Stanley Johnson captures most outstanding player honors at Pangos All-American Camp

LONG BEACH, Calif. – If Stanley Johnson had his head in the clouds after winning most outstanding player honors Sunday at the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp, it didn't take long for the reality of being a teenager to humble him.

Shortly after being handed the showcase event's most coveted piece of hardware, Johnson's father scolded him about the placement of his vehicle in the Cabrillo High School parking lot.

Turns out the 6-foot-6 power guard power parked in front of a fire hydrant.

"That's my dad for you," Johnson said. "He's the guy that says, 'Great job but you didn't do your homework this weekend.' He's great though."



Parking aside, it was another stellar showing by the Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) star and the latest accomplishment on a growing list that includes three state titles, an EYBL championship with the Oakland Soldiers and a gold medal at the FIBA U-17 World Championship last summer in Lithuania.

"It was a media consensus choice," Camp Director Dinos Trigonis said. "He was dominant as the weekend went on. He's very versatile and it was a very productive weekend for him."

Johnson also earned first team All-American honors from MaxPreps in April and was named National Junior of the Year.

An uber-specimen on the perimeter with the ability to knock it down consistently from the 3-point arc or go to the basket, Johnson is currently pegged as the No. 13 overall prospect in the Class of 2014 by 247Sports.com and topped four players ranked higher to win Pangos MOP honors.

He isn't sweating his place in the rankings, however.

"I'm happy to get this (Pangos MOP) and all the accolades," Johnson said. "Hopefully people know that I work hard and try to play as hard as possible. That's the main thing."

Johnson is the first Southern California product to take home top honors at Pangos since Brandon Jennings in 2007.



"This is where I'm from and this is my house, kind of," Johnson said. "I play for Belmont Shore (a club team run by Trigonis) and I've known about Pangos since I was in fourth grade, so I'm happy I did it."

He also set off a bit of a firestorm by showing up to the gym Friday night wearing a USC sweatshirt. Don't read too much into it, Johnson says.

"I have to wear a college sweatshirt or a Mater Dei sweatshirt to school and that's just the one I wore to school," Johnson said. "I came from school straight to my high school basketball game to the camp. I wasn't thinking of it until I walked in and people started taking pictures. It wasn't a statement. I like the school, they are on my list and I liked the sweatshirt."

The Trojans are in the mix for his services at the next level along with Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon and UCLA.

Also honored following at the conclusion of camp were Emmanuel Mudiay and Rashad Vaughn, who took home most outstanding player honors for their respective teams in the Cream of the Crop Top 25 Game.

Mudiay, a 6-3 guard from Prime Prep (Dallas), is the No. 1 2014 prospect according to 247Sports. Vaughn, a 6-6 scorer extraordinaire from Minnesota, is No. 6 on the same list.



"Top to bottom it was very good camp," Trigonis said. "Comparable to most years and maybe right at the very top."

Asked to highlight some of the young prospects who he felt made a big impression, Trigonis mentioned Carlisle School (Martinsville, Va.) 7-footer Thon Maker, rising 6-9 freshman DeAndre Ayton and St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) guard Tyler Dorsey.

Check back Monday for MaxPreps.com's Pangos 'Starting Five' and a deeper look at players who boosted their stock over the weekend.