Portsmouth Invitational Team Previews - Sales Systems Ltd.

C Derrick Nix (Michigan State) - Nix had perhaps his most memorable game of his career playing against Valparaiso in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this year. Nix is a huge body who is nimble on his feet and has soft touch around the basket. He's able to finish with both hands, throws around his weight well with a strong drop step, and has been coached up over the years by Tom Izzo. Nix gets over a third of his rebounds on the offensive end and his 1.1 steals per game shows that he is active on defense. He'll look to prove to scouts he can sustain that energy throughout an entire game and get out and defend ball screens on the perimeter.

SF James Ennis (Long Beach State) - James Ennis is one of the most explosive finishers in all of college basketball and participated in the college slam dunk contest. With his explosiveness, its no surprise that he is a great finisher at the rim and out in transition. He has great hangtime, but also shows the body control and strength to finish through contact. Ennis is still raw for the most part, but he's a gamer who fought hard to find ways to score. Defensively, he also has great potential but needs to play with a better court sense. His shooting has come along, but Id be hesitant to call him a reliable spot up option. With seasoning, Ennis could eventually make the NBA ala James White.

PF Ed Daniel (Murray State) - Daniel was a fringe invitee, but a guy I really felt was deserving and is capable of surprising people. He's an energy big who rebounds the ball with great intensity and is also very active and mobile on defense. He has a good basketball IQ and gets himself in good spots defensively to draw charges. Offensively, he has earned his stripes as a screener for Isaiah Canaan, but is also very fluid rolling off those screens and finishing towards the basket. If Daniel shows he can rebound well against the bigs in this event, then just maybe you will start hearing his name more often.

PG Brandon Triche (Syracuse) - Triche is a very well built guard who became a lot more aggressive this season attacking off the dribble. He's both explosive and strong getting to the lane and getting to the line is his biggest strength. Triche struggles in the mid-range area, however, and often gets himself in trouble because of it. His lack of mid-range game forces him to overpenetrate and try to muscle up some question shots at the rim and/or commit charges. Also, while he is a point guard, Triche has never been granting the main point guard duties in his four years at Syracuse. His shooting has also been suspect. Defensively, he has the tools to be a good defender but has been stuck in a zone his whole career. It will be interesting to see him play man to man at Portsmouth.

PG Khalif Wyatt (Temple) - Wyatt is a big time scorer at the college leve despite his athletic shortcomings. Wyatt can score on anybody because he doesn't rely on his athleticism, but instead relies on a bag full of tricks and hesitation moves. He knows how to draw fouls and has mastered the art of kicking his legs out on 3-pt shots. Wyatt is also a good and smart passer, although he isn't quick enough to get into the lane and constantly make plays for teammates. Instead, he uses his size to see over the defense for nice passes. When he gets into the lane, Wyatt is more often in scoring mode and looking to draw the defense off balance - which he does more often than not. At Portsmouth, it will be interesting to see him running the point with some scoring options around him and how he is able to get them the ball. We know he can score in any setting.

PG Rotnei Clarke (Butler) - Clarke isn't an NBA player, but is a dangerous shooter with unlimited range from behind the arc. After 3 seasons at Arkansas, he transferred to Butler for his senior season where he once again shot right around 40% from 3 on a high number of attempts. Despite only being 6'0 and lacking quickness, Clarke  only needs a little bit of space to get his shot off and has no problem in doing so. While NBA scouts likely won't be intrigued by what they see, Clarke is a guy who should catch the eyes of European scouts in attendance.

SF Carrick Felix (Arizona State) - Felix took an odd path to Arizona State, coming from a junior college and then originally committing to Duke. This year he finally broke out playing in a more open offense installed by Herb Sendek and ran by Jahii Carson. Felix played with a motor that was always running, putting in great work on the offensive glass and in transition. He also was able to stretch the defense out from behind the arc and defend the oppositions best player with intensity. Felix's style of play was very efficient and he also did a lot of things that didn't show up in the box score. He's a great athlete who will get a chance to show what else his offensive game consists of besides spot up jumpers and opportunities at the rim.

PF Jared Berggren (Wisconsin) - Berggren has the look of your typical Wisconsin player and in a lot of ways is. He wasn't highly recruited, redshirted his freshman year, and then sat on his bench much of the next two years until finally getting a chance to start his junior season. He earned his way into the rotation as just another piece on a really balanced offensive attack, but showed some intrigue with his combination of a post game and ability to hit jumpers form both the mid-range and 3-pt area. Berggren's toughness is also impressive and his improved rebounding this year is a good sign, even though he still leaves plenty to be desired and lacks both strength and athleticism. It will be interesting to see if he can stand out in Portsmouth or just blends in and looks like an average player. One thing that helps him is his defense - a very underrated aspect to his game.

Most likely draft pick?

Carrick Felix is not only the best player on this team, but one of the best prospects in the entire event. Fingers are still crossed that he stays in the event as other small forwards like Robert Covington and Solomon Hill have pulled their names out.

Summer League Stars?

James Ennis is the ideal summer league player, capable of putting on a show in Vegas. He's also a guy that can make the NBA with continued progression. Khalif Wyatt could earn a NBA roster spot with a good summer league performance while I see both Ed Daniel and Brandon Triche possibly making some noise in Vegas.

European Bound?

Rotnei Clarke, Jared Berggren, and Derrick Nix don't have much of a shot at the NBA, but all three of them have qualities that could make them appealing to European teams. Khalif Wyatt could also go this route and make himself a lot of money.

CJ, Cuse Sail Past San Diego State

Carter-Williams has the floater down, rushes his moves, can get outta control. posted up. can get the floater whenever with his height advantage and quick first step

Fair playing SF - 3 jumpers, good body control, hands contact well

Franklin sloppy. really had a problem handling the ball and making good decisions under pressure. handling in traffic. he built hype over the summer with his play in summer leagues but we are seeing how he plays when actual defense is being played. this isnt playground but, this is shipyard ball. some good passes. weird situation as PF vs 2-3. overpenetrates

triche looking quicker, changing speeds, using body

A game on a naval ship finally came to completion yesterday, with Syracuse upending San Diego State 62-49. It never really was close, but San Diego State was at a disadvantage. They had to shoot into the sun in the first half and managed to only score 19 points without connecting on a three. Between the two teams they combined to shoot 2-22 from behind the arc. Syracuse was able to abandon the three ball, only taking four the entire game, but SDSU - facing the 2/3 zone didn't have the same luxury. The chucked 18 threes as its really the only hope to beat the Orange. By the time the second half rolled around, San Diego State was in panick mode and they were unable to put together a run. They lost by 13, but were done by more much of the second half.

One would say their loss may have been unFAIR, but I'd credit CJ FAIR for providing a scoring threat for the Orange from the get-go. Fair has made the transition to full time small forward this year and showed off an improved jumper - hitting 3 long jumpers, including Cuse's only 3 - in the first half. He finished with 17 points on 7-15 shooting. His ball handling skills are iffy although Fair possesses solid creativeness and body control in the lane. You can still tell he operated from inside the arc much of his career. His jumper is also slow. The biggest problem for Fair's draft stock is his ability to cover the perimeter. Many Cuse wings struggle with a transition to the NBA because of defense, and it will be even harder for Fair since he's already a tweener and lacks good lateral quickness. He's talented and has great physical attributes, but he has an uphill battle to climb with his draft stock.

The matchup to watch was at the guard positions between Michael Carter-Williams and Jamaal Franklin. They didn't battle head to head unfortunately, but they mirror each other in the way they play. Franklin came out of the gate rusty and committed three early turnovers. Things never got much better for him and he finished with 7 giveaways on the night. Franklin is a guy who plays power forward for San Diego State but is a shooting guard at the next level. Up against the 2-3, he was expected to be the facilitator in the middle. This didn't happen though, partly due to him and also because of their lack of shooting threats outside. Franklin was bothered all night by tight defense and couldn't control the ball in a crowd. He built hype over the summer with his highlights and domination in summer leagues - games that suit his style well. However when actual defense is being played, Franklin has questionable handle and even more questionable decision making. This was a tough situation for him.

Carter-Williams also has a tendency to play out of control. This was his first game receiving starter minutes after he rode the bench last year. He was asked to lead the offense much of the game, despite playing with senior Brandon Triche and he was able to make some plays. Carter-Williams has a very quick and long first step that enables him to get into the lane at will. He also has nice touch on his floater which he can get off against any point guard that tries to guard him. That shot will always be there for him. He also can take advantage of his size in the post which he tried to do once yesterday, but to no avail. He played this game out of control and tried to hurry his ball handling moves. He finished with 17 points before fouling out while also turning it over as much as he assisted teammates (4) and getting 5 steals. He will be near the top of the charts in steals this season.

The last guy who stood out was Brandon Triche who finally looks healthy heading into his senior year. Triche was much quicker than usual, finished with both hands, and used his strength to his advantage. He was aggressive getting to the rim. If his in-between game improves, he could end up getting draft in the second round. Lots of good point guards this year.