One of the more impressive players during the morning session of the NBAPA Top 100 Camp was Anthony "Cat" Barber, who tallied 16 points in his opener. The consensus among talent evaluators is that he has been improving his already lofty stock. Here is an interview with the budding star: [private]
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Make no mistake about it: Jabari Parker is the real deal, and that's why he's ranked as the top player in the nation. Our premium members can check out Andrew Slater's one-on-one interview with Jabari, and now we have followed that up with this video shot just moments ago. Parker has been swarmed by the media attending the NBAPA Top 100 High School Camp, but BDN Premium will take you behind the scenes all weekend long for the latest on Parker and other Duke [private] targets.
More to come - [/private]
There are certain moments in life where, based upon your actions, your life changes. For 6'9" Marcus Lee of Antioch, California, his performances with his California Supreme team at the EYBL in Minnesota potentially changed the course of his life. After the event, scholarship offers flooded in from programs across the country. His brother, Bryan, a former basketball standout at Grand Canyon University, and a recruiter for Google, has been the primary filter for Marcus's calls. One of the schools that immediately contacted Marcus following the EYBL event was Duke University.
Seven weeks later, Marcus is now scheduled to travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to participate in the NBPA Top 100 Camp. As the sixth-leading shot-blocker in the EYBL, Lee was instrumental in forging California Supreme's 16-4 record, which helped the team qualify for next month's Peach Jam in South Carolina.
Recently, I spoke with Marcus about, among other things, that life-changing weekend in Minnesota, about speaking with Coach Mike Krzyzewski, as well as Bryan's reaction to the newfound interest in his younger brother.
What was your initial reaction when offers started coming in from all around the country?
I was pretty surprised. I thought I was just sort of settling in and then...
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Did it change your life, to a degree?
Yeah, it did. Yeah, it changed everything. It changed it to the point where after school I was having a lot of phone calls coming in and I just don't have any more free time. (laughs)
Do you like it?
Yeah, I love it! I mean I sometimes get headaches, but it's all worth it. It's been great.
What are you trying to gain or learn from your visits?
How they do stuff around each campus..I really want to talk to people. I feel that I've got a lot of questions for people.
What does your brother think about all of this fuss? I remember that he was, in some ways, your guiding light.
Yeah, yeah, he's just trying to keep everything away from me… so far.
Does he handle everything, for the most part?
Yeah, he handles pretty much everything. He tries to be supportive.
What was it like in the match-up with Jahlil Okafor? He's another recruit that I've spoken to a lot.
I thought it was great. He's really one of the toughest kids I've gone against. He's a really big kid, very fundamentally sound. It was a lot of fun.
One of the schools that has shown interest in you so far is UCLA. What do you know about them?
I want to find out more about them. I know a little bit about them because they're roughly in my area. I think I'd like to take a look around. I mean, I've always had a good relationship with them.
When they offered you, was it pretty exciting?
My brother called me and he said that they're going to call you to probably offer you and then I got a call and it was just amazing.
You're sort of known for your shot-blocking. Out of curiosity, who are the hardest guys for you to try to defend?
Probably one of the bigger or, like, stronger types. Like guarding all these top big men in the EYBL is like, man, I mean, they get the ball, and I get pounded. I try to block their shots and defend them, but a lot of them are tough.
Can you talk a little bit about San Diego State? (other reporter)
San Diego State is always in my ear. They're always really, like, a nice program. I just would like to learn more about them, but they're really nice though.
Do you think it would be hard to leave the West Coast?
I'm not sure. I don't think so.
Have you thought about starting to pare it down?
I think about it a little bit, but I really feel that I should just stay open right now. So far, I have no idea what I'd like to narrow it down to..maybe a little later I will.
How do you feel you and your team are playing right now? Do you feel, in some ways, that this is, for lack of a better phrase, the best Marcus Lee that we have seen?
Yeah, this is probably the best Marcus. (laughs)
Sorry to force you into the third person. I didn't want you to become a diva wide receiver or a boxer just yet..
(laughs) Yeah, in terms of the team, I think we try to separate ourselves by being a very family-like setting. Other teams, they seem to want to compete against themselves and other teams. We try to help each other out..that's our whole goal in this.
That's unusual.
Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you noticed that.
How is it playing in front of your family? Is it a different dynamic?
It's probably the hardest thing.
Oh, really, it's actually harder?
Oh, yeah, much, much harder. I feel like I have to meet much higher expectations when they're here.
I remember that you mentioned during a prior interview with me that your brother was your role model in basketball, not necessarily a current pro or college basketball player. I know that he was a Division II All-American.
Yeah, when he came into college, he was more of a scorer. He tried to focus on that.
Was he generally a different type of player than you?
Yeah, he's exactly the same. He would always try to do the little things to help the team win, things that might not show up in a box score. He got a lot of joy out of basketball.
Well, you seem to get a lot of joy out of playing basketball and life. What would you say is your favorite part about playing basketball? It seems like you like to run and block shots.
Yeah, I love to block shots. They get so happy thinking that they're going to lay it in and I come by and just… swat! I just love doing the little things. I love winning and just being part of a team.
When I was talking to Jahlil, he was amazed at your speed. He had never seen you play before. He was amazed at your speed going up and down the court for a fellow big guy. That was his take on you. What was it like when you received the Duke offer? What was your reaction?
Well, my brother put Coach K's number in my phone. I wasn't sure if it was a joke, but then I got out of school and I was going through my phone and I saw Coach K's number coming up and I was, like, whoa, and then I was just sitting there and there was just a voicemail from Coach K and I, like, had to call him right back.
What did he say when you finally spoke to him?
Oh, he was extremely excited. He had a whole bunch of enthusiasm in his voice.
For those in the audience who haven't gone through that experience, what did he say?
He was just, like, well, he told me that I was, like, an amazing player. He was just, like, he wanted to, like, work me out and get me better.
What did he appreciate about you most?
He liked that I was so happy out there on the court and my energy.
They like high energy guys.
Yeah, I think that's what they liked about me most.
Thanks a lot, Marcus.
Oh, sure thing, man.
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The annual NBAPA Top 100 High School Camp will take place June 14th through June 16th in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the event -- which is closed to the public -- will feature several Duke prospects. In addition to the on-court action, this camp offers prospects the opportunity to learn from former NBA players on a wide range of issues they'll face as their careers progress. BDN plans on being there as usual to once again cover one of our favorite events of the summer. Here is a roster of the participants, which includes Jabari Parker, Marcus Lee, Semi Ojeleye, Ish Wainright, and many other high school stars:
Mater Dei High School in Southern California has produced a lot of great players over the years and Stanley Johnson, class of 2014, fits that mold. BDN caught up to Johnson during the Pangos All American Camp this past weekend and got his thoughts on the recruiting process. [private]
More to come ... [/private]
Long Beach, CA - For the tenth year in a row the Pangos All American Camp was put on in California. Considered by some to be the official start of the summer AAU season, kids from all across the country spent three days competing and trying to show everyone what they were made of. This year the event was back at Cabrillo High School.
The event started off Friday night with former college and NBA coach Dave Miller firing up the kids with his no nonsense, no sugar-coating speech. Miller, the former coach of NBA point guard Chris Paul, spoke to the kids about being intense as well as not worrying about the rankings. He described former camp alumni Chandler Parsons and Landry Fields as players who no one knew about but are now earning a living in the NBA. Miller’s candid approach was very refreshing to hear and the players seemed to respond.
As is usual for the Pangos event, multiple recruiting analysts and even former NBA player Reggie Theus spoke to the kids. This recruiting roundtable is to give the kids a sense of reality and to teach them a bit of responsibility. Dave Telep gave the kids a great speech about the current NCAA transfer rate which he stated was at about 40%. He challenged the campers to not hide from adversity and simply transfer to a different school, but to instead take it head on. (for more on the Duke prospecte, subscribe to BDN Premium) [private]
Perhaps my favorite speaker was former NBA player Reggie Theus. Reggie was at the camp to watch his son Reggie Theus Jr play. Theus spoke on the passion that players play with and to use that passion in their everyday lives. He challenged them to do everything with intensity and heart. He ended his speech with a flashback anecdote about his rookie year in the league. He described his first game guarding George ‘Iceman’ Gervin and how the Iceman was a true pro. He explained to the campers that Gervin didn’t talk trash when he started taking it to him and that true pro’s don’t need to talk trash, they simply let their game talk for them.
While there weren’t many Duke prospects there were some that Duke has contacted and likely will look at in the near future.
Cliff Alexander: This was the first opportunity to see the 6’9 2014 Chicago big man and he did not disappoint. Cliff ran the floor as well as any big at the camp and seemed to constantly put forth that energy you wish to see from a big man. As most camp settings go the guards do not always pass to the big men, but that didn’t stop Big C (he has this tattooed on his right shoulder) from hustling and getting put backs in. When a guard did dump it off to him in the post he knew exactly what to do with it. Cliff showed the instincts to keep the ball up high and go straight up for dunks, eliminating any pesky guards from reaching in and stripping it away from him. He showed off a beautiful spin move across the baseline in which the defender had no chance of stopping and went straight up for a easy flush. Alexander also showed off a bit of range as he knocked down back to back 20 footers from the right baseline. Overall it was easy to see why he is considered to be one of the better big men in his class.
Stanley Johnson: By now I’ve had a chance to see Stanley a few times and he continued to bring that same defense that he was heralded for. The 6’6 Mater Dei wing has a solid frame for his age and displays some nice bounce as well. Reviewing one of Andrew’s earlier articles with him he had stated he felt his shooting and ball handling was a weakness of his. While he isn’t a deadly sniper his jumper was pretty smooth and he dropped it fairly consistently this weekend. He stated in my video interview with him that he had been working hard on it and it seemed to show. He also showed off an ability to get into the lane and attack the basket. Johnson seemed to be everywhere on the court and always playing hard defense on his man.
Wayne Selden: I was fortunate enough to see Wayne a few times last summer at the Nike EYBL in Los Angeles so it was intriguing to see how he had improved since last summer. He seemed to be slightly bigger than I remember last summer. Selden was listed at 6’5 and he looks pretty close to that listing. Wayne is very powerfully built and that alone allows him to bulldoze his way through defenders that stand in his way. Defenders had a difficult time dealing with his relentless attacking of the rim. Wayne threw down a few nice dunks showing off his power and leaping ability. Selden also put on display his shooting ability this weekend. He showed off a very smooth stroke from deep as well as some mid range game. One aspect of his game that I was surprised to see was his passing ability. He fired off numerous pin point passes over the weekend that would make some viewers light up in surprise. Andrew had stated to me that Wayne wanted to expand his game some and play point guard. While I’m not sure if he could run a team fulltime, he certainly could have a decent portion of the offense run through him with his playmaking ability. At this point he’s such a talented guard that he’s going to attract some attention, creating the possibility for open teammates to get easy looks. It was very easy to see why he is considered one of the best in 2014.
Isaiah Briscoe: Known as ‘Boogie’ on the courts, the 2015 freshman played extremely well this weekend. This was my first chance at seeing him but I was fortunate enough to catch about 3 games from the Newark, New Jersey native. The cousin of former Duke guard, and current NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, Briscoe seems to play the game with almost an older players mindset. He plays with extreme composure for such a young player. He is also built like a prospect that might be in his junior or senior year of high school. Briscoe was all over the court playing some defense as well as showing off his driving ability and shooting ability. He made some nice passes this weekend but unfortunately his teammates were unable to connect at times. Briscoe definitely looks the part of a top 2015 player and at this point there’s no reason to see him slowing down. He was very impressive this weekend and Duke fans would be happy to see him follow in his cousins footsteps.
Chris McCullough: The 2014 Bronx native was very active this weekend. Andrew introduced his game to me this weekend and I came away fairly impressed. Listed at about 6’10 the big man has some nice length for his size. At this point he’s on the thinner side but you can see his frame is built to add some weight. McCullough had some very nice put backs this weekend and was active up and down the court. He showed some driving ability from outside but I’m not sure that will be his game down the road. However, it did show the talent that he possesses at such a young age. Once he puts one more weight McCullough should be difficult to handle.
There were two PG’s that were supposed to be at the event that supposedly had Duke as dream schools. As Andrew had mentioned on the board 2014 PG Parker Jackson-Cartwright was one of them but he would likely end up picking Arizona. Unfortunately Parker was not at the event. The other was 2014 Las Vegas prospect Shaquille Carr. I was told that Carr’s dream school was Duke but wanted to confirm it. I spoke with him briefly and he lit up when I asked him if he had any dream schools. It was refreshing to see a prospect be so honest. He told me that Duke was always his dream school and that he would probably commit on the spot if offered. I asked Carr what he liked about Duke so much and he stated it was the offense that Coach Krzyzewski ran. He enjoyed how much freedom and responsibility the guards were given. Carr said he considered himself a floor general and that his strength was getting to the rim. I caught him on a few occasions and he showed an ability to drive and dish off to the man down low. He also was able to thread the needle on a few occasions this weekend. He’s currently considered anywhere from a three to four star prospect. Regardless, it was refreshing to see a player be so honest and show love for Duke this weekend.
Miscellaneous Notes:
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