Zimmerman uses big left hand to wrap up camp

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COLORADO SPRINGS – The four threads that bound tightly each of the four sessions of the high school “mini-camp” that was hosted USA Basketball over the weekend were Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake, WI, High), Chase Jeter (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman), Caleb Swanigan (Ft. Wayne, IN, Homestead) and Stephen Zimmerman (Bishop Gorman).

Each of the four seniors was dominant throughout, both in the drills and scrimmages, and their respective energy and enthusiasm seemed to not only put their games in a high-octane mode but also seemed to motivate and push their younger counterparts from the Classes of 2018 and ’17.

Without question their performances just put a tighter squeeze on the vice-grip each has on invitations to play in the 2015 McDonald’s All-American and Nike Hoop Summit games.

It was probably only appropriate that one of those four post players, Zimmerman, put his final stamp on things late in the final session Sunday evening throwing down over the top of 2017 standout Ira Lee in transition for what was likely the most impressive slam of the week.

Don’t think that the 6-foot-8 Lee spent both days serving as a sort of “dunking punching bag”, however.

Lee (Chatsworth, CA, Sierra Canyon) doled out plenty of punishment of his own in that regard.

He caught – not blocked but literally caught the ball in the left and right hands, respectively, of 6-10 freshman E.J. Montgomery (Montverde, FL, Academy) and 6-5 sophomore Troy Brown (Las Vegas Centennial) as each was preparing to bring the figurative house down via their own Big Bang Theories.

Lee came to Colorado Springs as, in some circles, one of the most underrated prospects in the Class of 2017 – he isn’t even listed among the most recent ESPN.com Top 25 ratings for the class.

But the relative injustice shouldn’t be the case much longer after a two-day performance that was only equaled or surpassed by two or three or four other players in the class at the camp: Jarred Vanderbilt (Houston Victory Prep), Michael Porter Jr. (Columbia, MO, Father Tolton) and, perhaps, Wendell Carter Jr. (Fairburn, GA, Pace Academy) and Austin Wiley (Hoover, AL, Spain Park).

Like Lee, Vanderbilt and Porter are listed at 6-8, with Carter and Wiley at 6-10.

But the Class of 2018 was also represented at the USA Olympic Training Center with some gifted big guys, as well.

Tallest among all of the 48 players in attendance was 7-1 (without shoes) Connor Vanover of Little Rock, AR, Baptist who seemed to gain more confidence and effectiveness every 10 minutes or so over the weekend.

He’s something well beyond “thin” at a listed 180 pounds.

Sixty or 70 pounds from now Vanover is going to be commanding a whole lot of double teams and disrupting opposing offenses with his shot-altering potential being backed up by the now oh-so-lean and oh-so-lengthy youngster.

And the West was represented by 2018 members in 6-9 Marvin Bagley Jr. (Tempe, AZ, Corona del Sol) and 6-8 Jordan Brown (Roseville, CA, Woodcreek).

Bagley has some of the same skills with the ball in his hands as do two other tall left handers at the camp, Vanderbilt and E.J. Montgomery (Montverde, FL, Academy), the latter of whom is also a member of the Class of 2018 and rivals Bagley as the most skilled “big” in the class.

Brown isn’t nearly as far along in his development, at least offensively, as is Bagley but that is understandable: He’s only been playing on an “organized” platform for a little more than two years.

And the West was also repped by two of the better guards in the Class of 2017 in Troy Brown Jr. (Las Vegas Centennial) and Jaylen Hands (Chula Vista, CA, Mater Dei).

Only the left-handed Matthew Coleman (Norfolk, VA, Maury) was perhaps more impressive as a “point guard-type” over the weekend in the class.

Coleman, though, was certainly the fastest player in the camp while in possession of a ball in his hands.

The best “backcourt scorer” in the class and in the camp, though, was 6-2 Jalek Felton (Mullins, SC, High), the nephew of NBA guard Raymond Felton.

The best freshman guard in the camp was 6-2 Marquis Brown, a lefty who doesn’t turn 15 years old until two days after Christmas and is projected to be only the second ninth-grader – following Jabari Parker – to play varsity for that program.