Frank Burlison

LA GRANGE, IL – It didn’t take long for what is likely the best 1-2 punch in the building to reveal itself during Saturday’s first day of the Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph Camp.

Marquese Brown, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard at Simeon High in Chicago, and Xavier Tillman, a 6-8 sophomore post at Forest Hills Central in Grand Rapids, MI, made like a modern-day version of John Stockton and Karl Malone – or, of mildly more recent vintage, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire – while helping their “Iowa State” squad roll past “Notre Dame” during the first round of games late in the afternoon.

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LEWISVILLE, TX – Basketball camp all-star games – more often than not – are muddled and sloppy affairs, while ending up as prime examples of selfishness, hoops-style.

Sunday afternoon, at the MAC for the wrap-up of the annual Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp, proved an exception to that most unfortunate rule of thumb.

The event’s Top 60 and Top 30 Cream of the Crop games were mostly well-played and competitive, from opening tips until the final buzzers, without an extreme amount of “shot hunting” on display.

The all-around play of 6-foot-8 sophomore Paul Washington Jr.

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LEWISVILLE, TX – Two of the top post players in the national Class of 2017 were on display Saturday during the first day of the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp and each more than lived up to his lofty billing.

P.J. Washington (Frisco, TX, Lone Star) and Isiah Jasey (Killeen, TX, Ellison) were oft-times spectacular – at both ends of the floor – during two games apiece for their camp squads at the MAC (Multi-sport Activities Center) in this Dallas suburb.

And their more-than likely head-to-head showdown could prove to be of highlights of the Top 20 Cream of the Crop All-Star game that is scheduled to tip off at 2:15 p.m.

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COLORADO SPRINGS – The four threads that bound tightly each of the four sessions of the high school “mini-camp” that was hosted USA Basketball over the weekend were Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake, WI, High), Chase Jeter (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman), Caleb Swanigan (Ft. Wayne, IN, Homestead) and Stephen Zimmerman (Bishop Gorman).

Each of the four seniors was dominant throughout, both in the drills and scrimmages, and their respective energy and enthusiasm seemed to not only put their games in a high-octane mode but also seemed to motivate and push their younger counterparts from the Classes of 2018 and ’17.

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COLORADO SPRINGS – Some of the very best prospects in the national classes of 2018 and ’17 were among the 48 players on hand Saturday for the start of the two-day “mini-camp” being hosted by USA Basketball.

And, oh yes: There were 11 were darn good seniors doing their thing, as well.

There were a lot chronological – if not always physical – mismatches with those players often matching up with the freshmen and sophomores who were two or three years young across the board.

But they often went head-to-head (especially in drills), so it was a good opportunity to see four of the half-dozen or best “power forward/centers” in the class in the same setting: Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake, WI, HS), Chase Jeter (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman), Caleb Swanigan (Ft.

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