westcoast
Senior
Posts: 302
Reg: 03-08-16
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10-10-17 10:48 PM - Post#233759
6-7 Forward Mason Forbes from Folsom, CA has committed to Harvard:
https://twitter.com/mason_forbes25/status /91791013...
He had visited both Harvard and Princeton over the last couple of weeks. Looking at his Twitter page, I guess practicing with Jaylen Brown was better than meeting Pete Carril and Craig Robinson.
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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10-11-17 08:13 AM - Post#233761
In response to westcoast
Yeah, took his officials to San Diego St, St. Mary's, Princeton and Harvard along with other visits to UVA, Nevada and Cal.
He's somehow flown under the radar, which is great news for Harvard, and the kid is beyond bouncy with a really high motor. The keys will be whether he can maintain the bounce and motor when he puts on D1 weight and whether he can develop more to his game than an (extremely effective) around the rim finisher.
Harvard's 2018 class is pretty remarkable. It's not the 2016 class, but if you drew four kids at random from the 2016 class and stacked it up against the 2018 class, I'd imagine they'd be hard to choose between.
Hard to say if Harvard is done, but I'd expect at most one more. Regardless, this is a fringe Top 25 class nationally, which is another amazing achievement for Tommy and the crew.
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rbg
Postdoc
Posts: 3050
Reg: 10-20-14
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10-11-17 09:09 AM - Post#233764
In response to mrjames
Here is a analysis of Forbes from nbadraft.net following this summer's Peach Jam:
http://www.nbadraft.net/nike-peach-jam-stando uts
6’9’ 205 PF Folsom, Folsom, CA 2018 - The first thing you notice about Forbes in the lay up line is his huge afro, but after tip off, you notice much more. He is rail thin at this stage, but he has a frame that looks to be able to put on and hold weight. He is an active rim runner who protects the rim with both hands and will finish anything around the beaker. He is a high level athlete who moves his feet very well and can’t switch 1-5 at this level. He rebounds in and out of his area. His energy is his calling card. He’s not the kind of kid that you can throw the ball to down on the box and ask him to get buckets for you, but he creates his offense by hitting the offensive glass and out running other bigs for dunks and lay ups. Physically he’s not ready to compete at the highest level in college, but that what weight rooms are for and that hasn’t stopped high major programs from insuring about him. An uptempo system that thrives on transition play would be a perfect situation for him. He can utilize his athleticism and not have to worry about being overly physical because no matter how much stronger he gets, he’ll never be a banger.
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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10-11-17 01:01 PM - Post#233783
In response to rbg
Yeah, he really feels like a taller but skinnier version of Jonah Travis with some semblance of a jump shot that Jonah never developed. The two have the same motor and same "wow he went up and dunked that rather than laying it in" bounce. They also both are really slippery on cuts and dives to the hoop to give good options for a drive-and-dish.
Obviously, Jonah was more of a tank and Mason is a lot skinnier right now, but the game is similar. It makes me think that Mason could still play with a true post, because he can still cause havoc without needing to be glued to the block.
Either way, he should help keep Harvard in the Top 50 in defensive block rate (where it's been each of the past four years).
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2691
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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10-11-17 03:13 PM - Post#233806
In response to mrjames
Thanks for all the insight everyone.
I don't see any national ranking or **'s for him. Anyone following him that way?
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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10-11-17 03:43 PM - Post#233813
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
He's sort of in that weird zone where he had a nice summer, but not a nice enough summer to crack the Top 100 rankings.
The recruiting services tend to adjust their ratings for the top kids and frequently don't go back and move around kids who had a big summer but not big enough to crack their lists. The opposite is also true - frequently outlets that put a high, but not Top 100 rating on a recruit, won't adjust that recruit down after a bad summer.
The offers and visits can help add some context. Mason's other offers and visits were all Top 100 mids or power conference teams.
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