Demarcus Croaker, a 6'2/6'3 guard out of Jones High School in Orlando. Kid is overshadowed on his summer AAU team by two five stars (Chris Walker and UF commit Kasey Hill), but he is starting to blow up as of late. High level athlete, with a decent handle and developing range. Reminds me of another Orlando product, Jason Rich, though not quite as thick.
Here's an impressive video: Demarcus Croaker and there is a bit more after the jump.
As you can see from the video, he certainly is athletic. But what I like most about him (and what you can't see as much from that video) is his ability to get into the lane and hit the floater and his willingness and desire to play defense.
He is currently a three-star on both Rivals and ESPN, but is generally regarded as a top 150 player nationally and a top 8 player in the state. Our own Michael Rogner thinks he could be in line for a bump up to four stars in the next rankings, and here's this tweet from ESPN's Reggie Rankin:
Florida Elite over New Heights 76-68 loved Demarcus Croaker today! Athletic SG that score in a variety of ways. #teamadidas
— Reggie Rankin (@ReggieRankin) July 15, 2012
He has an FSU offer and has gone on record and said that FSU is his leader, with most expecting a decision in November. So what's a possible reason for the hold up? He plays the same position as Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Not saying we wouldn't take both--it's never wise to count Coach Ham's schollies. But as good as Demarcus is, and he is quite good, XRM is definitely the better shooter, is a legacy, and happens to be really good friends/teammates with the best basketball player in high school basketball, Andrew Wiggins.