B-Ball Update: Warren Wants to Stay in NC, Pack Players Battle Heels

TJ WARREN PREFERS PLAYING IN NORTH CAROLINA
Just when you thought the TJ Warren saga couldn’t take another turn, it does.

Warren, a 2012 standout forward who just transferred from the local Word of God to Brewster Academy in New England has recently told KYSportsBuzz.com that he likes Kentucky but would like to stay in North Carolina to play his college ball.

What does that really mean? Well it’s pretty significant if true because the only two North Carolina schools that are heavily involved are NC State and UNC. Duke has been in contact but did not make it onto Warren’s top 7 he announced late last week.

We had the feeling that the move up north to Brewster didn’t bode well for the Pack’s chances, but with this statement it seems that NC State never really lost any footing at all. Warren grew up a State fan so picking UNC over them would seem almost sacrilegious, right? You think so, but in today’s recruiting world nothing comes as a surprise.

NC STATE PLAYERS HOST UNC PLAYERS IN SUMMER PICK-UP GAME
It’s just summer pick-up basketball but it’s still State vs. Carolina which is why it should peak your interest. On Monday afternoon. It wasn’t anything organized and featured a lot of old faces along with some of the current players. Here is who was reportedly there.

For NC State: Lorenzo Brown, Scott Wood, CJ Leslie, CJ Williams, DeShawn Painter, Tyler Harris, Alex Johnson Jordan Vandenburg, Julius Hodge and more…

For UNC: Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall (did not play), Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Sean Mays, Ray Felton, Jackie Manuel and more…

Here are some of the reports that we received:

- Lorenzo Brown looked strong and more importantly confident. Brown is seemingly really stepping into leader mode. Played well, scored well and was guarded by Ray Felton a majority of the time. Same game you saw last year. Silky smooth on both ends of the court, but more assertive and aggressive than you’ve seen before.

- Scott Wood didn’t play too much but knocked down 3s when he got open looks. Wood didn’t flash any new wrinkles to his game, like the ability to score off the dribble, but then again he didn’t get much run. Looking as if Scott is going to be a dead-eye spot up shooter once again, but should get better looks in the UCLA high post offense.

- CJ Leslie played hard but still had his moments. His shot is definitely improving, but his selection and feel for game can still use some touching up. We were told that he looked tired but pushed himself to compete. Threw down a few nice dunks (as expected) and hit a few jumpers early on. One note is that when he catches the ball and readies himself to shoot, he’s gotten very conscious of squaring his feet, which shows that someone has been in his ear.

- DeShawn Painter was the most talked about player in the scrimmage. He was a monster by all reports and we were told that he was giving Sean May all he could handle in the post. He scored inside and out and looked far more assertive and mobile than he has in the past. Wasn’t backing down to contact or to the smack talk that the older UNC guys were throwing his way. We’re excited to see Painter come along this season.

- CJ Williams physically looked like stronger, more conditioned. He reportedly played well. Played within himself but again showed signs of breaking out. Was told that CJ was more aggressive, more confident than we’ve seen.

- Alex Johnson didn’t put on the long range show that he did in last week’s Pro-Am but he did showcase some skills that will be needed come season time. Johnson was a true floor general. It was obvious that he already has 3 seasons of college ball under his belt. Johnson was confident with his handle and played the point well, looking for the open man and never really forcing anything that wasn’t there. He hit a few shots but was looking to find the open man more than he was searching out his shots.

- Tyler Harris didn’t play much either but we’re told that as soon as he entered the game he buried two quick 3 balls on Harrison Barnes. Was also told not to sleep on Harris because he might be able to contribute some real minutes this season. He’s a tall kid with a good stroke, but I’ve always worried about his physicality….apparently I shouldn’t because I’m told he was actually trying to mix it up inside a little bit.

- Vandenberg didn’t play much but looked similar to last year.

Here’s Julius Hodge’s breakdown:

As for the outcomes…

Here is a video we came across filmed by someone in attendance. It’s just a warmup dunk by Lorenzo but it’s pretty amazing none the less