All-South Camp has quite the spectacular wrapup

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LEWISVILLE, TX – The second annual Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp, held at the Metropolitan Athletic Center (MAC) in this suburban-Dallas town, wrapped up late Sunday afternoon the way it began early Saturday afternoon:

Some tall 10^th and ninth-graders showed off the kind of skills that should eventually make them among the most heavily recruited prospects in the country.

But there were plenty of “small” (relatively speaking, of course) to “mid-sized” players who demonstrated why there will be plenty of elite-level college programs in pursuit of them over the next few years, as well.

The players most firmly fitting into that category were freshmen point guards Shawn Williams, Trae Young and Chris Gillies, sophomore wing Terrance Ferguson, scintillating eighth-grader DeShang Weaver, and high-wire specialist Cameron McGriff.

Williams (who is from Arkansas but attends Prime Prep in Dallas) was the most dynamic and tenacious defender in the camp (which hosted about 180 players). He wasn’t bad on the other end of the floor, either.

Young (from Norman, OK), who was inexplicably left off the Top 30 Cream of the Crop all-star game, and Gillies (Plano, TX, West) – who played better than any guard in that top all-star game – were prolific as any jump shooters in the camp.

The heavily touted Ferguson – “rated” higher than any player, nationally, coming into the weekend – was just so-so (based on the expectations he lugs with him every time he steps onto the floor) on Saturday.

But he lived up to all of the enormous hype on Sunday, especially during that Top 30 game with he nailed on-balance jumpers (the kind he wasn’t taking Saturday), drove impressively and got the ball to open teammates.

McGriff and Weaver combined for the most spectacular individual play of the Top 30 affair – although Weaver wasn’t a willing participant.

McGriff, going at full speed in transition from the left wing, rammed the ball over the top of Weaver, who realized a millisecond too late that he shouldn’t have been so eager to challenge McGriff’s horizontal and vertical explosiveness.

But McGriff dunked over a lot of folks over the weekend – while Weaver was making a strong case for being as good a prospect as there is, anywhere, in the Class of 2018.

All in all, it was a very good show by all concerned.

 

My choices for Top 25 players in the camp

*Point guard-types – Deon Barrett (5-9/So./Dallas Skyline); De’Aaron Fox (6-3/Cypress, TX, Cypress Lakers); Chris Giles (6-3/Fr./Plano, TX, West); Andrew Jones (6-0/So./Irving, TX, McArthur); Rashad Kirkshaw (6-0/Fr./Cedar Hill, TX); Chris Mullins (6-0/Fr./Mansfield, TX, Timberview); Ricky Nelson (5-11/Fr./Houston Episcopal); Shawn Williams (6-0/Fr./Dallas Prime Prep); Trae Young (6-0/Fr./Norman, OK).

*Shooting guards/wings – Elish Benjamin (6-5/So./Cypress, TX, Cypress Ranch); Mark Crowe (6-4/So./Dallas Wilson); Terrance Ferguson (6-5/Dallas Prime Prep); Harrison Henderson (6-8/So./Dallas Triple A Academy); Nick Mason (6-5/So./Atascocita, TX); Cameron McGriff (6-6/So./Grand Prairie, TX, South); Jordan Myers (6-2/Fr./North Crowley, TX); Jamar Sandifer (6-2/So./Dallas Triple A Academy); Jarred Vanderbilt (6-8/Fr./Houston Victory Prep); DeShang Weaver (6-6/Eighth/Cypress, TX, Cy-Falls).

*Posts – Jeremiah Allen (6-8/Fr./Home schooled/Bryan, TX); Gracin Bakumanya (7-0/So./Arlington, TX, Pantego Christian Academy); Marcus Bolden (6-9/So./Desoto, TX); Schneider Herard (6-10/So./Plano, TX, Prestonwood Academy); Isaiah Jacey (6-9/Fr./Killeen, TX, Ellison); Austin Meyer (6-9/So./Mustang, OK).