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Forwards shine at NBPA camp
With the July 8-14 and 25-31 evaluation periods for college coaches rapidly approaching, a couple of prime events for prep hoopsters were held during the past week. The most prestigious, and the one we'll focus upon herein, was the annual NBA Players Association Camp in Washington D.C., yet at least as many (if not more) truly elite prospects played in the Atlanta Basketball Classic. At the NBA Players Association Camp (referred to below as the NBA Camp), 88 players were divided among eight camp teams. Of the 88, 72 are rising high school seniors, 15 juniors and one (touted 5-foot-11 Brooklyn Lincoln point guard Sebastian Telfair ) a precocious sophomore. In our view, the most important thing isn't which camp teams were most successful -- the Kings defeated the Lakers 64-52 in the title game, after the Lakers stunned the previously undefeated Raptors in the semifinals -- but which players demonstrated the greatest promise through their performances. Based on information from a variety of sources who were present at the camp (especially Rob Harrington of prepstars.com), the following individuals were most impressive: 1) 6-7 Los Angeles Fairfax rising senior small forward Evan Burns: He's a superb athlete who has added much needed strength, consistently drills three-pointers, and shows significantly improved decision-making on the court. Burns lists UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Duke, North Carolina and San Diego State as his current collegiate favorites. 2) 6-10 Marion (Mass.) Tabor Academy rising senior center/power forward Torin Francis: He proved to be the best big man present, as he made good use of a smooth turnaround jump shot with a high release, quick feet and a nose for rebounds to excel despite playing for a poor team plagued by subpar guard play. He plans to unofficially visit North Carolina, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Virginia, Maryland, Boston College and perhaps Duke between August 9 and 15, and then reach a collegiate decision. 3) 6-4 Los Angeles Westchester rising senior wing guard Hassan Adams: This athletic driver has a knack for slithering to the hoop and finishing the play, though he occasionally over-penetrates, and his 3-point shot (which he rarely looks for) isn't bad. On the collegiate list of this consummate slasher are UCLA, California, Southern California, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Connecticut and perhaps others. 4) 6-1 Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's rising senior point guard/wing guard Allan Ray: This versatile, scoring-oriented point guard continued the stellar play that has marked all of his spring performances, hence his national stock continues to rise. Colleges in the hunt include Memphis, Villanova, Seton Hall, N.C. State, Miami-Fla., Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Georgetown and Wake Forest. 5) 6-3 Neptune (N.J.) High rising senior point guard/wing guard Taquan Dean: Already verbally committed to Louisville, he hit lots of three-pointers in pacing his team to the camp title. Note that he apparently played much better in D.C. than when we watched him Memorial Day weekend at the Tournament of Champions in North Carolina. 6) 6-5 Tulsa (Okla.) Victory Christian rising senior small forward/wing guard Kelenna Azubuike: A native Nigerian, he knocked in 3-pointers and performed well overall as the Lakers reached the title game. He likes Illinois (where his brother is a walk-on for coach Bill Self's team), Duke, Stanford and UCLA, while also mentioning the possibility of entering the 2002 NBA Draft. 7) 6-9 Midwest City (Okla.) High rising senior power forward/center Shelden Williams: This strong lefthander fared better once he stopped spending much of his time on the perimeter jacking up 3s (he hit some) and moved inside, where he rebounds and rejects with ferocity. We hear that Duke is currently the clear-cut leader over North Carolina and Illinois, with others such as Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Southern California and Stanford remaining involved. 8) 5-11 Brooklyn (N.Y.) Lincoln rising sophomore point guard Sebastian Telfair: Already a national name, he has enormous potential but is inconsistent. With great court vision and quickness, his passing can be spectacular, yet he's out of control at times. 9) 6-10 Rochester Hills (Mich.) Rochester rising senior power forward/center Paul Davis: Much like Shelden Williams (see above), he played well except when he drifted outside and tried too many three-pointers, which isn't his forte. Paul has given Michigan State an early verbal commitment. 10) 7-0 Fort Walton Beach (Fla.) Choctawhatchee rising senior center Michael Doe: For the sake of argument, we've included this rail-thin (180 pounds!) insider among the top prospects at the NBA Camp, although he has little national reputation. The fact is, he's not only very tall (listed 7-1) but also mobile, smart and an accurate shooter around the basket. If he works hard to build up his physical strength, the sky is the limit! We'll try to provide his collegiate list later this month, now that the word of his potential prowess is spreading.
Felton sizzles at Atlanta ClassicTurning briefly to the Atlanta Basketball Classic, 6-1 Latta (S.C.) High rising senior point guard Raymond Felton once again turned on his magic to lead Beach Ball Select (from the Myrtle Beach area) to the title over the loaded and heavily favored host Atlanta Celtics. As he did earlier at the Tournament of Champions, Felton (who has verbally committed to North Carolina but will consider entering the 2002 NBA Draft) took over down the stretch of every game. Extra-quick and shifty Raymond tallied 35 points in the quarterfinals, 30 in the semifinals and 41 versus the Celtics in the championship game! Note that the Celtics had imported super 6-10 Orlando (Fla.) Cypress Creek rising senior Amare Stoudemire (verbally committed to Memphis but likely headed directly to the NBA) to join 6-11 near-super rising senior Sani Ibrahim of either Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy or Winchendon (Mass.) Winchendon School. Nevertheless, Felton proved to be unstoppable, even when double-teamed, and Beach Ball Select emerged as the surprising titleist.
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