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)