[ChrispyParticipant]

As some of you may know, I try to go to as many major national high school basketball events as possible to see the talent that is both already on the radar and quickly moving our way. On Sunday, as a birthday present to myself, I headed over to Cabrillo High School in my hometown of Long Beach, CA to catch the final day of the Pangos All-American Camp. The camp traditionally features 100 of the best high-schoolers in the nation regardless of class, and this year was no exception. The difference this year, however, was the amount of players who were off my radar (and considered borderline blue-chip prospects by many of the scouts I talked to) who blew me away. Here is a recap… I will break this into 3 parts. Part 1) The Big Timers – Part 2) The Wow Factor – and part 3) The ‘Meh’ Factor

Part 1) The Big Timers-
As the players ended three days of drilling and playing with selected teams, I settled in to watch some of the action. The first game I chose to watch featured much ballyhooed 2016 prospect Thon Maker, who I last saw in August at Adidas Nations. The first thing to mention is that, while only a Sophomore to be, the lack of progress in his frame was frightening. He is listed at 7’0″, and might actually be within an inch or so of that. Possessing an amazingly long and lean frame Maker is able to move very well for a big man, with the ability to sprint the floor and cut sharply. Watching his first games of the day I was disappointed and concerned. He had trouble grabbing passes to the point that a well respected writer leaned over to me and said, ‘His guards are nervous to pass him the ball”. Indeed, when he did catch the ball it was at least 15-17 feet out. He simply doesn’t have the strength to move his man to the block, let alone the deep post. He ended up taking and missing multiple long range shots, and then moping down the court in transition where he was toasted by the opposing bigs. In all fairness, he is 2 classes behind most of the guys here, and he did redeem himself in the top all-star game. While he probably shouldn’t have made this game, he played well. Maker hustled, worked the glass well and made some nice finishes off of both boards and drop offs. His overall intensity seemed much better than in earlier games. But man is he skinny… His handler says he gained 40 lbs in the last 2 years. I call BULLSH!T.

Stanley Johnson- The big time swing player from Mater Dei is a beast. The other kids looked actually scared to try to stop him once he was headed full steam toward the basket. He is a college ready body on a 17 year old. Standing a legit (and maybe small) 6’7″, Johnson’s frame and athleticism put him above most kids here. He is very, very quick and once his shoulders are by his defender there is little they can do. Johnson had many highlight reel dunks that will surely be available on Youtube shortly. On defense his strength and intensity was on display. While it was a camp and all-star game, the few time you could see that he locked in caused major problems for the man he was guarding. In fact, at one point he was guarding 6’9 260+ Elijah Thomas and was really battling with him. Strong, strong kid. The biggest knock on him is his J, but he knocked down 3 of 3 from distance in the final game and it looked both easy and consistent, so he is putting in the work. I heard from three different scouts that he is, as one said and the others agreed, a “lock to play in the NBA”.

Emmanuel Mudiay- Having seen him and written about him in the past, there is little that has changed about this 5 star player. He is extremely quick and strong and possesses the rare ability to make ridiculous shots at the rim with both hands, often through contact. His first step is out of this world and his vision in the open court is awesome. Unfortunately he often tried for the spectacular play that resulted in TOs, but as the setting and his physical attributes dictate he was often in a wide open, open court setting where he might as well try to get a rise out of the crowd with a crazy pass or play. He really needs to tighten up his handle, as his speed and strength won’t be enough against guys who are willing to let him bounce East to West without fouling. Mudiay’s outside shot is still inconsistent, something he really needs to work on to make the D respect him. At this level, though, one can see why he hasn’t developed a pure J yet…he doesn’t need to.

[MalcolmxParticipant]

I heard A lot of good stuff about up and comer Terry Larrier a 6’7/6’8 wing and most scouts Chris McCullough was easily the most gifted looking player there but just needs his motor to be on at all times. Few scouts twitted he is one of the fasted 6’9 players they have seen, and that he is a lock to be one and done.

[ChrispyParticipant]

Will put it up tonight.

[ChrispyParticipant]

Will put it up tonight.

[MalcolmxParticipant]

I heard A lot of good stuff about up and comer Terry Larrier a 6’7/6’8 wing and most scouts Chris McCullough was easily the most gifted looking player there but just needs his motor to be on at all times. Few scouts twitted he is one of the fasted 6’9 players they have seen, and that he is a lock to be one and done.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

Saw him play in high school this year. He plays for a private school that is in a weak league in which one of the teams is in my town. In fact, the first time they played against the local team here they only had Maker and two other varsity players due to injury. In that game they called up several JV players so they would have enough players. Maker played mostly on the wing and did a lot of damage from the perimeter. He really had only a few buckets where he used his size and got it down low for a dunk. Maker either finished with 30 something and they won by 40, or 40 something and they won by 30, I can’t remember. I just remember thinking about how impressive it was that they really only had 3 players, and one of them was awful. Maker needs to gain strength as Chris says, but he also needs to go to school that will allow him to face better competition on a nightly basis. These mid level private school teams are a joke. 6’4-6’5 whitey centers and guards with no athleticism at all.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

Saw him play in high school this year. He plays for a private school that is in a weak league in which one of the teams is in my town. In fact, the first time they played against the local team here they only had Maker and two other varsity players due to injury. In that game they called up several JV players so they would have enough players. Maker played mostly on the wing and did a lot of damage from the perimeter. He really had only a few buckets where he used his size and got it down low for a dunk. Maker either finished with 30 something and they won by 40, or 40 something and they won by 30, I can’t remember. I just remember thinking about how impressive it was that they really only had 3 players, and one of them was awful. Maker needs to gain strength as Chris says, but he also needs to go to school that will allow him to face better competition on a nightly basis. These mid level private school teams are a joke. 6’4-6’5 whitey centers and guards with no athleticism at all.

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