PHILADELPHIA – The Reebok Breakout Challenge wrapped up on Friday and began to give way to the Showdown Series. Early games in the latter were held all day, although most of the attention was on the final day of games at the camp. Unfortunately, too many of Friday’s camp games were blowouts or played at a level clearly below Thursday’s games, in part because of attrition among the players. There was one game where a team had no one on the bench, another where a team had just two on the bench.
More will be coming out of late Friday games in the team tournament along with Saturday’s action later as it moves full speed ahead. For now, we take a look at a few of Friday’s noteworthy players at the camp, starting with the ones who stood out the most.
Keith Frazier (6’5″ Sr. SG, Dallas (TX) Kimball HS) After he wasn’t much of a factor on Thursday, he bounced back on Friday with a couple of solid games. First, he scored 20 points on 7-11 shooting, including 6-8 from long range, in the morning. In the afternoon he added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Darin Johnson (6’5″ Sr. SG, Elk Grove (CA) Sheldon HS) While he looked good on Thursday, he was clearly one of the best players here on Friday. An athletic wing, he went to the hoop often and was very dangerous in transition, and when he drove he usually either scored or got to the foul line. To boot, he showed a touch from long range shooting the ball, although he didn’t look to do that very often.
Josh Newkirk (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG, Raleigh (NC) Word of God Academy) An athletic guard, he clearly excels when the game is played at a fast pace although he doesn’t look like he has just one speed. His body isn’t there yet, but that didn’t stop him from driving often to score or find a teammate.
Here are some other noteworthy players who didn’t stand out but are prospects to keep an eye on.
Alec Brennan (6’9″ Jr. PF, Weston (MA) Milton Academy) Don’t look at his numbers, which weren’t pretty. Instead, look at how he played, especially considering that he’s long had a reputation for being too nice a kid on the court. He was aggressive the entire time, and continued after good results were hard to come by at first. The young man is starting to figure it out.
Damonte Dodd (6’9″ Sr. PF, Centreville (MD) Queen Anne HS) After he wasn’t as big a factor as he probably could be on Thursday, he had a couple of excellent games on Saturday. Included in that was a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, making five of six from the field.
Zacarry Douglas (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Fort Washington (MD) National Christian Academy) He has a lot going for him if he can get it all together, as he has a good frame and an as-yet undeveloped body, is a plus athlete who runs the floor, and his ball skills aren’t bad.
Daniel Giddens (6’10” So. PF-C, Mableton (GA) Wheeler HS) What’s not to like? He’s young, has a good frame, was active inside and looks like he can hit the occasional jumper.
Amadi Hamdi (6’8″ Sr. PF, Sugarland (TX) Trent International HS) A solid role player inside, he’s easily overshadowed by the Harrison twins on his team but can be a nice inside presence. He has a good frame and showed the ability to finish with the left hand, and on Friday he was able to score better than on Thursday.
