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BRIAN CROWNOVER WEEKEND RECAP

A look at the action from the Rasual Butler All-City Classic and Rutgers team camp

The calendar might say today is only June 10th, but judging by the temperature outside the last few days in the northeast as well as the amount of basketball Brian Crownover has seen of late, it could easily be mistaken for the middle of July!

This coming weekend Crownover plans to check out some of the action of the Villanova team camp Friday night before heading to the Rumble in the Bronx on Saturday. This past weekend he warmed up by taking in the action of the Rasual Butler All-City Classic in Philly and stopping in Saturday night at the Rutgers team camp on Saturday evening. Read on for his weekend re-cap of some of the top players he got to see at both events.

By Brian Crownover

RUTGERS TEAM CAMP (Saturday Night Action)

Class of 2009 Prospects

Sean Johnson, 6’2 Guard from Christ the King
Christ the King is losing some firepower this coming season. If Saturday evening is any indication, the Royals should still be alright. They knocked off St. Anthony’s and Sean had a solid game. He buried a couple three pointers and also attacked off the dribble. He scored in transition as well.

Sherrod Wright, 6’4 G/F from Mount Vernon (NY) High School
Sherrod had a very impressive outing. The gifted guard is built like a running back. He played both inside and outside in this one. From the perimeter, he buried a mid range jumper and a three pointer. Sherrod takes full advantage of his strength as he battles inside too. He worked around the rim for some baskets and also drew a few fouls. He is athletic and showed that ability on several transition dunks. Sherrod also rebounded very well. He was a key in Mount Vernon’s blowout win and should keep that team among the best in New York next season.

Dominic Cheek, 6’5 G/F from St. Anthony’s
It was a new look St. Anthony’s team, but a familiar face was leading the way. Dom got going early with a couple of his patented three point shots. After those first couple shots, he actually went away from scoring and starting dishing the ball off. He made several fine passes off to his new teammates. Although they were knocked off by Christ the King in this one, look for the Friars to be strong again once everyone really gels.

 
David Bruce, 6’9 C from Linden (NJ) High School
It was a rough outing for David. The skilled post player struggled to convert. Trenton threw several bodies at him and played physical with David. He had little room to work and his lack of strength was really obvious. He did score inside a couple times, including with a foul on one play. Most of his points actually came on offensive rebound put backs. David had a nice high post pass. He greatly benefited by playing with a talented point guard last year who would get him the ball in good position. David will have to learn how to adjust to playing without him.

Class of 2010 Prospects

Ashton Pankey, 6’8 PF/C St. Anthony’s
One of the two new big men had a solid game. Ashton missed a dunk and post turnaround jumper early on, but got going later. He followed his own miss and was able to convert with contact. He scored around the rim again on another possession. Ashton also blocked a shot and grabbed some boards. The backcourt was the strength for St. Anthony’s last year, but it looks like the frontcourt will do most of the damage this coming season.

Devon Collier, 6’7 Power Forward St. Anthony’s
Devon was the other talented big man that recently joined the St. Anthony’s program. He made a few plays in this one. He hit a deep two point shot. He also showed his ability to put the ball on the floor when grabbed an offensive, took a couple dribbles and converted a lay-up. Devon blocked a shot and grabbed a few rebounds as well.

Rasual Butler All-City Classic

Freshman Game (class of 2011)

Trevor Cooney
This talented player camp up from Delaware and represented the “First State” very well. He’s a gifted scorer, but also unselfish. He was quiet in the early going, but once he got going there was no stopping Trevor. He buried three from beyond the arc. He followed that up with a nice pass on the break. Trevor made several more transition plays, including two dunks that flashing his surprisingly good athletic ability. He was named MVP for his squad after the fine performance.

Jaylen Bond
Jaylen is another impressive young talent. He is already very strong and battled inside and ran the floor. He had a bank shot in transition. He grabbed several offensive rebounds and converted on a few put backs. Jaylen can handle the ball some. He also has an impressive set of hands. Jaylen was named MVP for his team. Look for big things out of him in the future.

John Johnson
John started off on fire and looked like he was going to tear apart this game like he did the competition at the Donofrio Classic in April. He scored first in transition. He then hit a three pointer and a tough fall away jumper. He scored again in transition and converted on another three pointer. Following that, John airball a three pointer and seemed to struggle from that point on. He missed on a scoop finish and on a pull up jumper. John also had a turnover. He didn’t attack off the dribble as much as he had when we saw him a couple months back. John is very talented though and among the top young players in the city.

Juan’ya Green
Juan’ya made several plays with the ball in his hands. He can really attack the rim and did so driving to either convert or draw fouls. He had a nice behind the back pass. Juan’ya did hit from three in this one, but that still appears to be an area of his game he needs to work on.

Rakeem Christmas
Rakeem is a very athletic forward. He had several high flying dunks and ran the floor well. He also pulled down a number of rebounds. He did appear to be improving his wing skills some, but missed from the outside in this one. Rakeem pulled down a couple boards too. He is certainly a player with huge upside in this freshman class.

Aaron Brown
Aaron made several plays in transition, including a dunk. He did hit from three, but struggled with his jumper throughout the game. That’s an area he needs to work on.

Sophomore Game (Class of 2010)

Daryus Quarles
Daryus started off with a great athletic block. The lanky wing can handle the ball well in the open court. He is very smooth with the ball in his hands. He ran the floor and scored often in transition. Much like the first time we saw him, Daryus struggled with his jumper. He is quite a talented player nonetheless.

Rakeem Brookins
Rakeem has played very well as of late. He’s really developed into one of the best three pointer shooters around. In this one, we counted five from beyond the arc, including several of the pull up variety. The MVP also ran up and down the court and scored in transition. Rakeem was aggressive defensively and had several steals, including picking Tyrone Garland’s pocket in a one on one match-up. Rakeem had several nice passes too. He has really elevated his game as of late.

Shaquille Duncan
Shaq played above the rim in this one. He had transition dunk after transition dunk. The athletic forward also blocked a shot and grabbed a couple boards.

Cameron Ayers
Cameron was very efficient in this one. He had a steal and lay-up. He showed his ability to shoot from the outside with a three pointer and a pull up two. Cameron can attack off the bounce too and converted on a pair of runners.

Junior Game (Class of 2009)

Rhalir Jefferson
Rhalir had a nice rebound and coast to coast finish. Other than that, he was quiet in the half that we watched.

Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAA Insider and frequent contributor for the NBE Basketball Report. Living in Philadelphia, Brian travels all over the east coast to bring readers coverage from numerous events and games. For more on his coverage of Saturday’s action from Rutgers see his Rutgers Team Report story on CAA Insider and for more from Friday night, he also has a report on the Rasual Butler All-City Classic up at CAA Insider as well.

(photos courtesy of CAA Insider

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