With the demise of the City of Basketball Love website this will be the last exposure camp in the Philly area that actually used college coaches to run the teams unless someone takes up the challenge of running a similar themed camp in the future. The reasons the CoBL site folded up are unclear but the impact for Philly hoopheads will certainly be felt for a long time especially with the city newspapers giving HS sports less coverage. So without further ado these are some of the top players from the classes of 2019-20 at this camp:
Uche Okafor 6’7” ’19 Camden Catholic HS (Cherry Hill, NJ) – Okafor has had a long journey to get to this point in his basketball life and he has worked hard to get here and while his dream of playing big time hoops may not pan out he will play scholarship level ball somewhere. When I say he’s not a finished product you should have seen him as a freshman so his improvement has been phenomenal since then and I feel he has more room to expand his skillset. He did a nice job here controlling the paint both as a rebounder and defender and he scored down low using some improved footwork and his strong frame to get to the rack and get buckets. He even made some nifty passes which was a far cry from some of his attempts in years past. This young man is a D-II special for someone willing to give him a chance.
Ja’cor Smith 6’4” ’19 Sts. Neumann-Goretti HS (Philadelphia, PA) – This young man has long been under the radar but the Saints coaching staff knows that he is an integral part of their squad. He’s a tough hardnosed defender who shut down every guy he guarded here using his strength to keep his man from getting penetration and by showing surprising instincts to close out and challenge perimeter jump shots. Along with Okafor he did a nice job of controlling the glass and he has continued his growth as a shooter by knocking down shots at all three levels and doing it consistently. He has become a leader on the court with his big motor and all out hustle and his play here did nothing to diminish his value to any team he’s a part of and he looks like a lock D-II performer.
Vince Popejoy 6’7” ’20 Bishop Eustace Prep School (Pennsauken, NJ) – Popejoy definitely helped himself here as a late addition to the camp and he came poised to stand out. He can run the floor quite well and he took full advantage of the fact that his guards would get him the rock in good positions on the floor. He hit medium range jumpers off the catch with a fluid motion and good balance and he was effective going to the basket scoring thru contact or dishing the ball to open teammates when defended. He had been labeled as soft in the past but as he has gotten stronger he has added a dimension of toughness that previously had been lacking and he used that to his advantage today.
Bryce Spriggs 6’2” ’19 Friends Central School (Wynnewood, PA) – Spriggs had been known for two things in the past and they were all out hustle and that his style of play kept getting him hurt. Watching him here it looks as though he has learned to play less reckless but with the same intensity and motor which ain’t half bad. He is physically strong and on defense he was taking the ball from opponents by literally ripping it from their grasps and his sturdy frame was a deterrent for guys to challenge him with trying to penetrate the paint. He’s a good rebounder from the guard position and grabbed quite a few throughout the day and he is still a decent passer that can get the ball to open teammates in scoring spots. His offense comes and goes but he’s tough inside in muscling up shots in traffic and his midrange game is coming along nicely. He’s gotten heavy D-III interest and will probably be a solid player wherever he winds up.
Ryan McKeon 6’7” ’19 Sanford School (Hockessin, DE) – This young man is the quintessential glue guy for Sanford and his play here reflected that sentiment. He has a solid jump shot with range to the arc and he was hitting shots from outside in one of the games I saw. The next contest I viewed in it’s entirety he was getting to the basket for tough in traffic layups and getting to the foul line as well. His biggest weapon though at least to me anyway was his passing game as he must have had 6 or 7 assists in the game by finding back door cutters or open shooters with a surprisingly accurate skip pass. He battled on the boards on both ends and he showed some physicality that I thought had been missing from his game and that also showed in his defensive play as he challenged guys and was rewarded with a couple blocks and a few defected passes. He is tracking as a D-III lean and is looking for a strong academic school.
Malcolm Williams 6’3” ’19 Penncrest HS (Media, PA) – Williams has made great strides in his game over the last year and he continued his growth here at the camp. Last year he was mostly a defensive guy and when I saw them in December he only took 1 shot in the game I saw and only hoisted up 3 in a another. Near the end of their season however he was looking to score and his mates were actually feeding him and he was doing the rest. That improvement continued through the spring and summer so it was no surprise that he was scoring well here by getting to the hole and finishing with good body control and a lot of toughness to absorb some hits on his way to the basket. He has been working to smooth out the wrinkles in his jumper and he knocked down a few midrange ones today. His passing game and handle are becoming staples in his skill package and he looked very good today while making plays. I also like his defensive intensity and his ability to force guys away from the basket and he was fierce challenging opponents inside getting a block or two along the way. He has started to pick up lots of D-II/D-III interest so we’ll monitor his progress as the season progresses.