O'Laughlin's Summer

I fully expect ChiKid to chime in here, but I was perusing NERR's site and noticed he was listed as the #15 "riser" of the summer. Congrats to him and it doesn't surprise me one bit that that he is starting to get noticed. I mean, he was my NH Player of the Year LAST year...and more thank likely will be my preseason favorite for that award again this year. I just think he has all the tools, and makes the plays (pass, shot or steal) to be the difference maker on whatever team he plays for. Here's the link:

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/1562/Top-Stock-Risers-of-the-Summer.php

He had a great July and I agree with you that he was the player of the year last year as well. No one plays both sides of the ball better than he does. I know many believe that Madol is the best player in the state but to me with Madol checking out to Vermont Academy Mike O is now the best overall player in the state. No offense to some of the other guys but he just has more tools right now. He played backup point guard for the Jayhawks and did it very well. Can shoot it from deep,rebound and is one of the top 3 defenders in the state as well. What more can you ask of a kid. About time he is getting some respect and notoriety.

I have seen Holder play 4 times this summer at riv, and he also impresses me.Should be a fun year in Milford when you add in Mitchell and the other kids.

I have to agree with you Big guy, Holder seems to be one of those kids under the radar on that team. I think he has more potential then anyone in NH besides Madol but seems to be on a team with a lot of good options and he doesn't seem to be the type of player to just jack up a ton of outside shots to get into the scoring books he is more of a play maker to me. And when it comes to defense he uses his speed and length better then most of the kids out there. And at the next level coaches drool over team players that can do everything well. I followed the Jayhawks team a lot this year and got to read a lot about Mike and the rest of his team. But Holder plays for the rivals and so i didn't get much info on him. I do have a close friend that said last year during the playoffs coach Spirou from SNHU came to watch Mike O play and the only thing he said after the game was that he will be keeping a close eye on Holder. It also was a very interesting playoffs to say the least you had the chance to see Holder break out and steal the semi final game against Portsmouth at both ends of the floor and in the finals if i rember correctly he set the tone early for the team by not only filling in for the absent Mitchell but scoring the first eight or ten points of the game after a tight first three minutes from each team never mind having to play the whole game. I don't think Holder stepped of the floor the whole game. My son was sitting behing Matt Alosa and his assistant during the Portsmouth game and he heard Alosa tell his assistant you have to watch Holder he is the kid we have to stop . And sure enough a few moments later Holder did something spectacular and Alosa turned to his assistant and said i told you. So all and all the kids that stand out in game to me and other coaches are the ones that can change games in a variety of ways and that to me is what Holder brings to the game. I like Mike O's game from what the games i have watched but if you look at his points at least 75 percent of them come from either Holder or Mitchell driving and dishing out to Mike O for clean looks where as when i watch Holder or Mitchell they can make things happen by themselves and that comes down to a different speed level and that to me is the biggest difference especially when you get to the next level you have to have the speed to be able to play against the other speedy players out there. By the way i heard in the BG game Mike had a great game but Holder scored over thirty so that gives you a good idea what the kid can do against the best out there. Now that my love affair with holder is out i will move on to Madol he is a kid that to me has that upside that people just seem to ignore sometimes when i hear posts that don't give him the credit he deserves this kid has huge potential and i hope he goes prep he needs some more time to mature but he has a ton of athletic ability that could easily put him into a d1 program somewhere but he just needs to polish up his skills. I saw him play four games this year and was very impressed by his court sense and play making for a kid his size. He moves with ease and is off his feet and slamming home a dunk while the other kids are just staring at the ball. That stuff can't be taught my friends. I think at the end of the year it will interesting to see if it's just politics as usaul with the voting or the coaches can really get together and see who really does the most for their team and who has the most potential to me those two things are what makes sense to me when your picking a player of the year canidate.

I think what separates Mike O from the other guards right now is his strength. He is able to finish with contact more than most in the area. Someone on here was saying last year he is the best finisher in the state and I agree with that. He uses both hands at the hoop and has enough strength to take a hit and still finish. Holder is super athletic and his shooting is now makes you have to come out on him only making it easier for him to go by you. I will not argue over who is the better defender because I think they both do a great job defensively but I do disagree that Mike depends on others to create his offense. That may have been the case a year ago but I watched him go for 30 in Orlando with many of the points coming off dribble drives. He also did this many times against BG on Friday night. His skill set and strength are catching up to his finishing abilities now and that does not make it any easier for class I or D2 as it is now called.

I mostly agree with your post on Mike O however I can not be convinced that he is better then a Madol or Holder. To me comes down to potential and upside and when you watch Madol or Holder you can see them playing at the next level whether it be d1 or d2. It all comes down to speed and athletic ability and size. Both Madol and Holder have the right speed and size to play at the next level both need to put on a little more weight but that comes with time. Speed however is a gift you have it or you don't and if you have it you work on it to get it even faster along with the strength. If you to go and watch a d2 game lets say SNHU vs St A' you would see that mike would have to match up against a two gaurd night in and night out do you really see him scoring at will on lets say a 6-4 Tory Stapleton,6-4 Stephen Wood or a 6-4 6-4 Hanell Velez? or Maybe someone from St A's like 6-4 Quinn Woodhouse or a 6-3 Oliver Hunter? Look lets be real if he did some how get onto a d2 team there would be very little time for him to play no a strong d2 team because like i said earlier speed is the name of the game at the higher levels and you must have the right size to go with it. Now when you metioned aau ball you have to be serious with yourself these kids playing aau ball have no idea what real structure and disipline is when it comes to the college level. They are playing aau ball two or three games a day staying up late at night its hot out whats my girl freind doing?the list is endless but what you can't do is try to compare a few aau games against reality and that is where it ends. Madol and Holder have the biggest upside to them hands down they are the types kids that college coaches look for they know that they can polish up thier game and implement them into their system and thats my point when you when watch those two play thats what seperates them from the rest. I would love to Mike O go far he seems like a wonderful kid but reality is reality.

Basketballtime, I agree to disagree. There is a lot to say about structure,grades and many other facets of being a college player. Mike O has the ability to adapt to different styles as well as any of the players you mention. Why would you think otherwise he proves it with the two programs he plays in. In the summer he plays with a AAU club that is a team that will look to run but more often than not executes sets with ball screens and off the ball movement that some players would have trouble reading and reacting to.
During the Winter he plays in a program that is dribble drive oriented with basic principals of attack and kick. He has shown with the Spring and Summer he has had he can play in different styles. He is ahead of the game in strength for his age as well as a much better shooter than he gets credit for. Like all players he has to get better at all of the games skills but I do not see where you think he is further from that than the others by a noticeable margin. I understand that you probably have not seen as much of Mike as I have and you may have seen more of David Madol than I. Jamie calls me Dad so I wouldn't ever argue with his level either the sky is the limit with him also. But I think you are underestimating what Mike will be capable of over the next few years. Keep in mind that Mike O has the ability to go prep and get an extra year also. Who know what the future holds for these kids but I believe we let them get there with our support and motivation. Putting on here that a kid is limited is not what I would say is in the best idea of what this blog is for. Just my two cents.

Just curious on the comment about reading about the Jayhawks, where were you reading about them? I mean there really was not a lot posted on the team this year. Despite winning every pool they entered into before going to Florida and taking 2nd in their pool for nationals which is not bad in the grand scheme of things. I do not remember much being written about them. In fact I would think it would be easier to follow the Rivals online with the Rivals blog,Hazeltons Blog,Jeremy's blog and the Mass/NH blog. And Adam Finkelstein also seems to be very in tune with what the Rivals do as a rule. Am I missing a site to follow or what?

I have seen post on nerr about the jayhawks several times never mind the posts from you on this site and i was able to google and find the jayhawk website as well. The rival site doesn't seem to ever be updated so i don't see much there. And it's not that I'm putting Mike O down at all I'm being realistic you can't compare NH high school basketball or aau ball with top d2 basketball. I thought my point was pretty clear i gave you examples of d2 players that he would have to go up against and you gave me examples of high school and aau ball? And not trying to hype something that isn't really there. I think you have to do one thing if your looking for where these kids will end up playing and that is look at the next levels and imagine them going up against that positional player and be honest and then ask yourself if they can play at that speed?

I really didn't mean for this thread to turn into a "who's better" (because its a silly argument to begin with) or a conversation about AAU, college level players blah blah blah. Look, Mike O had a nice summer season, he was an anchor for the Jayhawks and got some recognition from NERR. I'm sure Holder had a nice season for Rivals too, unfortunately they weren't covered in the media quite as much and he's probably overshadowed on that team a bit. Good job to Mike and the rest of the Jayhawks for an over all great summers season and to the rest of the NH kids that put time in this summer...can't wait for the winter.

I think ChiKid was referring to NHIAA D2 not NCAA D2. Just wanted to point that out...

Your right, Gold,Silver,Copper,Bronze and Iron.... That is 5 brackets how did you come up with that? I mean if there are 4 pools how do you get 5 brackets?
As for covering and defending the guys you mention I would say this. I have seen Mike guard guys like Nadiir Tharpe, Alex Murphy, Michael Frazier and others and be able to stay in front of them. All of those guys are D1 players and Mike did more than hold his own. Sure he may not be as quick as he needs to be but he is also stronger and can lean on his man and use his length to compete. If you read back at my post I continue to talk positive and you continue to doubt guys and throw negative at me. I do not doubt that either of the three can play at least D2 ball.

As for reading about the teams I am sure you know that the Jayhawks had very little posted on there other than the college night and a few post of us having nice wins. Very little about who played well especially defensively which is where you seem to think Mike will struggle. However at nationals Mike was explosive,scoring,defending and doing all the little things that help a team win. Now can we please turn this to something positive as this site is suppose to be or at least do me a favor and if you are going to continue to knock a high school kid and his program throw your name out there so we will know why you really feel you have to be so negative to him and now his team.
Mike Mitchell

Why is it being negative? I was stating only facts and my thoughts on what i see out of certain players. Like i said earlier i like Mike O's game but i just don't see him fast enough to stay with d2 guys at his size. There is nothing negative about it? its just what i see and what other coaches see when they watch. It's something they don't have any control over/speed, size, strength ect. Now when you try to sell me a story on how well he did in Florida and i happen to look it up on the aau site it said they lost in the iron round that you did not happen to mention anything about? And to me it just seems like you were hiding that fact? Which is not a big deal to me it just means if i am looking at the whole picture of any player i would like to know the whole story so i can see the consistency of a player or players that's all. I look at Madol and a Holder or even a green and i see the upside with the speed and size the only thing for green that i'm not sold on is his conditioning at 6-5 i wouldn't mind seeing a little more speed for him step comfortably into a strong d2 program but i think that is doable for him he can play a three most of the time because of his size. So all in all i'm sorry if you take this negatively i am just telling you my honest opinion on what i see out certain players. Sometimes it's easy to take things negatively if your close to a player and i don't mean it like that at all and i understand your feelings however it's just my opinion and that's it. I guess we will have to wait until next year to see what d2 schools pick him up or not?

I'm editing a couple of these posts from both of you...guys...these kids are 16 an 17 years old. They've still got a year of basketball left. Lots can happen.

I don't think either of you are intentionally being negative, but sometimes the way things are written can come off like that.

Also to clear things up...the NH Sports FORUM is not a Blog. A blog is run by an individual or several individuals (such as NH Notebook/Jeremy Leveille) that expresses opinion based on observations. A Forum is a place for anybody to share opinion. Its a big difference...just been one of my peeves for a while no harm no foul.

I don't post articles or attempt to make money here...just give the good people of NH a place to talk sports. I'd hope people would conform to general rules of decency and put their feet in the shoes of a 17 year old kid their typing about before they ridicule a certain players style, etc. Please everybody try to keep it positive...I have a day job you know and can't spend all day reading these books you guys post!!