July 7th, 2005

ABCD Camp Day One: Players J to P

131 - Davon Jefferson - Hawthorne, CA - 6’8 - 220 - Celtics

Jefferson is a high flyer. He’s not a power dunker like his teammate Paul Harris, but he effortlessly gets up in the air, and works in the occasional 180 or 360.

163 - Zane Johnson (2007) - Phoenix, AZ - 6’6 - 195 - Knicks

Johnson looked a little better today than yesterday. He wasn’t outstanding, but for a junior, he did a nice job moving without the ball and coming off screens. He needs to work on being able to catch and shoot though as soon as he gets the ball off the curl.

177 - DeAndre Jordan (2007) - Houston, TX - 6’10 - 215 - Cavs

I haven’t really seen Jordan do much of anything during the week, but there’s no doubt he can jump out of the building. Unfortunately, the best example of his vertical came on a big dunk he botched.

66 - Daye Kaba - Selden, NY - 6’4 - 195 - Magic

Kaba was on his game today. While his outside shot was a bit inconsistent, you can tell he’s got a good looking stroke. He’s also extremely quick on the dribble drive. Following the prep rankings is not my thing, but I have to imagine Kaba will move substantially up the charts after this week.

164 - Xavier Keeling - Huntsville, AL - 6’6 - 218 - Cavs

Keeling had a good match up in the day session against Alexander Tyus, and Tyus is the better player at this point despite being a year younger. Keeling plays like a power forward, but he’s not very powerful, and would be best if some school could mold him into a three. When he got the ball in the post, he had nice footwork, but he always seemed to end up turning away from the basket when he finally shot it. He doesn’t seem to have much of a game facing up towards the basket at this point.

57 - Willie Kemp - Bolivar, TN - 6’3 - 175 - Rockets

Same old game for Kemp today. He’s best when he constantly pushes the ball up the court, bringing it into the heart of the defense. Even when he’s not on the break, and just bringing it up normally, he manages to put a lot of pressure on the opponent.

170 - Kellen Lee - Denver, CO - 6’11 - 225 - Wizards

On the negative side today, I noticed that Lee has an aversion to blocking out, especially on the defensive boards, and is susceptible to giving up O rebounds. Also on the negative side, he goes for every block shot, and is susceptible to the slightest shot fake. On the positive side, Lee is so long and jumps so high that he often gets the boards and blocks the shots anyways.

85 - Dustin Maguire - Edwardsville, IL - 6’5 - 210 - Sonics

Maguire played well today, and he showed he belonged at a high level. He’s got a pretty wide/strong body for a small forward, and also looked good in the break, where he made a few nice passes.

104 - OJ Mayo (2007) - Cincinnati, OH - 6’5 - 210 - 76ers

Mayo didn’t have his best game in today’s afternoon session. The opposing Cavs team made a concerted effort to slow the game down, and Mayo’s game doesn’t have quite the same sizzle in the half court; especially on an afternoon like this one where his shots weren’t really falling.

59 - Demetri McCamey (2007) - Bellwood, IL - 6’3 - 197 - Cavs

McCamey has a nice thick body for a two guard, but he’s yet to really find his niche in camp. He’s a very average player in camp. I need more time watching him before making a complete assessment.

165 - Andre McFarland - Las Vegas, NV - 6’6 - 210 - Bulls

McFarland looks like he’ll be a solid complimentary player at USC. He was hurt on day one, so I don’t want to judge his game too much based on today’s performance, but his jumper is very, very smooth.

69 - Jodie Meeks - Norcross, GA - 6’4 - 200 - Lakers

I’ve been somewhat disappointed in Meeks thus far, especially considering he’s been a highly touted player. What bothers me most is that he never goes to the basket strongly, and seems to shy away from all contact. He’s able to avoid this in some respects, because he’s got some nice floaters and short jumpers in his bag of trips.

176 - Ilija Milutinovic - Belgrade, Serbia - 6’10 - 225 - Warriors

One of the few foreign guys in camp, Ilijia is very fluid when he runs when you consider his size. In the game I saw him play, he offered pretty much nothing on the offensive end, so it’s hard to even see what his strengths and weaknesses are.

166 - Greg Oden - Indianapolis, IN - 7’0 - 235 - Sonics

Nothing new on the Oden horizon today. It is amazing though how it seems like he gets fouled by three guys every single time he gets the ball down low. It would be nice to see him try and face the basket and beat his man from that position.

71 - Christian Polk - Glendale, AZ - 6’4 - 180 - Rockets

Polk always looks like he’s working hard out there, particularly on defense where he can be a nuisance. His shot on the other hand needs some work. It’s relatively ugly, and it comes off with kind of an awkward sideways rotation.

126 - Herb Pope (2007) - Alquippa, PA - 6’8 - 213 - Suns

Pope wasn’t nearly as on today as he was yesterday, but he was still very impressive. He’s just so quick for a power forward, and looks especially comfortable driving to the basket from the wing. Because of his speed, he gets away with going right too often, but eventually he’ll need to show he can beat you on the left.

..Continue to Day Two: Players R to Z (Rios, Stephenson, Thomas, Wallace, and more..)

..Return to Day Two: Players A to H (Ashalou, Caracter, Cook, Harris and more..)