07 Shoe Camp/AAU Recaps

[RDF]

Not trying to break rules--but thought it would be easier to provide a recap in one thread of this weekend's info then dividing it between '08 and '09 threads. If you want to move it, understand, but it includes info on various kids from '08-10 and didnt' know what to do, so thought it would be best to start this and keep it all in one thread and then as soon as the camps conclude--believe they all wrap up tomorrow, you can lock it up.

1. Greg Monroe has been showing a lot more aggression and what sets him apart is at his size his court vision and unreal passing. He did an update with Scout's Louisiville site and HoyaSkin will have a recap from Scout perspective later on which will include any Hoya notes.

2. Michael Dunigan had a double double yesterday at the Nike Camp and listed GU right along with Purdue and Illinois.

3. Henry Sims and Jason Clark are at the Nike Camp--LeBron James Skills Camp--and Chris Braswell is at the Reebok Camp in Philly. No word on any of our commits right now.

4. Troy Gillenwater, a former Oklahoma State commit, de-committed and mentioned 4 Big East schools as where he'd like to go--with Hoyas being mentioned as one of them. GU showed some interest, but not sure if they will be looking at him this time around.

5. Wallace Judge was having an excellent showing at the Adidas Invitational over the weekend--showing his inside/outside game and has a school list of 8 teams right now--first team always mentioned and one of his 4 offers is from the Hoyas.

6. A class of '10 player who is having a huge weekend is Trae Golden, from Georgia. He's a combo guard who can shoot the lights out and Hoyas are on a short list of teams he's interested in--Kentucky has offered, and UNC, Ohio State, are some of the others on his list of 6 teams.

7. Fellow Georgian Richard Howell is listing Hoyas as a school he's interested in and he's at the Reebok camp--plays with Atlanta Celtics and is part of a loaded '09 Georgia Class.

8. GU being mentioned with 7'2 John Riek, who is having a huge impact at the Nike Camp--but he's very close to DePaul coaching staff and as of now--they are leading. Hoyas are a school he does have interest in though.

9. A name from Louisiana--and teammate of Greg Monroe on his AAU team to watch in '08 is Brandon Moore. Said he's starting to hear from GU and is very interested. He's a 6'9 Combo forward who is somewhat of a "sleeper" nationally.

10. Lance Stephenson is at the Nike Camp and mentioned Hoyas as a team he's very interested in along with heavy hitters--Duke, UNC, Louisville, UConn, Nova, etc... he's far from a decision but those are schools he'll be visiting/hoping to narrow it down from.

As I mentioed above in Monroe update, if Scout has any info on Hoya recruiting--HoyaSkin will provide it in this thread from the Shoe Camps only--we'll go back to having info in the '08-'09 threads once they end tomorrow, but thought it easiest to provide one thread of recaps from both networks in short form. The camps bring kids from every age group and it's easier to recap it all in one thread. MJGHoya is at the Reebok Camp in Philly and will add his insight/info and IDHoya will be at the Peach Jam later on this week, so we'll have all Hoya recruiting covered this week.

[sleepy]

Did anyone here attend any of the camps? If so could you provide a recap or something for those of us who didn't? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[prhoya]

Kudos to one of our recruiting gurus!!

[RDF]

Added info from early today--via a friend on Louisville Board

Lamont Jones--who was committed to Cards and plays at Rice HS in New York has de-committed and currently lists the Hoyas as his leader--he's got other schools he's interested in, but right now "I'm really only thinking about Georgetown".

Kendall Marshall, Isiah Armwood, Terrell Vinson, are at the Reebok Camp with Chris Braswell as is Jamison Morgan.

Morgan was injured in a game last night--a game in which he destroyed Terrence Jennings with his size--hurt his leg and was favoring it--unsure if he could continue playing.

Marshall struggled from floor but was running his team well.

Armwood was a beast--and is really improving his outside skills--another '09 Forward and Hoyas are turning up their interest with him and Terrell Vinson.

Richard Howell had a perfect shooting night last night and ended up with 23 points.

To answer the question above--MJG Hoya is at the Reebok Camp and has always provided insight/updates when he returns or gets access to computer.

Nike Camp is being covered by Scout and Rivals--although Scout is kicking Rivals butt in info/updates but should have more stuff to talk about as the events conclude.

[idhoya]

Kendall is really slow of foot.

[hoyarooter]

Who is Lamont Jones, and what's his story?

[sleepy]

there are confilicting reports now, one says he decommited and the other says nothing has changed and he is still committed to Louisville.

[DanMcQ]

hoyarooter said:

Who is Lamont Jones, and what's his story?

Here is the link with the quote RDF has above - Jones is the second recruit profiled:

njmg.typepad.com/zagsblog/2007/07/lebron-james--5.html

[CO_Hoya]

And here's another link with Jones saying that he's still committed to L'ville. Weird.

[RDF]

Interesting how I went to the link on Jones and scrolled down and saw where Jody Demling talked with Greg Monroe about his school list--and guess which school was first out of his mouth again? GEORGETOWN. I'm not saying he's a lock or even signs with GU--I do like our chances, but what will it take for Rivals to even give GU some consideration when discussion of his recruitment comes up-or even opposing fans? Oh well, let's put them to sleep and steal him away!

Jamison Morgan had an update with Rivals from Reebok camp and didn't mention Hoyas at all-but again it's Rivals and they ignore us--so don't write him off yet.

Interesting note that Nolan Dennis from Texas is transferring to St. Patricks this year-and he's one of a ton of kids in '09 class Hoyas are tracking--this is going to be a "Big Boy" battle with Hoyas, Duke, UNC, UConn, Ohio State, Texas all mentioned with Dennis.

Michael Dunigan has really had a big showing the past two days at Nike and is playing well--getting the ball and scoring on anyone trying to defend him.

A Canadian '11 recruit who has interest in Hoyas is transferring to play for Dan Hurley at St. Benedicts-Tristan Thompson-a 6'6 wing player.

Should have more tomorrow for you and hopefully some additional info from other people with Scout access and who were able to attend the Reebok Camp.

[TahoeSkin]

To add to what RDF has posted, here are some excerpts from Scout.com:

Greg Monroe:
Asked which schools have told him that he’s their No. 1 recruiting target, Monroe said, “Pretty much everybody says that. There’s about 10 or 11 (schools on my list), probably. Georgetown, Louisville, Duke, Kansas, LSU, Kentucky, Texas, USC, and the list goes on.”
Monroe knows how to draw a crowd. Sunday at the Lebron James Skills Academy, Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Duke’s Coach K, Georgetown’s John Thompson III, Texas’ Rick Barnes and Kansas’ Bill Self were easy to spot under the basket watching the lithe 6-foot-9 Monroe.
Monroe said he’s recently begun devoting more energy to his recruitment and plans to decide later this summer which schools his visit in the fall.

Wally Judge:
When asked if there was anybody he patterned his game after, Judge drew a blank, “No, not really,” said Judge. “I just play.”
While he didn’t want to discuss much about his school list, it’s pretty clear that Judge has become very popular with high level college programs. Among those who were a constant presence at his games in Cincinnati was North Carolina. Others showing plenty of early interest include Texas, Maryland, Georgetown, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Virginia.
As for putting together a list of favorites, Judge indicated that he’s wide open and doesn’t have any time table for making a decision or narrowing things down.

Jordan Williams:
Jordan Williams, a 6-8 power forward from Torrington High School in Connecticut, told Scout.com's Evan Daniels at the adidas Take 5ive Classic that he has offers from Massachusetts and Fordham and interest from Notre Dame, St. John’s, Connecticut, and Georgetown. Williams is rated a two star prospect in the Class of 2009 by Scout.com.

Trae Golden:
Trae Golden, a 6-1 point guard from McEachern High School in Powder Springs, GA, told Scout.com's Evan Daniels at the adidas Take 5ive Classic that he is hearing from Kentucky, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, and Louisville. Golden is a member of the Class of 2010.

Troy Gillenwater:
Troy Gillenwater, a 6-8 power forward from Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, MA, told Scout.com's Evan Daniels at the adidas Take 5ive Classic that he has been hearing from Villanova, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Georgetown, and Tennessee since his decommitment from Oklahoma State. Gillenwater, ranked #63 in the Class of 2008 by Scout.com, holds offers from Memphis and Cincinnati.


Incidentally, I'm having a bit of puter problems, but will update the recruiting list hopefully in a few days.

Oh, and I find it very interesting that this is the second time that I have read Greg Monroe uttering "Georgetown" as the first word from his mouth.

Hmmmm???

[sleepyjackson21]

Second time? Oh, it's the 4th or 5th time that i can remember. I'm not sure what that really means other than he's definetly got Georgetown on his mind. That coupled with Seth Davis actually calling us his sleeper pick. You would think that we're right in this thing. Obviously there's a long way to go but hey, i like where we stand.

[RDF]

Notes gathered from today:

Nike Camp concluded last night and Greg Monroe had a nice showing at the camp and is playing with the aggression that most have wanted him to show--Personally speaking, I think his game is best suited when playing with better talent and his AAU team isn't a great team, so his skills/game show better with big time teammates. With the info provided above--it's the 5th time in last month Monroe has listed Hoyas immediately after being questioned about who he's interested in--guess most "gurus" and fans don't start taking note until they hear DUKE from his mouth.

Lance Goulbourne-who took an unofficial visit to the Hilltop last week and is a 6'8 combo forward from the Hun School in NJ had a nice Nike Camp as well--he rebounded well, defended, and made his jumpers. He's very skilled and athletic and Hoyas and Vandy are tracking him--as are Rutgers, Notre Dame and some other programs. He held his own against Ed Davis who in my opinion is having a so-so Spring/Summer and his lack of size has hurt him--he's a PF who isn't big enough yet to play down low and he's not skilled enough to play the SF spot--yet. Great kid and work ethic, but Goulbourne took it to him and held his own against a very highly regarded prospect.

Michael Dunigan had a great Nike Camp as well and was unstoppable in paint in the last 2 days. This recruitment is getting more interesting by the day and should be fun to see who III and Hoya Staff track later this week at the Nike Peach Jam event--July 12-15 and Hoya targets are loaded in that event---including Jason Clark and Chris Braswell who usually suit up for Reebok Triple Threat--but will be with TEAM Melo/Mt. Royal at the Peach Jam. Monroe, Dunigan, and numerous underclassmen will be at the Peach Jam and ID Hoya will be covering it and should have plenty to recap back to us.

REEBOK CAMP

J'Mison or Jamison (I've seen it spelled both ways) Morgan returned to play at the Reebok camp. He really dominated the paint and is said to know what he can do--and not try to do things he can't--he plays on the blocks and uses his moves/skills. Said to be an excellent rebounder due to blocking out and very good passing skills as well. No schools mentioned today but previously it's been said it's a Kansas-Hoya battle with Jayhawks in lead--but recently Rivals didn't list GU--but when do they with certain players?

Dominic Cheek from St. Anthony's was injured in the first game and has sat out--Cheek has blown up this Spring/Summer and Hoyas are monitoring the speedy player. He's got excellent shooting touch and handle and is a priority for most of the Big East/ACC.

Terrell Vinson of Montrose Christian is also injured and hasn't played.

Nolan Dennis is having a great camp and is showing improvement by hitting shots off the dribble and that adds to the fact he's a premiere shooter with deep range. Knows how to play and is prototypical Hoya recruit/player--someone who can do a variety of things and is efficient in doing so. Team player and big time prospect--as mentioned above Hoyas are on him and so is everyone else in country.

Isaiah Armwood is working on his face up game this Spring/Summer and has had some mixed results but is a great athlete. Listed: Villanova, Louisville, UConn, Miami, Hoyas, UNC, and Texas in update provided.

An interesting prospect to add to the list is 6'7 Dallas Kimball '10 prospect Julian Washburn. He's been compared to Chris Bosh and LaMarcus Aldridge at same stage and has heard from UCLA, Georgetown, Texas, and others at this stage.

Nothing on our commits so far--Sims and Clark at Nike Camp and Braswell at Reebok Camp, but I'm sure we'll get something soon as we move onto the Tournament portion of the Summer with Peach Jam being "THE" Nike Event which is where most of our '08 targets will be.

ADDED NOTE--there are some rumors that Oregon might lead or soon get a commit from Michael Dunigan--if that does happen it would be due to a "package deal" with his friend Matt Humphrey who many of the schools who like Dunigan, don't seem to be recruiting. This has been rumored, but many close to Dunigan have said don't pay attention to the package deal--his mom runs the show--so it should be something to follow the rest of week as Humphrey is close to committing to Ducks.

[MJGHoya]

I was at RBK U for the last 2 days and was able to watch all the Hoya targets that were in attendance. Also, I was able to talk to a number of coaches and scouts regarding players at RBK U as well as Nike & Adidas.

I was a little disappointed in the camp this year. For the first time in a while, Nike had the majority of the marquee players and a better overall roster. Also, I wasn’t able to gather as much information on the current Georgetown team like was able to in previous years.

I’ll break this update into 2 parts:
1. Current Hoya & Big East Team Info
2. Recruiting Info & Player Evals from the three camps/tournaments

Part 1 – Hoya & Big East Info
- Vernon Macklin – broke his nose at the Kenner League the other night. I was told that he has improved a lot from the end of last year and is coming along great. Expect him to get significant minutes this year.
- Chris Wright – working hard to improve his game. He is a tremendous competitor. It is important that he stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated while he earns his minutes early in the season.
- Nikita – very underrated player. Will probably never be a starter, but will eventually get minutes and provide very good outside shooting.
- Earl Clark – I always thought he was a great prospect. I heard that he has improved tremendously and he might become Louisville’s best player this season.
- Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes were at the camp watching future Nova PG Maalik Wayns. Both are expected to start this season along with Scottie Reynolds, Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham. BTW Wayns was one of top 3 PGs in camp and reminds me of Kyle Lowery.

Part 2 – Recruiting Info & Player Evals

RBK U
6’3 PG Jason Clark – was on the roster, but didn’t attend the camp. Someone reported that he may have been at Nike, but I was told that he isn’t interested in trying to make post season all-star games so he decided to skip the camps and focus on improving his game

6’8 PF Chris Braswell – he only played on Sunday because he is attending summer school. The primary reason he is transferring to Hargrave is to ensure he is eligible to play as a freshman. I was more impressed with his play last year, but I think this is primarily due to lack of conditioning and a knee injury. He played well in spurts, but at other times was 20 to 30 feet behind the play in transition. Braswell possesses the skills that make him ideally suited for the Hoya offense. He is a very good passer and a solid ball handler. He looks to be expanding the range on his jump shot. He played on the same team as big time guard William Buford and at times seemed frustrated with his lack of touches and the overall lack of teamwork that surfaces in this type of camp setting. He is a good, but not great athlete. In his 2 games he shot 70% from the field and averaged 9.5 pts and 6 rbds. I think once his knee is 100% and his conditioning returns he will be a solid top 50 player in this class.

6'7 Jr Terrell Vinson from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD - was at Rbk, but did not play due to injury. His current list of schools are Maryland, Texas, Duke, North Carolina, Villanova, and Georgetown.

6'8 Jr Isaiah Armwood from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD – Showed flashes of being a top 20 player in his class. He is currently a lanky PF who is trying to become a SF. He is a very good athlete, has a good handle for his size, and is a streaky 3pt shooter. In the game against Braswell’s team, he was the 2nd best player on the court behind William Buford. In the other games I saw he did not play as well. With continued development, he could be an elite player in this class. His school list is Villanova (early leader), Louisville, Connecticut, North Carolina, Miami-FL, Georgetown, and Texas. Surprisingly did not list Maryland.

6’6 Jr Dominic Cheek from St. Anthony’s – Only played in one game due to an ankle injury, but he made the most of it. He looks like an elite prospect. He had 12 pts in 15 minutes and displayed an all-around game with a deadly 3pt shot. He currently lists Gtown in his top 5.

6'6 Jr Nolan Dennis from Richland Hills (H.S.) TX but transferring to St. Patrick’s in NJ. In my opinion he looked more like a top 40 player in his class and not a top 15 player as he is currently ranked by Scout and Rivals. A very skilled smooth player with 3 pt range. He needs to become more aggressive. His list includes Texas, North Carolina, Georgetown, Duke, Arizona, and Ohio State.

6'3 Jr Maurice Creek from Oxon Hill (H.S.) MD – played better as the week went on. Doesn’t appear to be really athletic, but possesses a nice 3 pt shot. I’d take Dominic Check and Nolan Dennis ahead of him. His current list includes Maryland (his dream school), Texas, Marquette (they are recruiting him the hardest), North Carolina, and Georgetown.

6'9 (not 6’11) Jamison Morgan from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX – he was by far the most physically imposing player in camp. He lost weight and has an NBA body. It looked like he seriously injured his knee in his first game, but was able to play in both games yesterday. In their head to head match-up, Terrence Jennings outscored him 18 to 4. Most of Jenning’s hoops were in transition or on offensive put backs. Morgan is very mobile for his size and threw down some monstrous dunks. He rarely received the ball in the post, but when he did, he displayed some nice post moves including a beautiful baseline spin move that he converted for a 3pt play. IMO a top 50 player in the country with the ability to climb much higher. At one time Gtown was in his top 2, but in multiple interviews this week he no longer listed the Hoyas. His current list is Kansas, Florida, Louisville, Baylor, UCLA, Alabama, and Connecticut.

6'8 Jr Karron Johnson form Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC – I loved his game last year and thought he was a top 10 player in the junior class. Based on his performance here, his game is going in the wrong direction. He didn’t appear to be nearly as athletic and wasn’t exerting much energy on the court. He previously listed the Hoyas. His current list is Memphis, Maryland, Virginia, Clemson, North Carolina, and Seton Hall.

6'8 Jr Richard Howell from Marietta (Wheeler) GA. – played very well when I saw him, but he was playing on the 2nd unit. He is someone to keep an eye on for next year. His school list is Wake Forest, Michigan State, Ohio State, Florida, Arizona, Texas, Georgetown, North Carolina, Clemson, and Georgia .

6'3 Jr Taariq Muhammad from Norcross (H.S.) GA – Had a solid week. Based on my initial observation Gtown can do better. His current list is Wake Forest, Florida, Georgetown, South Carolina, Duke, and Xavier.

6'5 Jamaal Trice from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA – I didn’t see him play enough to comment, but his top 3 are Arizona State, Georgetown, and Florida.

6’8 So Tristan Thompson from St. Benedict’s, NJ via Canada – Terrific prospect, possibly top 5 in his class. One of the top SFs in camp. Has Gtown on his early list.

6’3 So Kendall Marshall from Bishop O’Connell, VA – He is generally considered a top 20 player in his class. IMO he is overrated. He is a skilled PG who knows how to run a team, but has limited athletic ability and an awkward looking shot. I was told that Josh Selby (just transferred to DeMatha) is a much better player and superior athlete.

Nike & Adidas
- Wally Judge – one of the top players at Adidas. Some scouts that he was best overall prospect. He will move into everyone’s top 25 after this weekend. I was told that Gtown is the strong leader with one of the reason’s Dave Cox’s connections to DC Assault.
- Greg Monroe – Playing very well. The major knock on him is that he doesn’t always play hard and sometimes doesn’t mix it up inside. He continues to lists GU.
- Michael Dunigan – stock is going through the roof. Supposedly a top 3 big man at Nike. Everyone I talked to has him ranked considerably higher than J. Morgan. Was told that he played very well against Samardo Samuels and outplayed John Riek. GU is still involved.
- Henry Sims – displayed nice skills, but isn’t very physical and doesn’t dominate in the paint. He is better suited for AAU or HS ball.
- 7'2 John Riek – playing very well at Nike. Firmly established himself as a top 5 player in the class of 2009. There is some talk that he my reclassify in the class of 2008 or enroll at mid semester ala Billy Walker at K.St. DePaul is the rumored leader, with Gtown and a host of other involved.

[idhoya]

Reik is close to the DePaul staff. If Morgan is no longer listing Hoyas then something is up.

[idhoya]

Its no secret, but GU offered Wally almost immediately and he is really feeling Hoyas.

[TBird41]

idhoya said:

Its no secret, but GU offered Wally almost immediately and he is really feeling Hoyas.

What is the earliest JT3 has secured a commitment? I feel like he wrapped up Macklin, Freeman and Braswell during the summer & fall prior to their junior HS season. If I'm remembering right, that would seem to be the trend for when he locks up his first priority in a class. For those in the know (and assuming I'm not confused about timing), would Judge be the most likely candidate as the "early" commit in the '09 class?

[tonyparker]

With the interest we are showing in Judge, Gilchrest and Armwood in our own backyard, and our national priorities being Dunigan and Monroe, it makes sense to me that J'Mison Morgan might look somewhere that treats him as the number one frontcourt guy. It sounds like he has the size and talent to warrant that kind of attention.

[sleepy]

idhoya said:

Reik is close to the DePaul staff. If Morgan is no longer listing Hoyas then something is up.

maybe we are closer to landing another big for 2008 than some people are letting on, hmm....one can only hope

[idhoya]

That's what i meant by "something is up". Either '08 or '09. GU just starting to pick it up with Armwood, so they have work to do. He and Judge play the same spot right now, so they would cancel each other out, imo. We may use on of those '09's in '08.