The focus of the summer circuit shifts west this weekend as the biggest event on the docket is the Pangos All-American Camp at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, Calif.
Running Friday through Sunday, the biggest name on the event’s marquee at press time is Harrison Barnes of Iowa’s Ames High School. Barnes is a virtual lock to make an appearance in the top 10 of the MaxPreps Top 100 – set for publication in August – and a strong contender for the overall No. 1 spot in the class of 2010.
Barnes averaged 19.7 points and 8.8 rebounds last winter in leading Ames to an undefeated state championship season.
Ames (Iowa) head coach Vance Downs and Harrison Barnes.
Courtesy of Army National Guard
“Harrison Barnes is an excellent player and a great student and citizen,” Pangos All-American Camp direcor Dinos Trigonis said. “He is kind of a big-time wing athlete who can score and lead a team. He will be a household name in the years to come.”
The last two most outstanding players at the Pangos All-American Camp have been Brandon Jennings (Oak Hill Academy, Va., currently playing in Europe) and John Wall (Word of God, N.C., recent Kentucky commitment).
Other recent attendees include Jerryd Bayless, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden, Jrue Holiday, Jordan Hill, Gani Lawal and Russell Westbrook.
A complete list of campers, which will include up-and-comers from the class of 2011 and 2012, will be released just prior to the camp.
Off the court, a speaking appearance by ESPN’s Steve Lavin will be among the highlights. “Cream of the Crop” Top 40 and Top 20 games will be played Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY AT MEMPHIS MELROSE
White Station guard Joe Jackson will undoubtedly be the toast of the Memphis, Tenn., high school basketball scene next season, but third-year head coach Jermaine Johnson’s Melrose Golden Wildcats could be on the verge of a major coming out party – both locally and nationally.
Several of Johnson’s young standouts have made noise on the travel circuit already this spring, including rising junior guard Chris Jones, who led Melrose in scoring as a sophomore at 18.8 points per game. As reported over the weekend by MaxPreps contributor Pat Stevens, the 5-foot-9 Jones exploded for games of 50, 42 and 28 points while playing with the Memphis Stallions at the Tournament of Champions last weekend on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
“Chris is an electrifying player. He can ignite the situation and environment on both ends of the floor,” Johnson said. “He is a good on-ball defender, shoots extremely well, he passes the ball, he can do a lot of different things. He has a chance to take his game to another level if he continues to instill the work habits he has displayed to this point.”
According to Johnson, Alabama, Marquette, Memphis, Missouri and Tennessee are among the Division I schools taking a long look at his star guard.
Height and length will be a major strength for the 2009-2010 Golden Wildcats, who compiled a 29-7 record last year and won the Class AAA District 16 title. Although Johnson expects promising rising junior Nino Johnson to transfer to White Station, he has a star in the making in 6-7 rising junior Adonis Thomas, a talent already on the radar at Duke, Memphis, North Carolina and Ohio State, among others.
“He’s got a chance to be a potential pro,” Johnson said. “He is also a great student (4.2 grade point average). He is a unique young fella.”
Nate Rucker, a 6-7 rising senior, and 6-8 rising sophomore Darius Moore add to Melrose’s depth in the post.
And if that wasn’t enough, Johnson will welcome 6-9 senior transfer Terrance Boxley next season, as well as 6-6 sophomore Willie Atwood, who he calls “one of the best freshman in Tennessee,” and highly-touted sophomore guard Martavious Newby, already getting looks from Kentucky, Memphis and Tennessee.
Senior Jermaine Hollimon (6-5), junior Telvin Wilkerson (6-5) and sophomore Davonte Hampton (6-1) all contributed heavily in 08-09 and will do the same for a team that will be considered among the favorites for a state title in Tennessee next winter.
Despite a rich tradition of athletic success at Melrose, the Golden Wildcat boys basketball team hasn’t won a state title since 1983 and is void a championship game appearance since 1997. Can Johnson’s squad erase history?
“No doubt. We were so close last year,” Johnson said. “The two teams that beat us in March ended up being the state champs and state-runner-up. We have all five starters back and a lot of motivation.”
The talented Golden Wildcats will be tested by a stacked schedule, including a trip to Bristol, Tenn., for the prestigious Arby’s Classic, a date in late January against Georgia power Dunwoody and yet another out-of-state showdown with class of 2011 superstar LaQuinton Ross’ Murrah Mustangs of Jackson, Miss. The district schedule also gets tougher with Jackson and White Station joining the fray.
HOLIDAY HOOPS
Several of the top holiday hoops tournaments have already locked up compelling fields for December. The results of Oregon’s Les Schwab Invitational and South Carolina’s Beach Ball Classic will once again help shape the national scope of high school basketball.
Here’s a sneak preview;
Beach Ball Classic – Myrtle Beach, S.C., Dec. 26-31
South Carolina Teams: Daniel, J.L. Mann, Myrtle Beach, Socastee
Out-of-State Teams: Bishop Gorman (Nev.), Bishop O’Connell (Va.), Cedar Hill (Texas), Columbia (Ga.), Concord (N.C.), Milwaukee Hamilton (Wis.), Mount St. Joseph (Md.), Nichols (N.Y.), Scott County (Ky.), St. Edward (Ohio), St. Frances (Md.), Wheeler (Ga.)
Les Schwab Invitational – Hillsboro, Ore., Dec. 26-30
Oregon Teams: Beaverton, Central Catholic, Grant, Hillsboro, Jefferson, Jesuit, Lake Oswego, Lincoln, Oregon City, South Eugene, Sunset, Westview
Out-of-State Teams: Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Prairie (Wash.), Rainier Beach (Wash.), Westchester (Calif.)
Look for previews of 2009-2010 high school basketball events throughout the summer.
