Recruiting Watch: Nike Camp Wrap-up

Play of Williams, McRoberts tops news out of Indianapolis

By Dave Telep, TheInsiders.com

Josh McRoberts TheInsiders.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- Friday was our last day at the Nike All-American Camp. Louis Williams and the continuing emergence of Josh McRoberts as a top 10 prospect emerged as two of the bigger stories.

Day Three Checklist

Louis Williams, SG: The consensus amongst college coaches was that the prize of Georgia coach Dennis Felton's recruiting class was the sheriff at Nike Town. He's been toying with defenders, catching lob dunks and generally doing his best Allen Iverson impression.

Josh McRoberts, PF: It's amazing what a little confidence and a few good outings will do for a kid. Right now McRoberts, a Duke recruit, is cementing his status as an elite big man. He's dunking everything, and there's every reason to believe he will wind up on the best-big-men short list of this class. He had a great USA Basketball Camp performance, and he has raised the bar again here.

Tyler Hansbrough, PF: There's not a college coach in the gym who wouldn't love to nab him. Tyler lived up to the expectations by turning in a top three performance here. Now, as much as we agree he's a top prospect in this class, as it stands right now he should enroll in college in 2005.

Alade Aminu, C/PF: You can see him morphing into a legit high-major contributor -- he gets better each time out. This kid has one of the longest torsos out here, and he's an amazing run-jump athlete. He's gaining confidence in his jump hook and though he's not often talked about, trust us: He's a top 100 prospect right now.

Luke Zeller, PF: Two events, two big-time performances for the Notre Dame recruit. We stopped watching when he started dropping the three-ball. Mike Brey watched every one of his games and had many reasons to smile.

Kevin Rogers, PF: Each time we looked up, Rogers was making a play on offense. He's rounding into a nice prospect, and his work facing the basket is coming along.

Andrew Bynum, C: Paging any non-believers? One guy who works out pros for a living told us this young man has an excellent shot at earning an NBA pension.

Ryan Wright, PF: The high-majors that were on him prior to the camp are still there and for good reason. The Canadian is a solid prospect. He's mobile, has face up potential and a solid body to work with.

Lawrence Kinnard, SF: We loved him at the Tournament of Champions and were anxious to see him at the Nike Camp. In April, he stroked the three. Here in Indy, he didn't make perimeter shots until the final day and those were of the mid-range variety. How good is he? Not as good as our pre-summer No. 36 tag but somewhere in the top 100.

Keaton Grant, SG/SF: The star of the Friday  3-on-3 session from Friday morning played well, but not great as the day went on. He's a legit Top 100 guy with SEC athleticism and a stroke that is proving reliable. He's helped himself here -- his star should rise.

Scout's Seat

For half of the day on Friday, the C.J. Miles we know exists in that All-America body came out and played. If there's a smoother passer in transition we haven't seen him. Toss in the fact he can finish with either hand above the rim and there's a lot to like. ... McRoberts and Zeller tangled in morning 3-on-3 competition. Duke beat Notre Dame, but the Irish didn't back down. ... Jonathan Scheyer has had his moments at camp. He's coming off an illness and probably will kick it in high gear later this month. He's growing and has a long frame for a shooting guard. ... Obi Muohelo, a wing, has made some nice dashes to the cup but couldn't buy a bucket or a finish. ... With an ailing Rick Barnes (back trouble) looking on, A.J. Abrams scored in a variety of ways. ... Jay Brown is on the fringe of getting high-major offers while mid-major head coaches sit in the stands and root for him to start missing those three-pointers. ... Look closely, and you'll buy into the comparison that Walter Hodge is resembles East Tennessee State guard Timmy Smith.

News & Notes

Kentucky's Tubby Smith followed around Brandan Wright at the morning 3-on-3 station. ... Go figure, later in the day Roy Williams joined Tubby in also watching Wright. ... Mike Brey patiently watched Zeller at 3-on-3. ... Ben Howland looked pretty interested in being seen by Martell Webster in the morning. ... Texas has sent assistants to every single one of Durrell Arthur's games here. ... Mike Krzyzewski watched Jonathan Scheyer all day long while Illinois (Bruce Weber and assistant) and Cal (Ben Braun and assistant) also scouted him. ... VCU coach Jeff Capel is chasing Eric Whitehurst. ... New Xavier coach Sean Miller made it a priority to see B.J. Raymond. ... Julian Wright drew head coaches all day long as Weber, Lute Olson and Dave Leitao made the rounds. ... N.C. State assistant Mark Phelps watched Jerome Dyson, a 2006 shooting guard. ... Across town at the Hoosier Shootout was Lewis Clinch. Now, someday someone is going to have to explain how a top 50 prospect in America doesn't get an invite to one of the three major shoe camps. Anyway, Clinch is expected to receive a new set of offers once coaches can call him. Look for Wake Forest, Alabama, Florida, N.C. State, Georgia Tech and Auburn, to name just a few, to pony up a scholarship offer. At 9:30 a.m. a mass exodus from Nike Camp to the Shootout took place to watch Clinch. ... Roy Williams could be starting to warm up to the idea of maybe offering a scholarship to Brendan Haywood look-a-like Andrew Bynum. The coach saw a good amount of him. ... At this point, it would be an upset if Eric Boateng didn't pick Duke. ... Dan Monson watched junior Bryce Webster and had to like what he saw. ... UMass is on the Craig Ausdrie watch here at Nike. ... We think Jonathan Adams could be real close to popping for Western Kentucky. ... Georgetown's John Thompson III  quietly watched every one of J.P. Prince's games. Pete Gillen and Kevin Stallings were around, as well. ... Tennessee Tech skipper Mike Sutton took in a Matthew Dotson game on Friday. ... Cleveland State was the first school to offer a scholarship to Detroit junior guard Tyjuan Porter. ... Alabama and UNC head coaches were in the stands for Richard Hendrix's games.