Phenom 150 2013 Spring Evaluation Camp Notes

At showcase events, it’s not easy to make a full assessment of a player. The Phenom 150, organized by Rick Lewis of the Phenom Hoop Report, is one of the best organized individual showcase events in the country. Here are some of our notes from the Spring event.

Most notable players

Ricky Council (SG, 6’4″, 2014). Dynamic guard who can make a lot of good things happen in transition, Council has great court awareness and uses spacing to create mismatches on the break. Can score from outside or in the paint, plays hard and full speed. Agile. Quick hands. Has offers from Gardner-Webb and Radford.

Curtis Jones (SG, 6’3″, 2016) Surprise player of the camp. Best freshman of the camp. Excellent athlete who tremendous bounce. Has a low release on shot. High ceiling as player. Attacks the basket well. Already has several D1 schools in VA interested. High motor, explosive. Elite speed end-to-end.

Luke Maye (PF, 6’7″, 2015) Maye suffered a bruised knee in the previous day’s Carolina Challenge and wasn’t able to go for long at this event. In his few minutes he showed exactly why people are keeping an eye on him; he can score from anywhere with his shot – not just a deep range but mid range as well; and he’s not shy about using it. Can’t really complain about a great shooting big man who likes to get buckets. Also very strong already.

Greg Williams (PG, 6’4″, 2016) Solid prospect w/ length. Plays under control and can handle the ball. Has great size for a point guard but looks like he could become a wing with more size. Already has athleticism needed to be a college prospect.

Gabe Devoe (PG, 6’4″, 2014) Great size and a dynamic, stong guard, Devoe continues to show why he’s a player with Division I offers and a rising profile. Aggressive in transition, he also is effective in the half court and looks to score or find the right teammate with the pass. Always looking to attack and is a solid athlete. Plays solid defense and takes it seriously. Can defend smaller guards and shut them down.

Other standouts

Ashton Brown (SG, 6’3″, 2014) Great body control, crafty and slick, he finds ways to get off clean shots or pass to others for a better look. Great looking deep shot.

Zach Bruns (CG, 6’1″, 2013) Bruns is a pure deep shooter who will get buckets from the perimeter; can pull up on the move, in transition, or in the half court and his shot is always bottom-of-the-net pure. Showed and ability to find breaking players with the deep look ahead pass. More scoring guard than point at this point, but active, aware and high basketball IQ.

Daryl Myers (PG, 5’8″, 2016) Myers is a highlight-reel ballhandler who plays with a flash that is uncommon; coached in this event by NC State point guard Tyler Lewis, who was a flashy point guard in his own right, Myers is crafty and is a wizard with no-look passes. His size is what colleges are no doubt paying attention to, but he’s a lot of fun to watch and has a swagger to his game that frankly reminds of Brandon Jennings.

Taylor Hatfield & Austin Hatfield (G, 6′, 2014) – We always try to scout the Hatfields independently, but the positives in their games are consistent with both guys; Fundamentally sound, they are more combo guards than pure points. Both are excellent deep shooters and passers. Austin tends to play more PG, while Taylor often plays from the SG or SF spot effectively. Both players looked like they have improved and are used to playing against high level competition; both have learned to score inside against bigger players with acrobatic finishes.

Zane Waterman (PF, 6’7″, 2014) Waterman is a player who has improved across the board over the past year – tracking higher across all scouting reports, he’s arrived as a solid post prospect with a great first step from the four and a bit of a nasty streak; in other words, he can beat big men off of the dribble and likes to dunk on you. Strong and bangs in the paint, he has a high motor and plays hard.

Tyler Creammer (C, 6’10”, 2015) Creammer is a testament to how fast a post player can rise with hard work. The first thing about Creammer’s game is that he works hard on the court, every play, from the first tip to the final buzzer. Considering that Creammer had played six games in two days, including three at the Dave Telep Carolina Challenge, the fact that he never slowed down shows how much he wants to compete. Creammer is a back-to-the-basket pure post player who fights in the paint and will be a force as he continues to add muscle and refine his offensive post moves.

Cory Hanes (SF, 6’5″, 2015) Hanes is a very strong small forward who plays above the rim and likes to get out and run in transition. He’s completed the transition from an undersized post player to a true wing and Division I colleges should definitely be looking at him.

Colton Bishop (PG, 6’2″, 2014) Forsyth Country Day (NC) Lock-down defender who is a smooth and crafty/ scorer. Being a scoring PG who is unselfish and makes the other players better by giving them open shots. Excellent 3-point shooter. Holds Division I offers and gym rat mentality has produced results.

Larry Curry III (PG, 6’3″, 2014) – strong PG with good speed and athleticism. Showed an improved ability to hit the 3 today as well.

Will Tibbs (SF, 6’5″, 2014) Has good length and has become a solid wing with a good looking deep shot. Great form and high release.

Austin Collins (G, 6’2″, 2014) Solid all around guard with good awareness and good vision, knows how to find teammates and also knows where he is supposed to be on the floor.

Hakeem Coney (PG, 6’2″, 2014) True point guard with solid physique- already has the build of a college guard. Directs the offense- throws excellent wrap around passes. Leader on the floor. Tough nosed defender. Solid scorer. Competes on both ends. Low release on his jumper and he tends to reach a little too much.

Benjamin Bennett (SF, 6’4″, 2015) Solid athlete who has a lot of the basic tools needed, still a little raw offensively. Has good elevation on jump shot and needs to work on overall consistency, but overall one to keep an eye on. Runs floor really well and looks to get involved.

Ibrahima Diallo (C, 6’10”, 2014) Much stronger showing from the big man this time around, finishing inside consistently and really showing his mobility. Legitimate big man that colleges should be checking out.

Jaron Withers (G, 6’3″, 2014) Attacks the basket hard every time. Very aggressive lefty who is a big time athlete.

Chris Freeman (SG, 6’3″ 2016) Fluid player who can shoot from deep, passes very well and makes an impact in a lot of ways. Has a good handle at the off guard spot and good size/length. High release on his jump shot and can hit the 3 consistently.

Nathan Williams Jr (PF/C, 6’8″, 2015) – Good length- solid offensive rebounder- needs to improve defensive rebounding. Shot needs to get better- no rotation. Has good second bounce and definitely a player who colleges should be monitoring.

JuWuan Wright (SF, 6’4″, 2015) Good length- stood out on several plays and showed good activity. Good athlete.

Final notepad

DeSean Murray (G, 6’3″, 2014) Solid athleticism

Stephen Misenheimer (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2016) A player w/ length who has a nice shooting stroke.

Jeffrey McIlwain (C, 6’8″, 2015) Strong shouldered big who should be able to continue to become a serious post presence. Good rebounder with good hands.

Brandon Gulley (C, 6’7″, 2015) Has good size and plays back-to-the-basket, decent hands and rebounding timing – needs to be more aggressive and polish post game.

Johnathon Pickler (PG, 5’10”, 2015) Can hit the deep shot, knows where to be on the floor, finds teammates consistently with wrap around passes. Release is consistent but low.

Tristan Reese (PG, 5’11”, 2016) Fluid, good change of speed, has grown two inches since last seen and runs the offense eyes-ahead.

James Chavis (SF, 6’5″, 2013) Very good offensive rebounder. High motor- always cleaning up plays.

James Scott (PF, 6’6″, 2014) Finishes well inside.

Kwinton Hinton (SG/SF, 6’5″, 2015 ) Good explosiveness – gets in on a lot of plays on both ends.

Vaughn Johnson (CG, 6′, 2015) Good scorer, deep shooter, can hit mid range.

Ashley Williams (SF, 2014, 6’5″) long player w/ solid athleticism.

Hunter Seacat (PF/C, 6’8″, 2015) Good hands, size, most effective in halfcourt at this time. Needs to increase explosiveness and be more aggressive finishing over other post players. Can get shot off against other bigs but still working on finishing.

Camryn Fort (SG/SF, 6’4″, 2014) Good athlete, can get above the rim, showed a lot of different things worth taking notice of.

RJ Hunt (G, 6′, 2015) Good looking deep shot, consistent, high release.

Douglas Elks (SG, 6′, 2017) Although a middle schooler, showed ability to get to the bucket and good slashing ability against high school players.

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