Reebok Headliner Camp- Philadelphia

This past weekend Reebok held its Headliner Camp in Philadelphia on the campus of Philadelphia University. Players were competing for a spot in the Reebok All American Camp which will be held on the campus of Philadelphia University July 7th-10th.

Tyreke Duren 6'1 Pg (Neumann Goretti)
Duren has had a tremendous spring and he continued his great play this weekend at Reebok. In his first game Duren knocked down 5 3's in the first half and dished out plenty of assists. Duren is known for controlling the game and making his teammates better, but at this camp he displayed that he can also put the ball in the hole as well. Tyreke informed me that right now Umass was his leader but he was also looking at VCU, Virginia Tech, James Madison, Houston, and St. Bonaventure. Tyreke's play earned him a invite to the All American camp in July.

D.J. Newbill 6'3 G (Strawberry Mansion)
Newbill is a strong and physical guard who got to the basket at will all weekend. Although he is known for driving the ball to the basket, he also did a good job of knocking down the mid range jump shot and also getting his teammates involved. Newbill like Duren also earned a invite to the All American Camp.

Tre Bowman 6'2 G (St. Thomas Moore)
Bowman is a combo guard who can score in a variety of ways. I always knew he was known for being a shooter, but he was very impressive with his athleticism in getting to the basket and finishing at the rim. Bowman will prep next year at St. Thomas Moore, after finishing up his career at York (Pa.). He told me he has received interest from schools like Niagra, Siena, Drexel, Rider, and UMBC.

Other Players who stood out and earned invites to Reebok's Breakout Camp were:
Aquil Younger
Ky Howard
Xavier Harris
Markeith Mont

The following players also earned a invite to Reebok's Proving Ground Camp
Joey Gripper
Travis Robinson
George Harper
Eddie Mitchell
Quasim Jones
Marcus Porter
Zahir Allen
Rakeem Brookins

* Picture is of Mansion's DJ Newbill

St. Patrick's Guard Makes A Early Commitment

Kevin Boyle, the head coach at St. Pats in New Jersey is sure to have one of the best high school teams in the country next year. With Kyrie Irving and Mike Ghilcrist in the line up it will be hard for teams to take down the Celtics. However, one player you also have to look out for is 6'2 G Derrick Gordon. Gordon last weekend commited to play at Western Kentucky. Gordon becomes the first recruit in the Hilltoppers 2011 class. Gordon had been getting interest from schools such as Rutgers, Auburn, and Florida State.

Rasul Butler All City Classic Sophomore Game Pre view

The sophomore game will start immediately following the freshmen game. I think this game will be the most exciting game of the night. The class of 2011 in Philadelphia in my opinion is one of the deepest classes in terms of Division 1 talent in recent memory. When I looked at the rosters for the All City Classic this was clearly on display. Players such as Eddie Mitchell (LaSalle), Eric Copes ( Imhotep Charter), Will Wise (Abington Friends), and Ky Howard (Shipley) are not even on the roster and all will be Division 1 players before they finish high school. The rosters were also missing some big time players such as Rakeem Christmass (North Catholic), and last years MVP Trevor Cooney (Sanford, DE). Although some of these players will be missing there will still me a immense of talent on display. In this game it will be all about guard play. The class of 2011 has some of the most electrifying guards you will see in high school basketball. The player I interested to see the most play is John Johnson (Girad College), Johnson is known for his ability to put points on the board in a hurry. He is coming off a excellent high school season which ended with his team winning a state championship. However, during the spring Johnson has not played in that many big time tournaments and has not really been seen much on the AAU scene. It will also be interesting to see how Aquil Younger from West Catholic plays. Younger might be the most underrated guard in this class, two weeks ago in the Bob Gibbons TOC he dropped 30 points on 2011 Indiana commit Matt Carlino. Younger is almost impossible to keep in front but needs to work on his jump shot. Finally it looks like Team Philly will have their whole crew in attendance; Juan'ya Green (Carrol), Lamin Fulton (Neumann-Goretti), Ameen Tanksley (Prep Charter), Shawn Oakman (Penn Wood), Dave Appolon (Imhotep), and Keith Coleman (Cheltenham) will all participate. Team Philly made a name for themselves Memorial Day weekend losing to the Playaz (NJ) in the final four in the TOC. Check Back tomorrow when I will preview the class of 2010 junior game.

Rosters

TEAM ONE
Juan'ya Green, Carroll
Devin Coleman, Friends' Central
Xavier Harris, North Catholic
Isaiah Baker, Episcopal
Aquil Younger, West Catholic
Joey Gripper, Abington Friends
Keith Coleman, Cheltenham
Lamin Fulton, Neumann-Goretti
Jaylen Bond, Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Jabril Trawick, Abington Friends
TEAM TWO
John Johnson, Girard College
Ameen Tanksley, Prep Charter
Shawn Oakman, Penn Wood
Shawn Valentine, Winslow Twp.
Maurice Nelson, Chester
Rashawn Cunningham, Life Center
Aaron Brown, PennWood
Wesley Rines, Abington
Jerrell Wright, Dobbins
Dave Appolon, Imhotep

* Picture is of Carrol's Juan'ya Green

Rasul Butler All City Classic

The All City Classic is heading into it's 9th year, run by Charles Monroe, the event has produced some of Philadelphia's best players year in and year out. This year's game will be played this Thursday at the Community College of Philadelphia. This event brings together the best freshmen, sophomores, and junior from Philadelphia and its surrounding area. Some of the alumni that have participated in the All City Classic include; Kyle Lowry (NBA), Sean Singletary (NBA), Rob Kurz (NBA), Wayne Ellington (NBA), Gerald Henderson (NBA), and Tyreke Evans (NBA). This year the freshmen game will start everything off at 5:15pm, the sophomore game will begin at 6:45pm and the junior game will follow at 8:20pm. Over the next three days I will preview each game as well as provide you with the rosters for each team.

FRESHMAN GAME

TEAM ONE
Derrick Stewart, Neumann-Goretti
Amile Jefferson, Abington Friends
Daiquan Walker, Roman
Brendan Kilpatrick, Malvern
Andre Horne, Roman
Ryan Arcidiacono, Neshaminy
Montana Mayfield, Chestnut Hill
Sultan Smith, Neumann-Goretti
Jaleel Reed, West Catholic
Jordan Reed, Wissahickon
TEAM TWO
Shane Randall, Academy NC
Savon Goodman, Academy NC
Maurice Watson, Boys' Latin
Damien Williams, Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Khyree Wooten, Straw. Mansion
Richard Hoskins, Comm. Tech
Byron Whiting, Abington Friends
Josh Heyliger, Hill School
Ahkir Frazier, Prep Charter
Aaron Goodman, Council Rock

The freshmen game always gives a insight on what the future of Philadelphia basketball will look like. Some of these players established themselves this year as rising stars during their high school season. The player I am interested to see from Team One is Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono was a All-Tournament selection down at Bob Gibbons two weeks ago and I have been hearing a lot of good things about him. He will have his hands full in this game because Team Two has some very nice guards such as; Josh Heylinger (Hill School), Richard Hoskins (Comm. Tech), and Maurice Watson (Boy Latin). Another interesting match-up in this game could be between Amile Jefferson (Friends Central) and Savon Goodman (ANC). Both players are considered the top two of this class. In a game earlier this year I thought Jefferson got the best of Goodman when Friends Central played ANC, at ANC. This should be an exciting game and it will be interesting to see what players prove themselves.

* Picture is of Savon Goodman (ANC)

Local Players to Try-Out for USA Development Team

FIBA will hold the first annual under 16s championship on June 17-21 in Mendoza, Argentina. The winners will qualify for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship. Six local players have been picked to try-out for Team USA. Try-outs will be held June 6-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The team will be coached by, Don Showalter of Mid-Prairie High School (Iowa). The local players who will be looking to capture one of the 12 roster spots are:

André Drummond (Capitol Preparatory Magnet School / Middletown, Conn.)

Justin Anderson (Montrose Christian School, Md. / Montross, Va.)

Quinn Cook (DeMatha H.S. / Bowie, Md.)

Kyle Anderson (Paterson Catholic/NJ.)

James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian H.S. / Norfolk, Va.)

Sterling Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep/Nj.)

Alex Schwartz of NorthStar Basketball was able to catch up with some of these players to get their thoughts on being selected to try-out for Team USA. You can read these player's thoughts by clicking here http://blog.northstarbball.com/

*Picture is of Montrose Christian freshmen Justin Anderson

TOC 16/u Recap

The 16/u division at the TOC was very competitive, with only 32 teams in this age bracket, just making it out of pool play was an accomplishment. Traditional powers such as DC Assault and Ohio Basketball Club didn't even make it out of their pools. Although there were great big guys in attendance like 6'9 Soph DaJuan Coleman from Dewitt (Jamesville-Dewitt) NY, 6'9 Soph Rakeem Christmas from Philadelphia (Northeast Catholic) PA. However, the story of thisage bracket was guard play. This is a big reason why the Playaz (NJ) led by 5'8 Myles Mack from Paterson (Catholic) NJ,6'1 Myles Davis of St. Peter's Prep (NJ), and 6'5 Kyle Anderson '12 of Paterson Catholic (NJ), were able to beat the Long Island Lighting in the championship game to take the title. The Playaz have been dominate on the AAU scene this year and they continued there dominance down in North Carolina.

Player Notes

Myles Mack 2011, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
Mack is the wheels that makes the Playaz go. He is ultra quick off the dribble and can stop on a dime and knock down the open jumper. Mack is not going to wow you with his size or strength but he flat out just gets it done and is a proven winner. Mack hit the biggest shot of the tournament when he knocked down a 18 foot fade away at the buzzer to give the Playaz a quarterfinal victory over Indiana Elite.
Aquil Younger 2011, West Catholic (NJ)
It is almost impossible for defenders to keep this kid in front of them. Younger can blow by his defender and finish strong at the rim. Almost led his Team Kobe team to the upset of the tournament over Indiana Elite in pool play. In the game he totally dominate Indiana commit Matt Carlino. Younger needs to improve his jump shot but if he gets that down he could be hard to stop.

Jermaine Saunders 2011, Rice (NY)
Saunders is a knock down shooter. He reminds me of a former player at Rice, Chris Fouch who now plays for Drexel University. The only difference between the two is Saunders is a little bit bigger then Fouch which could allow him to go to a higher level. Saunders needs to work on his handle a little more, which would allow him to create his own shot, but he will have a bright future at Rice
Deon Jones 2011, Paul IV (VA)
Jones is the younger brother of Virginia player Jeff Jones. Deon is similar to his brother in terms of knocking down open shots but is a much better athlete. Jones can attack you on the wing in transition and finish strong at the rim. He has really improved from last year and seems to be more comfortable handling the ball now.
Quin Cook 2011, Dematha (MD)
Cook runs his team like a proven veteran, not someone who just got finished there sophomore year in high school. Cook is a proven winner and refuses to let his team lose. He had a great match up with Ohio Basketball Club guard Stevie Taylor on Sunday. Both players were going back an forth at another and you could tell neither was holding anything back. Cook looks to be the next great guard that will come out of the DC Assault program.

All Tournament Team
MVP - Myles Mack - Playaz Basketball Club
Quin Cook - D.C. Assault
Kenny Osse - D.C. Assault
Jermaine Sanders - New Heights
Rakeem Christmas - Team Final
Jabari Hinds - Westchester Hawks
Juna’ya Green - Team Philly
Myles Davis - Playaz Basketball Club
Vaughn Gray - Playaz Basketball Club
Devantay Grace - Long Island Lightning
Dereck Gordon - Long Island Lightning
Achraf Yaicoubou - Rich Soil
Stevie Taylor - Ohio Basketball Club
Aaron White - Ohio Basketball Club
Devin Coleman - Team Phenom


* Picture is of Myles Mack

Quinnipiac Picks Up Big Time Commitment

In news being reported first by the East Coast Basketball Report Tevin Baskin a 6'7 190 pound forward from Stamford (CT) Trinity Catholic has committed to play at Quinnipiac. Baskin in a forward with loads of athletic talent, he finishes well around the rim and should be a great addition to the Quinnipiac program. Baskin is listed as a 3 star recruit by Rivals.com which means Quinnipiac might have stole this one. According to Rivals Baskin had offers from schools like Rutgers, Seton Hall, URI, and Umass. Baskin figures to be a impact player in the NorthEast Conference.