USA Basketball whittled their roster down to 17 members
after the Saturday morning session in Colorado Springs. With cuts looming after
the early practice, the coaches didn’t waste any time getting the scrimmages
going.
Prospect Watch:
Jaylen Hands, PG, 6’2”,
2017, Foothills Christian (CA)
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| Jaylen Hands |
After having a quiet Friday, Hands came alive Saturday
morning trying to impress the coaching staff before they discussed the first
round of cuts. Playing on the best team of the day, Hands was active in all
areas. He hit a tough three to beat the shot clock early on and showed off his
explosiveness on the fast break with a rim-rattling two hand dunk. Hands also
pushed the pace on the break and got by his defender and into the lane where he
found teammate Kevin Knox for
multiple easy finishes at the rim. Hands was one of four players 6’2” or under
that made it through the first round of cuts and given his speed and quickness,
the California point guard has a strong shot at making the final 12 man roster.
Kevin Knox II, PF,
6’7”, 2017, Tampa Catholic (FL)
Knox’s play was one of the top storylines from the first
four practices and the athletic power forward was one of the leading scorers in
the scrimmages on Saturday morning. He ran the floor and finished with powerful
two hand dunks throughout the practice. Knox also showed a good pair of hands
in catching all of the passes from Jaylen Hands in the paint. With the ball in
his hands, Knox was able to either finish explosively above the rim or contort
his body to avoid getting his shot blocked. He also displayed his pick and roll
ability with hard cuts to the rim. After his exceptional play, Knox made it
through the first round of cuts with ease.
Carte’Are Gordon, PF,
6’8”, 2018, St. John Vianney (MO)
The powerful big man continued his best Caleb Swanigan impression and also made it to at least a few more practice
sessions before the final round of cuts. Gordon hustled throughout the
scrimmages and used his strength advantage down low for a plethora of baskets.
On most of his made shots, Gordon utilized solid footwork and pump fakes to
create easy shots at the rim.
Jarred Vanderbilt, PF,
6’8”, 2017, Victory Prep School (TX)
The self-proclaimed “point-forward” played to his strengths
today and had one of his better performances. A future starter for the U16
team, Vanderbilt was active on the defensive hand creating steals with his long
reach and quick leaping ability. He turned the steals into one man fast breaks
and had several fancy finishes as he beat the opposing team down court.
Vanderbilt also was aggressive on the boards and hit his point guards with pin-point
outlet passes.
Elijah Hardy, PG,
6’1”, 2018, Bishop O’ Dowd (CA)
The diminutive point guard from Oakland is looking to follow
in the footsteps of former high school teammate Ivan Rabb in earning a spot on the final U16 roster. One of the
quickest players in the tryouts, Hardy had his pin-point passing on point
hitting teammates with no look and behind the back passes. He pressured the
opposing point guards and also showed the ability to hit shots off the dribble.
Hardy will have his work cut out to make the final roster, but given his
tenacity and court vision he has already impressed the various USA coaches.
Quick Hitters:
Sophomore point guard Troy
Brown was in attendance on Saturday and made his presence known
immediately. The top rated point guard in the 2017 class was vocal and
out-going on the court. He didn’t waste any time getting shots up and connected
on his second attempt from the deep left corner. Brown will not play on the U16
team due to school commitments, but his play early on raised the level of
competition almost immediately.
Charles O’ Bannon Jr.,
the son of former UCLA Bruin Charles O’ Bannon made it through the first round
of cuts. The wing from Bishop Gorman can do a variety of things on the court
and uses his 6’10” reach to his advantage. While he didn’t always get a lot of
shot attempts in the scrimmages, O’Bannon was a solid wing defender and could
attack the basket off the dribble. He averaged 14.1 points per game in the EYBL
regular season as well.
Robert Woodard,
the 6’5” freshman guard is one of the more physically imposing guards in his
class. With a Tyus Battle like physique, Woodard hit multiple mid-range jump
shots off the catch in the morning session. He missed his first shot, but came
back immediately on the next possession and knocked in a jump shot.
The top shooters in the camp were Markus Howard and Gary Trent
Jr. Both players are in the 2017 class and were two of the top three
scorers in the EYBL despite being a year younger than most of the players. Both
hit outside shots in the scrimmage with Trent connecting on a three from the
wing early on while Howard added in a swish from the left corner which looked
to be his favorite spot. Howard and Trent Jr. have also been adding scholarship
offers lately and they also both showed an ability to attack the rim off the
dribble.
One player that did not make the cut was 6’6” freshman
shooting guard Cameron Reddish.
While this wasn’t a big surprise given his limited shot attempts, I am
extremely, extremely high on his potential and would not be surprised to see
Reddish on the U17 team next year. The lanky guard has a nice looking outside
shot with a quick release that found the bottom of the net several times. He
also scored on a reverse lay-up which started from the right wing. Right now,
Reddish needs to work on his aggressiveness, but his potential is as high as
anyone that played in the camp.
