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| Wednesday, February 7 |
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| Adidas showcases more depth than Nike By David Benezra Special to ESPN.com | |||
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Editor's note: Recruiting USA will be filing daily updates from the Nike and adidas/ABCD camps. Here is the third installment.
The Recruiting USA staff has been at adidas/ABCD for two days but it only took us one rotation of games to notice how much talent is on hand.
Nike and adidas are pretty even among the top 25 players or so, but adidas is loaded with talented players who would be stars at Nike after you dip below that group.
Consistently impressing us over the first two days are 6-foot-11 senior Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy/Brunswick, Ga.), who has already committed to Florida; 6-5 senior Jackie Manuel (Cardinal Newman H.S./Boca Raton, Fla.); and 6-9 senior Julian Sensley (St. Thomas More/Oakdale, Conn.), who committed to California last summer.
Brown has a great first step and can really put the ball on the floor. He has been known as a skilled big man and not much of a tough guy. That ended here when he elected to post up inside, battling with 6-9, 250-pound senior Brandon Bender (Ballard H.S./Louisville, Ky.). The struggle for post position got physical between the two big men and then Brown made the most aggressive power post move of the camp -- power-dribbling and banging hard into Bender three straight times and then going up and over Bender. By that point, Bender looked like a punch-drunk heavyweight and offered no resistance.
The bad news for the Gators is Brown is a strong one-and-done candidate (play one year of college ball and enter the NBA draft).
Manuel is best described as a Felipe Lopez with a jumper. He can create his own shot and moves well without the ball to find an open shot. He was killing all comers. Manuel said that while he is wide open, the schools showing the most interest early are Syracuse and Notre Dame. Other schools he mentioned were Florida, Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Duke.
Sensley was born in Louisiana and grew up in Hawaii. He is the greatest Hawaiian import since pineapple and his offensive game is sweeter than pure sugar cane.
He is a tall, strong wing who can shoot with range and beat people off the dribble, in addition to being able to palm it off the deck and flush it. You can bet that he will also probably not be a four-year collegiate performer.
Another impressive senior was 6-4 Kelvin Torbert (Northwestern H.S./Flint, Mich.). Torbert is no worse than top five in the class and might be the second-best player behind Dajuan Wagner. He can do some Jordanesque things in the air, and when healthy can dominate the opposition (he is still recovering from the effects of mononucleosis).
Rick Rickert (East H.S./Duluth, Minn.), another tall player known for drifting outside a lot (where he is effective), has shown some determination and finishing ability around the basket. Michigan State, Minnesota, Iowa, Duke, Florida and Arizona are the schools the 6-11 Rickert mentioned he was interested in.
His travel team partner, 6-9 Dennis Latimore (Halstead H.S./Halstead, Kan.) showed off some of the better footwork in the post seen during the camp. Latimore has a body that would enable him to have an impact as a college power forward right now. That's why Kansas coach Roy Williams knows that there might be something finer than to be in Carolina.
Playing with Rickert and Latimore was 6-4 off-guard Daniel Ewing (Willowridge H.S./Sugar Land, Texas), another player who has always been highly rated. Ewing's ability to create a good look for himself off the dribble was highly questionable last year and he was labeled as a shooter. He is now sporting an improved handle and you can consider him a scorer.
Eddy Curry (Thornwood H.S./South Holland, Ill.) saw action on the same team as Manuel. The 6-10 Curry impacts the game just by stepping on the floor. He commands a double team which often becomes a triple team. He is looking more mobile than he did during the spring, and weighs around 300 pounds -- give or take a few.
It is highly rumored that he will commit to a school and come out for the NBA draft next June, but his parents would like to see him play at least a year of college. He has a nice touch and alters the penetration landscape when he's on defense. Just imagine how good he'll be once he gets into great shape.
Lefty Marcus Campbell (Westover H.S./Albany, Ga.) is another rapidly improving big man who made his presence felt at adidas ABCD by playing physical and scoring at will in the paint. The 7-foot Campbell has developed more of an offensive game since last summer and now possesses a beautiful left-handed jump hook. Unlike some of the other post players in this class with more publicity, Campbell will likely be a four-year collegiate performer.
Is'mail Muhammad (W.D. Mohammed H.S./Atlanta, Ga.) is not considered one of the premier players in camp but he has certainly performed like one. At 6-6, he is a very intense, powerfully driving finisher and a strong rebounder. Mark down Georgia Tech as the early leader over LSU and others.
Ben Gordon (Mount Vernon H.S./Mount Vernon, N.Y.) was a spectacularly flashy performer at last year's adidas ABCD Camp but has settled down into a more highly efficient player with excellent skills to play both guard positions. Seton Hall is the main school heard for athletic 6-2 Gordon.
Joining Sensley and Muhammad on the same camp team were 6-6 Julius Hodge (St. Raymond's H.S./Bronx, N.Y.) and 6-0 Brandon Cheatum (Blackhawk H.S./Beaver Falls, Pa.). Hodge is a lanky swingman who can really handle the ball well and has improved his perimeter stroke over last year.
Cheatum really wanted to go to Notre Dame, but when Chris Thomas (Pike H.S./Indianapolis, Ind.) committed to the Irish first, Cheatum wound up committing to Ohio State in recent weeks -- making the Buckeyes ecstatic.
He has great acceleration off the dribble and tremendous floor vision. He consistently makes good decisions, delivers a well-textured pass and can also shoot the ball. This lefty was a consistent threat throughout the past two days, draining the mid-range pull-up jumper like he had a quota to fulfill.
Combo forward Harvey Thomas (Emmanuel Christian H.S./Durham, N.C.) was an athletic power player on the verge of having a perimeter game last year. The 6-9 forward now has a strong handle and a much better outside shot to go with his verticality. He is a big-time talent.
Thomas and 6-8 Marco Killingsworth (Emmanuel Christian H.S./Durham, N.C.), a native of Alabama, will form a tremendous twosome at their boarding school next year. Killingsworth is a mobile power forward with a good first step. A lefty with a nice mid-range touch, Killingsworth is a tough matchup away from the basket for most power players. And he's not too shabby when it comes to rebounding
Najeeb Echols (Whitney-Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.) is showing recruiters that he has more offense than they were told. Echols is not a fluid offensive player but has been making the mid-range jumper and handles the ball exceptionally well for a 6-7 player. He plays multiple positions, making him a valuable commodity. He has always mentioned UCLA, Michigan and DePaul, among other schools.
Making a name for himself is 6-3 point guard Jason Braxton (Canyon Springs H.S./Moreno Valley, Calif.). Braxton is an athletic, long-armed defensive specialist. He has frustrated every point guard he has defended, including the mercurial Terrance Ford (Willowridge H.S./Sugar Land, Texas). On the other end of the court, Braxton is a strong, attacking penetrator. While he is the object of Pac-10 recruiters, it might be hard to keep him on the West Coast.
Besides Braxton, other players deserving of more hype than they've been accorded include 6-2 combo guard Jermaine Harper (Blue Ridge School/St. George, Va.), the Independent Schools Player of the Year in Virginia last year. Harper has a tremendous burst of acceleration and different gears as well as being a quick leaper who can catch a lob. Simply put, he is a scorer. A native of California, Harper is being recruited hard by Virginia, California, UNLV, Rutgers, Oregon and many others.
Donald Perry (McCall H.S./Tallulah, La.) doesn't bring a lot of attention to himself by being flashy or staying on the ball, but he sure knows how to run a team. A good athlete with very good skills, the 6-2 Perry showed he can get his, and also was very consistent in distributing the ball to the right man at the right time.
Chris McRae (St. Raymond's H.S./Bronx, N.Y.) is a relentless and effective penetrator. The 6-4 McRae, like his teammate Hodge, can shoot it, but needs to be a more consistent shooter to open up the lane for his frequent forays.
Antone Palmer (Julian H.S./Chicago, Ill.) is a strong rising senior. A 6-6 lefty who can make shots and is starting to increase his range, Palmer can really run, is a leaper and finishes plays.
Angelo Estes (Booker T. Washington H.S./Tulsa, Okla.) is a good-looking wing shooter who, at 6-7, could eventually be a tall shooting guard. Estes possesses a good-looking stroke and the athleticism to go with it, making him a player on the rise. He's a high-major recruit.
Demarshay Johnson (Oakland Tech H.S./Oakland, Calif.) has played better, but has a tremendous upside. At 6-9, he is a very long and lean power player who can really fly and sky. He is better facing the basket when he gets the ball, where he can use his quickness since he puts the ball on the floor well. 'Shay is a high-major recruit with a pro upside, although he is still raw offensively at this point.
Although he's listed as a power forward on the camp roster, the 6-7 Broderick Collins (H.L. Bourgeois H.S./Gray, La.) is clearly a wing forward. He can score from anywhere on the floor. He can shoot it, posts up well and was throwing it down all over the gym.
James Smith (Cape Henry H.S./Norfolk, Va.) is currently a jack of all trades, master of none. By doing everything well, the 6-8 combo forward has drawn attention from a lot of schools.
Wing Cortez Davis (Friendly H.S./Fort Washington, Md.) shot the ball very consistently and was also able to take his man off the dribble. Davis is athletic and at 6-7 could swing between the two and the three. Like Collins and Estes, he should attract a lot of high major attention.
Kenny Adeleke (Robeson H.S./Brooklyn, N.Y.) is a versatile 6-8 lefty who was too quick to stop in the post and handled the ball well on the perimeter. His best action is still way ahead of him as a multiple position player. A high-major recruit, Adeleke could develop into a big-time player if he has the work ethic.
Adidas/ABCD concludes Monday with playoff action and two all-star games (top 20 underclassmen and top 20 seniors).
Camp scuttlebutt | |
ALSO SEE Recruiting: Still Dajuan Recruiting: Chandler an early star at Nike Recruiting: A look into the future | |
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