamel Staten. The game was dead-even throughout with A&A escaping 93-89 in the final seconds.

Hargrow was the go-to guy for A&A for much of the game and finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was 6 for 10 from the field in the second half with a couple of long jumpers and several impressive finishes inside. Moe also had a couple of great assists off of penetration, something we’ll hopefully be seeing more of.

Trenton Hassell was pretty quiet for the first 3/4 of the game but took over down the stretch with a couple of 3-point plays off of strong post-up moves. Mike Bauer had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Playaz, but it was Staten who was most impressive with several strong drives and finishes inside.

The late game matched Compass Financial against Sabes/Petters. Sabes/Petters had all of my attention going in, with current Gophers Smith, Johnson, Zach Puchtel, and Ryan Saunders, but Compass turned out to be a pretty athletic and talented team as well, turning this into a more entertaining game than expected.

Also making it better than expected was the play of Jamar Smith, cousin of Brandon. Jamar is a 6’2″ guard who will be a sophomore at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa this season. I had seen him briefly a few years ago and had heard rumblings about his talent, but I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I’m now a believer.

Jamar raced out of the gates, going 7 for 9 for 16 points in the first half. He’s a big-time athlete who plays well above the rim, and he also has excellent strength and quickness. He handles the ball well and is a nightmare to defend. Case in point, Jamar had a one-on-one break in the second half with the defender back in excellent position. Not only did Jamar cross him over and get to the hoop, he finished with a monster dunk that I absolutely did not see coming. He finished the game with 31 points, although he faded a bit down the stretch. I need to see more of his jumper to know just how good he is (he was 2 for 4 on NBA 3s, which isn’t bad), but he’s certainly a big-time prospect for Gopher fans to keep an eye on (especially with his cousin already on the team).

As for the new Gophers, both took a few lumps early but finished with decent debuts. Brandon Smith scored just 2 points in the opening quarter but finished the game with 18 on 7 for 10 shooting. He also had 3 blocks and a couple of rebounds. Brandon is a big-time athlete with an excellent build (just like his cousin), and he plays strong for a freshman. That’s where he was most effective in his 12-point second half – getting to the rim and finishing strong (he earned 3 trips to the line for 3-point play opportunities).

Damian isn’t quite the 6’7″ he’s listed at (and probably not the 190 pounds either), but he’s long and plays pretty big for his size. He definitely likes to shoot the 3 (more so than I would like from the NBA line), but while his stroke is good, the consistent touch isn’t quite there yet (he did hit 1 of 3 in the game but missed several in warm-ups). Like Smith though, once Damian got his feet wet, he played pretty well. He’s an aggressive shot blocker (he had 4 blocks for the game), and he is also very active tracking down rebounds (5) and loose balls. Offensively, his bread-and-butter move appears to be taking a few dribbles and then pulling up for a mid-range floater (which he did successfully several times). Damian finished with 18 points and would have had more were it not for some cramping problems in the 4th quarter.

Neither Puchtel or Saunders scored by my count, and neither did former Gopher lineman Matt Anderle, who gets up and down the court well for a big guy.

Talk about the Pulley League on our Gopher Basketball message board.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *