Day I, Pangos All-East Camp: Many well-made points

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THOROFARE, N.J. – If Day I of the Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp is indicative of the caliber of players at the position at the event, determining which “point guard-types” will be put on the rosters for Sunday afternoon’s all-star games at the RiverWinds Center is going to be a difficult chore, indeed.

I also attended the Western (Norwalk, CA), Southern (Lewisville, TX) and Midwestern (La Grange, IL) editions of the camp.

And – based upon what I watched during Saturday’s two rounds of games – this pool of 150-plus players may include more potentially elite-level prospects at point guard (or whatever you prefer calling the guy who handles the ball the bulk of the time for his team) than either of those camp rosters.

Following Saturday’s games, six different scouts, coaches or media members might come up with as many different views as to the pecking order of the “point guard-types” in terms of ball-handling and passing skills.

But – at least from among those who watched him play at least one of his two games with the “Georgetown” team Saturday – there should be a unanimous choice as to the identity of the best jump shooter in the camp at the position.

With his team trailing by five points and a minute or so in regulation against Five-foot-10 Tremont Waters (South, CT, Prep) against “Villanova”, Waters rose and knocked in a 22-footer (or so) from the left wing.

And, after a turnover at the other end, he penetrated from the left side and scored while being fouled for the tying and go-ahead points (an automatic three points are awarded at the camp when a kid scoring is fouled) with about 20 seconds to go.

In his second game, Georgetown fell behind by 20 points with just less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation against a gifted “Seton Hall” squad that is led by 6-10 sophomore Zach Kent (St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, DE) and 6-3 10^th graders David Beatty (Radnor, PA, Archbishop Carroll) and Terry Nolan (Essex, MD, Mt. Carmel).

Now, I wasn’t keeping shooting stats (or any kind of stats at all, for that matter), mind you, but it sure seemed as if Waters must have knocked in about eight consecutive jump shots down the stretch – with about six of those from behind the arc and with at least one defender running at his face on each occasion.

Yeah, he provides a pretty sweet definition for the popular-to-this generation “that jumper is so wet” saying, doesn’t he?

He banged in his last 3 with about 20 seconds to go before an automatic couple of “free throws” – via a Georgetown foul with Villanova in the bonus – provided the final margin of five points for Villanova.

The “Boston College” (with 6-foot Isaiah Washington of St. Raymond in the Bronx) and “Massachusetts” (via Cameron Norman of Good Counsel in Olney, MD) feature two terrific sophomore point guards who are part of Under Armour-fronted travel programs New Heights and DC Premier, respectively.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a better ball-handler than Washington on the “Pangos circuit” this fall.

And, seemingly, Norman never made an ill-advised handling or passing decision in the game.

But despite Washington’s multitude of penetrations that led to scores (his and teammates’) and impressive support by freshmen in 6-7 Louis King (Roselle, NJ, Catholic) and 6-3 Atiba Taylor (Hackensack, NJ), “U Mass” prevail by a point when 6-4 sophomore Keith Williams (Bishop Loughlin in Brooklyn) was fouled while attempting to score after an offensive rebound – hence the automatic tying and go-ahead points.

Ironically (at least I saw some irony in it), Williams and Washington were teammates on the New Heights’ “15s” squad last spring and summer.

They’re going to make up quite the backcourt for New Heights’ top squad over the next couple of springs and summers, that’s for sure.

Another significant element in the cluster of nifty point guard-types Saturday was a left hander, Justin Ryder, 5-10 sophomore at Paul VI in Haddonfield, NJ, who plays for “Rutgers”.

Some of his on-target passes were delivered to a couple of impressive freshmen in 6-8 Maxwell Lorca-Lloyd (Brooklyn Poly Prep) and 6-5 Karrington Wallace (Warminster, PA, Archbishop Wood Catholic).

Zach Kent hovers between the “wiry” and “thin” weight descriptions – I’m guessing he goes somewhere in the 200- to 210-poundish range – but was the most offensively skilled and polished “big” I saw Saturday.

And I’m not sure there was a close runner-up in that category.

But other impressive “post-types” Saturday included sophomores Simon Ejike Obinna (6-10ish and 230-poundish), from Virginia Academy in Ashburn, VA, and Jordan Camper (6-7 and about a buck-ninety), from Chester High in the Philadelphia suburb of the same name.

Obinna (an exchange student from Nigeria, as of about a year ago), traveled three of the first four times he touched the ball on offense.

But once he settled down – and played with a firmer foundation and tighter footwork – he started snatching rebounds and flushing dunks in rapid fashion.

Camper was the quickest and biggest vertical jumper I saw Saturday. His hands seemed quite dependable and he looks like he is far from being finished growing, as well.

Three players who were very good at this event a year ago as freshmen – David Beatty, Eric Ayala (6-3/Wilmington, DE, Sanford) and Melo Eggleston (6-8/Upper Marlboro, MD, Clinton Christian) – showed Saturday that they’ve put a lot of time and work into their on-court skills over the past year.

Another standout freshman at the camp in 2013, Quade Green (6-0/Philadelphia Neumann Goretti), arrived early Saturday evening after playing for his high school team and I didn’t watch him play.

I’m not exactly going out a figurative feather-like limb, though, when I say that I’ve got a strong hunch he’ll show out when I watch him Sunday morning and/or afternoon.

Final “camp games” begin at 9:30 a.m., with Top 50 (1:15 p.m.) and Top 25 (2:15) Cream of the Crop All-Star things wrapping up the Pangos “All-Frosh/Soph Camp circuit” for another year.