'14 AZ PG Casey Benson

[Goose]

Rivals (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Casey-Benson-120495)
Scout (http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=5972347)
ESPN
(http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/141197/casey-benson)247sports (http://247sports.com/Player/Casey-Benson-22990)


http://media.scout.com/media/image/108/1080495.jpg
Corona Del Sol H.S. (Tempe, AZ)

AAU: Arizona Magic Pump N Run / CA Double Pump Elite

Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 170 lbs.

Rivals rating: 3*; unranked PG (#140 overall)
Scout rating: 3*; unranked PG
ESPN rating: 3*-73 grade; #51 PG
247sports rating: 3*-88 rating; #31 PG (#140 overall)

Reported Offers: Colorado, Arizona State, Boise State, Boston College, Gonzaga, Oregon, Oregon State, Rice, San Francisco, St. Mary's, USC, Washington State

[Goose]

Recruit Scoop has a nice feature on him (http://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1373612).


The point guard has received offers from Arizona State, Saint Mary's, Boise State, Boston College, USC and, most recently, Colorado. Benson has taken unofficial visits to Arizona State and Boise State so far and says Arizona State and Saint Mary's are the schools recruiting him the hardest at the moment.

Benson notes that he is in no hurry to decide upon a school but that the deciding factor will the connection he makes with the coaching staff and the style of play. As a facilitator, he enjoys an up and down, fast-paced game.

Looks like we're really hitting Arizona hard for recruiting right now.

[Goose]

Adam updates us on Benson (http://colorado.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1376661).


Another factor working in Colorado's favor is the pitch the coaches have made to him.

"They've told me I fit their style of play really well. They've told me that I'm the type of guy they like to recruit and I'd be a great fit with them so I like to hear that."

[mattrob]

I finally got around to watching the highlights on Rivals and they're...bizarre. He looks to be right-hand dominant, almost always driving to his right, passing and finishing with his right hand. But he shoots jump-shots left-handed. I had to watch the highlights twice just to make sure it was the same kid.

Overall, his game looks pretty good. He plays at a high pace and looks to be pretty physical for a PG. He does need to clean up his jump-shot mechanics a little bit, imo, and get more lift on his shot. Not bad though.

[Buffnik]

New Scout article (http://colorado.scout.com/2/1197620.html):

Colorado: “I’m actually going up there for an unofficial visit in June and I’m excited to get to know more about the school. I watched them a lot towards the end of the year; they obviously were in the NCAA tournament.”

[FLounder]

We can't offer these kids anymore...

[Buffnik]

We can't offer these kids anymore...

Huh? This kid is blowing up and he's been picking up quality offers about every week this summer.

[FLounder]

4* on ESPN now... I stand corrected.

[Goose]

In general, if we're talking recruiting that's 2 years out, I don't think it's fair to say "we can't offer kids like this" for anyone. Too much can happen in the meantime, and we're not even sure what kind of offer the kid has. For example, if Dom Collier and Josh Perkins called up Tad right now and said "We want to be Buffs", it'd be done. But there are a few guys with CU offers that if they tried the same, they probably wouldn't get the same reaction.

Besides, ratings aside, Benson shows some damn good ability. We're not talking about someone who's struggling to play HS ball. The kid has some quickness and is pretty damn tough for a PG like mattrob said.

[Buffnik]

Updated his ratings. He's now 3* everywhere and MaxPreps sees him as a 4* Top 50 prospect (http://www.maxpreps.com/basketball-recruiting/basketball-winter-12-13/UffvCftYAUiIlV6I-ImL_A/class-of-2014-top-100/top-recruits.htm).

[Goose]

If we can't land Perkins, I really want Benson.

[absinthe]

If we can't land Perkins, I really want Benson.

a little bird told me a while ago that the staff rates him almost as highly as Perk.

[mattrob]

a little bird told me a while ago that the staff rates him almost as highly as Perk.

That doesn't surprise me much, his videos look really good. Hopefully Perkins and/or Collier make their decision fairly early. I'd hate to see us strike out on our PG targets waiting for the in state kids to decide.

[Buffnik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I56XohYgTXg

[mattrob]

I know I've mentioned this before, but when I watch his highlights, I can't help but think the kid would be a nightmare to guard. I've never seen anyone like that, who shoots left-handed, but as soon as he gets within 15 or so, he goes to that little right-handed floater. As a defender, you'd never know where the ball was coming from.

[mattrob]

Benson averaged 20.7ppg, 3.3apg, and 1.4 spg and was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona. That's pretty impressive with guys like Andre Adams, Zylan Cheatham and Dorian Pickens in the same class and a borderline top-100 2013 prospect in Jaron Hopkins in the state.

[mattrob]

Also, an interesting article on Benson and his left-handed shot, though he's right-hand dominant. I love the piece about possibly skipping the showcase events to work on skill development. The kid's a gamer. I would have absolutely no problems with him running the show in 2014. Just keep him away from ASU!

[Medford M.]

Benson averaged 20.7ppg, 3.3apg, and 1.4 spg and was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Arizona. That's pretty impressive with guys like Andre Adams, Zylan Cheatham and Dorian Pickens in the same class and a borderline top-100 2013 prospect in Jaron Hopkins in the state.
Jaron put up better numbers if I'm not mistaken. Obviously numbers aren't the end all be all but the fact remains.

[Buffnik]

Jaron put up better numbers if I'm not mistaken. Obviously numbers aren't the end all be all but the fact remains.

They're very different players, though. J-Hop and Casey would make one hell of a backcourt.