http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/sports/...55223.html

Yonel Brown, a rising senior at Berkmar, made a verbal commitment to the Kennesaw State men’s basketball program Monday afternoon. He is the son of Darrell and Sabrina Brown.

The 5-foot-9 point guard was fifth in Gwinnett County in scoring last season, averaging 16.4 points to go with 3.1 assists. He averaged 14.7 points for the Patriots as a sophomore starter.

So I guess we like short guys :) Our two signings so far have been sub 6'0". I guess it gives hope for the little guys out there.

I have watched a bunch of highlights of him, and he can play. Pretty excited about Yonel. Simple things you can look for in this highlight is how he keeps his shoulders square when repositioning for a shot, or his change of direction with the ball. He has great ball control, which only comes with a lot of work in the gym. Yonel is a great sign, and should be a very good player for us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHexHGJwRSQ

KB: thanks for the link to highlights. Saw him play a year or so ago, he's solid. In addition to the things you mentioned, a guy that can create and pull up off the dribble is almost unstopable. Probably will work on a quicker release, but he's got the fundamentals, court savy, and can just flat out play.

Good find Mr. Hunt. Now, we just need to get a few big bodies...

His release is just fine, doesn't need to work on that abit. Just needs to keep getting stronger and work on his ability to finish in traffic over college post men. That is the real transition for some of these smaller players. Golden Ingle was so good at floaters and positioning his body to finish in the lane. From some of the highlights I have seen of Yonel he has the ability to do the same thing. For a 5'10" guard, I am REALLY excited about this kid.

The thing I like from the highlight video is that in addition to his ability to create and orchestrate, he appears to have pretty good range from behind the arc.

@ KB says:
"His release is just fine, doesn't need to work on that abit. Just needs to keep getting stronger and work on his ability to finish in traffic over college post men." ----

which is why he will need to get it off a little quicker. It is something that a lot of shorter guards have to work on when moving on to college ball. In high school, you get away with it as you have the ability to create more space. When you get to college there isn't as much space to get the shot off. It's not a big thing, as he's got very good form and fundamentals, but it will need to get quicker. Nothing a little work in the gym won't help.

Seems like a good pickup. His release is fine and the fact that he shoots at his apex even on long range three pointers is a good sign of a solid shooter. I played for a coach on the Berkmar staff, and he has the highest basketball IQ of anyone I have ever met, not saying I have met many of the greats but he is very talented at his job. With that in mind, and the fact that the head coach is one of the best in the state of GA, he seems to be a really good recruit and will be determined to be good as well.

From the two recruits Preston has signed both have been short but solid ball handlers and solid shooters from the videos. I wonder how this will impact his offensive style. I know that at the guard position is where we are not necessarily deep like we are in the post, but our post men aren't very physical big guys. I guess we will have to see how Preston develops the young talent at post of Dawson, Anderson and Osemhen to a more balanced game or a guard shooting heavy Princeton style offense.

My guess is that Preston is just looking for players that he can trust with the ball. That has been one of our greatest weaknesses the past few years is that we don't have anyone that we can give the ball to and feel good about it. Spencer was really a combo guard, Kelvin couldn't get past anyone off the dribble, and Markeith never really improved his ball handling. Getting a few players in (even if they are undersized) that can handle the ball should pay some dividends. Hopefully these new guys have the tenacity of Spencer, the shooting ability of Kelvin, and the power of Markeith to go along with ball control :)