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Dajounte Murray GU Prospect...and Naim Ladd

Following up on Max Mandel's post, I watched Rainier play Bainbridge Island last night. This was supposed to be a cake walk for Rainier. The game started FAST with Rainier running. The score was quickly 11-1. The Louisville commit is long, athletic and talented. Nice outside shot and can finish in the lane. Bainbridge forced Rainier into a half court game and Rainier was BAFFLED. They did not know how to run sets, Bainbridge was solid on the boards, and the score at the end of the 1st quarter was 21-19. Bainbridge had a 6'9" to 6'10" center that they used very effectively and at half it was something like 35-30. Rainier pushed the pace in the 3rd quarter and pushed the lead to 10. Bainbridge regained control in the 4th and they were down by 3 with :50 left. One costly turnover later and Rainier escaped with a 72-65 win - and I do mean escaped. Murray was effective on D and did a good job on the boards, but did not do much on the offensive end. Looked like an off night shooting for Murray. That said, nearly the whole Rainier team was baffled by the Bainbirdge zone and missing from outside. The Louisville commit got his points of course and Murray contributed, but by far the biggest standout was this guy (not sure if he's found a home yet for college, but he was lights out in this game and an incredible nuisance on D). "2014 G Naim Ladd, 5-foot-9, Rainier Beach HS (Seattle, WA)- I don't know if Ladd will end up playing division one basketball, but he could be a steal for a place like Western Washington or Seattle Pacific. Ladd has gotten better each and every time I've seen him play. He's an efficient scorer that doesn't turn the ball over. He'll never take a bad shot and if given an inch of space, he'll always make his defender pay. Though his size makes him a defensive liability, he is as tough as nails." Additions to this description: He hits free throws, hits the boards and is very athletic.

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