WESTON, Mass. – The latest edition of the adidas Phenom Camp to hit New England took place at Rivers on November 7 and 8. Held at the Rivers School, the event had a good turnout and was split into two groups of high school players. In the first half of each day, freshmen and sophomores competed, before the juniors and seniors competed together in the second half. A few kids from the junior high ranks competed with the freshmen and sophomores as well.
In each session, the young players spent a good deal of time on various drills once some stretching and conditioning was done. The idea was to teach them ways to use their talent and athleticism, because simply having both isn’t enough. Once game action got going later, a good number of the players put it to work. In addition, they also got to hear some words of wisdom from long-time Boston English High School coach Barry Robinson.
While much of the talent was from New England and concentrated in metropolitan Boston, it also drew some players from New York and New Jersey. In fact, one of the junior high players who opened a few eyes, Rajien Griffin (5’10” G, Hollis (NY) JHS 192) came from outside of New England.
Here is a look at some other players who caught our attention.
Daniel Brooks (6’3″ Sr. SG, Dorchester (MA) Catholic Memorial HS) Athletic guard had a nice showing this weekend. His jump shot looks to be improving, and there hasn’t been a question about being able to score with his athleticism. A prep year next year is a possibility, and he’s at least a scholarship-level prospect.
Matt Droney (So. SG, West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial HS) A solid complementary player, he showed a great ability to take what the defense gave him, driving a few times in between setting up teammates or making jumpers. The lefty has been on a good run of improvement lately.
Tevin Falzon (6’6″ Jr. SF-PF, Newton (MA) North HS) He showed here what we’ve come to expect from our viewing of him in recent months. That means while he needs some physical improvement as he’s not athletic and his body is still immature, he’s processing the game better and showing a constantly improving basketball I.Q. He might not be done growing physically, and with the improvement he has shown of late he’s looking more and more like he can be a Division I player down the road.
Brian Grossman (6’1″ Sr. SG, Duxbury (MA) High) The consummate glue guy, he contributes to any team he is a part of by doing a couple of simple things that he did here. He defends, no matter who he is asked to guard, and he makes the open jump shot when it’s in the flow of the offense. That should get him a scholarship at the next level.
Carlin Haymon (5’8″ Fr. PG, Boston (MA) Rivers School) Well-built point guard reportedly put on a show early Sunday. When he got out in the open court, he was tough to stop, as he was deadly in transition and that included beating others to the basket.
Emmanuel Hutcherson (6’4″ Sr. SF-PF, Milton (MA) High) At times, he dominated on Sunday, running the floor and owning the boards like he often does since he’s very active. He showed improved ball skills and even a better mid-range jumper, and if he can ever get rid of the habit he has of putting the ball on the floor after an offensive rebound near the basket, he’ll be well on his way. A post-graduate year is a possibility, but right now he wants to win another state title.
Kuran Iverson (6’7″ Fr. SF-PF, Hartford (CT) Northwest Catholic HS) He’s a classic example of a young forward who has no idea how good he can be. Long, athletic and with tantalizing talent, he can play inside and out as he has some ball skills and range on his jumper. However, only flashes of potential get seen as he doesn’t know the game yet and has no concept of shot selection as he all too often settles for those shots. On the plus side, he’s increasingly shown good rebounding ability of late.
Trey Jones (5’8″ Jr. PG, Mattapan (MA) Reading Memorial HS) There’s no question he has the physical gifts for the point guard spot, as he’s very quick and can get up off the ground. In transition, he can go right by you if you blink. Where the challenge comes in is with the point guard mentality since he’s always had to score, and this weekend he made some good strides to that end. He made several nice lead passes in transition and at times was a little too unselfish, and he also went in and got some rebounds. He has a low release on his jumper, and that combined with his size won’t help against bigger guards.
Kaleb Joseph (6’1″ Fr. PG, Nashua (NH) South HS) He did here what he’s done several other times in events like this, which is play solid pass-first basketball from the point guard spot. Long and with good potential defensively, he passed well and also got some of his own offense on occasion, including a quick drive by a defender that he ended with a layup.
Kyle Lawrence (5’10” Sr. PG, West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial HS) Although he’s capable and not lacking in athletic gifts, he had periods where he was very selfish, and his team’s offense suffered because of it. While he can score, including using his mature body as he gets near the basket, he’s not that good an offensive player that he can get away with being selfish.
Zach Lewis (6’2″ So. SG, Hartford (CT) Northwest Catholic HS) He continued to impress with his play here, showing a good touch shooting the ball as well as being a pesky defender. While he has flown under the radar a bit, he’s a talent worth watching as he’s still immature physically.
Ethan Mackey (Fr. PF, Voorheesville (NY) High) He stood out with some good post fundamentals, which should help carry him a long way. His body isn’t there yet and there’s a lot of development ahead, but he has a good base on which to build.
Tevin Montgomery (6’5″ Fr. PF, Attleboro (MA) Boston Trinity Academy) He’s gradually getting into better shape, but don’t let his body fool you – watch him in conditioning drills and you’ll see he sometimes finishes among the first few players. A coachable kid, he clearly gained a lot and was better on Sunday than Saturday with his effectiveness inside.
Kevin O’Connor (So. PF, Claremont (NH) Stevens HS) A hard-working, fundamentally sound big man, he already has a mature body, although not all of his weight is good weight. Not blessed with athletic gifts, he uses his body well and went to work inside here. He’s clearly far from a finished product and isn’t going to produce just yet in ways that jump out at you, but there’s a lot to like right now.
John Powell (6’5″ So. SF-PF, Ashland (MA) High) Lefty post player had a good showing, not starring but playing well all told. He showed his post moves to score and got some rebounds, and one thing that seems clear is that while he’s a good player, he’s not going to dominate.
Dan Powers (So. PG-SG, West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial HS) A solid role-playing guard, effort is never a concern and he played very well within the team concept. He’ll need to keep that up and keep improving for his school team this season as they move on without two key players from last year.
Kyle Reardon (6’5″ So. SF, Salem (MA) Rivers School) Playing mostly away from the basket, he didn’t shoot the ball as well as he has in other settings but made his fair share from long range. He’ll also play bigger as he’s not afraid to rebound or work near the basket as he won’t settle for jumpers on offense. He’s had a good fall to this point and is gathering momentum heading into the school season.
Colin Richey (6’0″ Fr. PG, Whitinsville (MA) Christian School) Not blessed with an abundance of physical gifts, his main strength is a solid I.Q. for the game. He capably ran the team as a pass-first point guard, and as his body matures he should only get better.
Jules Tavares (6’2″ Jr. SG, Wareham (MA) High) One of the best athletes in the camp, he was arguably the best player here in terms of performance. Given what he’s shown, a good deal was expected of him, and he lived up to it, performing well in drills and being the best guard on the floor just about all the time he was out there.
