Video: Fleming talks about 42 point performance in PTL
- Thread starter Blair Sanderson
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BB IQ very high! Love the confidence and awareness of what he needs to work on/
No question from his videos that he's a threat to score quickly. I wonder where he's at defensively.
Better than people think. Many saw him play for Oak Hill, but nobody on Oak Hill played defense besides go shot block hunting. Fleming won't be a lock down defender by he's smart enough to put the work in to earn playing time.
IMO his defensive limitations, to the extent that he has any at this level, will be the only part of his game that keeps his minutes down after his freshman year. I do think he might have a problem initially staying in front of smaller or quicker SGs.
A good friend of mine has a younger brother who is a division 1 recruit and played against Fleming in an AAU tournament last year. My buddy and his brother both spoke very highly of Fleming. Said he was a very physical player and good defender. He doesn't have the quickest feet, but he is very strong and knows how to position his body defensively.
I view him similarly to someone like Jeff Horner. Horner was not very quick, but he was a very good defender because of his strength and basketball IQ.
I view him similarly to someone like Jeff Horner. Horner was not very quick, but he was a very good defender because of his strength and basketball IQ.
Even if he's not ready to lock down an average B10 2 in man, he can still get a lot of minutes when Fran wants to press/trap or play zone. He's a great option for a kickout on the primary break or for setting up on the weakside arc against a zone. His offensive handles and vision are also very impressive in the most recent videos. He may end up being a steal. I really like this incoming class and I hope they can all find ways to contribute in games immediately.
I shouldn't do this but I'm going to anyway. Horner and Fleming aren't even close, Horner could have never played at Oak Hill, then or now. AF looks to be a much better player than JH overall.
Do it! My prediction is this class is going to have more Devyn Marble, Aaron White, Gabe Olaseni type success stories in it than not.
Horner was a higher ranked recruit, is our school's leader for career three pointers, and is second in assists.
To say that Horner and Fleming "aren't even close" because Fleming is better is silly. If Fleming is as good as Horner I would be ecstatic. He might be, but to predict Fleming to outperform one of our school's best point guards is putting the cart before the horse.
Agreed. I'm confident the Oak Hill's of the world would have had no problem accepting the likes of Jeff Horner, Al Lorenzon, Nick Collison, Raef LaFrentz (and more recently Harrison Barnes, Marcus Paige), etc., etc., etc. had they chosen to go that route. They chose to stay where they grew up to play (or presumably grew up I suppose - don't know the histories of all of them). Fleming took a 1 year detour. Good for him, but its not for everybody, nor do these schools have room for all the good players across the land who would be deemed "worthy" to play there.
And it doesn't guarantee any more level of success when the college career is progressing or over. There are all kinds of paths to sports "greatness", or even "goodness".
Hopefully Fleming's "path" works well for him, and for Iowa.
You get to Oak Hill Academy by invitation of the head coach. They choose you and not vice versa. That puts Fleming in company not shared by many others. In any event, IMO Horner was under-appreciated and Fleming has a long way to go before he approaches what Horner accomplished at Iowa. I believe Fleming has the talent to meet or even exceed that level.
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Fleming seems more like a Matt gatens type of player instead of Horner anyways. It's a plus for him going to oak hill to be more acclimated to get ready for college lifestyle and game. Very excited to see him suit up for black and gold. Think we got a steal here with him. Shocked more bigger schools besides Florida and Donovan weren't going after him.
Fleming had offers from:
Auburn, Nebraska, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Florida, Memphis. He committed to Iowa on 5/11/2014. Schools reportedly showing interest were:
Tennessee, Detroit, Butler, Gonzaga, Iowa State...among others.
By comparison Charlie Moore, offers by or before 5/11/2015?
Iowa, Memphis.
Obviously many have offered since then. The question could be how many would have offered Fleming if he hadn't committed so quickly. It wasn't so much we "stole" him, as we shopped early and got him while the crowd was still growing. Much like Hutton. In the win some lose some world of recruiting just going by offers it looks to me like Fleming and Hutton were big time "hits". We'll see if it works like that on the court. I wouldn't bet against it.
Auburn, Nebraska, UNLV, Vanderbilt, Florida, Memphis. He committed to Iowa on 5/11/2014. Schools reportedly showing interest were:
Tennessee, Detroit, Butler, Gonzaga, Iowa State...among others.
By comparison Charlie Moore, offers by or before 5/11/2015?
Iowa, Memphis.
Obviously many have offered since then. The question could be how many would have offered Fleming if he hadn't committed so quickly. It wasn't so much we "stole" him, as we shopped early and got him while the crowd was still growing. Much like Hutton. In the win some lose some world of recruiting just going by offers it looks to me like Fleming and Hutton were big time "hits". We'll see if it works like that on the court. I wouldn't bet against it.
Both players, Fleming and Horner, share characteristics you can't teach. They bring an attitude, an approach, a state of mind that positively influences how a team competes. Hutton has some of the same qualities.
These guys are natural leaders, they are team oriented, and have the drive to succeed. They can push the level of play higher not only with their talent but also with their personalities. You need these type of guys on your team and on the court if you are going to win and compete at higher levels. I don't know what caused the collapse at the end of the 2013-14 season but some of it could have been the lack of these type of team leaders.
These guys are natural leaders, they are team oriented, and have the drive to succeed. They can push the level of play higher not only with their talent but also with their personalities. You need these type of guys on your team and on the court if you are going to win and compete at higher levels. I don't know what caused the collapse at the end of the 2013-14 season but some of it could have been the lack of these type of team leaders.
