RANKINGS: Class of 2014 -
2015 -
2016
SARASOTA, Fla. -- The brainchild of Nike Team Florida program director
Tom Topping, The Workout is now in year nine of giving some of the Sunshine
State's a stage to shine. Five-star junior big man
Udoka Azubuike was on
hand with the likes of four-star Marquette bound guard
Haanif Cheatham and
senior Rivals150 combo forward
Keith Stone. But on
the day's first event it was junior Rivals150 small forward
Jonathan Isaac who had
a breakout performance.
Isaac on the rise 2016
The upside is that
Jonathan Isaac was
included in the post summer Rivals150 for the class of 2016. The downside is
that at No. 144 nationally, the 6-foot-8 small forward from Hollywood (Fla.)
International School of Broward entered the rankings too low - that is, if the
way he played on Saturday is an indication of what to expect from him down the
road.
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Jonathan Isaac had a breakout performance on
Saturday. |
A legitimate wing with outstanding size, Isaac is a highly skilled and fluid
three man who puts the ball on the floor, buries jumpers and looks to have big
upside. He is still relatively slight of build, but his length and ability to
finish with floaters or either hand near the rim make him just as much of a
threat off the drive as he is with the jump shot.
This fall, Isaac has started to add scholarship offers as schools find out
about him.
"I have three offers right now," Isaac told Rivals.com. "Arkansas State,
UCF and
Mississippi State are the schools
that have offered."
However, word is starting to leak out about Isaac's ability and he has recent
interest from programs like
Florida
State,
Alabama,
Texas,
East
Carolina,
Kansas
State and
South
Carolina among others.
If Isaac continues to perform at a high level, he is headed for four-star
status and several more offers. In an age where some prospects get nervous about
offers during their junior seasons, he knows that it is just a matter of time
before he has a brighter spotlight shining on him.
"People are really just starting to find out about me," said Isaac. "I'm
being recruited as a two and a three and feel good about that."
Major attention for Azubuike
The highest ranked player at The Workout on Saturday, No. 14 in the class of
2016
Udoka Azubuike,
was also the biggest player in attendance. His listed height of 6-foot-11 is
probably a bit generous, but his long arms, powerful playing style and intensity
allow him to play like somebody that size.
Consider this: Azubuike just turned 15 years old two weeks ago, which means
he is two years young for a high school junior. Yet he has the build of a player
that is at least two years old for his class and he plays with the physicality
of a college veteran.
A true power player around the rim, Azubuike embraces that his strength is
playing near the rim and trying to dunk everything possible. He has outstanding
hands and after missing the end of the summer doing to shin and ankle problems,
he showed surprising endurance and energy throughout the course of a long day of
basketball.
According to Azubuike, he has offers from
Wake
Forest,
Florida
State,
Georgetown
and
Maryland. He
said that both
Kentucky and
Kansas have
been in to see him lately and he feels that they are close to offering
scholarships. Others mentioned by Azubuike include
LSU,
Virginia
Tech,
Iowa,
North
Carolina and
Duke.
Stone favors Florida
The No. 127 player in the class of 2015,
Keith Stone is a guy that
high major programs are going to continue to take a long look at. Billed as a
combo forward, the 6-foot-7 product of Deerfield Beach (Fla.) Zion Lutheran
looked more like a true small forward on Saturday.
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Stone is excited about the Florida Gators.
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A good shooter who has a balanced game, Stone can drive for towering dunks
off of one foot or pull-up from mid range. He likes turnaround jumpers off of
either jumper and because of his size can play as a stretch four man.
Earlier in the fall Stone took a visit to
Florida that
had been reported as an official visit. However, it turns out that the visit was
unofficial and he and the Gators are still working to set up an official visit
date. Taking things a step further, Stone said that he favors the Gators but
they are in a scholarship crunch so he is keeping his options open and will wait
until the spring to make a decision.
In the meantime, he said that South Carolina,
West
Virginia and Alabama had ramped up their interest.
"It's been good," said Stone of his recruitment. "I've been having a lot of
fun getting to know these coaches."
Young for the class of 2015, Stone won't turn 18 until after he arrives on a
college campus. He embraces his late bloomer status.
"I'm a late bloomer," said Stone. "I've just really started getting noticed
and I'm improving fast."
More Saturday notes from The Workout

Ranked
No. 75 in the class of 2016, 6-foot-4 shooting guard
Trent Forrest is an
intelligent player who understands his strength, which is his ability to be a
physical driver and his bouncy athleticism. He rebounds exceptionally well for a
wing player, finishes above the rim in transition and has added a nice looking
floater to go along with his powerful drives. Forrest recognizes that his jumper
needs work and he also knows that some are skeptical because he plays small
school ball at Chipley (Fla.) High. As far as Rivals.com is concerned, there
shouldn't be much skepticism about his game - he is a legitimate high major
prospect. Forrest lists offers from Wichita State, Florida State,
Miami,
Tennessee
and UCF while others like
Stanford and
Texas A&M
have been in to check on him.
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2016 guard Trent Forrest is a high-major
prospect. |

Committed
to
Marquette,
four-star wing
Haanif
Cheatham got off to a little bit of a slow start on Saturday. By the end of
the day, though, the utility guard was showing why he ranks No. 68 in the class
of 2015. A southpaw, Cheatham has been very dependent on that left hand in the
past. However, on more than a handful of drives he was able to stay with and
finish right handed on plays that he would have undoubtedly turned back to his
dominant hand even four months ago. By the end of the day he started to knock
down some shots. Combine that with his above average passing and defense and you
have a very solid guard.

Committed
to Central Florida, three-star shooting guard
Chance McSpadden has built
his reputation as a scorer and shooter. On Saturday, his outside shot betrayed
him a bit so the long and quick 6-foot-4 shooting guard attacked off the dribble
instead. Still lean, McSpadden showed some surprising toughness and finished
through contact better than anybody might expect him to. The sooner he finds
more balance between his jump shooting and driving, the sooner he can help out
the Knights.

Headed to
Florida, power forward
Kevarrius Hayes is
starting to add some very much needed bulk to his skinny frame. The three-star,
who ranks No. 138 in the class of 2015, is all about playing hard, quickness and
an ability to run and make plays at the rim. He is a very good rebounder, plays
committed defense and tries to dunk everything he can. How quickly he can add
SEC level strength and add to his overall package of skill will play a huge part
in whether he is more of a role or featured player during his tenure in
Gainesville.

Contributing analyst Russ Wood identified class of 2016 guard
Leandro Allende as a nice
prospect. A well built wing player, Allende sports a balanced game and solid
athleticism. He is an outstanding passer in transition, can shed contact to
finish at the rim and shoots well enough from deep to keep defenders on their
toes. At a minimum, he appears to be a good mid major prospect and he will get
plenty of looks this winter.

Another
player who impressed for the second weekend in a row was shooting guard
Amaru Bryant. He is a
speedy transition player with athleticism who plays with a high motor and does
the little things when he can't score or his jump shot fails him. He has to get
a bit stronger and tighten his handle a bit, but his motor and effort will earn
the junior guard college admirers.