ESPN's 2014-15 high school basketball season coverage began with 2015 Buckeye signee Mickey Mitchell. Classmate Daniel Giddens brought some more Buckeye flavor to the "worldwide leader," Monday.
In a matchup also featuring former Buckeye target and Kansas commit Carlton Bragg, Giddens' Oak Hill squad played Bragg's VASJ (Cleveland) team on Martin Luther King Day. They did not guard each other often, but Giddens did manage to protect the rim when Bragg drove.
If you want a preview of the hellish life awaiting future Ohio State opponents who attack the bucket, take a look at this – though Giddens was whistled for a foul, he was not afraid to go for the near block:
When Oak Hill switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense, Giddens was forced to guard the free throw line and extended in the high post. His positioning and VASJ's ball movement took Giddens further away from the rim, which is not ideal.
I do not have any doubts about Giddens' ability to fly in from the weak side or get back in transition, though. Here's why:
Giddens finished the game with four blocks but don't let these Vines fool you – he's much more than a shot-blocking terror.
He displayed his one-on-one defense in a low-post duel with Northwestern commit Derek Pardon. Watch Giddens prevent Pardon from getting better position and then stay vertical while Pardon attempts a shot:
Giddens is a polished defender, he'll be able to contribute on that end during his freshman season in Columbus. He does not have a wide arsenal of low-post moves on offense, however.
He's strong enough but needs to improve, fundamentally, while on the low blocks:
With his defense already at a high level, Giddens has been focusing on his offense. By the time he comes to Ohio State, the hope is he can gain a trustworthy jumper.
As he told Eleven Warriors in July, Giddens was working on his face-up game with Georgia-based basketball trainer Mark Edwards.
"He's been on me going to the gym and focusing a lot on my jump shot, lately, and getting a lot of reps up every day," Giddens said. "It's really added to part of my game and will be beneficial going into my senior year."
Oak Hill has a highly-recruited squad, led by Florida State commit Dwayne Bacon generating much of his own offense. In all likelihood, Giddens does not have many chances to break out his jumper in games.
Instead, his team does a good job of putting him in high-percentage areas to score. Here, Giddens takes one dribble before exploding and manhandling the rim (via @THE_BOOMSTEIN):
Giddens finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Interest in Humphries, Ward
Earlier this month, members of the La Lumerie (La Porte, Indiana) basketball team visited Ohio State. Based on recruiting rankings, La Lumerie has one of the best froncourts in the country.
The school has two four-star recruits in the class of 2016 – seven-foot center Isaac Humphries and 6-foot-9-inch forward Nolan Narain. Both reportedly attended the Buckeyes' Jan. 3 matchup against the Illini.
They returned to Ohio for this past weekend's "Flyin' To The Hoop" invitational in Dayton. According to NextUpRecruits.com, Humphries was one of the weekend's standouts.
"Something must be said about the alarming rate of improvement from Isaac. No, he was not bad, but he had to adjust to the American style of play after coming over from Australia at the semester break," Dylan Prezkop wrote. "He averaged a cool 14.5 points on the weekend and his continued improvement should lead to him being a force, sooner rather than later."
Meanwhile, the Buckeye coaching staff had their eyes on an in-state prospect in the class of 2016, a four-star forward from Gahanna Lincoln:
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Ohio State assistant coach Jeff Boals in the building for '16 Gahanna PF Nick Ward who plays next
— Zach Fleer (@ZachFleerLGHL) January 19, 2015
