CARSON, Ca. – The East Coast is being represented quite admirably at the 13th Pangos All-American Camp, thank you very much.
Rawle Alkins, Myles Powell, Keith Williams, Taurean Thompson, Isaiah Washington, Shamorie Ponds, Bryce Aiken and Mustapha Heron are among those who were seeing to that on Saturday’s second day of the camp at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
*Alkins (6-foot-4/NYC Christ The King), who had a strong spring for the New York Rens on the adidas circuit after a sterling prep junior season, continued to make a strong on-court argument that he is as good as any “shooting/2 guard” in the national class of 2016.
Alkins, who scored 17 points (on eight of 13 from the field) Friday night in his camp debut with “UCLA”, was impossible to stop off the drive in both of his games Saturday.
He went for 18 and 26 points, respectively, Saturday while hitting 16 of 26 shots from the field and many of those were on quick, jolting and powerful either-hand finishes well above the rim.
*Powell (2016/6-2/Trenton, NJ, Catholic) and Williams (2017/6-4/Brooklyn Bishop Loughlin) – UCLA teammates of Alkins – averaged 16.5 and 10.0 points per game, respectively, Saturday.
Powell is one of the best deep jump shooters in the camp, as he aptly demonstrated Saturday while hitting five of 13 attempts from behind the arc.
*The 6-10 Thompson (2016/Jersey City St. Anthony went for 23 points and 10 rebounds Friday night for Arizona.
He was back at looking like the best “5” (center) in the camp Saturday, averaging 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
*Washington (2017/6-0/NYC St. Raymond’s) is one of the best point guard prospects in his class – although a lot of folks, including national recruiting “experts”, didn’t realize that until this weekend.
Washington was at his slick-and tight-handling, find-the-open-man and get-to-the-rim during his North Carolina State team’s 81-74 loss to North Carolina Saturday afternoon, scoring 25 while being credited (by the stat crew) with two assists and two steals. His actual assist total was probably closer to a half-dozen.
*Ponds (6-1/NYC Thomas Jefferson) and Aiken (5-10/Elizabeth, NJ, Patrick School) didn’t arrive in Southern California until early Saturday morning.
They’re two of the very best point guard prospects in the East – and beyond, actually – although the left-handed Ponds (11.5 points per game Saturday) is seen by some as a “combo” guard in college.
*The left-handed Heron (Waterbury, CT, Sacred Heart) scored 26 points for Duke Friday night but missed five of his six shots from the field Saturday afternoon while scoring seven points in Duke’s 59-47 loss to Miami.
But his shots were dropping Saturday night – as in 12 of 17 from the field – as he scored 25 points with four rebounds and three assists in Duke’s 84-58 win against North Carolina State.
ETHAN THOMPSON, who will be a junior at Bishop Montgomery in Torrance, CA, in the fall, had his jump shot sizzling Saturday for North Carolina.
The 6-4 Thompson, whose brother, Stephen Thompson Jr., will be a freshman at Oregon State in the fall, scored 43 points in his two games Saturday while hitting 17 of 22 from the field – including seven of nine behind the arc.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that’s what’s called in hoops parlance “an efficient 21.5 points per game”.
T.J. LEAF (6-9/2016/ El Cajon, CA, Foothills Christian), who is expected to sign a letter of intent with the University of Arizona in November, had the kind of Saturday that strongly supports those who believe he is the best front-court prospect in the West in this class.
Leaf averaged 17.5 points and 6.0 rebounds.
AND the Saturday winner of the basketball version of the “Big Bang Theory” is 6-9 Omari Spellman (2016/Granby, MA, MacDuffie School).
Spellman, who plans to sign a letter of intent with Villanova in November, didn’t arrive at the camp until Saturday morning.
But he didn’t waste a whole lot of time making a big impact on the settings.
And, unfortunately, 6-11 Jacob Hughes (2017/Anaheim, CA, Servite) was on the blunt end of that impact.
Spellman, who is on the North Carolina State camp squad, caught a pass on the left low block with Hughes over his left shoulder.
But a big drop-step gave Spellman the leverage he needed no windmill the ball over the top of Hughes and through the rim.
If the same play had happened in an ACC or Big Ten game last winter, it would have been in contention for that night’s “Sports Center Play of the Day”.
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