Double Pump day one & two top performers
The exciting month of July is officially in full swing with the start to many camps and tournaments across the country. |  |
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| West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins sat courtside Sunday afternoon to catch a glimpse of George Matthews. |
This week, the Double Pump West Coast All-Star Camp in Los Angeles, California got underway on the campus of Cal-State Dominguez Hills University on Saturday morning. The camp began with registration for close to 400 different campers - an amazing sight to see, as there is such a large pool of participants.
The camp is always fun to watch as it is truely a camp setting, as players stay overnight on the college campus and are fed three times daily in the school's cafeteria.
Many of Arizona's top-rated high school prospects are in attendance for this year's camp, and it has been as exciting as ever to watch as some of our state's best collection of talent has faired exceptionally well amidst all the competition from abroad the West Coast.
Arizona State Head Coach Herb Sendek was seen on day two watching Tempe High School's 6-foot-2 senior combo-guard Jordan Baker. Baker has had a very good camp thus far, and seems to be drawing serious interest from other schools in attendance as well. He has now returned to full form after sufferng a season-ending injury during the high school season, and looks to be ready to have a very strong July performance . . .
Westwind Prep Academy 6-foot-6 post-grad forward George Matthews made the most noise of the day on day two of action at the camp, as West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins flew to California to take a look at the talented wing prospect. With Huggins sitting courtside at his team's court, Matthews had one of his best performances to date - scoring at a high rate, handling the basketball in the open floor and setting up his teammates for scoring opportunities. West Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers and Utah are all currently hot on Matthews' trail this July. Had one of the best dunks of the day on day two in the camp, after he went up vertical and two-hand dunked, chest-to-chest with a defender, over the defender in transition . . .
McClintock High School's 6-foot-6 senior forward Cameron Forte has been on a tear in this year's camp, ranking among the top overall scorers in this year's camp. Forte has had his best performance in sometime, as he has played very focused and with excellent energy - a rare sight with Forte. Forte has played multiple positions on the floor, including the point position, and has played well above the rim and taken challenges on the floor. It will be very interesting to see which schools show this extremely talented prospect some attention this month - especially since he has developed a unique reputation already for himself. Had the best play of the day on day two when he went around his back on a fast break, as a defender past him, then dunked the basketball with two hands with authority . . .
Shadow Mountain High School 6-foot-2 senior point guard Martyre Demarco has been on fire in this year's camp. He poured in 35 points in the evening game of action on day one, and has continued his assault on the camp's competition throughout day two of the camp. Demarco is definitely drawing some serious attention at this year's camp, and while he is one player that many coaches have never seen in action, it will be interesting to see which schools now get involved with this talented guard prospect. Proving at a high rate that he can score, as well as distribute the basketball to the open man on the floor. One fo the best overall guards in thsi year's camp . . .
Millennium High School's 6-foot senior point guard Tyler Russell had been among the camp's best guard prospects. Russell is drawing serious attention from the college coaches in attendance, as a result of his ability to get to the basket and make plays. After a lackluster spring performance, Russell should make some serious noise this July . . .
Tucson Amphitheater High School's 6-foot-2 junior combo-guard Tim Derksen has looked very good thus far in the camp, as many fans in attendance commented on their like of the talented young guard prospect. Derksen played very well on both ends of the floor Sunday, and made the game looked very easy on the offensive end, as he scored almost at will in the two games I watched of him on Sunday. Playing at a very good pace and is a great teammate in any setting. Has a very bright future ahead of himself . . .
Desert Vista High School 6-foot-5 junior transfer Danny Powell scored a game-high 28 points in the evening game on day one. Powell has lost some weight and looks a step quicker laterally, which has really helped his ability to get it done. Powell looked a lot quicker to the basket off dribble drives as well. Definitely one of the better looking 2012 prospects in the camp . . .
6-foot-9 sophomore post Maurice Kirby is on a very talented team in the camp, and so while he has not received the basketball in the post often, he has ran the floor exceptionally well - the best I have seen from a young prospect his size in years. Kirby has competed hard on both ends of the floor, while also rebounding well and blocking numerous shots. He has two of the top-rated young prospects on the West Coast on his team, so he has benefited a great deal from the serious exposure as Washington's Lorenzo Romar, Washington State's Ken Bone and assistant coaches from Gonzaga, UCLA, Oregon and USC were all courtside yesterday during his game . . .
Desert Vista's 6-foot sophomore guard John Marshall has played very strong as well, and his looked his usual self as he has scored in transition and off dribble drivs to the basket, while also playing strong defensively and competing at a high level. One of the best overall 2013 prospects in the camp . . .
St. Mary's High School 6-foot-3 senior guard Enoch Rhemadji also looked very good on both days of action in this year's camp. Rhemadji is such an excellent athlete, so he flourishes in these types of competition. he did what he does best - score in the open floor, slash and finish at the basket and play tough defense. having a good overall camp, and could make a case for an all-star game as a result.
Other players from Arizona that showed well the first two days of the camp were Westwind Prep Academy 6-foot-8 post-grad Jordan Didier, Marcos De Niza HS 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Devin White, St. Mary's HS 6-foot-2 senior guard Bryan Rhymes, Fairfax HS 5-foot-11 junior point guard Omar Lee, Williams Field HS 5-foot-9 senior point guard Steve larkin, Arizona product and New Hampton Prep Academy 6-foot-1 senior guard Stephen Topercer, 5-foot-10 junior point guard Alec Savage, Desert Mountain HS 6-foot-4 junior Tony Fabiano, 5-foot-8 senior guard Jason Garretson of Mesquite HS, 6-foot-4 senior wing Chris Hale of Millennium HS, 6-foot freshman Romano Bottini of Brophy Prep HS, 6-foot-6 junior Jake Cooper of Desert Mountain HS and Shadow Mountain HS 6-foot-2 senior guard Conor Farquharson.