NBPA Top 100: Session 5

The NBPA Top 100 camp concluded on Saturday evening, which wrapped up an action packed three day affair in Charlottesville, VA. The Celtics camp team were crowned champions and guard Jaquan Newton put forth the best individual performance seen all week in leading his Celtics squad to an upset win. After two long days on Thursday and Friday, many players were road weary and nicked up during Saturday’s play. While some kids were forced to sit out, the players that stepped on the court let their talent shine and played high intensity playoff basketball throughout the final day.

Top Performers:

Jaquan Newton, 6’2”, 2014

Scoring over 20 points in one of the camp games turned out to be fairly rare, yet Newton went for 31 points in the championship game to go along with seven assists and four rebounds. In his semi-final game, Newton put in another solid performance with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists. While most teams and point guards relied heavily on the pick and roll, Newton used his ball handling and quickness to penetrate time and time again. After beating his defender off the dribble Newton had no problem finishing at the rim amongst taller defenders. Similar to earlier games Newton had his outside shot working and made teams pay for sagging off in hopes of containing his drives. Newton took advantage of the increased playing time due to an injury to Tyler Ulis and earned himself a championship and a spot on the all-camp team.

Ben Bentil, 6’8”, 2014

Despite playing in the consolation game of the camp to start the final morning, Bentil brought his “A” game scoring in a variety of ways. He started his first half barrage with a coast to coast lay-up primarily using his left hand to make it down the court and then followed that up with a nice looking 15 foot jump shot. Bentil used his muscle for a few baskets down low and also added another coast to coast lay-up. His most impressive basket came on a textbook pic and roll. After setting a hard screen, Bentil popped out for another 15 foot jumper which he calmly drained. Bentil has the size and strength to dominate defenders down low, but also displayed nice touch and form on his jump shots and solid ball handling skills.

Myles Turner, 6’11”, 2014

Myles Turner - Kelly Kline / UA

The most talked about prospect in camp was Myles Turner, and he ended his week on a high note. Matched up against touted 2015 big man Skal Labissiere, Turner went to work on the offensive end while keeping Labissiere away from the basket on the defensive end. To start the game, Turner connected on a right handed hook shot from seven feet out and added in an “and-1” down low off of a nice pass from TJ Haws. Turner also connected on a three-pointer from the wing and a jump shot from just outside the lane. He scored 18 points in his final game and given his height and athleticism is an extremely tough cover for any defender given his ability to score down low and also from the outside. As the competition continues to get tougher for Turner, his game continues to grow stronger.

Anton Beard, 5’10”, 2014

The future Arkansas Razorback lead guard got his 76ers squad off to a strong start Saturday morning as he pushed the tempo and created opportunities for his bigger teammates. In the first quarter Beard matched up with future Florida Gator point guard Chris Chiozza in what will become a regular occurrence in SEC play. Beard began the game with a fast break lay-up and followed that up with a deep jump shot. He scored another lay-up in the half court set after blowing by Chiozza off the dribble and added one more lay-up after running a pick and roll with Turner. While Beard scored early on, he also added in six assists coming in transition and the half court set. The strongly built Beard turned his game up a notch and got a win over Chiozza’s squad to begin their point guard rivalry.

Charles Matthews, 6’5”, 2015

One of the few bright spots in a blowout loss was the play of Matthews who went for 11 points to close out his camp session. His baskets came primarily from 15-17 feet as he used a left to right crossover to create space and his jumping ability to rise over the defense for a shot attempt. With long arms and a top notch vertical, Matthews can get a mid-range jump shot anytime he wants. He did miss-fire on several of these shots and will need to continue fine tuning his release throughout the summer.

Dwayne Morgan, 6’7”, 2014

Morgan’s, a UNLV-bound combo forward, had his offensive arsenal on display in the second half during his team’s loss. He scored nine points in an efficient manner and was very active off the ball by setting screens and constantly staying in motion. Morgan hit a pull-up jump shot to go along with a pull-up three pointer from the left wing and then added in a powerful two hand dunk in the middle of the lane after a basket cut. He also took a seven foot jump shot that he nailed over the outstretched hand of Myles Turner. Over the past year, Morgan’s game has steadily improved and when he looks to be aggressive he shows spurts of being one of the most complete wings in the class of 2014.

Other Tidbits from the Playoffs:

Tar Heel Teammates Face Off: In a quarter final match-up, North Carolina commits Theo Pinson and Justin Jackson went head to head. Pinson won the scoring battle 16 to 11, but did so with one additional quarter. Pinson’s baskets came primarily with the ball in his hand as he used his quickness and a hesitation dribble to get by Jackson several times from the top of the key. He was aggressive attacking the basket which resulted in several trips to the line and also a 10 foot bank shot over Jackson’s out-stretched hand. On the other hand, Jackson as usual got his points from catch and shoot situations or those where he only needs one or two dribbles to free himself for a mid-range floater or pull-up. Jackson hit one three from the corner to go along with a few patented floaters and drop shots. Overall, Jackson did not have his typical efficient performance that earned him a spot on the camp all-star team, but his team did get the win and earned a match-up in the semi-finals with another future Tar Heel in Joel Berry.

Top PG’s go head to head: Joel Berry and Josh Perkins are two of the most highly regarded point guards in the class of 2014 and they got to go head to head for 24 minutes in a semi-final game. Two players with contrasting styles went at each other as best they could but neither one had an overly dominant performance. Perkins has a few inches on Berry to go along with a bit of quickness, while Berry is stronger and a better mid-range jump shooter. Berry went 1-4 in the first 12 minutes as he hit his first shot from the foul line extended (his bread and butter shot) coming off a pick and roll. While Berry’s team primarily ran a pick and roll offense, he did use an in and out dribble move to blow by Perkins once and get into the lane but a lay-up attempt that was blocked by Karl Towns Jr. In the second half Berry added another jumper from just outside the foul line to go along with a three from the wing as he finished with 8 points and 2 assists. On the opposite side, Perkins was fairly quite in the first quarter as he miss-fired on a few outside shots. Known as one of the best ball handlers in the camp, Perkins had trouble getting by Berry in the half court set. In the second stanza, Perkins knocked in two three pointers and a jump shot in a quick two minute span. All of these shots came in transition and Perkins finished with a similar 8 point, 2 assist performance. While this match-up could be deemed a draw, it was Berry’s defensive effort in keeping Perkins out of the lane that was most impressive.

The Road to the Championship: In a semi-final win, Jaquan Newton’s Celtics squad got strong performances from a number of players including Chieck Diallo, Reid Travis, and Perry Dozier. Diallo was his usual force around the basket dunking anything in sight and blocking shots, while Travis was scoring from all over en route to a 26 point, 11 rebound performance. Last but not least, was Perry Dozier who scored nine points. Dozier used his crossover to create space for open jump shots as he was being guarded by the 7 footer in Thon Maker. Dozier had an up and down camp, but when his confidence is brimming and his jump shot is falling it is obvious why so many high major coaches are involved in his recruitment.

Karl Towns - Kelly Kline / UA

Big Man Battle: Two of the top big men in the country, and fellow 7-footers, were on the same court for a semi-final matchup in Kentucky Wildcats commit Karl Towns Jr. and 2015 center Stephen Zimmerman. With a significant size advantage, the monstrous Towns was guarded by Angel Delgado but matched up with Zimmerman on the defensive end. Delgado is not small by any means, but there were a few possessions where he was eaten up down low by Towns. To put Towns size in perspective, he was dominating Jerome Williams aka the Junkyard Dog down low in a one on one match-up during the camp break. On the other side, Zimmerman used his quickness to score on Towns. He has a fast spin move when operating down low and used that several times on Towns while he also got to the line numerous times in scoring 13 points. Towns used his size and strength to score down low, but Zimmerman played to his own strengths in what turned out to be a very entertaining big man battle.