ABCD Camp – Player Profiles – Class of 2007
TEANECK, NJ – The 2004 ABCD Camp had a new sponsor after years of carrying Adidas’ name. After camp director Sonny Vaccaro left Adidas and joined Reebok, he took the sponsorship with him, and this is the first year with the Reebok sponsorship. With that, the camp has now held the sponsorship of all three major shoe companies at one time or another during its 21-year history.
Saturday night featured the best matchup of all, as the top two rising juniors had at it with Greg Oden and Derrick Caracter going head-to-head. When the two faced off at the Houston Kingwood Classic in late April, it was a dud as neither player did much in the game, but this time around it was classic save for a few bad calls by the officials. In this case, the matchup was interesting very quickly, when Caracter got the ball on the post, backed Oden in, then scored right over him and got a foul. Later, Caracter scored a few more times on the post and hit a couple of jumpers, but also got called for a few offensive fouls. Oden scored a few baskets of his own and drew fouls on Caracter, but Caracter gets the slight edge in this matchup. It surely won’t be the last one between the two that will draw heavy interest over the next two years.
As great as that matchup was, Caracter and Oden were far from the only big-time talents there. In a year featuring a down rising senior class, the underclassmen stole the show as there were plenty of them. Even so, a number of top senior players were present. Some lived up to their billing, some didn’t play as well as expected, and a few really helped their recruitment with good performances in front of many coaches, including a number of head coaches. With that in mind, we take a look at some of the notable players.
Class of 2007
Keenen Ellis (6’10” C, Indianapolis (IN) Cathedral HS) The top shot-blocker and one of the top rebounders in the class at the camp, he’s extremely thin but uses his length and athleticism well. He ran the floor for baskets on a few occasions and showed some offense in the Underclassman game, where he had 10 points on 5-8 shooting. Once his body starts to mature, the potential will start showing.
Daniel Hackett (6’5″ SG, Downey (CA) St. John Bosco HS) Lefty wing showed some good quickness and three-point range, though his overall shooting numbers weren’t lights out. He was turnover-prone, but was among the leading rebounders in the class in addition to being fourth in scoring and the top free throw shooter.
Taylor King (6’7″ SF, Huntington Beach (CA) Mater Dei HS) After a bad spring, King had a solid showing here as he led all rising sophomores in scoring and shot the ball very well. The lefty did well getting open and making shots, made some good passes and also showed a little inside game on Sunday. He’s again looking like the promising player he seemed to be last year.
JayDee Luster (5’9″ PG, San Diego (CA) Hoover HS) Diminutive point guard tied for the lead in assists among rising sophomores and showed good playmaking skills despite being a little turnover-prone. Although he can score, he didn’t do much of it, but he operated well when he drove inside against the taller players.
O.J. Mayo (6’5″ PG-SG, Cincinnati (OH) North College Hill HS) With his terrific play at this camp, Mayo should now be viewed as the best high school point guard right now. He continued to show his smooth game both off the dribble and shooting the ball, while also being able to involve teammates. He ranked near the top in several statistical categories and posted a better than 4:1 assist/turnover ratio. Although his teammate Bill Walker got some of the attention this weekend, Mayo is certainly the top prospect in the class at this very early stage.
Edwin Rios (6’1″ PG, Miami (FL) Senior HS) Lefty capably ran the show for his team and showed some of the potential he has. He showed some range on his jump shot, though he didn’t shoot it well over the entire camp, and is a leaper with good quickness.
Bill Walker (6’5″ SF, Cincinnati (OH) North College Hill HS) While there’s been plenty of talk about his teammate already, we can let the talk pick up on this guy after a terrific camp that concluded with co-MVP honors in the Underclassmen game as he scored a game-high 22 points. He got the highest rating in the camp’s formula after leading all rising sophomores in rebounding and coming in second in scoring. He’s an exceptional and aggressive athlete, and his dunks added to the buzz about him that started to develop with his play in late June and over the weekend prior to the Underclassman game.
Eric Wallace (6’6″ SF, Winston-Salem (NC) Glenn HS) He didn’t place high in statistical categories, but his potential was impossible to miss. He finished the weekend off with a good showing in the Underclassman game, where he had 15 points on 7-9 shooting and showed more of his athleticism, some three-point range and good transition ability. He also valiantly guarded O.J. Mayo on a couple of occasions and acquitted himself well.
Other Sophomores who played well:
Keegan Bell (6’1″ PG, Madison (AL) Bob Jones HS)
Shelton Brown (5’11” PG, Bowman (SC) High)
Cory Fisher (6’0″ PG, Brooklyn (NY) St. Patrick’s HS)
Marshall Moses (6’6″ PF, Aiken (SC) High)
Corey Stokes (6’5″ SG, Bayonne (NJ) St. Benedict’s HS)
