[ChrispyParticipant]

Yo everybody!

Spent my 30th B-day weekend at the 2012 Pangos All American Camp in my hometown of Long Beach, CA, and would like to fill you guys in on what I saw.

Best of the Best

3) Wayne Seldon is a big, big guard. He has the build of a PF on a 6’5" frame, but he is far from being slowed down by his physique. Watching him brings to mind the phrase, "Sneaky Athletic" because his jumping ability and lateral quickness is made even more eyepopping because of the thickness of his body. Watching him next to and putting to shame the wiry, long run/jump athletes we expect to fly in a camp setting was sensational. Add to his physical skills a MUCH better looking J than when I saw him last year as well as developing court vision, the sky is the limit for him. Needs to improve his one on one ball handling, but man he is fun to watch.

2) Cliff Alexander has long arms. Maybe not Bejay Anya arms but not far from it. H has really got himself into shape and runs the court surprisingly well for such a big kid. He was first trailer down multiple times on fast breaks and was rewarded with multiple big finishes from the guards. He bangs well in the post and his arms allow him to get his hook off easily over his left shoulder. He even showed his jumper during lay-up lines, making a few shots from 17 feet nothing but net. His D was hard to gauge in the up and down setting, but he holds his position well and his length makes easy shots for bigs hard to come by (at this level, at least).

1) Connor Frankamp didn’t win the MVP, but he should have. His shot didn’t fall like it should have during the back-half of the day, but all his misses were in and out J’s. His form is a little unorthodox as it starts low and to the right of his chin, but he is still an excellent shooter. I mention his shooting first because it is merely a distraction from his true strength as a playmaker. Frankamp has the ball on a string making hard, decisive dribble moves and combines those moves with great body positioning that allows him to take angles into the paint where he does an amazing job finding teamates. He even had a few hard crosses that left defenders in the dust.The most amazing thing about him is that he doesn’t make amazing plays, only the right ones. His passes are on point, in the flow of the offense, and perfectly timed to find an open shooter. He made multiple no look passes into the middle of the paint for easy looks and several back-door passes that were fumbled by unexpecting bigs. His D looked fundamentally sound and he has great feet, but he isn’t the biggest guy and lacks great jumping ability. He is a strong guy though, and that should only get more so in the next few years and at KU, where he is headed.

Honorable Mention: Stanley Johnson. The young Mater Dei guard/forward played as a combo guard most often at Pangos and looked comfortable at both spots, but especially when handling the ball in the pick and roll, which is suprising for a young player and especially for a young player who isn’t a full time PG. He did a great job of going of the shoulder of the screener and sliding nice bounce passes for a roll or pop for the screener. He made a few outside shots as well and looks to have nice balance when shooting. The biggest thing for him is to perhaps not get too muscle bound. He looks like a kid who can put on massive amounts of muscle (think Corey Maggette), but that may actually hinder his development into a full time perimeter threat who can play all 3 perimeter spots.

Biggest Disappointments

2) Solomon Poole

After being impressed him at the Addidas Nations late last summer, I was expecting to see an improved elite prospect. Instead he is still the same raw athlete with glaring holes in his game. He ran point for many of his possessions on the court. He lacks advanced ballhandling skills and is a dominantly right handed, straight line driver. He makes bad passes with very little pressure on him and has a jumper that needs improvement, as he often doesn’t square up or even lets his left shoulder dip excessively while shooting. His best attribute at this point is his physical ability on defense. He pressures the ball well and his unbelievable body allows him to get underneath opposing guards when he desires. Unfortunately he is not the most disciplined defender. He gambles on passes and allows his man to get position on him for forays into the lane.  I am hoping to see improvement over the next year because he is a physical specimen in the mold of Eric Bledsoe, a prospect who had similar issues and has worked hard to turn his weaknesses into positives.

1) Mamadou N’Diaye- Yeah, he is 7’5". So?

[providencefriars1Participant]

Ya Wayne Selden is for real and I hear he is reclassifying to 2013. Selden is a man’s body and is someone who will definitely have a NBA future.

[WizardofOzParticipant]

Good writeup. I haven’t been particularly impressed the few times I’ve seen Selden, but it sounds like he’s improving.

[Author]

Posts