The North Carolina Jr Phenom Camp has entered its second year with its Annual showcase camp that featured some very must see favorable match-ups and talented players. This years camp again was held at North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville, North Carolina. Again Rick Lewis and staff did a great job with organizing the event. With over 40 of some of the top players in this area, Elite 75 Prep was able to get their site on some good games and match-ups.
DAY 1 Summary
After some intense drills and skill work, the afternoon got started with a number of match-ups. Solid performances came from such players as Bernard Sullivan 6’7 Charlotte, North Carolina 8th grader, PJ Hariston 6’4 Greensboro, NC 8th Grader, Tyler Poole 6’5 Hickory, NC 8th Grader, Jacob Lawson 6’6 Reidsville, NC 8th Grader, Quashad Williams 6’7 Burlington, NC 8th grader, Eric Moody 6’0 Richmond, VA 8th grader, Jared Johnson 5’9 SG Columbia, SC 8th garder, Tyler Lewis 5’3 Statesville, NC 7th grader, Griffin Pittman 5’9 Charlotte, NC 7th grader, Julius Hamilton 6’2 Charlotte, NC 7th grader, Gregory McClinton 5’11 Winston Salem, NC 7th grader, Quddeus Bello 6’3 High Point, NC 9th grader, Christian Lawrence 6’2 Gastonia, NC 9th grader, Paris Roberts 5’11 Charlotte, NC 9th grader, Larry Brown 6’2 Red Springs, NC 9th grader, and Kyle Grisby 5’5 Concord, NC 9th grader. The top match-up of the day was highly talented Bernard Sullivan 6’7 WF/PF Charlotte, North Carolina 8th grader against Jacob Lawson 6’6 PF/C Reidsville, NC 8th grader known as the top ranked post player in NC. Sullivan used an arsenal of moves on Lawson and has the ability to step out on the wing. Lawson used his thicker body in the post, and was able pull down boards and strength back up put backs. He even had spurts of promise on the wing by knocking down a couple of 3 pointers. Neither player really dominated the battle at this time, which leaves much to be desired to see this young phenoms play again. One of the top guards of day 1 in camp was Eric Moody 6’0 Combo Richmond, VA 8th grader. We’ve seen this kid player in three camps over the last two months and this kid is special. Assist to turn over ratio is low even as he dazzles with highlighted passes to open players. Another highlight of the day was “Little T”, nicknamed at the camp, Tyler Lewis 5’3 PG/SG Statesville, NC 7th grader. The kid can flat out shoot. He scored a total of 66 points over three games, and shot 75% from the field. Another shocker of the day was Quashad Williams 6’7 C Burlington, NC 8th grader. This big man looked good all day long, strong put backs, dominated the glass, was even bringing the ball down for coast to coast lay-ups. Was caught on the wing a couple of times and jacked some threes. He was clearly impressive in day 1. We also caught some under the radar players making a quick name for themselves such as, Benaiah Wise 5’7 PG/SG High Point, NC 8th grader was very tough and scored at will, CJ Plummer 5’7 PG/SG Greensboro, NC 8th grader, was a sharp player, controlled the tempo and set teammates up in scoring positions, also looked good shooting the ball. Wise and Plummer will the backcourt for Jamestown Middle School in High Point, NC. Some younger players were also impressive Julius Hamilton 6’1 WF, Charlotte NC 7th grader, was a bright spot during the course of the day with his hustle and his ability to play several different positions and Griffin Pitman 5’9 PG Charlotte, NC was also a daily contender with quick passes, nifty moves to the basket and tough defense. With High School games nearing the middle of the season, not to many 9th graders are surfacing right now on the camp scene, but it was a treat to see the ones that did attend NC Jr Phenom. Quddeus Bello 6’3 WF High Point, NC 9th grader, was still an intensifying player to watch. Had to have the largest vertical in the camp, has a unique ability to recover and spring back up on rebounds and tap dunks, showed a nice mid-range game, and had the crowd ready on break-away dunks. Also in attendance and shined for day 1 was Christian Lawrence 6’2 WF Gastonia, NC 9th grader, impressed scouts with his hustle and quickness to get back on defense, was very crafty from the elbow, and help his camp team conceal wins with his aggressiveness on the boards and tap-in’s.
DAY 2 SUMMARY
Day 2, had some camp sleepers emerge from the smoke of Day 1. Standout performances came from such players as Sam Mozon 5’3 PG Charlotte, NC 8th grader, Brandon McCauley 5’6 PG/SG Charlotte, NC 8th grader, Todd Whalen 5’10 SG Mooresville, NC 8th grader, Diami Gilmore PG 5’10 Rock Hill, SC 8th grader, Dorian Albritton WF/PF 6’1 Mooresville, NC 8th grader, Evan Hymes 5’7 PG/SG Durham, NC 8th grader, Glen Patterson 5’7 PG Red Springs, NC 8th grader, Jalen Bobbit 5’11 PF Raleigh, NC 8th grader, Vinnie Black 5’10 SG Rolesville, NC 8th grader, Eric Washington 5’1 PG Columbia, SC 8th grader, Evan Heiman 5’7 SG Fayetteville, NC 8th grader, Kalen Eddings 6’1 PF Pembroke, NC 8th grader, and Smith Worth 5’8 WF Mooresville, NC 8th grader. Again in Day 2 some new diaper dans came on strong with solid play coming from the 7th graders such as Jalen White 5’6 PG Charlotte, NC 7th grader, Jordan Kimber 5’6 PG/SG Salisbury, NC 7th grader, Anhtony Sean 5’5 SG Charlotte, NC 7th grader, Gregory MCClinton 5’11 WF Winston Salem, NC 7th grader, James Joseph 5’2 SG, Columbia, SC, and Terry Hariston 5’0 PG/SG Kernersville, NC 7th grader. A highly anticipated match of the day was the game aginast PJ Hariston 6’4 SG Greensboro, NC 8th and Eric Moody 6’0 PG/SG Richmond, VA 8th grader. With a man to match-up, this was an excellent match. Hariston had been shooting the ball well the entire camp and Moody was coming into his on with no looks and solid scoring. Moody, being the smart player that he is tried to draw Hairston to the wing to use his first step to pass him, on the other hand, Hariston knew he had the height and weight advantage to carry Moody to the basket for lay-ups, again this was another evenly matched battle and proved that in the futures years to come, both of this players will be recognized as top 2011 class players. Tyler Lewis 5’3 SG Mooresville, NC, who we mention from the Day 1 summary as the best shooter in camp, won the popular shooting competition of Day 2.
Awards
Camp MVP (Co- Honors)
Shooting Award
Tyler Lewis
Team Player Award
Klye Grisby
Coaches Award
Quashad Williams
Hustle Award
Christian Lawrence
Intangible Award
Todd Whalen
Defensive Award
Jacob Lawson
Top Five Scorers in Camp (over five games)
Bernard Sullivan 108pts
Quashad Williams 101pts
Tyler Lewis 100 pts
Christian Lawrence 75 pts
Jacob Lawson 75 pts
This was a good camp and had some talented young stars with bright futures. We would again like to thanks Rick Lewis and the NC Phenom staff for letting Elite 75 Prep be a involved in the event.
Elite 75 Staff editor C.Canty
