2012 Fullcourt Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp Report
by Dinos Trigonis
(October 5, 2012)

 The 13^th annual Fullcourt Press All-Frosh/Soph Camp that was held at the Players Edge (Corona CA) on September 29-30 featured 150-plus top 2015 and 2016 players (along with a few talented 2017 ballers) from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.  The depth of the talent present had media/scouts raving about the future of West Coast high school hoops.

Media and scouts on hand included event co-director Dinos Trigonis(Fullcourt Press, Nothing But Net Magazine & Hoop Scoop), event co-director Etop Udo-Ema(Fullcourt Press & Hot100Hoops.com), Frank Burlison(BurlisononBasketball.com, Sports Illustrated & McDonald’s All-American Game voter), Van Coleman(Hot100Hoops.com, XOFan.com & McDonald’s

 All-American Game voter), Clark Francis(Hoop Scoop & McDonald’s All-American Game voter), Ronnie Flores(Student Sports Magazine & Under Armour Elite 24 Game director), Joel Francisco(ESPN.com), Josh Gershon & Greg Hicks(Scouthoops.com & FoxSportsNext.com), Christian Popoola(PremierBall.com), Roy White(IHigh.com), Chad Groth(Area Codes Basketball), Gerry Freitas(Hoop Review), Matt Rodriguez & Arek Kissoyan(BallisLife.com), Scott Summer(Scout.com/San Diego State), Aaron Burgin(NCHoops.net), George Nguyen(Yay Area’s Finest) and Nick Koza(Sportsamp.com).

The camp’s top 60 players were selected by the camp staff and media in attendance and were showcased in the two “cream of the crop” games held at the conclusion of the event. Both games were highly competitive and both contests went down to the final possession. Stephen Zimmerman and Chase Jeter were selected as the camp’s co-MVPs while Nick Blair (scored a game-high 18 points in Top 30 Game) was selected as that game’s MOP.

While this is an individual recap of the camp, please also keep in mind that this is a very early look at young underclass prospects that have much room for future growth and are all “unfinished” products.

Listed below are the Top 30 selections (listed by alphabetical order):

 Top 30 Cream of the Crop Selections
(in alphabetical order) 

* Milan Acquaah 5’11” Fr. La Salle (Pasadena CA)
Strong and stocky point guard has a relatively easy time getting to the rim for scores against most defenders. High-scoring freshman will contend for the #1 PG spot in California’s talented pool of 2016 prospects.

* Austin Armstead 6’3” So. Bullard (Fresno CA)
Rangy wing can get to the basket off the bounce and is an excellent defender.

* Sedrick Barefield 6’2” So. Centennial (Corona CA)
Arguably the best PG prospect in attendance, Barefield has really honed his playmaking skills and the improvement in his overall game was very apparent here. I am becoming a huge fan of Barefield’s lethal pull-up jump shot and his composure and poise on the court is the hallmark of a future HM floor general.

 * Nick Blair 6’5” So. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)
Explosive wing produced 18 points in the Top 30 game and his improved offensive skills along with his impressive athleticism and physique projects him as a potential Top 50 national recruit.

* D’Quan Crockett 6’2” So. Clark (Las Vegas NV)
Scrappy and athletic wing is an excellent slashing scorer.

* Lorne Currie 6’2” So. Fairfax (Los Angeles CA)
Very improved combo-guard is an athletic player that can makes plays at both ends of the floor.

* Jordan Davis 6’2” So. Canyon Springs (Las Vegas NV)
One of the revelations of the camp, Davis a “jack-of-all-trades” scoring off-guard with plenty of promise.

* Roman Davis 6’6” So. Windward (Los Angeles CA)
Very long wing is an emerging prospect in this class that high-majors must track.

 * Ke’Jhan Feagin 5’10” So. Poly (Long Beach CA)
Smooth point has made very nice strides in his development and is now a bona-fide PG prospect that Mountain West, WCC and Big West schools should continue to monitor.

* Spencer Freedman 5’8” 8th Pacific Palisades CA
Lefty sharpshooter has very deep range on quick-release jump shot and his court instincts are impressive for such a young lead guard. Excellent student more than held his own against the older competition here.

* Leland Green 6’1” Fr. Redondo Union (Redondo Beach CA)
Cat-quick combo is a blur in transition and has the physical tools that new Redondo coach Reggie Morris (coached future NBA players Russell Westbrook and Dorrell Wright while at Leuzinger) can work with.

 * Jeremy Hemsley 6’3” So. Damien (La Verne CA)
Athletic combo-guard is a swarming defender.

* Tristan Hunter 6’1” So. Perris (Perris CA)
Scoring combo is effective getting to the cup off the bounce.

* Vance Jackson 6’6” Fr. La Salle (Pasadena CA)
Promising big wing with a silky soft perimeter touch has a terrific work-ethic, is extremely coachable and is one of the top prospects in the national class of 2016.

* Chase Jeter 6’9” So. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)
Emerging elite national recruit continues to develop and shined brightly here – earning camp co-MVP honors with Gorman teammate Stephen Zimmerman. Long, lanky and skilled, Jeter drew consistent comparisons to Arizona freshman Grant Jerrett and his soft baby hook shot was a weapon he displayed all camp long. Jeter’s play here was a huge statement that should propel him to Top 20 national 2015 status.

* Kendall Lauderdale 6’7” So. Orange Lutheran (Orange CA)
Hardworking power forward is a force on the glass and has an improved touch in the paint.

 * TJ Leaf 6’7” Fr. Foothills Christian (El Cajon CA)
Ryan Anderson-type scorer is a hybrid-forward with an excellent feel for the game and the skills necessary to be an impact player at the next level. Leaf has terrific range on his jump shot and is more agile that you would anticipate.

* Dikembe Martin 5’11” Fr. JW North (Riverside CA)
Polished floor-leader was a model of consistency all camp long.

* Chimezie Metu 6’8” So. Lawndale (Lawndale CA)
This camp was a national “coming out” party for Metu and he did not disappoint the national scouts like Van Coleman and Clark Francis who were in attendance. Post player with excellent passing skills is just starting to scratch the surface of his immense potential. Metu’s play here convinced me that he is SoCal’s top 2015 post prospect.

* Justin Moore 6’2” Fr. Mission Bay (San Diego CA)
Savvy wing can score and his nice length makes him potentially a lock-down defender.

 * Nnamdi Okongwu 6’8” So. Chino (Chino CA)
La Verne Lutheran transfer has really improved and his monster dunk in traffic during the Top 30 contest was one of the highlights of that game.

* Nicholas Pete 6’7” So. Tahquitz (Hemet CA)
Strong and bouncy PF is active on the glass.

* John Ross 6’8” So. St. Anthony (Long Beach CA)
Fast rising PF runs the court like a deer and his refined offensive skills are currently in full bloom and worthy of HM looks. If Ross (an Orange Lutheran transfer) was a stock, now would be a great time to buy!

* Kahlil Simplis 6’0” So Campbell Hall (North Hollywood CA)
While not as explosive or high scoring as Campbell Hall backcourt-mate Aaron Holiday, Simplis is however a better distributor and overall floor-general.

* Kendall Small 5’10” So. Ocean View (Huntington Beach CA)
Energetic scoring PG has added some additional bounce to his game.

* Jessie Wade 6’0” So. Davis (Kaysville UT)
Cerebral PG knows how to play this game and his ability to direct a squad will make him a hot West Coast commodity in the 2015 class.

* Cameron Walker 6’6” So. Righetti (Santa Maria CA)
Wing with size and skill is a name rapidly coming to the attention of HM coaches.

* Ty’Rek Wells 6’3” So. Clark (Las Vegas NV)
Burly off-guard has an impressive vertical as well as innate scoring ability.

* Devin Young 6’6” Fr. Sacramento Charter (Sacramento CA)
Athletic and scrappy interior forward defends with passion and hits the boards with energy! Love his motor!

* Stephen Zimmerman 6’11” So. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)
In Corona, “Big Zimm” bounced back in a big way from his injury that sidelined him all summer. Remarkably agile for a seven-footer, Stephen is very skilled with the ball not just inside the paint but also in transition. Zimmerman was a force on both ends of the floor all camp long and his improving perimeter shot will be another weapon he can utilize once he becomes consistent with it. After losing Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA), Rosco Allen (Stanford), Ben Carter (Oregon) and Demetrius Morant (UNLV) to graduation, the “basketball gods” have blessed Gorman coach Grant Rice once again as his sophomore frontline trio of Zimmerman, Jeter and Blair is arguably the best soph unit of its kind in the nation.

The complete list of players that were selected to the Top 60 Game are as follows (in alphabetical order):
 

Players not selected to the all-star games, but earning “honorable mention” distinction include (in alphabetical order):

* Jalen Abney 6’1” So. Clovis West (Fresno CA)

* Vittorio Avila-Reynoso 6’3” Fr. La Mirada (La Mirada CA)

* AJ Bigornia 5’8” So. Glendora (Glendora CA)

* Javan Burnom 6’2” So. Price (Los Angeles CA)

* Zach Collins 6’6” Fr. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)

* Paulo Cruz 6’3” So. Parker (San Diego CA)

* Jacob Davison 5’9” Fr. Cantwell (Montebello CA)

* Nathan Fruehe 6’2” So. Great Oak (Temecula CA)

* Michael Gale 6’5” So. Point Loma (San Diego CA)

* Marcus Harris 5’10” So. St. Joseph (Alameda CA)

* Colby Jackson 5’10” So. Clark (Las Vegas NV)

* Sammy Linn 6’4” So. St. Anthony (Long Beach CA)

* Jack Heller 6’1” Fr Torrey Pines (San Diego CA)

* Jesus Hernandez 6’2” So. Rowland (Rowland Heights CA)

* Labryce Howard 6’1” So. Poly (Long Beach CA)

* Isaac Magallan 5’11” Fr. Santiago (Corona CA)

* Cezar Meza 5’6” 8th Corona Fundamental (Corona CA)

* Dezmon Murphy 6’6” So. La Mirada (La Mirada CA)

* Scott Nalbandian 6’2” So. Pacific Ridge (CA)

* Ikem Okeke 6’0” Fr. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)

* Michael Polinski 6’0” So. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego CA)

* Michael Polman 5’10” So. Burroughs (Ridgecrest CA)

* Trace Redfield 5’11” Fr. Rancho Christian (Temecula CA)

* Travis Rice 5’10” Fr. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)

* Omajae Smith 6’2” Fr. Serra (San Diego CA)

* Xavier Smith 6’2” So. St. Mary’s (Phoenix AZ)

* Dalton Soffer 6’4” So. Poway (Poway CA)

* Ritchie Thornton 6’0” So. Gorman (Las Vegas NV)

* Brandon Tillis 5’10” So. Crossroads (Santa Monica CA)

* JJ Watson 6’1” 8th St. Anthony (Long Beach CA)

*** Photos courtesy of Nick Koza (SportsAmp.com)