INDIANAPOLIS – Some highlights of my three days of watching the second sessions of the Nike/Elite Youth Basketball League (in Carmel) and the Under Armour Association (in Fishers).
Point Guards on Parade: The respective best point guards in the Classes of 2019 (Cole Anthony/Briarwood, NY, Archbishop Molloy/PSA Cardinals-EYBL) and 2020 (Nico Mannion/Phoenix Pinnacle/West Coast Elite-UAA) demonstrated why I consider them such over the weekend.
Is there any chance they could face up on a basketball court somewhere before they are (inevitably) both playing in the NBA?
Hmmm . . . since they both play on different “shoe circuits”, the most viable head-up playing opportunity would be the Pangos All-American Camp (June 1-3 in Southern California) and/or the NBPA Top 100 Camp (June 12-17 in Charlottesville) – unless their respective high school teams were to meet in a tournament or “one-day event” during the 2018-19 season.
Stay tuned . . .
Team Rio/Ranney School Dynamic Duo: New Jersey-based Team Rio pulled out two down-to-the-wire affairs Saturday at the UAA, edging Team Thrill of Maryland (when Scottie Lewis’ on-ball defense kept Team Thrill’s James Bishop from freeing himself for a potential game-winning shot on the final possession) and Team Breakdown of Florida (overcoming a 12-point deficit in the final couple of minutes before winning in OT).
Six-foot-five Lewis and 6-6 Bryan Antoine, teammates Tinton Falls, NY, Ranney School, are among the early front-runners for spots on the 2019 McDonald’s All-American team.
Bluff City Legends Frontcourt Brigade: It’s borders on baffling as to why this Tennessee-based squad has lost three of its eight games during the first two sessions of the EYBL (Week 1 was in Dallas).
Collectively, I can’t think of a 2018 club squad that has a better set of frontcourt players than does Bluff City via 6-11 James Wiseman, Malcolm Dandridge and Chandler Lawson (Memphis East) and D.J. Jeffries (Olive Branch in Mississippi).
“True” Center: The most physically dominant “big” in the Class of 2019?
The top candidate to bag that title by the end of the 2018-19 season is 6-10 (or so), 275-pound (or so) Kofi Cockburn (Middle Village, NY, Christ the King) of the EYBL’s New York Rens.
My most vivid memory of watching Cockburn came when he overwhelmed Oregon-bound Bol Bol (it was ugly) during the Pangos All-American Camp last June in Southern California.
And he flexed his muscles every bit as assertively over the weekend, averaging 25.5 points (hitting 20 of 29 shots from the field) and 11.0 rebounds in wins over Bluff City and Rotary Select on Saturday.
Arkansas Jump Shooter-Deluxe: Six-five Moses Moody (Class of 2020/Little Rock North) was a standout at the 2016 Pangos Middle School All-American Camp in SoCal, the Pangos High School All-American Camp last June after his freshman season and the Pangos Frosh-Soph All-Soph Camp in Texas last October.
And those who’ve been watching him launching that jump shot for Bradley Beal Elite are catching on to what myself and everyone has known from watching him on the Pangos Scene.
Moody (PICTURED) averaged 16.8 points and 2.5 assists in four EYBL weekend games, hitting 14 of 33 from behind the arc.
Class of 2020/Top Shooting Guard: A quite strong candidate from the Under Armour Association for that title is Jaden Springer (Charlotte Rocky River), who plays for the B. Maze Elite (based in Tennessee).
His combination of strength, and skill as a handler, passer and jump shooter, can’t be found from among many other high school players, regardless of class.
Springer, who led B. Maze Elite to the Las Vegas Fab 48 title in the 15s division last July, averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists in four games over the weekend.
Mr. “Most Complete”/Circa Class of 2019: The UAA has two nifty candidates in this category in the aforementioned Scottie Lewis, along with the 6-9 Precious Achiuwa (St. Benedict’s High in Newark, NJ) of New Heights.
New Heights won three of its four games over the weekend (and is 6-2 overall) and Achiuwa’s ability to operate equally well from the perimeter or low post – at both ends of the floor – was a big reason.
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