Pe'Shon Howard Impressions

I caught Pe'Shon Howard, Roscoe Smith, and Oak Hill Academy take on Westchester today on CSN at 2. I already knew the outcame of the game (it was on tape delay) but it was one of the first times I've seen Pe'Shon in a long time.

He was moderately impressive. I'll get to the faults later, but let me say this: he has unbelievable court awareness and passing skills. One time their center stopped paying attention because he thought he was out of the play, but Howard turned around and threw an amazing pass out of nowhere to him - unfortunately, he wasn't looking and it hit him in the end.

In another instance, he was on the break and let a no-look between the legs pass go to Doron Lamb for an easy bucket - incredible play. He had a spinning pass in transition on another occasion. He sees his teammates amazingly well and is great and driving and kicking out. He's already a college level passer, and is better at dishing them out than his teammates are at receiving them.

His shot is solid, not great. Form looked okay. Defense was pretty good - he took a charge on one occasion, and for the most part stayed on his man on the perimeter. I can't remember him getting beat off the dribble.

As for him off the dribble, he was decent. He knew when he could beat his man, and did so, but he wasn't blindingly quick. That's slightly concerning for a guy who depends on getting off the dribble so much. On the good side, when he gets to the hoop, he can finish.

His attitude is both a plus and a minus. He showed a ton of passion and wanted to win. He also complained a lot and even threw his hands up when a teammate dropped a pass. Sort of Lance Stephenson-esque.

He did have some lapses in judgement, both offensively and defensively. For the most part, he made the right choice, but occasionally he'd force a pass or try to steal when he shouldn't.

Unfortunately, Oak Hill essentially has 3 PGs, and he was used the least of them. He's definitely a Stoglin-esque combo. When he was PG, he tended to lead in transition. Didn't really get a chance to see how he fares in a half-court offense.

There's more than a little Greivis Vasquez in him. Maybe not as flamboyant in celebration, but he's certainly flamboyant in his passes - they're very Greivis-esque. He shares freshman/sophomore Vaz's tendency to make questionable decisions and wear his emotions on his sleeve, but he's such a great passer and has such a complete game that you tend to forget about it at times.

If there were any concerns about whether Maryland should or shouldn't offer him, I'd say they've evaporated. Offer now.

As for Roscoe Smith, he was okay but unimpressive. He still has a sweet jumper and is just as amazingly long as ever. Looked a little more athletic and had some nice rebounds, but he's still a liability when in the post and was remarkably average in his production.