Many 2019 players impress at Pangos All-East Camp

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WEST DEPTFORD, NJ – Saturday was the opening day of the annual Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp at the RiverWinds Center.

And the emphasis in excellence rested firmly on the “Frosh” side of the event.

Among the first-class passengers on the boatload of quality prospects from the Class of 2019 in attendance were three players from the Team Rio program that is sponsored in part by the Mario Chalmers Foundation.

And it took just one sequence in his first camp game to demonstrate why the 6-foot-4 Scotty Lewis (Tinton Falls, NJ, Ranney) could prove to be one of the top half-dozen or so – at the very least – prospects in his national class.

In the first minute of the contest while playing for the “North Carolina” camp squad, Lewis did a nifty imitation of an NBA two guard with one big – and very quick – dribble to get a defender stumbling, then elevated 30-something inches for ah oh-so-easy flick of the wrist and 3-pointer.

On his next possession he dribbled his way around a couple of defenders – at full speed – delivered a bounce pass that was turned into a layup.

And, unlike so many like-offensively skilled players (not there are a whole lot of them who are yet still a month or more from playing in their first high school games), Lewis has a feel for how the game is supposed to be played at the other end of the court – and a willingness to consistently put the same kind of effort into defense as he does with the ball in his hands.

With Team Rio scheduled to play in a tournament in New York City on Sunday and its players making just a one-day stop at the PFSC, two other of the program’s 2019 standouts, point guard Cole Anthony (6-2/Queens, NY, Archbishop Molloy) and 6-5 wing Bryan Antoine (a classmate of Lewis at Ranney) joined Lewis in playing for “Penn” during one of the last two games played late Saturday night.

Anthony is taller and a better jump shooter than his father, former UNLV and NBA point guard Greg Anthony, was in high school.

And I’m sure I’m the only person in the building Saturday night who watched Anthony when he played for Rancho High in Las Vegas in the mid-1980s.

As the case with Lewis, Antoine is both explosive vertically (a “dunk-off” between the two could be a bit more than just mildly entertaining, for sure) and capable of knocking in jump shots from considerable range.

Anthony was far from the only superb point-guard prospect from the Class of 2019 in the building Saturday.

Two of them, Gavin Thompson and Joe Touissant, are teammates on the “VCU” camp squad.

The 5-9 Thompson (Seymour, TN, King’s Academy) was the more jump shooting-oriented of the two – at least he was on Saturday night – pulling up at full speed for shots in the 17- to 20-foot range with more than reasonable accuracy.

Touissant (Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx) has the ideal combination of strength, handle, vision and willingness to deliver passes where and when they needed to be delivered. He also showcased the best overall “feel for the position” of any “point guard-type” I saw Saturday

Another 2019 player rooted deeply in the Touissant “pass, first-and-foremost” category is Jalen Williams, who – liked Thompson – also made the trek north from the deep south (he attends Pinewood Prep in Summerville, SC).

His handle and passing were both tight and precise, and also, on occasion, equal parts subtle and dazzling – if that isn’t too much of a “hoops oxymoron” of sorts.

Three “bigs” – the catch-all term in this generation for either posts or players who are, physically “big” – who impressed Saturday night were Marvin Price (Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha), Precious Achiuwa (Bronx Our Saviour Lutheran) and Jason Murphy (Marriotsville, MD, Applegate Christian).

The 6-4, 210-poundish and left-handed Price rebounded as aggressively and effectively as anyone I saw Saturday and also used impressive skill with the ball in his hands on the offensive end, as well.

The 6-7 Achiuwa also did a lot of mopping up, offensively, inside the lane but also got by more than just one defender off the dribble and to the rim.

Murphy appeared to lack the offensive polish already possessed by the aforementioned duo but looks well on his way to becoming a power forward in the 6-9ish, 230-poundish range before too long.

And, yep, there were a lot of high-quality prospects from the Class of 2018 in the building, as well.

Among those that I watched Saturday (at I saw 15 of the 20 camp teams in action) were frontcourt players Boubacar Diakite (Centerreach, NY, Our Savior New American), Tony Goodwin (Ashburn, VA, Rock Ridge), Marcus Littles (Bryn Athyn, PA, Academy of the New Church), Onye Okoro (Voorhees, NJ, Eastern) and Andre Hyatt (White Plains, NY, Stepinac).

No other frontcourt player showed off the multiple skills that Diakite put on display in the game I watched him play for “Pittsburgh”, as he crushed opponents in and around the lane and also knocked in three 3s, from each corner and out top.

He could join an alumnus of Our Savior – Kansas freshman Cheick Diallo – as a McDonald’s All-American two and a half years hence.

The 6-6 Goodwin was exceptional at this event as a year ago and was just as much so Saturday. No one defended any harder or more effectively, in the post or on the perimeter.

Littles (6-9 and 250 pounds – or more) was too much for anyone defender to cope with Saturday night for “Duke”.

There was much in the way of resemblance to Purdue freshman Caleb Swanigan for Littles — body- and “game”-wise.

Okoro and Hyatt took the same approach – each played harder than anyone else on the floor during their respective games.

The best of the sophomore guards – once again with the caveat “when I was watching” – Saturday were Casey Caruso (Camp Hill, PA, Camp Hill), Chauncey Sterling (Jersey City St. Anthony) and Ethan Wright (Newton, MA, North).

The 5-10ish Caruso hit at least five deep jumpers in the game I watched and didn’t do anything careless on the dribble or pass, either.

Sterling would seem to be on a fast track to becoming the next exceptional guard from a high school program that has cranked him out at a break-neck clip, including his brother, former Rutgers and Florida player Eli Carter.

Wright hit three deep jumpers and also scored after several slick drives.

He also provided the best “non-Scotty Lewis” highlight of Saturday, ramming in a two-handed follow dunk during which his chin appeared to be nearly rim-level.

Game action resumes Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, with all-star game play beginning at 1:45 in the afternoon.