LAS VEGAS – Terrific backcourt play . . .
That tidily sums up my observations of Sunday’s first night of the 22nd Pangos All-American Camp at Bishop Gorman High.
Brayden Burries (Roosevelt High in Eastvale in SoCal) and Jerry Easter (Toledo by way of La Lumiere Prep in La Porte, IN) – among the early front-runners for spots on the 2025 McDonald’s All-American team – were the lynchpins to eased-up wins by Notre Dame and Illinois, respectively, in the first round of game action.
The Notre Dame (82-69 vs. Duke) and Illinois (104-86 vs. Iowa) were played on Court 1, which was alongside Court 2 with Court 3 in the school’s auxiliary gym.
Two rounds of three games were played Sunday night. I dialed in on the Court 1 action.
Burries and Easter (pictured, courtesy of Devin Ugland) are listed as “shooting guards” on most recruiting/rating lists but have the skill and feel to be “primary ball-handlers” in college and beyond.
Burries got ample backcourt help via Roosevelt teammate Issac Williamson, Dorian Hayes (another guy who should be a point guard-type in college; Ridge Point in Missouri City, TX) and athletically gifted junior-to-be Ikenna Alozie (Dream City Christian in Glendale, AZ).
Easter was the best player and prospect (not always one and the same, FYI) during the Illinois-Iowa clash that followed.
But Gavin Hightower (L.A. Windward) was superb, too, when he was on the floor instead of Easter.
And 6-foot-3 Darrell Brown Jr. (from New York by way of West Nottingham Academy in Maryland) was the camp’s first day “revelation” for me. He exploded over the top of defenders for jumpers and by them off the dribble for layups and dunks.
The Iowa squad had three of the best guards in California, via class of 2025’s Mazi Mosley (La Canada St. Francis) and Aaron Glass (Rancho Cucamonga), and 2026 standout Elias Obenyah (Richmond Salesian).
But its most impressive player by several notches was another guard, Jake West (Penn Charter in Philadelphia).
West is a teammate of Easter’s on the EYBL’s Team Final.
He must be a target of any Big East or ACC program in need of a point guard who can step in from Day 1 and be starter or at least major contributor.
Day II of the camp gets underway with drills with the “ACC” and “Big Ten” camp teams’ players at 1 o’clock, and game action tipping at 3.
Things wrap up Tuesday, with a camp championship game at 12:15 and all-star games at 1:30 and 2:30.
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