We made a stop last night at the Under Armour All-American Basketball Camp, which was powered by Rivals.com and held at the Levine Center at Queens University of Charlotte in Charlotte, NC, and, to our surprise, this may turn out to be one of the best events of the entire summer. We're talking about a camp with tremendous facilities, great coaching, and high level talent, plus the plethora of college coaches, media, and scouts who were in attendance should help insure that this becomes the premier camp during Live Evaluation Period in July, as well as a must stop for everybody in our business for many years to come. And, this is important, because suddenly it looks like NIKE has some serious competition from Under Armour for supremacy on the grass roots basketball summer circuit.
And, once again, the player who separated himself from all of the rest was 7'0 Thon Maker from Orangeville (Athletes Institute) ON, who also was the #1-ranked player a couple of weeks ago at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA. Not only did Maker use his energy and athleticism to run the court, handle the ball in transition, score in a variety of ways, and rebound, and block shots, but he also finished with 23 points and 17 rebounds while being matched up against 7'0 Jr DeAndre Ayton from San Diego (Balboa City) CA, who is the consensus #1-ranked player nationally in the Class of 2017. However, in fairness to Ayton, he really never got a chance to take advantage of his excellent post moves, quickness along the baseline, and ability to be a dominant force in the paint, as he didn't get a lot of touches when he had an opportunity to score and he had no shot at trying to keep up with Maker, who often would be bring the ball up the court and then use his length, quickness, and athleticism to create for both himself and his teammates. Ayton finished with only seven points and six rebounds in this game, but, as was also the case at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp, he never seemed to be able get into the flow of things, and, as a result, it's probably a good idea right now to reserve judgment with regard to whether it's just the setting or whether this is actually becoming a trend.
On the other hand, we thought 6'3 Jr Trevon Duval from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ picked up where he left off both earlier this spring and at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp, as he finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists, which ranked him among the leaders in the camp in all three categories after the first of day of action. And, if the outside shot had been falling and he'd finished better at the rim better in the first half, he probably would have had 30 points and easily been the high scorer in the camp. We also thought 6'0 Jr Quade Green from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA was easily the best point guard (unless you list Duval as a point guard), as he finished with 19 points and was pretty much unstoppable with quickness in the open court and explosiveness and craftiness in terms of getting to the basket. He also has a high basketball IQ, that Philly toughness, and a great nose for the ball, which allows him to get more than share of steals in the open court and rebound exceptionally well for somebody his size.
We also thought 6'2 Jr Jaylen Fisher from Arlington (Botlon) TN was a guy who took his game to another level last night, as this high energy explosive point guard made a living using his speed and quickness to blow past would-be defenders in the open and finishing at the rim. He still needs to work on his outside shooting, as is evident by the fact that he was only 2-9 from behind the arc. However, he was the leading scorer after the first evening with 24 points and he also tied for second in passing with eight assists. This also is a good place to mention 6'0 Anthony Cowam from Washington (St. John's) DC, who led the camp in assists and also was one of the leading scorers in camp with 20 points. This University of Maryland-bound point guard also is very explosive and has good moves off the dribble, does a good job of balancing between getting his own and getting others involved, and now arguably is one of the fastest rising players in the senior class nationally. Remember, Cowan started slow, but finished very strong when we saw him at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp several weeks ago.
On the other hand, 6'4 Jr Jalek Felton from Mullins (H.S.) SC finished tied, along with Fisher, for second in camp with eight assists, but otherwise was somewhat of a disappointment due to the fact that he seemed to be content to just get his teammates involved and run the show, instead of doing what he does best, which is use his incredible quickness and athleticism to get to the basket, knock down the outside shot, and put up prolific numbers. Felton also will need to develop more of a killer mentality and become a better defender if he wants to maintain his lofty rankings. Remember, we're talking about somebody who is currently ranked #4 nationally in the Class of 2017 by the HOOP SCOOP and he also the potential to be just as good someday as his uncle (Raymond Felton).
This also is a good place to mentioned that 6'9 Jr Billy Preston from Dallas (Prime Prep) TX, 6'5 Markelle Fultz from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Jr Hamidou Diallo from Woodstock (Academy) CT, and 6'4 Curtis Jones from Huntington (Prep) WV all pretty much picked up where they left off several weeks ago at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp. Preston also finished ranked among the top 10 in the camp in scoring with 17 points. However, only two rebounds is indicative of the fact that he likes to spend way too much time out on the perimeter, instead of being a killer around the basket. Remember, nobody's going to pay Preston big money someday to handle the ball and shoot the three. However, big guys who have a combination of his strength, athleticism, and skills are few and far between. Fultz missed a lot of easy shots that normally would go in off transition (he was only 4-18 from the field), but the outside shot was going to down (he was 3-8 from behind the arc) and he did manage to finish with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists, which ranked him among the leaders in camp in all three categories. However, it's Fultz, world-class athleticism and the fact that he continues to make enormous strides in terms of reaching his incredible upside and potential. Diallo is another amazing athletic and, once again, he did most of his damage slashing to the basket en route to 13 points and seven rebounds. Jones has a tendency to be a little bit streaky, but, when he's on, he of the best in the class with his explosiveness to the basket and ability to pull the trigger from behind the arc.
Another one of the best athletes in camp was 6'5 Jr James Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA and he did not have a problem using his strength and athleticism to compete against guys a year older in class and be one of the better players in camp. He's more of a slasher than a shooter, but he he finished with 22 points and seven rebounds and was pretty much unstoppable when he attacked the rim and got after it on the boards. We also were pleasantly surprised by the fact that 6'10 Soph Nazreon Reid from Roselle (Catholic) NJ was one of the better big men in camp, as he finished with 15 points and four rebounds and was much more active than he usually is in the post. Remember, we've always been one of Reid's biggest critics and we've even gone so far as to make the Tim Thomas-like comparison. He's not a skilled nor as naturally gifted as Thomas, who was the most talented player nationally in the Class of 1996, but ended up being the consensus #2-ranked player in the class behind Kobe Bryant, because he did play hard and did have the heart necessary to be a superstar at the highest level. However, he another guy who often likes to drift away from the basket and he normally has a tendency to take too many plays off.
We also were not surprised by the fact that 6'4 Jr Josh Anderson from Baton Rouge (Madison) LA was tied for fourth in scoring, behind 6'2 Jr Jaylen Fisher from Arlington (Botlon) TN (24 points), 7'0 Thon Maker from Orangeville (Athletes Institute) ON (23 points), and 6'5 Jr James Walker from Jonesboro (H.S.) GA (22 points), along with 6'0 Anthony Cowam from Washington (St. John's) DC (20 points), and ahead of 6'0 Jr Quade Green from Philadelphia (Neumann-Goretti) PA (19.5 points) on the first night of action. Anderson had 20 points and he has great body control, excellent speed and quickness, good moves to the basket, and knows how to create his own shot. He also is one of the those unheralded guys from the Deep South who often flies under the national radar screen until he gets out and is seen on the national circuit. Another guy that we didn't know much about, but thought really helped himself immensely in this camp was 6'9 Wyatt Lowell from Gilbert (Williams Field) AZ. We're talking about a 6'9 athletic white kid with the versatility, toughness, and skills necessary to play both inside and outside and is good enough to be ranked in the 50-100 range nationally in the Class of 2016. He also has good moves around the basket, is active on the boards, passes the ball extremely well for somebody his size, and can step out and knock down the open three.
It also was like night and day for6'2 Wolfgang Novogratz from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA when compared to how he played in the Cream of the Crop 30 All-Star Game a month at the Pangos All-American Camp. If will recall, we thought he took too many shots and, as a result, did not do what he usually does, which is use his high basketball IQ to get people involved, be like a coach on the floor, and help enhance the chemistry of his team. However, this time around Novogratz not only did those things, but he also finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists and was the vocal leader that his team needed at crunch time. We also previously last saw 6'10 Nate Morris from Lancaster (H.S.) TX at the Pangos All-American Camp a month ago and, once again, we think he is one of the more underrated big men in the senior class nationally. We're talking about somebody who runs the court, has good athleticism, and is a physical specimen in the post and we liked the way he set picks and screens, scored around the basket, and took care o business on the boards.
This also was the best we've seen 6'9 Sedee Keita from Lynchburg (Virginia Episcopal) VA play this spring and summer. He's still not very skilled at the offensive end, but he's playing with more confidence and it's tough not to like the way he runs the court and rebounds, blocks shots, and is a presence at the defensive end. We also liked the fact that 7'1 Sacha Killeya-Jones from Lynchburg (Virginia Episcopal) VA is much more active around the basket than he used to be and there were not many guys his size that we're any better at getting to the basket than 6'9 Troy Baxter from Oldsmar (Christian) FL, who is really more of a three/four than a four/three. However, nobody in the camp is better at attacking the basket and getting to the foul line than 6'6 Mark Vital from Dallas (Prime Prep) TX, who was only 5-13 from the field and 8-16 from the foul line, but still managed to finish with 18 points. We also thought 6'2 J.J. Caldwell from Houston (Home School) TX helped himself, as he did a good job using his quickness and athleticism to get to the basket and balancing out his scoring and playmaking en route to 12 points and six assists.
One guy who did not help himself was 6'2 Ray Salnave from Bayside (Cardozo) NY. We're talking about a 6'2 2-guard who is ranked #42 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and he did show that he knows how to get his shot and is a good outside shooter, as he finished with just six points and was 2-5 from behind the arc. However, he otherwise was like a fish out of water on a team that featured 7'0 Thon Maker from Orangeville (Athletes Institute) ON, but otherwise had a solid group of players who seemed to understand their roles. Maybe part of the problem is that Salnave has never before been thrown to the wolves on the national circuit. However, we think he's nothing more than just a good mid-major player. On the other hand, I'm sure our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio, who has coached Salnave for the last three years, will disagree. So, we'll just have to agree to disagree and see how this one ultimately plays out.