Future Bruins: Jaylen Hands & Jalen Hill

Juniors Jaylen Hands and Jalen Hill both participated in the USA Men’s Developmental camp which took place last weekend in Colorado Springs. The two junior commitments discussed the developmental camp and their future plans.

Hands and Hill together at USA basketball

You guys were both in Colorado Springs in May for the U16 tryouts, how is it being back?

Jaylen Hands: For me it’s fun to see everyone and to have everyone back together again. You get to build relations and go against the best players in the country including the players a class ahead of you so that’s the biggest part for me.

How do you think Day 1 went for you?

Jalen Hill: I think I did alright given my circumstance of not playing for awhile (ankle injury). I was able to come out here and compete. I think I can play better though.

How was it going against some of the top players in the senior class?

Jaylen Hands: It’s better here. With AAU its more miss-match, here its more concentrated with all of the best guards, so its good to play all of the best guards and get better.

Jaylen, when I saw you last at the NBPA Top 100 camp you said that you were using getting cut from the U16 team as motivation. Is that still true?

Jaylen Hands: Well not making it that first time goes into everything I do, especially basketball. Just to know that there’s always someone out there working harder and there’s deficiencies I need to improve upon, so it plays into everything I do.

You made the U16 team Jalen. How was the experience?

Jalen Hill: It was a great experience. One of the best experiences of my life. To have all that hard work pay off. I finally got out of the country for the first time so it was a great experience.

Why did you guys choose UCLA?

Jaylen Hands: Well for me, it’s close to home, but its not so close since it’s a two to three-hour drive. The campus, where it’s located in Westwood, I love Westwood. My parents are from LA so that means a lot to them. A great education. The lineage of the point guards they put in the NBA. So those are the biggest things.

Jalen Hill: For me it would have to be the past history of UCLA. Just the fact that everything they do is great over there. I just really liked it, it was a good feeling for me.

Jaylen Hands: The coaches too, we really like the coaching staff.

Jalen Hill: And the style of play.

Are you talking to any other players here to UCLA?

Jalen Hill: I mean I recruited him (Jaylen) so that worked out.

Jaylen Hands: We chillin right now, but we are gonna devise a plan to see what we can do.

Jalen Hill: We gonna go on a hunt.

Jaylen Hands: Yeah, we are definitely gonna go on the hunt.

Going into your junior season, what are your goals?

Jaylen Hands: I transferred to Balboa. I love what we are doing right now in terms of how we practice. I love how hard we practice. The biggest thing for me is to have them help me develop my motor a lot and besides that just get reps against a lot of good players. I know for sure we will be in the City of Palms, Torrey Pines. We travel a lot, so the competition should be really good.

Jalen Hill: I have to be more of a leader. The leader from last year all left so people are looking at me to be a leader. Trying to be the best player on the team. Facilitate to my teammates. I’m looking to make the team stronger and developing.

What’s one thing you guys are trying to improve upon going forward?

Jaylen Hands: The strength and consistency. It’s just me playing well and becoming the best I can be.

Jalen Hill: I would have to say my work ethic. And I would have to say my defense also since I’m used to scoring.

USA: Day 1

Day 1 of the USA Men’s Developmental Camp is in the books. After a light morning session, the action quickly intensified on Saturday night. Taking out the players that did not show up in addition to the players that were injured and there were approximately 50 players spread out over the sophomore (2018), junior (2017), and senior (2016) classes.

The night session consisted of dribbling and passing drills to start, which De’Aron Fox excelled at followed by full-court lay-ups to full-court pull-up jump shots. The players were then split into two groups and went through numerous 4-on-4 full-court sets with different teammates.

Over the past two years, it has been extremely obvious who the players in the senior class are given their strength and size. The difference was not as notable this year, although one of the seniors that did stand out was USA veteran Jayson Tatum. Looking extremely smooth and skilled, Tatum was aggressive during all of the scrimmage sessions and was finishing aggressively at the rim while also showcasing his polished mid-range game. A large majority of his shots come in the 12-17 foot area in addition to MJ / Kobe-esque fade-aways from just outside the paint. While he hit these shots at a good clip today, it will be interesting to see how his game is dissected once he gets to the college level. Tatum’s game is all about the mid-range and right now the NBA is all about the three’s and shots around the rim.

Players That Made An Impression:

Josh Langford, SG / SF, Madison Academy (AL), Michigan State, 2016

If Langford was excited about the Miles Bridges commitment he sure showed it on the court. While not as highly regarded as some of the other 2016 players, Langford certainly proved that he belonged. Starting with the 4 on 4 drills, Langford was finishing at the rim time and time again. While ferociously attacking the basket, Langford also stepped outside the arc and looked comfortable knocking down 3’s from the top of the key and the wing.

Josh Jackson, SF, Prolific Prep (CA), 2016

Jackson is a three-time gold medalist for USA and he certainly played like a veteran on Day 1 of the developmental camp. His high flying exploits were on display, but it also looked like he had taken the time to work on his weakness. Outside shooting. Jackson hit several mid-range jump shots and fade-aways with a majority hitting nothing but net. He also added a three and backed up his ranking as a top three player in his class.

Trevon Duval, PG, Advanced Prep International (TX), 2017

photo by USA Basketball

There wasn’t a more aggressive player on Day 1 than Trevon Duval. He has garnered Derrick Rose comparisons, and while he might not be on the same level athletically as a younger Rose, his style of play is very similar. With an extremely hard crossover dribble, Duval doesn’t have a problem getting by his defender on the perimeter. Once he’s at the next level, Duval takes the ball strong to the basket and can finish at the rim against taller defenders or contorts his body in the air to finish and / or draw the foul.

De’Aron Fox, PG, Cypress Lake (TX), 2016

Fox played the part of the smooth and confident playmaker on Saturday. With excellent ball-skills, Fox controlled the tempo and the half-court offense like a conductor. His lefty jump shot was on target and he got into the middle of the paint time and time again where he was able to finish with a floater or nifty pass to an open teammate.

Markelle Fultz, G, DeMatha (MD), 2016

This time last year, Fultz was getting ready for his first season on varsity. Now, he’s a top 10 player in the country. Fultz uses his long arms and lower body flexibility to slash to the basket and finish creatively around the basket. He has the euro-step down and after taking two long strides can finish on either side of the rim. His outside jump shot needs some work in order to improve its consistency, but Fultz’s short jump shots were finding the bottom of the net with regularity.

Other Notes:

-Jarrett Allen put together a productive and efficient low post performance in the night session.

-Tyus Battle missed a lot of time with an injury, but he is the best defensive wing in camp. The future Syracuse small-forward used his strength to bother both Tatum and Jackson.

-Junior Kaleb Wesson stands 6’9” and 260, but the big boy is soft on his feet and was hitting 15-17 foot jump shots with ease. Going forward, Wesson could make a living off the pick and roll.

-6’5” Nojel Eastern is almost back from a gruesome foot injury suffered in April. The Evanston (IL) product participated in drills and is itching to show his versatile game.

-Junior guard Daejon Davis was cut from the U16 team last year, but played more aggressively and with a purpose on Saturday. The athletic guard loves to attack the basket.

-Mohamed Bomba was blocking shots and finishing with authority at the rim. He needs to shore up his shot form, but the 7’1” center has loads of potential.

-This is the third time Markus Howard has been in Colorado Springs and he definitely looked comfortable in the camp. One of the top shooters in the country, Howard was hitting three’s at good clip in both sessions. He also used a quick first step to penetrate before finishing with soft floaters.

-Wendell Carter Jr.’s low-post footwork is extremely advanced and his outside shot looks good.

-Two relatively unknown players coming in were 6’6” junior wing D’Shawn Schwartz and 6’8” forward Justyn Hamilton. Schwartz displayed a nice lefty jumper and decent athleticism at the wing. Hamilton is long and lanky and while he struggled in the night session he showed some promise early on. Schwartz is a local guy from Colorado Springs while Hamilton is from Charlotte (NC).

-Sophomore Robert Woodard played on the U16 team last year and he showed why he made the final cuts today. While being one of the strongest wings in his class, Woodard also had his three point shot going as he was raining three’s in the scrimmages from all parts of the floor.

USA Men's Developmental Camp Preview

October is here. Why is that important? For basketball recruiting junkies it signifies that the USA Men’s Developmental camp has arrived which is one of, if not the best event of the year. For two days 50+ of the top players in the sophomore (2018), junior (2017), and senior (2016) classes will gather for drills, skill work and intense scrimmaging in one gym at the USA Olympic complex in Colorado Springs.

The format rotates every other year and the developmental camp which starts on Saturday features 18 seniors that will be staking their claim for the Nike Hoop Summit in April in addition to 40 players from the sophomore and junior classes that will be getting ready for next year’s U17 World Championships and U18 FIBA America’s tournament.

This past summer the USA U16 team won the FIBA America’s gold medal and all 12 members will be in attendance including leading scorers Gary Trent Jr., Markus Howard, and Wendell Carter. Just because all 12 members will compete in Colorado Springs, doesn’t mean that they are all a lock to make the U17 team next summer. In 2010, 67% of the players from the U16 team made the U17 team. In 2012, just 58% of the U16 players returned and in 2014, 75% of the U16 players returned in 2014.

Two of those players that returned in 2014 for the U17 team were Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles. Tatum committed to Duke during the summer and while Giles is in the midst of his official visits, it’s widely expected that he ends up in Durham next season. In 2014, Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones were inseparably on and off the court during the two-day camp. They later committed to Duke and then went on to win a national championship before becoming lottery picks after just one season….

Two years ago, the senior class used their size and strength to make an impression on the younger players. Okafor and Myles Turner gave Diamond Stone all he could handle down low and Rashad Vaughn and Stanley Johnson dominated on the wing. No surprise that all four players are in the NBA. How will players such as Jaylen Hands and Trevon Duval fare against De’Aron Fox and Kobi Simmons? How will Michael Porter and E.J. Montgomery match-up Tyus Battle and Josh Jackson?

This year the senior class features a plethora of five-star recruits including Giles, Tatum, Jackson, Terrance Ferguson, Malik Monk, and Jonathan Isaac. While the seniors will be mixed in with the younger players for a good majority of the camp, they will also go through drills and scrimmages amongst themselves.

As for the sophomore and junior classes, both Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter Jr., are supposed to be in attendance. Both of these players are at the top of their class. One player who got cut from the USA U16 team that I expect to make an impact is 6’5” shooting guard Cameron Reddish. The sweet shooting guard from Pennsylvania was fairly quite last spring during the USA U16 tryouts but his talent was evident in the limited touches he received. Ranked as a top 10 player in his class, I expect Reddish to make a strong impression this weekend.