6th Grade Phenom.

[KYtotheCore]

It's gotta be the cones . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHYzhXjj9kc

[SupaDave]

It's gotta be the cones . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHYzhXjj9kc

Cones? I'd be scared to death to check this kid. All he has to do is score two points and you look like a clown. And he's scoring two points...

[DevilHorns]

I'm pretty sure he could cross me up, but then I'd chase him down and swat the ball, re-group, and dunk it on him. :cool:

He looks like a special talent, but I wonder how much of that coordination will falter once he reaches puberty (and all the other pressures he'll obviously have...)

[chadlee989]

OK lets not get caught up on this video. He has a long way to go to be even a great high school player much less a great college player. I really dont want to find things wrong with kids this age but if i most. He has a great handle for the ball but his shot is a little weak. He is holding his elbow a little to far out for me but only time will to tell though. And i dont think we need kids like this at duke.

[dukeballer2294]

if u think about its a little ridiculous. he has not entered the 6th grade and their are already highlight tapes of him. so many things can happen now and then thats its impossible to judge what he will do even in high school. sure he has a nice handle but so do plenty of kids around the country. im sure he has a bright future in w/e he decides to do but i dont think he needs to be in the spotlight when he has not even entered middle school.

[MisterRoddy]

Personally, I find it a little unsettling that a bunch of middle aged men are having an engaging discussion on a kid that just got out of elementary school. Could be just me though.

:)

[Edouble]

Reminds me of Jesus Shuttlesworth.

[JasonEvans]

I want to see the unedited tape, the one where he misses a few shots and dribbles the balls off each other.

That said, the kid clearly has skillz. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to develop them as he gets bigger and older. It is a bit harder to play against a person than a cone. His release looks pretty low to me on his shot and he could get packed a lot if he does not work on that.

--Jason "I wish the video had shown him doing homework too, ya know?" Evans

[jjh1080]

Good video of a good player. But you have to keep in mind, he is only a 6th grader, which means many things.

I've seen something like this before. In our city we had a player like this, totally offensive minded. Could shot the 3 like no other and dribbled circles around everyone. No matter what team he played on the opposing coach's defense was to stop Jacob. And many many times they couldn't.

The problem was, because of his offensive skills, he paid no attention to defense. As he progressed others got better, getting closer to his skill level. The issue was, others got better at defense and they began to shut him down. Without much for defensive skills and others playing defense on him that made him average, his senior year he was sitting at the end of the bench. I was surprised but as I talked to more and more people about his game they stated that he was great when no one could play defense on him and he lacked great defensive skills. He basically stuck around because of his 3 point shooting for late in games.

It was a said story, he was very good in 6th grade, good in 7th and 8th grade and by senior year he was average. Everyone will tell you, it all starts with defense, not offense.

They need to work on good passing skills and defense.

Two things I notice, 1) he shots from the hip and 2) he never took a pass. Remember, highlight reels are about highlights and not lowlights.

[Turtleboy]

And i dont think we need kids like this at duke.Kids like what?

[DukieBoy]

It's more troubling that they are actually ranking kids in the 6th grade.

[Indoor66]

There is so much time between now and then that it is meaningless. I feel pity for the boy as he is being set up to fail. Who can live up to the expectations being created. A potentially very sad situation.

[CameronBornAndBred]

To me it's insane the pressure young athletes are put under at such young ages..and it goes to all sports, even ones that don't usually translate to money. (Gymnatstics, swimming, ice skating). As others have pointed out, it doesn't always make for a great player either. And then look at the reverse...the greatest player to have played the game, Jordan http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/47.gif (http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/posting.php?mode=post&f=3#), didn't even play varsity ball until he was a junior in high school. (Tried out as a sophomore, but didn't make the team.)

[-jk]

My wife's god-son has been ranked (in Delaware) at least since 6th grade. It's sort of weird to watch the process. His parents kept him away from the hoopla - and muck - as much as possible, but it's been hard.

He's class of 2013, still ranked in the top 10 in DE; I'm curious where it goes. I think he'll wind up in D1 with a scholarship somewhere, but not at the highest level.

-jk

[BensonDevil]

It's gotta be the cones . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHYzhXjj9kc

I have a feeling Cal has already contacted his parents to see how much they want.