Is John Wall the Next Derrick Rose?
Words. HShoop
On the same floor that Brandon Jennings proved to have a “peerless skill set” one year ago, John Wall solidified his status as High School Hoop’s top point guard this weekend at the Pangos All-American camp at USC’s Galen Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.). Though Wall admittedly didn’t attack defenses in his sixth gear as he’s capable of doing, he cranked it up on Sunday’s all-star game to take home MVP honors.
He took the ball to the rack aggressively, looking as quick as anyone in the nation - he could even give Jennings a run for his money. At 6-4, Wall truly is built in the mold of a younger Derrick Rose. And like Rose, he struggles in similar ways. Instead of slowing the pace of the game to make the right pass or the right play, Wall is overly reliant on his physical skills to make things happen. It’s good for him that there wasn’t another player at Pangos, and there might not be another one in the nation who possesses the same skills.
Wall has now had two excellent weekends back-to-back. On May 23rd, he tore up the Bob Gibbons Tournament with his D-One Sports AAU team. Here’s an excerpt from Carolina’s WRAL.com, describing one play from Wall…
“John Wall took a dribble to his right at the top of the key, stopped abruptly, and looked to his right while slinging a one-handed pass to his teammate down low Ryan Kelly, who finished the play with an explosive dunk.”
“As Wall trotted back on defense, he glanced toward the wooden bleachers and put his index finger to his mouth as if to shush the fans inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Or, Wall might have been saying, “There’s much more of this to come.”
Here are some other noteworthy performances from this weekend.
* A name heretofore unknown, Michael Snaer put up at least 20 in each day of action. We’ll be following him closely the next time he sees the floor.
* Kendall Williams is headlining a stacked 2010 class of guards. His heady performance this weekend meshes well with Ben Howland Ball. It’s tough to distinguish one clear leader between Williams and classmate Brandon Knight as the top ‘10 point guard.
* Nevada’s Findlay Prep’s Clarence Trent threw some hellacious dunks down. At 6-7 230 lbs., he’s a versatile forward with a mean streak.
This young man is truly legit and for those who don’t know about him they need to see because he’s going to be a true star.
Way to go “J”
Oh, yes he is the next Derrick Rose and then some.
[...] nation’s top HS point guards, including Lance “Born Readyâ€? Stephenson (NY), Tony Wroten (WA), John “The Next Derrick Rose” Wall (NC), and Abdul Gaddy (WA). It also featured 10 of the nation’s top college point guards, [...]
He is disgusting. He is the best player I’ve seen in a long time. At this point into his collegiate career, he is far superior to Derrick Rose. Derrick was great, but John Wall is a better shooter, quicker, stronger in penetration, gets his teammates involved slightly better. He is better defensively and possibly more athletic. This kid is going to be good for a very, very long time.