James Harden - McDonald's All-American

[bko32]

Got word yesterday afternoon that James Harden has been selected to the McDonald's All-American team. Don't have a link - I talked to Harden's high school coach yesterday afternoon.

 

[Russ Smith]

Harden is legit, very good player overall, held his own with OJ Mayo from what I understand when Artesia played Mayo's team right after Mayo was suspended and then reinstated.

This year the Pac 10 got a bunch of good bigmen, next year Love, but a bunch of really good guards next year with Harden, Mayo and Bayless leading the way.

 

[bko32]

Just got back from SoCal. Went to the Artesia H.S. playoff game that went down on Friday night against Dana Hills. Here are some thoughts on a few of their noteworthy players on their squad:

James Harden is a good player, but I hope the ASU fans don't put too much pressure on him to make an impact next year. He is a good all-around player, but doesn't necessarily excel in any particular aspect of his game. Offensively, he didn't show me anything special. His baskets mostly came off of steals and breakaways. Good defensive player with good lateral movement and quickness. Plays hard and hustles all game.

Malik Story (headed to USC) has a great jumper. He was burying shots from the NBA 3pt line. He has a good build, kinda-like Marcus Banks, so this should help him adjust to stronger players on the college level. Not much else from him other than that he's a great shooter.

Renardo Sidney (#1 ranked sophomore in the country) was very impressive. He's about 6'9" or 6'10" and about 240lbs and very athletic and fluid on the court. He had about 4-5 blocks and he altered at least another 4-5 shots. He gets up and down the court very quickly for a big man and can handle the ball pretty well too. He has good footwork around the basket and has range out to the 3pt line. He had one very impressive move where he caught the ball behind the 3pt line in the left corner, pump-faked, took a hard dribble to left and took it in for a layup. This coming from a kid his size was remarkable. You just don't see that too often from a kid his size at that age. The only knock on him is that he is kinda soft. He doesn't like to use his body much. I don't think I saw him box out at all during the game. He simply uses his size and athleticism to get rebounds. Apparently this is something his coaches are working on with him, but Sidney's not buying it right now. I think the game's a little too easy for him at this point, but hopefully he's got the work ethic to improve.

 

[Mulli]

Thanks for the info, BKO32.

 

[abomb]

Good stuff. Thanks.