double pump day one report--first session

	What:	Double Pump West Coast All-Star Camp
	When:	Session I, July 8-11, 2003
	Where:	Lynwood HS (games only) CSUDH (dorms for campers)
	Who:	298 high school prospects
NCAA Certified Event Division I Coaches Permitted to Attend

Some brief notes on some of the players we saw tonight at Lynwood HS....Keep in mind that we only were able to watch one game at a time, and that means we really only got to see four games, eight teams altogether, so we're only scratching the surface.....

Best Point Guard of the Day: This one has to go to Jake Linton (5'-10" Jr. PG) from a school called Medowdale, in the State of Washington. Too bad he's not a local guy, because we'd really like to see more of him. Playing here on a camp team known as "New Mexico," a team with some good, but not great players, this young man was able to do it all: Ambidextrous, he can shoot from anywhere on the floor, whether it's pulling up for a three pointer, or driving to the basket equally well from the right or the left side of the court, we were impressed with how solidly he played. Not flashy, he just gets it done, involving his teammates and also scoring easily, seemingly whenever and however he wanted to. He's got very quick feet, a superior sense and feel for the game, has excellent court vision, passes at the right times and in the right ways, sees his teammates and isn't even close to being the kind of ball-hog that some point guards at camps like this think they have to be in order to get noticed. Seriously, this is one really excellent player, a young man who has excellent court instincts and a great feel for the game, can defend and is only limited by his size. But from the kind of buzz that we heard around the gym, size is not going to hold him back. We were sitting near a number of college coaches who were intently watching him, and he was probably the one true bright spot of the evening....not that there weren't others, but this young man can play.

Ok, So Maybe There's Another Best Point Guard of the Day: Phil Bryant's "Iowa" camp teams are always considered to be the "stacked" teams, meaning they usually have the deepest pool of talent, and that seems to be the case again this year. There were a couple of outstanding players on the Iowa team, but among the top guards in the camp have to be two players, and both of them are local SoCal guys: The first is Desmond Moore (6'-3" Jr. PG) from Westchester could be the next big surprise at a school known for breeeding smooth, athletic and smart guards. Moore is long, lean, kind of in the same mold as a C.J. Watson, although not quite at the same skill level just yet, but close. Moore made some great passes, played a terrific two-man game with one of his big men, and generally paced the offense for his team. He's got nice court vision and knows when to make the pass and when to pull up for the short mid-range jumper in the key, or when to penetrate and dish. The other guard is probably not a true point guard, but when Moore wasn't leading the offense for Iowa, this guy was: Marcellius Sample (6'-4" Sr. G) from Granada Hills Kennedy, played about as well as any of the guards at the camp we saw, probably only a notch below Linton in terms of effectiveness on the floor, but probably with bigger upside given his size. We're not quite sure if Sample always plays this well, and another look later in the week is probably in order, but he's quick, has fast hands and feet, slashes and also can hit the 17' pullup jumper.

Best Big Man Dunk of the Day: This one has to go to Bill Forelli (6'-6" Sr. G/F) from Gig Harbor, Washington, who we understand from overhearing some of the scouts who had seen him previously, is also called "Baseline Bill," largely owing to the fact that he's so effective getting to the basket from the baseline and moving people out of his way. He had a series of tip-jams, slam dunks and almost had us thinking he was a more versatile version of Maryland's Nik-Caner Medley....well, perhaps not that good, but he runs very well and has very good ups, and besides, he knows how to put the ball in the hole and bang. Kind of an unconventional style of game when you first see him, he sorta, kinda grows on you....Deserves another look....

Ok, So There's Yet Another Top Guard of the Day: In a camp filled with guards, it's often hard to spot one who stands out from the rest, but we were also pleasantly surprised with the play of Rai Colston (5'-8" Sr. PG) from LA City Section's El Camino Real HS. Largely overshadowed during the CIF City Section season, playing in the same league as perennial SF Valley powers Taft and Cleveland, El Camino Real often gets lost in the shuffle, which means that Colston also gets overlooked too, which is really a shame for Colston because he's a much better player than some realize or are willing to give him credit for. A great passer, with terrific court vision, he threaded some passes tonight which had a few people smiling and saying, "See, I told you he's a player...." Played a great two-man game with teammate Forelli, doing their Stockton to Malone to Stockton pick and roll... Nice.

Bobby Brock (6'-7" Sr. F/C) Palm Desert HS--- We liked his game, and for one of the bigger guys at this camp, he had a nice handle, scored well, rebounded, and played hard.

Jonathan Gibson (6'-0" Jr. PG) West Covina HS--- Ok, if he's 6'-0", then we seriously need to get some new glasses, but that's ok, because Gibson is pretty good. A good handle, very quick, pushes the ball, but needs to watch the turnovers. Gets to the basket, and can score. A pretty athletic guard with some upside as a rising junior.

Jordi Ubaldo (6'-4" Sr. G/F) Hart HS-- We had not seen this young man prior to tonight's session, and at first glance, he's a bit deceiving in that he looks more like a football player than a basketball, player....but then you notice his footwork, which is really good, and his ability to move people out of the paint, which is also pretty good, and after a while, his game grows on you a bit. We'll have to watch some more to get a better feel, but he showed promise tonight.

Cody Rogers (5'-10" So. PG) from Olentangy, OH-- In year's past we wouldn't be writing about a kid from Ohio, but at this camp, there are more kids from outside of California than there are from here, so we don't feel so bad....In fact we feel pretty good about writing about Rogers. He's another guard who runs the offense for his camp team, and other players naturally defer to him to bring the ball up and set up the offense. Good vision, nice quickness for a young player, and best of all he's young and has a lot of upside. One to keep an eye on.

Vincent Toureville (6'-5" Sr. G/F) from MCI (via California)-- Vincent was a seldom-used reserve at Montclair Prep in Van Nuys as a sophomore, and when he transferred this year to Maine Central Institute, a prep school known as one of the traditional powerhouse NEPSAC league teams, on a roster filled with post-grad prep school players which included Frank Robinson from Sylmar who signed with Eastern Carolina, Rekalin Sims who signed with Cal, and a bunch of other mid to high major D-I players, he was also seldom seen in some of the tighter and tougher MCI contests. But practicing and playing with some of the players he saw back in Maine really toughened him up, and while opinions from others were mixed based on tonight's game, we generally liked his inside game and rebounding ability, as well as his footwork and ability to close out the paint. It will be interesting to see how he fares the rest of the week. Word is that he'll be playing for the No. 3 Pump team in Vegas....

Jimmie Arterberry (6'-4' Sr. G) from Westwood, CA--- One of Phil Bryant's own high school kids, this is the younger brother of TJ Arterberry, who was a Pump Camp fixture for about four years, and who was reed-thin, but knew how to play. Jimmie is, in our view, a better prospect, not nearly as thin and he's a bit quicker, runs the floor better and gets to the rim more effectively than his brother.

Thanasi Panagiotakopoulos (5'-9" Sr. PG) from Brophy Prep in Arizona-- We just wanted to type his name.... definitely gets the "longest name" award, and we know that Dinos Trigonis, a fellow Greek, would be proud....And on top of a really long name, this is one player who never met a shot he didn't like. Seriously, if the ball gets in his hands, it's 50-50 whether it's going up.... which is ok, because tonight he was making a lot of them.

Andrew Johnson (6'-4" Sr. F) from Palm Desert HS-- What's with all the kids from Palm Desert? In the mold of Josh Zazulia, this young man has some game, can handle the ball pretty well and has a very nice turnaround jumper, not to mention a pretty good perimeter game. Played well tonight.

That's about it for tonight.....More after tomorrow's (Wednesday's) afternoon games....