After watching a number of team games, three-on-three competitions and one-on-one competitions, here are the top prospects coming out of last week's High Potential Camp. We will follow up with individual reports on these recruits, and they will be some of the top names we watch and track during this July evaluation period.
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O.J. Avworo - 6'0" PG
Alief Elsik HS (Houston, Tex.)His reputation as a pass-first
point guard who does not score was seriously challenged at this camp. Showed
a great jumper in one-on-one competitions and broke defenders down off the
dribble. He won the one-on-one competition at camp in the highest
league, and he won handily. Very good athlete. You haven't heard
of him before, but Avworo definitely belongs on the radar as one of the top
players to watch in July. |
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Landry Fields - 6'3" SG
Los Alamitos HS (Los Alamitos, Calif.)He has every bit of the
baby face that you see in this photo. He is visibly physically
immature and looks too young to be in this class. Indeed, he turned 17
on the final day of camp. When you project players out to what they
will become, Fields may have been the #1 prospect at the camp.
Remarkable feel for the game, skilled and has a nice stroke. A springy
player, he is already a good athlete. |
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Joe Harden - 6'6" SF
St. Mary's HS (Stockton, Calif.)Harden has grown and improved
since I last saw him. He is an aggressive and talented playmaker
attacking the basket, who can finish around the rim. Good handle at
his size, he brought the ball up the court on most possessions for his team.
I also liked his work on the offensive boards. He plays hard and tired
by the last day, losing some of his effectiveness, but what I saw earlier I
liked quite a bit. |
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Will Paul - 6'9" PF
Calallen HS (Corpus Christi, Tex.)Paul has flown surprisingly
under the radar of recruiting services, due in part to living
in Corpus Christi - not a hoops hotbeds in Texas. But
Stanford has been high on him since his camp last year. Skilled forward who can face the basket and shoot the ball at a high
level. This camp showed me a skilled game in the low post with his
back to the basket as well. The one disappointment, however, was his
injured ankle, which he brought to camp and further aggravated. Bum
wheel limited his time and effectiveness. |
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Nate Schulte - 6'4" SF
Palo Verde HS (Las Vegas, Nev.)The obvious question with this
camp roster was to compare Schulte and Harden - both wing players
Stanford is evaluating. Harden is bigger and more athletic, but
Schulte is one of the toughest players in the 2006 class, which comes
through whenever he plays. If he had another two inches, he would be a
high-major prospect. The question is
whether the Cardinal want to bring his toughness to the team as a role
player, or if he slides to the high end of the WCC and becomes a "high-major
killer" a la Travis Niesen. |
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(2007) Tyler Bernardini - 6'5" SF
Francis W. Parker School (San Diego, Calif.)The best of the
underclassmen, by far, Bernardini now looks like one of the top prospects
for us to watch in the rising junior class. His profile is a little
sleepy right now, after he lost most of his sophomore season to injury.
But if he plays in July like he played at Stanford, you will hear much more
about him. Skilled and fluid playmaker who can control a game.
Still growing, so it is tough to project his position and what kind of
player he will be in college. |
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