KAZOO — On a beautiful fall day in Southwest Michigan, 20 college coaches, from the MIAA to the Big Ten and all points in between, and more than a few high school basketball players enjoyed a Sunday afternoon ... in the Parchment High School gym. Such is the basketball life, and it was a time well spent for both parties.

Some thoughts ...

•The Fife Syndrome

Whereby, the younger brother is better. But, at least, 6’6” Lansing Christian senior David Bunn and 6’4” Ottawa Hills senior Paul Griffith are still taller than their siblings, 6’1” Peter Bunn, a sophomore, and 5’10” Saiquan Griffith, a junior.

We scouted Lansing Christian in March, and Peter was a good freshman ... but Tiffanie Shives might have still been the best guard in the school. Not anymore. Now he’s just a good player without age qualification, as he held his own running with the top rotation. He’s very athletic — can dunk with ease — and not afraid to make things happen with the ball. The only opponent who really gave the younger Bunn problems was David Kool, as the 6’2” Grand Rapids South Christian junior was so much stronger. If Peter gets his brother’s height, watch out. David, who had his tonsils removed earlier in the week, precluding him from any KG-esque primal screams, is a good athlete in his own right. I like him better inside taking advantage of his reach and quickness more than when he was shooting outside.

Ottawa Hills looked good this summer, and has gotten better with the arrival of the Griffith Bros. Saiquan may have been the quickest player out there, which is saying something considering Godwin Heights junior Cecil Brown was also in the house. Saiquan has the requisite breakdown dribble moves, a defensive nose and great ups for a little man. Paul’s game is about as dissimilar from his brother’s as one could imagine. He’s a slashing wing scorer and open court finisher.

•B Real

As good as Muskegon Heights has looked of late, another West Michigan Class B team, 2003 state champ South Christian, will also be a legit contender in March. Four Sailors were in Parchment, and all four played well. 5’11” senior Jordan Torres was strong with the ball and played a prototypical point guard game.

6’6” senior Andrew Vanderschaaf is a smart, position player who was physical and efficient when matched up against his teammate, 6’7” senior Tim Dykgraaf.

Dykgraaf was probably the most pleasant surprise among the college coaches. What you see is what you get with Tim. And what you get is pretty good — a tough guy who will bang, board, guard and finish inside. He’s strong and can jump. Of course, Tim has been a favorite of mine since the spring when I saw him on the bench during an early morning game, having a breakfast of a candy bar and pop. Atta boy.

Then there’s the junior, Kool. Out of deference to Lamar Chapman’s team, if David were a Redskins running back he would be John Riggins rather than Clinton Portis because he wouldn’t be the type to bust out a 70-yard TD run. Rather, he’ll keep banging away and moving the chains, finally wearing down a defense on an 80-yard drive for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter. Some coaches don’t like Kool the first time they see him. But the more the watch, the more the realize what he brings to a team.

•Good League

South Christian or Holland Christian will win the OK-Gold. But the best player might just be at Middleville. 6’2” senior Jon Yeazel burst onto the public consciousness at a Kazoo open gym nearly a year ago. And the Central Michigan commitment has done nothing but get better. Athletic, strong, aggressive, uncanny finisher, you know the drill.

Whether you list Yeazel as a point guard or shooting guard, he’s top five in the senior class at either position. The only other two guys you could say that about are Chris Douglas-Roberts and Jabari Currie. So does taht make Jon the No. 3 guard prospect in the senior class? Probably.

•Mouse II

One coach compared Cecil Brown to former Cleveland State star Ken “Mouse” McFadden, a fiesty little guard who will take a mid-major team to an upset in the NCAA Tournament. Brown is fast and strong and uses both hands well. As a college point guard, he’ll need to work on the subtle parts of the game, basics like feeding the post. But with his talent, Brown will certainly have that chance.

•Brothers In Arms

The 6’8” Mattawan juniors, Wilbur Ampey and Marc Larson, matched up most of the afternoon. While Marc had the better summer, in Parchment Wilbur was the better player. When he gets the ball inside and doesn’t mess around, taking it strong, he’s hard to stop. He also has uncanny athletic ability for his size, with nimble feet. One one occassion Ampey even handled the ball on the break, notching an assist. An offer from Purdue may loom for Ampey, and it’s easy to see him developing into the prototypical banging Boilermaker post.

The key now for Wilbur is to play like this next week. And the week after, etc.

I’ve seen Larson play much better. He could be a Zack Gibson or even Greg Stempin type prospect with the way he runs the court and his ability to hit that lefty shot from the perimeter. Someone really needs to give him directions to the weight room. In Larson's defense, while Ampey's guards looked to get him the ball quite often, his didn't. I recall just one entry pass, actually, and that was directed straight at his feet.

•Other good players

6’5” junior David Clore from St. Joseph ran the floor well, used his body to finish the break and hit shots when he got touches in the halfcourt. Tough player.

6’5” senior Brandon Stephens gets the award for the longest drive down (well, second longest, after me); he’s from Flint Carman-Ainsworth ... again. Brandon’s a big guy but moves well. He can go strong to the hole, yet still finish with a soft touch, which is a tough skill to master. Smart post-up player.

If you want a classic point guard at the small college level, check out 5’8” senior Daniel Greenan from Forest Hills Northern and 5’11” junior Alex Wolf from Parchment. Greenan will get slept on because of his height, Wolfe because he’s not skinny, but when they have the ball they make life easy for their teammates.

6’2” Lansing Sexton junior Jasper Bibbs has seen better days — like in Vegas in July — and may have been a little off with all the coaches in such close quarters. But playing next spring and summer with Ampey, Larson, et al., he’ll have more than enough chances to do his thing in front of the scouts.