Here are some of our notable awards, highlights and evaluations that we got from the camp:
MVP of the Camp: Kaeleb Carter of Colgan HS in Manassas, Virginia. Carter has certainly learned some basketball from Coach Jason John who has won a couple of 6A Virginia state championships. He is an excellent defender and can defend multiple positions on the floor due to his height and athleticism. At 6'5", we project Carter to mainly play the three or wing at the college level. He protects the rim on every possession and knows how to attack the glass. He was dominant during the team competition but would get other players involved on the floor. His shot selection was good. Battler Beat feels that Kaeleb is a player that will definitely garner a lot of college attention this winter. We talked to Carter during the camp: "This was a very good camp. I liked how they pushed players hard. That is what I like. I felt I got to show off how good of a defender I am. That is my strength. I realize here that I still need to work on my shooting."
Rising Star of the Camp: Darrin Martin of Graham HS in Graham, Virginia. There was no question on this selection. Martin made his teammates better during the team competition and could score at any time when needed. He completely took over the afternoon session with his quality play. We project Martin as a player that could play a combo guard at the next level. He is definitely ready to earn a D2 basketball scholarship somewhere. His displayed quality skills during the morning session and worked extremely hard. He showed an ability to break any defender down during the team session. He has great court awareness that led to ton of assists to his teammates. His best attribute is that he makes his teammates better. The final segment of the camp was the "end-of-game situations" where scores and time are put on the scoreboard. End of game situations are presented to the teams. Martin was dominant in all phases of this event. Martin had this to say at the end of the day: "I loved this camp. It had great competition and I thrive on that. The thing I liked about today is that I know I definitely got better with the way the camp was set up. I still need more work on my outside shot. But I got to display my strengths today."
Best D2 Prospect: Juan Elmore of Pickerington Central HS in Ohio. Elmore is a strong 6'5"/220 forward who can play inside and outside. We use the word prospect because he has all the tools but has to refine some of his bad habits. He has a nice shot from the outside that will get him on the floor immediately at the Division 2 level if he can correct some of the flaws in his game. He is stronger than most junior and senior players at the D2 level currently. His strengths are being able to see the floor well and pass the ball to open teammates when he is positioned on the outside. He also has a nice outside shot for a player his size. His overall skill set is incredible for a player that strong. His weaknesses have to be corrected. Juan dribbles way to much when he has the ball in the paint. He needs to simply power the ball up in the paint instead of using an extra dribble that he doesn't need to use. He could develop some low-post moves when he gets the ball in the paint, ie a reverse pivot to face the defender and drive past him. Juan does pass the ball well when receiving the ball from the post and does have good court awareness. But he could also display a higher motor of intensity at all times. Elmore definitely has the body, strength and game to get tons of D2 offers. He is scary-similar to former Battler great Richard Lemon.
Team Impact Player: Michael Reeves of Gahanna Lincoln (OH). This 6'7" prospect had a great impact for team grey. Michael was one of the better players in the camp. He made other players around him better. Reeves didn't force the action. He was opportunistic and a very heady player. Reeves stood out to us as one of the top players of the camp. Battler Beat feels Reeves will be one of the better D2 prospects this season in the state of Ohio. His quality play carries over to other teammates. Reeves was mentioned quite a bit in our camp updates. We spoke to Michael at the end of camp: "I loved the drill aspect of the camp. The way the coaches pushed you makes it a good camp. I felt I got a full workout before we even played team play. I feel my strength is that I know what I can and can't do as a player. I don't force things I can't do. I realize, especially after today, that I need to get stronger."
Battler Position of Need Outstanding Camp Player: ABU will be in need of players with height and size. The Battlers have plenty of guards for the next few seasons. Elmore, Reeves and Carter would begin to fit that area. But a player that took a lot of notice was Will Bounds of Battlefield HS in Virginia. Will stands at 6'7" and has a great skill set for a player that size. He gives the Battler coaching staff a tall player to look at that can play both forward positions easily. He can go inside or outside. Will has an impressive vertical jump that led to several plays above the rim on Saturday. He also stepped out and hit the outside jumper when needed. Bounds is an excellent shooter especially for a player his height. Bounds will need to work a little bit more on his strength. He averaged 16 points per game as a junior. His 30 inch vertical jump is a strength when attacking the basket or elevating on an outside jumper. We caught up with Will at the end of the day for his thoughts: "This was a good camp for me. I realize that if I am going to play the three at the next level that I need to work on my ball-handling. The competition was good, and it was a hard but good day."
Best Rising Junior of the Camp: Michael Bekelja of Solon HS in Ohio. This is a no-brainer. This
Shooters of the Camp: There were plenty at Rex Pyles Arena on Saturday. The quality of shooters couldn't let us put it at Shooter of the Camp. We had to go plural because it was so good here:
*David Shriver of Philip Barbour HS in WV: The kid can flat shoot. His range is tremendous, and he just doesn't miss when he is open. David has high basketball IQ. He displayed that Saturday as Battler Beat watched as Shriver would read his defender when he didn't have the basketball. David cut when he made the right read as his defender stepped out to deny the ball, and flared when his defender sank for help. Shriver comes from an entire family of former Battler basketball players as his grandfather is in the AB Hall of Fame. His father and sister also played basketball for AB. David also gives it his all during the skill drills. He was relentless and intense during all aspects of the camp.
*Ryan Stover of Hampton Roads Academy in VA. If you want to make a video of proper jump shot technique, this is the player you want to film. He has great vertical elevation on his jumper. Ryan's rotation and shooting form is flawless. He too has incredible court awareness. During the end-of-game portion of the camp, Stover drained several clutch 3-pointers with a defender on him. This was his second time at the ABU Elite Camp. Stover has excellent grades in the classroom. He should be receiving a lot of interest from D2, NAIA and D3 basketball programs. There is no D3 program that shouldn't have this guy on the radar. Too many quality attributes!*Chase Polak of Steel Valley HS in Pennsylvania. This lefty made some great shots in team competition. His shooting stood out during skill drills. Chase has excellent shooting technique and has good elevation off the floor on his jumper. He played very well with Kaeleb Carter. We talked to Chase near the end of camp: "I really liked this camp. There was good competition and players worked hard. I came out of this camp knowing what I need to work on before November. That is what I wanted out of this."
*Treohn Watkins of Columbus South HS in Ohio. This kid is like Shriver. He doesn't miss when open. Any opposing coach who does a scouting report on Watkins would see that you can't back off of him when defending Treohn. He has a quick release on his jumper. Treohn teamed well with another backcourt mate Corey Baker on Saturday. Both of those guards played well together for team yellow.
Sleeper of the Camp: Jah Bennett of Columbus Africentric HS in Ohio. Bennett is a 6'6" player who has the ability to play multiple positions on the floor. He has good talent who can score with his back to the basket or square up when he is facing the basket. Jah would project as a four on the next level. His shot is good for a player his size. Bennett is much like Will Bounds in that he can knock down the outside jumper. He already has an offer from Kentucky State. Jah really has to work on his upper-body strength and his overall cardio in order to receive more D2 offers. But the potential and size is there. Battler Beat spoke to Jah at the end of camp: "It was tough today, but it was good. You had to push thru all of those back-to-back games. I know I have some ball handling work to do."
Battler-Connection Player: Jordan Greynolds of Barberton HS in Ohio. If you have followed the
Quality Team Player Awards: Braeden McGrew of Winfield HS in WV and Ben Frederick of Calhoun County HS in WV. Both of these players didn't get a lot of touches during the team competition. But that didn't cause these two players to sulk. Frederick was constantly screening for his teammates. Battler Beat even saw him screen and re-screen a defender on several occasions. McGrew is an excellent distributor of the basketball. He can pass and uses his dribble to improve the passing lane. Both players also played quality defense for their team.
Top Defender of the Camp: Collen Gurley of Archbishop Hoban HS in Ohio. This kid has the body and strength to play immediately at the next level. His 6'2" frame is well-developed for a rising senior. He has already received an offer from WV State University. We predict more will follow. Collen shoots the ball very well and has a firm grasp of team play. He can knock down the jumper. But his best attribute is his defense. He can guard 3 positions on the floor very well. Gurley is also good at getting steals.
Hard-Nose Player of the Camp: Lamine Komara of Whetstone HS in Ohio. This guy was all over
Other Players of Note that Should Catch the Eye of College Coaches:
*Dorian Crutcher of Elyria Catholic in Ohio. He has good game overall. Dorian is tremendous in the transition game.
*Josh Mack of St. Maria Goretti in Hagerstown, MD....rated high in Maryland rankings as a guard prospect by many recruiting services. Strong attributes and physically gifted.
*Ty Staten of Fairland HS in OH....a tough-nosed player who can do many things well.
*AJ Labriola of Bishop Guilfoyle HS in PA...it was his second ABU elite camp and he has performed well at both.
*Chase Rankin of Gahanna Lincoln HS
*Tye Walton of Beckley Woodrow Wilson HS in WV. Tye is coming off a tough knee injury but performed very well on Saturday.
*Tahj Benton of Brush HS in Ohio. Solid player who looked good all day.
*Brian Roberts of Copley HS in Ohio
*Corey Baker of Pickerington North HS in Ohio. He was close to several awards. Corey is a solid guard who has good strength and athleticism. He played good team ball. Baker is a good-looking college prospect.
*Cole Plants of Parkersburg South HS in WV. He was noted for several good plays during team competition.
*Mikey Penn of Beckley Woodrow Wilson HS in WV. Mikey had some great moments during team play and shows an ability to be quite dominant at times. Beckley brought some solid players to Rex Pyles on Saturday. Penn was one of them.
