re: Basketball Recruiting Thread

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Had the opportunity hang out with several high school and Division 2 coaches and watch Kevin Puryear play last night. Blue Springs South was up against Lees Summit West in one of the championship games of the William Jewell Holiday tournament.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm a big KA fan and was hoping to come away incredibly impressed by Puryear. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Anyone expecting Puryear to be anything more than a bench player at the Division 1 level is going to be sorely disappointed.

He has zero interest in playing near the basket and taking on any contact as an undersized four. Instead he is a 6'7"-6'8" wing who can't put the ball on the floor and isn't near quick enough to guard the position. The majority of the game he was guarding Jared Dixon and couldn't keep him from attacking the basket. Lot count of how many times Dixon drove by him for layups where Puryear didn't even attempt to contest/block the shot. It was incredibly disappointing to watch.

What stood out more than anything though was his complete lack of a right hand. It's so bad that he doesn't even step foot on the right side of the court. Not an exaggeration....he never stepped foot on the right half of the court on offense during the second half. It became a running joke during the game among several coaches.

He does have a nice looking jumpshot and looked good at the free throw line. Hard to imagine though that he'll be able to create his own shot at Mizzou. The quickness and explosiveness just isn't there.

I'm hoping he's the kind of kid who turns it on and really steps up his game when going up against elite competition.

I came away far more impressed with Landry Shamet from Park Hill who'd committed to Wichita State.

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