Post by MJGHoya on Jul 17, 2005 20:56:09 GMT -5
I was at the ABCD camp last week and wanted to pass along some recruiting info & player evaluations.
Before I get into the ABCD camp info, I spoke to a few scouts regarding our recruits for 2005 and 2006. A number of people think Egerson is having a great summer and will have the biggest impact. Others thought that Sapp or Spann could be the best. Thornton’s stock appears to be dropping. A few people were really raving about Summers. They said he could be a “program changer” and that he would be in their revised top 30 players in the country. They were also high on future targets Braswell, Dontae Green, and Braxton Dupree.
Also, JTIII & co are recruiting like crazy. HoopScoop has JTIII under consideration as the most visible coach of the summer.
The following players mentioned Gtown on their school lists:
Class of 2006
Devan Bawinkel 6-5 SG Winnebago, Ill - Gtown, DePaul, TN, Utah, WV 3.9 GPA – He played on the 1st unit on a team that included Lance Thomas, Durrell Arthur, Kevin Love & Isaiah Thomas. Out of all the class of 2006 players listing Gtown at this camp, he appears to be the best fit. He is not the type of player who excels in this every man for himself setting. With the number of high profile players on his team he was the 4th or 5th option on offense. He played team ball the entire week and didn’t let his lack of offensive opportunities impact his effort. He is a very good perimeter shooter. I saw him make a number of threes and his misses had a very soft touch. During one game, he surprised me with an athletic drive and a left-handed finish in traffic. In another game, he was stuck guarding OJ Mayo. He played solid defense, but OJ is just too good and scored on him with relative ease. I think he is a borderline top 100-150 player in the country, but has even more value to a program like Gtown that runs a variation of the Princeton offense.
D’Sean Butler 6-7 SF Newark, NJ - DePaul, Gtown, WV, Seton Hall, Rutgers – I only saw him play once, but he had a solid game. He was active on the offensive glass (had a couple of tip-ins) and had a smooth looking J. In my opinion, he is probably a top 150 player in the country and would be a solid contributor off of the bench.
Jenard Fleming 6-5 G/F Richmond, VA – UVA (leader), Gtown and a few others – Had a pretty good camp. He is a pretty good athlete, but I didn’t have enough time to focus on his game. He was on the 2nd unit of Paul Harris & Devon Jefferson’s team.
Austin Wallace 6-9 215 PF Bronx, NY - Gtech, Gtown, SFL, Prov, SYR, Marist 3.3 GPA – He played on the 2nd Unit of Greg Oden’s team. Showed a decent touch and solid rebounding skills, but in my opinion projects to be role player off of the bench. He is probably a fall back option if we strike out with Macklin and Crews.
Andre Thornton 6’6 F Memphis, TN - FL, TN, Stanford, UAB, Gtown, Rice 4.2 GPA, 22 Act – I saw his team play twice, but he didn’t do anything to stand out.
Note: Lance Thomas did not list Gtown. His list consisted of AZ,Duke,UConn, Vill, Rutgers,FL, Louisville
Class of 2007
James Hickson 6-9 F/C Atlanta, GA - Aub, AL, Clemson,FSU,UNC, GA, Gtech, Gtown – I really like his game. He is an aggressive, athletic post player. He is a big time rebounder and shotblocker. His offensive game is still coming together, but he has very good hands, a decent jumper and a developing baby hook shot. He appears to have the ability to develop into a McDonald’s All-American
Rakim Sanders 6-4 SG Barrington, RI - UConn, Syr,Gtown, St. John's, Prov, BC - He played on the 1st unit on a team with Michael Conley, Dequan Cook, Jamie Skeen, and Greg Oden. This team along with OJ Mayo’s could make the Final Four in a year or two. He appears to be big time scorer. His 3pt shot is inconsistent but he can score in a variety ways. The fact that he wasn’t overshadowed on a team with 3-4 future NBA players is a good indication that he can play. He is a top 50 player in his class with the potential to go higher.
Camp Highlights
OJ Mayo vs Paul Harris – I sat in the 4th row at center court for this matchup. For those of you that haven’t seen OJ play, he is as good as any HS point guard that I’ve seen in the last 17 years. I’m talking about Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd, Anfernee Hardaway, Shaun Livingston, Kenny Anderson, Allen Iverson good. He might be the most intelligent HS player that I’ve seen. He gets everyone involved, creates good shots for his teammates, is a good 3pt shooter, can score at will and is a very good (not great) athlete. In one game I saw him score 26 points in 16 minutes. He was killing people all week at camp until he faced Paul Harris. Paul Harris is 6-4 NFL TE playing HS basketball. Despite his physical build is a very skilled basketball player and is an absolute warrior on the court. He put some old Gtown style in your face D on OJ and held him to a total of 2pts (1-10 from the field). He played as if this was a final four game not a meaningless summer camp contest. Harris’ team lost in OT, but his will-to-win elevated the entire game to another level. He was my favorite (not best) player in camp, but unfortunately he is going to Syr.
Oden vs Caracter – This game was the final game on Friday night on the same court that Mayo and Harris played on a couple of hours earlier. I’m glad I never moved from my seat, because the crowd started to pile in for this one. This was a rematch of last year’s game in which Caracter outplayed Oden. Regardless it is quite clear that Oden is the better prospect. This game was very intense early as both teams made a concerted effort to get their big man the ball. Oden was able to get very good position and scored in a number of ways – 6ft hook, 6ft J, spin move with a left handed finish, and monstrous dunk and the foul. Oden’s D in the post was so good that he forced Caracter to go the perimeter. Caracter displayed some amazing ball handling skills for someone his size. On one move he went behind the back and finished with a lefty finger roll. He also nailed two 3 threes when the game was out of reach. Oden’s team won by 20 and he finished with 12 pts, 4 rbds, 4blks, & 1 assist, Caracter finished with 13pts, 5 rbds and 1 assist. Despite their stats being similar Oden clearly won this matchup. Caracter reminds me of a more skilled, thinner Glen “Big Baby Davis and will choose between Louisville and Memphis. Oden was absolutely dominant all week and is as good as any HS big man since Shaq. He is a true post player that loves to mix it up inside. He is a pretty good passer and the rest of his offensive game is coming around. He really intimidates his opponents with his great shot blocking ability and his ferocious dunks.
I’m glad I got to see both of these matchups. They rank right behind the Lebron – Lenny Cooke showdown from a few years ago.
Before I get into the ABCD camp info, I spoke to a few scouts regarding our recruits for 2005 and 2006. A number of people think Egerson is having a great summer and will have the biggest impact. Others thought that Sapp or Spann could be the best. Thornton’s stock appears to be dropping. A few people were really raving about Summers. They said he could be a “program changer” and that he would be in their revised top 30 players in the country. They were also high on future targets Braswell, Dontae Green, and Braxton Dupree.
Also, JTIII & co are recruiting like crazy. HoopScoop has JTIII under consideration as the most visible coach of the summer.
The following players mentioned Gtown on their school lists:
Class of 2006
Devan Bawinkel 6-5 SG Winnebago, Ill - Gtown, DePaul, TN, Utah, WV 3.9 GPA – He played on the 1st unit on a team that included Lance Thomas, Durrell Arthur, Kevin Love & Isaiah Thomas. Out of all the class of 2006 players listing Gtown at this camp, he appears to be the best fit. He is not the type of player who excels in this every man for himself setting. With the number of high profile players on his team he was the 4th or 5th option on offense. He played team ball the entire week and didn’t let his lack of offensive opportunities impact his effort. He is a very good perimeter shooter. I saw him make a number of threes and his misses had a very soft touch. During one game, he surprised me with an athletic drive and a left-handed finish in traffic. In another game, he was stuck guarding OJ Mayo. He played solid defense, but OJ is just too good and scored on him with relative ease. I think he is a borderline top 100-150 player in the country, but has even more value to a program like Gtown that runs a variation of the Princeton offense.
D’Sean Butler 6-7 SF Newark, NJ - DePaul, Gtown, WV, Seton Hall, Rutgers – I only saw him play once, but he had a solid game. He was active on the offensive glass (had a couple of tip-ins) and had a smooth looking J. In my opinion, he is probably a top 150 player in the country and would be a solid contributor off of the bench.
Jenard Fleming 6-5 G/F Richmond, VA – UVA (leader), Gtown and a few others – Had a pretty good camp. He is a pretty good athlete, but I didn’t have enough time to focus on his game. He was on the 2nd unit of Paul Harris & Devon Jefferson’s team.
Austin Wallace 6-9 215 PF Bronx, NY - Gtech, Gtown, SFL, Prov, SYR, Marist 3.3 GPA – He played on the 2nd Unit of Greg Oden’s team. Showed a decent touch and solid rebounding skills, but in my opinion projects to be role player off of the bench. He is probably a fall back option if we strike out with Macklin and Crews.
Andre Thornton 6’6 F Memphis, TN - FL, TN, Stanford, UAB, Gtown, Rice 4.2 GPA, 22 Act – I saw his team play twice, but he didn’t do anything to stand out.
Note: Lance Thomas did not list Gtown. His list consisted of AZ,Duke,UConn, Vill, Rutgers,FL, Louisville
Class of 2007
James Hickson 6-9 F/C Atlanta, GA - Aub, AL, Clemson,FSU,UNC, GA, Gtech, Gtown – I really like his game. He is an aggressive, athletic post player. He is a big time rebounder and shotblocker. His offensive game is still coming together, but he has very good hands, a decent jumper and a developing baby hook shot. He appears to have the ability to develop into a McDonald’s All-American
Rakim Sanders 6-4 SG Barrington, RI - UConn, Syr,Gtown, St. John's, Prov, BC - He played on the 1st unit on a team with Michael Conley, Dequan Cook, Jamie Skeen, and Greg Oden. This team along with OJ Mayo’s could make the Final Four in a year or two. He appears to be big time scorer. His 3pt shot is inconsistent but he can score in a variety ways. The fact that he wasn’t overshadowed on a team with 3-4 future NBA players is a good indication that he can play. He is a top 50 player in his class with the potential to go higher.
Camp Highlights
OJ Mayo vs Paul Harris – I sat in the 4th row at center court for this matchup. For those of you that haven’t seen OJ play, he is as good as any HS point guard that I’ve seen in the last 17 years. I’m talking about Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd, Anfernee Hardaway, Shaun Livingston, Kenny Anderson, Allen Iverson good. He might be the most intelligent HS player that I’ve seen. He gets everyone involved, creates good shots for his teammates, is a good 3pt shooter, can score at will and is a very good (not great) athlete. In one game I saw him score 26 points in 16 minutes. He was killing people all week at camp until he faced Paul Harris. Paul Harris is 6-4 NFL TE playing HS basketball. Despite his physical build is a very skilled basketball player and is an absolute warrior on the court. He put some old Gtown style in your face D on OJ and held him to a total of 2pts (1-10 from the field). He played as if this was a final four game not a meaningless summer camp contest. Harris’ team lost in OT, but his will-to-win elevated the entire game to another level. He was my favorite (not best) player in camp, but unfortunately he is going to Syr.
Oden vs Caracter – This game was the final game on Friday night on the same court that Mayo and Harris played on a couple of hours earlier. I’m glad I never moved from my seat, because the crowd started to pile in for this one. This was a rematch of last year’s game in which Caracter outplayed Oden. Regardless it is quite clear that Oden is the better prospect. This game was very intense early as both teams made a concerted effort to get their big man the ball. Oden was able to get very good position and scored in a number of ways – 6ft hook, 6ft J, spin move with a left handed finish, and monstrous dunk and the foul. Oden’s D in the post was so good that he forced Caracter to go the perimeter. Caracter displayed some amazing ball handling skills for someone his size. On one move he went behind the back and finished with a lefty finger roll. He also nailed two 3 threes when the game was out of reach. Oden’s team won by 20 and he finished with 12 pts, 4 rbds, 4blks, & 1 assist, Caracter finished with 13pts, 5 rbds and 1 assist. Despite their stats being similar Oden clearly won this matchup. Caracter reminds me of a more skilled, thinner Glen “Big Baby Davis and will choose between Louisville and Memphis. Oden was absolutely dominant all week and is as good as any HS big man since Shaq. He is a true post player that loves to mix it up inside. He is a pretty good passer and the rest of his offensive game is coming around. He really intimidates his opponents with his great shot blocking ability and his ferocious dunks.
I’m glad I got to see both of these matchups. They rank right behind the Lebron – Lenny Cooke showdown from a few years ago.
