HENDERSON, Nev. – The second annual High Academic Super Bowl, presented by Ryan Silver’s West Coast Elite Basketball program and held at Coronado High, proved a nice showcase for the hoops talents of 100 or so high school students who also excel in the classroom.
Players got to play in at least four camp games apiece over the Monday and Tuesday event, held as a “tip-off”, of sorts, prior to the NCAA’s “evaluation period” that runs Wednesday to Sunday for the coaching staffs of the schools designated as Division I members of the organization.
The 10 camp teams were named for the Ivy League schools plus Stanford and California (Berkeley).
There were at least four players that were 6-foot-8 and taller that impressed me on Monday (I caught the final set of games after arriving via the 215 Freeway after picking up my rental car following my arrival into McCarran Airport) and Tuesday.
Two of those attend Coronado, as 6-foot-11 Bryce Penn-Johnson (his current grade point average is listed as 3.7) is one of the better “big” prospects in the West in the Class of 2018 while 6-7 Kennedy Koehler (3.8 GPA) is a key member of the Las Vegas Knicks travel program.
Penn-Johnson plays for the Earl Watson Elite 16s team that will participate in the Fab 48 that gets underway Wednesday at Bishop Gorman on the western side of Las Vegas.
Also playing quite well Wednesday were 6-8 Winston Nelson (Norman, OK, North; he’s got a 4.5 GPA, weighted via Advanced Placement and honors courses), who plays for the Oklahoma City Prime Time squad that will also play in the Fab 48 this week, and 6-8 T.J. Fagot (Murrieta Valley in Murrieta, CA; 4.17 weighted GPA), who will also be seniors in a month.
Nelson, who handles and shoots (from distance) quite well for a player of his size, played in the Pangos All-American Camp in Southern California on the first weekend in June while Fagot impressed during the WCE Elite 100 Camp at Pomona Pitzer in Claremont, CA, two weeks ago.
Another frontcourt kid who was very good in both of his games on Tuesday was 6-5 Liam Fitzgerald (Wahiawa, HI, Leilehua), from the Class of 2018 and in possession of a 4.0 GPA, an impressive first step, some quick jump ability and a smooth perimeter shot.
At 6-4 and from the Class of 2018, Tyler Ridley (3.5 GPA), was among the “wing-types” who stood out at the event. He’s from Southern California and attends Leuzinger (Lawndale), the alma mater of NBA players Russell Westbrook and Dorell and Delon Wright.
There was a plethora (rule of thumb: Always use “plethora” in a blog and conversation whenever possible) of quality jump shooters on display as well.
Among them were 5-8 Ryan Kwong (2017/4.0 GPA/San Ramon, CA, California), who hit six 3s for “Yale” in a win over “Cornell” in one of the final two games contested Tuesday; 6-2 Mason Stark (2017/Tempe, AZ, Marcos de Niza), whose jump shot is nearly as eye-catching as is his weighted 4.5 GPA; and 6-3 Ben Mendoza (3.9 GPA/Ogden, UT, Ben Lomond).
Quality point guards that I watched included seniors-to-be Calvin Fugett, Jr. (3.7 GPA/Denver George Washington), Rod Henley (3.83 GPA/Santa Monica, CA), Jarrett Jordan (3.8 GPA/Las Vegas Bishop Gorman), Sam Holtze (4.1 GPA/Sherman Oaks, CA, Notre Dame) and Keanu Akina (3.98 GPA/Kahuku, HI).
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