August 16, 2001

Eric Watkins
VUSports.com

Tonight I had the opportunity to watch Ted Skuchas (7'0" Center, Germantown Academy, Ft Washington PA, Class of 2002) and Ben Luber (5'11" Point Guard, Council Rock, Newtown PA, Class of 2003). Skuchas and Luber helped lead Sam Rines 1 to a decisive win over the Coca Cola Elite in an early game at the Sonny Hill Future Stars Tournament being held at Temple University (McGonigle Hall) through Sunday, 19 August.

Ted Skuchas started strong, blocking 5 of the first 7 field goals attempted. He airballed a 12 footer, drained a turnaround baseline J and then proceeded to play increasingly worse as the game wore on. Skuchas has excellent size and a solid build but didn't use his frame well against his undersized opponent in this game.

On the plus side, Skuchas is constantly looking to position himself to block every shot in the paint, he has good coordination, and he has a decent shooting form.

On the downside, he doesn't use his size to maintain solid rebounding position. He tired very quickly in this game and became less effective as the clock ticked off. Skuchas needs to continue to work on his offensive footwork and has to finish with authority. Skuchas didn't show me that he has the ability to score effectively against High Major Div 1 competition early in his college career. There were countless times in the second half when he never made it back on defense - allowing the opposition to score in the paint. Skuchas was at times too eager to leave his feet to attempt to block shots.

There are many positives to Ted's game and he shows the potential to be a solid High Major player. He needs to play with more killer instinct offensively and let things come to him more on defense. Skuchas has been rated as high as a Top 50 prospect but some services now list him closer to 200. I can see the arguments either way - his size and coordination make him a borderline Top 100 guy on potential alone. How badly he wants to compete is a question. I should have another opportunity to see Skuchas perform - perhaps he will bring more juice and emphasize his strengths.

Ben Luber suprised the heck out of me. Not knowing what he looked like (and with no rosters available until tomorrow) I was fortunate he scored an early duece forcing the PA guy to confirm that the guy running the point was indeed Ben uber.

Luber has an unimpressive 5'11" frame and can't rely on quickness to dominate a game. What he does have is a solid handle and a wonderful feel for the game. Luber made such efficient use of the dribble it was amazing. Almost at will, Luber reads the floor and makes a move to create a wide open look for a teammate. On the semi-break, he has the ability to find the open guy with pin-point half court passes.

Can he shoot? In this game, he couldn't buy an outside bucket - however, his form is good. He made several great moves off the dribble only to see the ball teasingly slip off the rim.

Defensively, Luber doesn't put enough pressure on the ball - he spends too much time looking to help while not making the man he is guarding work to penetrate or shoot.

Ben Luber is listed by some services as a Top 50 Junior - amazing in this day and age where the high-flying dunker or athletic speedster garners much of the attention. Luber is a smart player with the handle and court saavy to be an effective PG. If he grows a couple inches and adds some muscle, Luber is comparable to Todd Billet (with less range?). If he enters his Senior year with his current frame, Luber may see his stock fall. I don't envision him matching up well with physical, quick High Major guards until he matures physically.