Monday, August 3, 2009

Hoop Group Jr. Elite Camp Recap: Day 1 Class 2013

Shamiek Sheppard Was Pleasant Surprise At Jr. Elite Camp Today!

The Hoop Group Jr. Elite Camp kicked off and as promised Basketball Spotlight is in the building. We arrived this morning and went straight to work. In the morning session I got a chance to check out three games. We will break down our top performers by class.

Class 2013 Top Performers

Shamiek Sheppard 6’2 Forward (Brooklyn, NY)- Today Sheppard was very dominant finishing around the basket. Don’t get me wrong he is a legit wing in terms of handling the pill and creating opportunities. He has enough wiggle in his game to get past many defenders but his real strength is exploding to the rim once he gets deep in the paint or on the baseline. He stayed away from the outside shot so I don’t have a take on his jumper.


Rasheed Jordan 5’11 Guard (Philadelphia, PA)- Few could argue about this kids dominance this morning. He can give it to you with strength and with skills. Jordan has a unique knack of getting into the lane and making positive things happen. He’s good at getting teammates involved or scoring in traffic himself. I also love the way he competes.

Kavon Stewart 5’11 Guard (Paterson, NJ)- I’ve seen Stewart dismantle defenders for years and today wasn’t any different. The southpaw set up defenders with his slow dribble then blow pass them to get into the lane. His team was outmanned in terms of talent but Kavon stirred them to the victory. It’s time for him to hit the high school level.

Terrence Samuel 6’2 Guard (Brooklyn, NY)- I finally got a chance to see this kid rock and he has some skills. He’s very explosive when attacking the lane and has some springs in terms of finishing. His outside shot looks decent but he doesn’t seem to be confident enough to let many fly. I like what I saw and hopefully I can get a look at him later.

Reggie Cameron 6’4 Forward (Hackensack, NJ)- If there’s a such thing as a veteran on the grammar school level it has to Cameron. Reggie uses his wealth of experience to expose opponent’s weaknesses. He’s not the quickest but he’s knows how to get to spots and he’s not the most athletic but he understands box out positions. Today he showed a lot of different aspects of his game.

Cane Broome 5’8 Guard (East Hartford, CT)- Cane is a southpaw that primarily runs the point but can drain the open jumper if left open. He’s a good on ball defender and stays within his game when controlling the tempo. He represented himself well today.

Ian Rohde 6’1 Forward (Ringwood, NJ)- Rohde ran the floor well and benefitted from Stewart hitting him with on time passes. He’s not a super athlete but he uses his body well to shield defenders when scoring in traffic. His confidence grew as the game went on.

Austin Hawkins 5’9 Guard (Philadelphia, PA)- Hawkins is a scoring guard inside of a point guards body. He can fill it up in a hurry because his handle allows him to create space to get a shot off. But on the next level he will have to develop his point guard skills as the defenders will become bigger, stronger and faster.