Phenom’s Open Gym Tour
Rocky River HS (Mint Hill, NC)
By Rick Lewis
Phenom Hoop Report travelled to Charlotte, North Carolina to watch Coach Jason Moseley’s Rocky River boy’s basketball team. Coach Moseley is in his first year at Rocky River and is both anxious and enthusiastic about the upcoming season. While Rocky River lost a few key players from last year’s team, he does have 6’4 ’20 national recruit Jaden Springer. Springer is highly regarded as one the elite level players in his class on the national level. We came away impressed with the overall intensity displayed throughout practice especially how the entire team talked on defense. They were loud, active and displayed a lot of effort and energy throughout practice.
Now, let’s take a closer look at the top players for Coach Jason Moseley and his Rocky River team.
6’4 ’20 Jaden Springer
Simply put, Springer is on another level. He is a high level player, but is also a high character young man. In the classroom, Springer sports an impressive 3.6 GPA. On the court, he has a physically mature frame and has strong legs. While he is explosive off the bounce, he has a very smooth and fluid game. We were most impressed with his unselfish play. Rarely do you find a talent such as Springer that plays within the team structure. As a matter of fact, Kansas’s assistant coach Kurtis Townsend was in the gym to watch Springer. Currently, Springer sports offers from Auburn, Charlotte, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, NC State, ODU, Tennessee, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and UCLA. Coach Moseley stated,
6’5 ’19 Darlingstone Dunbar
Darlingstone may just be the best player in the Charlotte area that no one has ever heard about. Last season for Rocky River, Stone didn’t get a lot of playing time, but don’t let that fool you. In our opinion, he is definitely a D1 prospect. He has a unique blend of size, skill and athleticism. Stone is an above average shooter with solid shooting mechanics. He has good elevation on his jump shot and can score from all three levels. In speaking with Coach Moseley, he stated “Darlingstone can flat out play,” and we happen to agree 100% with his assessment. Charlotte’s assistant coach Houston Fancher was on hand to check out the promising young prospect.
6’0 ’18 Jordan Campbell
Campbell transferred from Mallard Creek and was the county’s second leading scorer. First of all, we are talking about a guard that has tremendous quickness and explosiveness. He attended the prestigious NC Top 80 last March and we stated the following.“Jordan is a player than can jump out of the gym. He has a great feel for the game and his ability to get into the paint is terrific. He has a nice jump shot as well and can really punish opponents when he’s hitting on all three levels. Jordan was a good teammate throughout camp.” In speaking with Coach Moseley, he stated, “Jordan Campbell will be the biggest D1 steal in the class of 2018.” While he has terrific scoring abilities, we were equally impressed with his defensive potential. He has tremendous lateral quickness and could be one of the area’s (Charlotte/Mecklenburg) best two-way player for the 2018. In addition, Campbell has a 3.5 GPA, which illustrates his work ethic both in the classroom and on the basketball court.
6’2 ’18 Marcus Evans
Marcus Evans is your typical blue-collar guy. He plays with a high motor and demonstrates maximum effort in practice. Coach Moseley’s summed it up best when he stated the following. “Marcus Evans is the hardest working kid I have had the pleasure of coaching.” Evans is getting serious D2 interest and currently Winston-Salem State is showing the most interest. He’s a well-rounded student athlete that carried a 3.5 GPA in the classroom.
5’7 ’18 Elijah Sidbury
Coach Moseley stated, “Elijah Sidbury is the little general, the glue of the team.” First of all, we’re talking about a player that displays positive energy and can create havoc on the defensive end of the court.