The all-important month of July has come and gone for 2013. As time goes on, the month seemingly becomes more important all the time, and in its second year of the current calendar setup, there are pros and cons that are becoming more apparent with time. While coaches can view players on weekends in April, that often sets the stage for who coaches will watch in July more than anything else.
This time around, I didn’t get out to see a lot of action, but what I saw was well worth the time spent doing it. So as we move on to the more quiet part of the summer, here are some thoughts from July regarding players, teams and the month itself.
- The Nike Peach Jam moved to the first live session this year, ultimately going head-to-head with the Reebok Breakout Camp and The Showdown. That made sense in that the second weekend was wide open for a number of other events, although for college coaches that might not have been much fun, especially head coaches who felt like they had to at least make an appearance at each of several events in a short span.
- The best way to handle July, in this writer’s opinion? A shortened form of the old calendar seems to make the most sense. The current one has its pluses, to be sure, like travel teams being able to stay in one place longer. But for college head coaches, who sometimes wind up at five sites in five days, it leaves something to be desired. Whereas the old calendar had two ten-day stretches, perhaps two seven-day stretches with a break in between would work best.
- One thing that has not improved despite the NCAA sanctioning the July events is roster packets. College coaches continue to pony up a lot of money to buy the packets, and oftentimes the information in the packets is either incomplete or incorrect, or just flat-out missing. There’s not much that event operators can do about this, as they put out what the teams give them via the NCAA’s registration system for the events, and teams still don’t have to provide much useful information. On several occasions this July, just like in other years, a coach has said to me, “We pay (fill in dollar amount) for this” while pointing to a missing team or a roster with several players not listed.
- This probably isn’t news to many, but the New Jersey Roadrunners, who fall a bit under the radar in the talent-rich state, have some serious talent. From Chris Silva (6’8″ Jr. SF-PF, Roselle (NJ) Catholic HS) to Myles Stephens (6’3″ Jr. SG, Pennington (NJ) School) to Asante Gist (5’11” So. PG, Roselle (NJ) Catholic HS), there is a lot of upside in the program right now. There’s more where those three came from.
- They’re back: The Showtime Ballers look like the kind of team they had several years ago. Early in their existence, they had a very balanced team that had a number of players who could have a big game against you, and though none were big-time prospects they were very good. This team looks similar, with relentless players like Jeantal Cylla (6’7″ Jr. SF-PF, Lake Worth (FL) Christian HS) and Dayon Griffin (6’4″ Jr. SF, St. Petersburg (FL) High) to go with Dwayne Bacon (6’6″ Jr. SF, Lakeland (FL) McKeel Academy), who probably has the best reputation of anyone on the team.
- During the spring and summer, I certainly didn’t see everyone, but the two best prospects in the Class of 2016 I have seen thus far are Dedric Lawson (6’8″ So. SF, Memphis (TN) Hamilton HS) and Josh Jackson (6’6″ So. SF, Detroit (MI) Consortium HS). Lawson has loads of potential if he can improve his athleticism, as he has the skill set for the wing and played well while playing up in EYBL. Jackson is more athletic and a little more advanced skill-wise, although he’s clearly most dangerous in transition. He was one of the best players at the Hall of Fame National Invitational in July.
- A few players are very difficult to project in terms of where they will end up. Three who are firmly in that category are Levi Gillespie (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG, Meriden (CT) Capital Prep Magnet School), teammate Obi Momah (6’6″ Sr. PF, Unionville (CT) Farmington HS) and Colin Richey (6’0″ Sr. PG, Upton (MA) Choate Rosemary Hall). Gillespie lacks physical gifts but just knows how to be effective, and how much the latter leads to playing in Division I remains to be seen. Momah is bouncy and very active, and is seemingly always around the ball when it comes off the glass. Richey has a lot of great intangibles and seems to be rounding into form as the best Division I prospect of the three, as he’s very capable of running a team and continues to be able to score effectively. It will be fascinating to see where they end up and how their respective college careers go.
- A player who just flat-out competes is always enjoyable to watch, and sometimes that player over-achieves and likewise earns a recruitment at a little higher level than his physical gifts might otherwise dictate. Such may be the case for Jake Silpe (6’2″ Jr. PG, Cherry Hill (NJ) East HS), who was not the Jersey Shore Warriors’ best player in their win at The Showdown but might have been their most important. He was constantly in plays and as hard-nosed as they come, and while he’s not quick or athletic and can play a little too fast, he makes himself a factor.
- Aaron Calixte (5’11” Sr. PG, Stoughton (MA) Lee Academy) seemed to drop off the radar for a while, but he looked good at the New England Elite 75 and then at the Hall of Fame National Invitational. He played some solid basketball as both a playmaker and scorer and seems poised to close out his high school career on a good note.
- Keep an eye on the Connecticut Basketball Club 16-Under team. They have a lot of potential all around, from promising forward Tyrique Jones (6’8″ Jr. SF-PF, Bloomfield (CT) High) to Keandre Fair (6’0″ So. PG, Hartford (CT) Weaver HS) to big man Sam Ibiezugbe (6’10” So. C, Newington (CT) The Masters School), the last of whom is all upside right now.
- Myles Powell (6’1″ So. SG, Willingboro (NJ) Trenton Catholic HS) will be well worth watching over the next couple of years to see how his game evolves. He’s already shown a great ability to shoot the ball, but where he goes from here is the key. Since showcasing his shooting in the spring, including a game where he made nine three-pointers, he has put on weight, and not all of it is good weight. He also hasn’t shot the ball quite as well since then. The upshot is that he has shown a willingness and ability to drive to try to score, and while doing that can help his shooting, the hope is that he doesn’t improve that part of his game at the expense of his shooting.
