From the Westchester Tip Off Classic.
Spotlight on Larry Drew, by Jerome Green
After watching Larry Drew play in the Westchester Tip Off Classic this past week. I am convinced that he is the top point guard in the Los Angeles area by far. It’s not what he does, it actually what he doesn’t do. I have been watching Larry play since he was in the 7th grade and it wasn’t until now that I fully understood who he is as a point guard. What Larry doesn’t do is commit stupid turnovers. He doesn’t drive in the lane with his head down looking for a bailout option.
When I interviewed Coach Kelvin Sampson of IU this past summer at the RBK Camp in Philly he had this to say about point guards in the States.
“They drive into a lot of people and then complain if they don’t get the call. If they were playing in the street a car would hit them. Our young points play to much one on one and hold the ball too much. The European guards drive and kick. I would say that 70% of American young points today get to deep into traffic before they make a decision and are forced to make emergency passes”. In 90% of Larry’s attack to the basket his teammates knew exactly were to be to get his pass.
Larry also as an NBA sense to how to use his body to place himself in the position he wants to be in. This is no surprise being that his Dad is an ex-NBA player and one of his middle school coaches was Jason Martin, who played at Texas Tech and has excellent body control.
Taft won the tournament and I am not sure how many points Larry scored, but I can tell you that he made a dozen plays a game that allowed his team to win the tournament. He has a good supporting crew, with Eugene Phelps ready take care of all the dirty work and can score with the best.
Larry is not a Brandon Jennings. He needs to become a better outside shooter and complete more of his drives to the basket. He is Larry Drew and that might be good enough to take him all the way to Chappel Hill and beyond.