NORWALK, Ca. – National ratings for middle-school players are always more than a bit nebulous, at best.
That being established, it’s difficult imagining there being a more dominant eighth-grader anywhere than was Baye Fall during the seventh Pangos Junior All-American Camp that wrapped up Sunday afternoon at Cerritos Community College.
The 6-foot-9 Fall, who attends Lincoln Charter School in Denver and came to the U.S. from Senegal about a year or so ago, crushed the competition and capped his two-day performance with 13 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots (stats courtesy @devin_ugland) in the “Best of the Best” all-star game.
It was every bit as impressive, if not more so, than the performance turned in by a like-sized eighth grader at the inaugural PJAA Camp six years ago – Phoenix Suns rookie DeAndre Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
According to Colorado Hawks’ Director Gregory Willis, Fall (who lives with an uncle in Denver) has yet to decide which high school he will attend as a freshman.
Fall (PICTURED) – who, Willis said, has grown nearly five inches since September – is scheduled to play for the Hawks on the Under Armour “UA Rise” club circuit this spring.
But Fall was far from the only standout at the camp, which attracted approximately 140 players from 18 states.
Notable Class of 2023 point guards included Mier Panoam (Begich Middle School in Anchorage); Kyle Jones (Bear Creek Middle School in Atlanta); Frederick Payne (Ruston Middle School in Louisiana); A.J. Johnson (Our Lady of Victory in Fresno); Maurice Wright (Tropico Middle School in Palmdale); Jordan Atkins (Kimberly Academy in Montclair, NJ); and Yaqub Mir (Olympus Junior High in Roseville in Northern California).
Panoam (with the caveat that I only watched Sunday’s action) impressed me more than any player but Fall on Sunday
He was the strongest and slickest handler and passer player at the camp.
As a “pure” jump shooter, eighth-grader Andrew Mayock (New Canaan Country School in Connecticut) was on a level onto himself all weekend, knocking in four 3s in the Best of the Best game to show that he didn’t lose any of his nerve, range or touch on the biggest stage of the event.
Other exceptional “scorers” on hand included 2023 players Ashton Hardaway (he lives in Carson but attends Bethany Christian in Long Beach); Tyler Rolison (Orville Wright Middle School in Los Angeles); Tyson Mobley (Newton Middle School in Connecticut); Jayden Forrest (Marion Middle School in Arkansas); Jeremiah Johnson (Eric Charter in Oklahoma City); and Jordan Lee (Pleasanton Middle School in Northern California).
Some other “bigs” from the Class of 2023 who impressed included Zack Davidson (Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate; his brother, Nick, starts as a sophomore at Mater Dei); Will Norman (Woodbury Junior High in Camden, NJ); and Jazz Gardner (Clifton Middle School in Pasadena; his father is Jelani Gardner, the coach at South Hills High and 1994 McDonald’s All-American at St. John Bosco).
Six seventh-graders (Class of 2024) were in the “Best of the Best” game, including Carter Bryant of Amelia Earhart in Riverside.
His dad, D’Cean, was a Long Beach State standout and is now the head coach at Fountain Valley High; his uncle, Travon, was a McDonald’s AA at Long Beach Jordan who played at the University of Missouri and is now an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets.
He’s all of 6-1 right now but look for him to be a whole lot taller as a high school freshman two years from now – he wears a size 13 ½ shoe, his dad is 6-6 and his uncle is 6-8.
Among the other 2024 standouts I watched Sunday were guards Gavin Hightower (who attends Valley Christian, located not quite two miles from the Cerritos College camp) and Nasir Pettigrew (King School in Stamford, CT).
Mier Panoam and A.J. Johnson were the only 2023 players who passed as well as Hightower did Sunday.
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