By Pat Stevens
MaxPreps.com
AKRON, Ohio --- “They told me to dunk on LeBron James.”
Some advice from your friends before heading off to summer camp, right?
“They asked me if I was kidding,” said Harrison Barnes from Ames High School (Iowa), who blew locals away when word spread that he had earned an invite to the LeBron James Skills Academy after a big spring season on the travel circuit.
Other campers were also sent to Akron with after receiving an earful from friends and family
“People were excited. They told me I’m one step closer,” Roscoe Davis of Walbrook High School (Md.) said.
“A lot of the young kids told me to get autographs,” Word of God (Raleigh, N.C.) High School’s John Wall said. “But I told them just be working hard and be dedicated and you can get here one day.”
Barnes, a 6-foot-8 workhorse, had the building buzzing with his efforts on the glass and running the floor, beating his man for layups on the offensive end and being disruptive on the defensive end.
He was so good after day one that his teammates practically froze him out on day two, looking away from him when he was wide open. But Barnes had the right attitude, something that doesn’t always permeate in camps like this where it can sometimes turn into “every man for himself” over the need to impress.
“It was a little frustrating, but I can deal with it,” Barnes said. “I’m an unselfish player. As long as we won I’m happy.”
Coming in, Barnes had a list of Iowa State, Iowa, Purdue, Washington State and Wisconsin. That’s about to expand now after the week he had in Akron.
“It’s exciting. I’ll take it as it comes and my parents will be a big help with it (the recruiting process),” Barnes said.
Davis is in the early stages of his recruitment, but happy to have North Carolina, Duke, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Temple, Kansas, Xavier, Memphis, Florida, Florida State, Texas and Southern California in pursuit. He didn’t play travel ball during the spring season so this was his first chance to showcase himself among the other top players in the country.
“I came in here determined, and I’m leaving here more determined,” Davis said.
And for Wall, he’s taken on the reputation as the top guard in the rising senior class, and he’s running with it. Known for his speed and passing ability, the 6-3 effective and entertaining playmaker has been poised and kept everyone on his team involved while getting his at the same time.
“You have LeBron talking to us about making positive changes to his life through basketball and getting a better lifestyle for him and his mom, then you’ve got Chris Paul and O.J. Mayo right next to you working out here – that’s not everyday for a kid my age so you cherish that.”
The top talent in the country is playing inspired basketball this week and the influences around them are bringing the best out of them.
The two Johns as they’re coming to be known as – Wall and Henson – are the popular names as potentially the surest bets to play for pay for a long time.
Rising junior Jason Morris of Hotchkiss School (Conn.) is a young, athletic stud with plenty of promise. He’s playing at what he says is 60 percent with a bad ankle, but not making excuses.
“The doctor says I need to rest for a month and a half to get it back to 100 percent,” Morris said. “I don’t know any players trying to get better that can do that.”
Dante Taylor of National Christian (Md.) was caught up in the competition when he was quick to note that he scored 28 points against consensus top 10 rising senior talent DeMarcus Cousins of LeFlore High School (Ala.).
Cousins has done nothing to hurt his status as one of the nation’s best, confirming that Mike Davis and the University of Alabama-Birmingham were a big winner in securing his services.
Daniel Orton of Bishop McGuinness High School (Okla.) has been a known commodity on the circuit for some time. He attended the LBJ camp last year and has gone through the recruiting process long enough that he has a final seven of UCLA, Kentucky, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Ohio State. But for Orton, he said he was happy this week for the opportunity to get to face off for the first time against some new faces like Barnes and Clemson-bound Milton Jennings of Summerville Prep (S.C.).
Rodney Williams of Robbinsdale Cooper High School (Minn.) is arguably the most athletic player in his class. He displayed his aerial attack with a flurry of dunks on Tuesday and came into camp with Kansas, Connecticut, Miami, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa State on his short list.
“John Wall was a tough assignment,” Williams said. “That was the first time I had seen him play and I had to guard him some, so that made it interesting.”
