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.