I was blessed enough to have an opportunity to coach at next up's camp on Saturday. I say blessed because the gym was full of 206 kids that were itching at the chance to compete and get better. I came away a really impressed by the overall talent level...especially the Kentucky kids. In my estimation I think there was 15-20 kids w d1 potential and just about every camper could play ball somewhere if they wanted (granted they have to keep working). Over the recent years, I haven't been able to watch too much HS bball so it was nice to see a couple kids that I had already heard about through the grapevine or on here. Here's a list of kids that I marked down as impressing me throughout the day.....

 

Taiveyhon Mason 2017 Christin County

(The kid is small, but really gets after it. Absolute pest on D.)

 

Junthean Cuningham 2017 JTown

(Extreme athlete w some skill as well. Has a bit of a football build. I hope he does w that athleticism)

 

Danny Butt 2018 Pulaski County

(Great shooter, really competed....had an open spot in my drill to play defense & he volunteered right away...also had to do up downs because his team couldn't get a stop! Not his fault though. Also, really impressed me with his post up game...that's what opened my eyes to him before I even saw him shoot.)

 

Devon Cooper 2017 Findlay Prep

(Transfer from waggener to Findlay....can definitely tell that's he's had a year at prep school...a lot of polish to his game)

 

Timmy Dalton 2017 Lawrence County

( probably one of my favorite players at camp. I was amazed when he didn't make any of the 2 all star games. Good athlete & leader. Had a couple "wow" moves in the game portion of camp.)

 

Jayden Scrubb 2018 Trinity

(Good athlete, can ball)

 

Caleb Williams 2017 Eastern

(Skilled, competitor, versatile)

 

James Baker 2017 Meade County

(Skilled, long, good athlete. He has slot of potential)

 

Trace Young 2017 Cordia?

(Definitely saw what all the hype was about with this kid. Kids seemed to gravitate towards him)

 

Oumar Keita 2018 Cordia

(The big guy has a lot of skill for his size....a very good passer, nice fee for the game)

 

Braxton Beverly 2017 Hargrave

(Once again saw the hype with him...)

 

Anthony Nelson 2017 Cordia

(Really smooth, I liked his game. Can be a little too smooth at times, though.)

 

Peyton Broughton 2017 North Laurel

(If I had to pick a player that I was most impressed w/ it probably was him. Had a dunk when I coached his team for a game that was just DIRTY. The kid that was defending might have nightmares for a few weeks.)

 

Tre King 2018 (didn't have a school listed)

Very nice player...at could do it all on the court

 

Ollie Eutsey 2017 Franklin-Simpson

(Verrry athletic...had a motor that wouldn't stop. Played his way from an unknown into an allstar appearance)

 

There were many more that I wrote down on my all star selection sheet that I turned in. These are the guys that caught my eye initially, that were marked on my camp roster that I still have. No doubt I missed a TON with this list..

I am sure that there were a lot of kids names that were turned in to be selected for the all star games. Too bad that the political game had to come in to play and a lot of these kids were selected before they even walked in to the gym.

I am sure that there were a lot of kids names that were turned in to be selected for the all star games. Too bad that the political game had to come in to play and a lot of these kids were selected before they even walked in to the gym.

 

No politics, everyone had a sheet and wrote down their top 40 kids & turned it in. The top 40 kids w/ the most "points" got selected.

Braxton Beverly competed? Uh Wow

nope the whole thing is a money maker

 

That all it is about!!!! $$$$$$

I think it is ridiculous. No way to evaluate all of these kids. Can already tell that the same kids are going to be picked as the top players. To many evaluators here that are connected to a lot of these kids.

 

 

SO TRUE

I think it's great for the kids, the line up looked stacked on paper but to have Beverly play and Clark Francis speak about recruiting and say he isn't about exploiting or playing favorites is assinine

No politics, everyone had a sheet and wrote down their top 40 kids & turned it in. The top 40 kids w/ the most "points" got selected.

 

Wasn't EJ Williams in the all star game? Did Taveion Hollingsworth make the all star team? Did Cole Vonhandorf make it?

No politics, everyone had a sheet and wrote down their top 40 kids & turned it in. The top 40 kids w/ the most "points" got selected.

Unfortunately, "everyone" isn't really everyone. A lot of the evaluators at these events already know who their picks are and -- here's the real shocker -- may even have had a hand in enrolling those players in the event.

Another butt hurt parents showcase.:clap:

If you don't like it, don't worry about it. If you have a kid and it's such an awful camp, don't take them. Can't figure out the "disdain"?

I thought it was a great experience for my son. The only thing that I was disappointed in was I figured they would seperate classes a bit. I think my son was maybe one of 6 or 8 incoming freshmen. But like I said I really think it was a great experience for him to see where he needs to be in a year or two.

I could care less who is watching and if the ppl picking the all-star teams are influenced before the process even starts. My son goes for one reason. A measuring stick. PERIOD. Not many other places you can have some of the best talent around and get to see how you stack up. Taking the knowledge that he gains and working on where he falls short from theses type of events, will allow him to get the exposure that is needed. We all do different things for different reason. Just my opinion of course.

Overall I thought it was a good camp. At the end of the day there is no doubt that politics came in to play regarding the all star teams. I posted at the lunch break that you could notice the favoritism. Glad for the experience, but will not go back. Again, a lot of kids were picked before they stepped foot in the building. Gotta keep the kids happy that got all their hype in middle school.

Wasn't EJ Williams in the all star game? Did Taveion Hollingsworth make the all star team? Did Cole Vonhandorf make it?

 

He did, he works hard, I was impressed by his touch & his ability to run a little bit despite his size...as for the kids that were left out that you mentioned....I must've missed them? Look, there are going to be misses when you run a camp for a day & pick all stars based off that, but looking at the top 20 & top 40 all star games, it seemed like we had the best kids at the camp competing....shoot just look at the kid Ollie Eutsey from Franklin Simpson. I was talking to Taylor & he said that no one knew who he was coming in & he got a top 40 spot...believe what you want. As far as some coaches having connections to kids, I mean yes we had a Hargrave guy coaching, but it was easy to see the Hargrave kids that attended were among the best in the camp.