Babbitt worthy of going to No. 1 team in country

No one was better than Luke Babbitt.

The Galena High forward delivered like a mailman in Nevada's basketball showcase - the 4A state tournament - last week in Las Vegas, demonstrating why he is one of the country's top 20 college prospects.

Having never seen Babbitt play until Galena's state final with Mojave last Friday, I wasn't expecting to see the polished player that I saw against the Rattlers. Las Vegas teams normally make Northern Nevada's top players look average, but Babbitt was unquestionably the best player on the court at the Orleans Arena.

Babbitt revealed the skill set of a player who can go on and make an immediate impact at the major college level. Listed at 6-foot-8, Babbitt was equally adept at scoring outside as he was inside.

He jab-stepped like a guard on the perimeter and broke down the defender to score off either a dribble or pull-up jumper. He also schooled the Rattlers with a soft jump hook shot and a baseline jump shot.

If Babbitt hadn't been forced to the bench several times because of a wrist injury and much-needed cool-off period after being assessed a technical foul, he would have score more than 30 points.

Still, Babbitt scored 25 points against a Mojave team that was obviously geared toward stopping him with double and triple teams.

Seeing my share of high school games on ESPN, FSN and satellite this winter, the only high school players with more talent than Babbitt are Kevin Love (bound for UCLA), O.J. Mayo (USC) and Corey Fisher (Villanova).

What I enjoyed most about watching Babbitt play was how he responded in crunch time. He scored seven of the Grizzlies' 11 points, including a three-point basket that gave Galena the lead for good at 52-51 with 1 minute, 24 seconds left. During his pivotal scoring flurry, Babbitt showed his offensive versatility, scoring on a rebound basket, a mid-range jumper and a long-range shot.

"Luke has been clutch all year," said teammate Eric Maupin. "Normally we give him the ball in clutch situations and if he doesn't put it in, we'll be there to put it back in."

The only thing Babbitt didn't do was make the second of two free-throw attempts in the closing seconds that would have sealed Mojave's runner-up fate sooner.

He finished the 4A tournament as the top scorer (61 points) and rebounder (27).

Get your fill of Babbitt next year during his senior season at Galena, because he'll move on to Big 10 powerhouse Ohio State, which is stockpiling blue-chip players at an astounding rate. Babbitt verbally committed to the Buckeyes earlier this week as first reported by Rivals.com.

Wouldn't it have been something if Babbitt had elected to stay home and play for the Wolf Pack? He could have joined Hug's prolific scorer Armon Johnson and given Nevada the best 1-2 local recruiting coup in the university's history.

But Babbitt's talent has apparently outgrown the country's best mid-major program.

If Babbitt doesn't play in a Final Four during his college career at Ohio State, then the Buckeyes will have either been sanctioned by the NCAA or lost too many underclassmen to the NBA.

That the No. 1 team in the country covets Babbitt shows us how talented the Galena player really is.



- Tribune Sports Editor Steve Yingling can be reached at (530) 542-8010 or syingling@tahoedailytribune.com.