Coach Bill's EYBL Evaluations: Underclassmen on UNC's Radar

Posted Apr 15, 2011
Basketball recruiting analyst/evaluator and Tar Heel Times correspondent Coach Bill spent the weekend at the Nike EYBL basketball event in Hampton, Va. over the weekend and sent in the following report:

If Jarnell Stokes from Memphis,TN had 2-3 more inches he would probably be at the top of Roy's power forward list. He is currently on UNC's radar and should receive staff attention during July's viewing period. If he had more of a perimeter game (especially shooting with range), in my opinion he would be a clone of Chane Behanan (2011 Louisville signee and favorite of Roy Williams). The most underrated part of his game is his passing. He set up William "Shaq" Goodwin (fellow forward) more than the YOMCA guards.

Aaron Gordon (6'7" forward from San Jose,CA) is a "beast prodigy" and gives this evaluator the look of a young Blake Griffin. He is extremely aggressive and athletic. He is already a dynamic physical presence, consistently puts up big numbers on the boards, can handle the ball in the open court and is consistently attacking the rim on drives and offensive rebounds. Talking to him over last 48 hours, he's also a real nice kid...easy to talk to and well-mannered. If you have the appetite for YouTube highlights. you definitely want to some of the spectacular footage on this highlight reel dunker.

Justin Jackson is a member of the 2014 class and is a young man already on UNC's priority radar. He visited Chapel Hill the weekend of the home game vs Duke. Speaking to him at the event, he wants to emulate Kevin Durant (of course, being from TX). He's 6'7" already, thin frame, with long arms, legit shooting prowess and range. Jackson shows signs of a type-A scorer's mentality with a real good feel for the game, how to get off shots and overall humble persona. There's a lot there to demonstrate that Jackson might have "potential" to be a future facsimile to the former Texas Longhorn and Oklahoma City Thunder superstar.

Most recruiting fans already have heard a lot about 2013 stud forward Julius Randle (Plano,TX) who Roy Williams has already offered. But with every sample, I'm falling in love with his close friend and AAU teammate Matt Jones (also 2013). They play for the Texas Titans. Jones is a big-time shooter with good size and length already. Jones is a sneaky athlete, very smooth, with a burgeoning mid-range game, and reminds me of a young Scotty Thurman (former Arkansas Razorback and National Champion).