John Wall Invitational: Day'Ron Sharpe makes return home, Maker news

RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina bound five-star big man Day’Ron Sharpe made a triumphant return to his home state with a loaded Montverde (Fla.) Academy squad and didn’t disappoint on the second night of the John Wall Holiday Invitational. Also, going pro may not be a sure thing for five-star Makur Maker and several others stood out during the second day of action.

If you didn’t know that five-star big man Day’Ron Sharpe of Montverde (Fla.) Academy was a product of the state of North Carolina and committed to play there in college, it was pretty easy to figure out when the crowd roared for him during pre-game introductions of his game against Durham (N.C.) Academy.

With his loaded squad and Durham Academy being without top 15 sophomore M.J. Rice, things were never all that close in a 85-43 Montverde win. But, the 6-foot-10 big man made the most of limited minutes racking up 14 points and six rebounds in just over 16 minutes of action.

As we have detailed since we first saw Sharpe a little under two years ago, he gets in better shape, looks more athletic and shows more skill each time he hits the floor. During a down year for the Tar Heels, Roy Williams probably wishes that Sharpe could stay home after the John Wall and play the second semester for his home state squad because he could absolutely make an immediate impact and help them fight their way into the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, they’ll have to wait until next season and the only question is whether his return to North Carolina will last any longer than a single season.

Makur Maker would like to enter the NBA Draft in June and has asked the NBA for a ruling on his eligibility. That ruling isn’t likely to come until April. Because of his desire to enter the Draft, thought has been that college is off the table and that the seven-footer would head overseas is if he cannot go in the NBA Draft.

Yes, Maker would still like to enter the NBA Draft. However, if he’s not deemed eligible to enter by the NBA or isn’t getting feedback that he’ll be taken in the upper part of the first round, then college is very much on the table and a trip overseas isn’t likely to happen. Obviously, a seven-footer who can shoot, has ball skills, rebounds and protects the rim would be quite desirable to high level college programs even if a decision wouldn’t happen until sometime between mid April and mid June.

For now, Maker and those close to him are keeping things quiet about the programs they are contact with, but there are absolutely some top end schools involved and depending on what the NBA decides with him, things could get really interesting in a few months.

Playing in his second event with Hillcrest, Maker didn’t put up huge numbers but he was solid on the glass, did make a commitment to posting up and showed off impressive passing for a big man.

…. It has taken a little bit of time for North Carolina bound wing Puff Johnson to find his comfort zone on a loaded Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest team but he played his best game of the year for them on Friday. He knocked down shots when given the opportunity, played within the offense and what was most encouraging was seeing him drive to the lane and finish with some toughness around the rim.

…. Because Montverde is simply so much better than the majority of teams that they are playing against, it makes it really tough to evaluate anybody on their team much less 2020’s No. 2 ranked player Cade Cunningham. Still the future Oklahoma State point guard continues to position himself for a run at the No. 1 spot in the final rankings as he battles current No. 1 Evan Mobley and No. 3 Jalen Green. Cunningham only took four shots but still controlled the game and put together a 10 point and 11 assist outing that looked as natural to him as breathing. During the 2020 portion of his senior season he is going to see some better competition that could test him and then he’ll have the postseason All-Star games to finalize his case. But, until then it’s tough to fairly judge him or the other two horses in the 2020 race for No. 1 fairly. If you are Mike Boynton or a Cowboys fan, who cares? The bottom line is you are getting a stud.

One other notable for Montverde, 2022 forward Caleb Houstan from Canada continues to find his groove. He’s showed his smooth athleticism and ability to run in transition so far this season, but the feathery looking jump shot he showed on Friday night while making four of five from three was most notable. He’s got offers from Oregon and Texas Tech which is no surprise. The only surprise is that he doesn’t have more offers.

…. While there is a raging debate about who finishes No. 1 in the class of 2020, Jonathan Kuminga’s status as the No. 1 ranked player in 2021 isn’t up for debate. He’s looked like a pretty clear No. 1 in that class for a bit now and he didn’t do anything to jeopardize that status while racking up 31 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for The Patrick School. What you have to love about Kuminga is that while he’s a wing, he knows that he’s bigger, stronger and more athletic than pretty much anybody who is trying to check him and when things get close, he goes straight to the post where he’s more advanced than most highly ranked big men. Things were close against local fan favorites Apex Friendship late and Kuminga canceled any hopes of an upset with some very authoritative assaults on the rim. Kuminga said that he's focused on high school right now and declined to mention any schools specifically but Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech have been coming up a lot as schools thought to be heavily in the mix. The reclassification question comes up with him a lot as well, but that's not likely to be sorted out until the summertime.

…. It was good to get a look at N.C. State signee Nick Farrar with his high school team competing against a loaded team like the one Kuminga and The Patrick School brought to the table. He was, well, he was very impressive. Is it reasonable to expect the 6-foot-6 mismatch four man to bury five of six threes every time out? Of course not. But his shooting is for real as is his toughness, crafty play and competitive fire. He’s unlike anybody that Kevin Keatts has signed during his tenure in Raleigh and showed off much more than when we got to see him during the summer. It’s hard to argue with 35 points on only 17 shots against high level competition in a high school game.

…. In Jadun Michael, Wichita State is getting a player who fits right into the mold of what has made them so successful during Gregg Marshall’s time as head Shocker. The senior wing from North Carolina is tough, he’s athletic and he gets a lot done thanks to a motor that never stops. He loves to attack the rim, will sit down and defend and is a true competitor. He’ll fit right in with what the Shockers have going. He scored the last three of his 15 points on a game winning buzzer beater.

…. File the name Robert Dillingham of Charlotte (N.C.) Combine Prep in your memory banks because we are likely going to be discussing him quite a bit down the road. A 5-foot-10 point guard who is jet quick and poised, the 5-foot-10 freshman was the best player on the floor for extended stretches of Combine Prep’s heartbreaking loss to Hillcrest. He can really shoot from deep, changes paces and has tremendous feel for the game.