Anthony Jaskulski, Cincinnati News, Cincinnati Recruiting, Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia News, West Virginia Recruiting

LEBRON JAMES SKILLS ACADEMY: DAY II

Big East commits CJ Fair and Markus Kennedy shine on day two at LJSA

By Anthony Jaskulski

The second day of Lebron James Skills Academy at the JAR on the campus of Akron was much of the same from the first day, only with a different group. The morning session consisted of fast break, big man and give-and-go drills, and the afternoon session was an hour of two half scrimmages, with two games going on simultaneously on both courts.

Probably the most impressive performances came from a pair of Big East commitments, CJ Fair and Markus Kennedy, who really dominated their positions in the live scrimmage. Kennedy, who is verbally committed to Villanova, used his huge frame and was like a vacuum on the glass and jammed home several offensive put backs, wowing some of the crowd.

Fair, who will be headed to Syracuse, was doing a fine job dropping the midrange jumpers, and even threw down his own dunk on a drive to the rim. Fair is very athletic, and if the scrimmage told us anything, it’s that CJ is a player to NOT look over. I think he’ll be one of those immediate results of a player, that can benefit any team he ends up playing for.

Here is the complete scouting report from who stood out the most on the second and final day of the high school portion of the camp.

Jamail Jones
G/F, 6-6, 200 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Greenforest Christian/Stone Mtn., GA

Wingspan: 78’

D-1 Comparison: Wesley Matthews (Marquette)

College Interest: Marquette, Cincinnati, Alabama, Boston College, Hawaii, Kentucky

Strong Point: Has the ball on a string when attacking the basket on offense; smooth slasher in the lane.

Area of Improvement: Struggled with his 15-20 foot jumper for much of the camp.

The Skinny:
With the ability to burn most defenders, and the quick attack he has from the arc to the paint, Jones proved to be one of the more lethal driving guards in this camp. He is listed as a wing, but can move like a point guard and rebound like a big man. He has big hops and can get around the rim, which helps not only his rebounding, but his finishing abilities. Jones also showed off some tough defense, getting in perfect position and keeping his man in front of him.
————————————————————–

Malcolm Gilbert
C, 6-11, 214 lbs, class of 2011

High School/Hometown: Academy of New Church/Smyrna, DE

Wingspan: 88’

D-1 Comparison: Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut)

Top Interest: Rutgers, Delaware, St. Joseph’s, Villanova

Strong Point: Vicious shot blocker and shot altering big man.

Area of Improvement: Agility and concentration in the paint

The Skinny:
Malcolm, like many young big men, needs some work and proper guidance and tutelage. At times Gilbert looked like a complete stud under the basket, blocking shots, guarding the easy basket. At times, he would miss a step and completely forget about the man he was guarding, or the backdoor cutter when running a zone. He only shot from outside the paint several times, and missed both, but did a great job of following his shot and keeping the ball alive. He did a good job at getting position for the rebound, and showed some physicality on Jared Sullinger (6-9, 262 lbs) in the afternoon scrimmage.
——————————————————-

Rakeem Christmas
PF, 6-9, 222 lbs, class of 2011

High School/Hometown: North Catholic/Philadelphia, PA

Wingspan: 88.5’

D-1 Comparison: Stanley Robinson (Connecticut)

College Interest: Georgetown, Villanova, UCLA, Florida, Kansas, Memphis

Strong Point: Athletic big man that can get up and down the court quickly

Area of Improvement: Needs to get more aggressive around the rim

The Skinny:
Rakeem, who surprisingly has no relation to Dionte Christmas of Temple, was one of the more athletic and speedy big men of the entire camp. He showed he could handle the rock under pressure in and around the paint, he showed serious hustle coast-to-coast, and never gave up on the play on either end. His midrange jumper looked pretty solid from about 12-15 feet out, and he brought a nasty little head fake to the table that had several players leaving their feet. Christmas, who showed some sturdy rebounding, needs to get a little more aggressive inside the paint, where a few times, he was found getting pushed around. A little more muscle mass and strength drills should help Rakeem become a very reliable, consistent big man on the D-1 level.
————————————————————-

CJ Fair
SF, 6-7, 196 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Baltimore City College/Baltimore, MD

Wingspan: 77

D-1 Comparison: Cameron Ayers (Notre Dame)

College Interest: Syracuse (Verbal commit)

Strong Point: Double threat wing with a consistent jump shot and solid drive to the rim

Area of Improvement: Not nearly aggressive enough on defense

The Skinny:
Fair is a breath of fresh air on offense. He can shoot and has a great follow through from about 18 feet and in, and has a quick first step when driving to the lane, finishing all but once in the afternoon scrimmage. CJ also got involved in many scrums on offense, pulling down second chance rebounds and keeping the ball alive for another possession. The problem was, he was not nearly that assertive on defense, sometimes jogging on several possessions, as well as getting lazy in man-to-man fast break drills.
——————————————————————-

Markus Kennedy
PF, 6-9, 268 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Living Faith Christian/Philadelphia, PA

Wingspan: 83’

D-1 Comparison: Jeff Adrien (Connecticut)

Interest: a href=”http://w3.nbebasketball.com/big-east-team-pages/villanova/”>Villanova (Verbal commit)

Strong Point: Very strong, aggressive big man that uses every part of his large frame to get position

Area of Improvement: Had a hard time finishing high percentage shots in the paint

The Skinny:
Kennedy is an extremely aggressive big man that clears plenty of space for his self under the rim. He has the hops to get up and the size to keep others away, and he did just that all camp, pulling down rebound after rebound. What maybe was even more impressive was his jump shot outside the paint, which for the most part, was falling, even when contested. He also can play face up outside the paint, and even drive with the ball, which he showed on occasion. When posted up, he set up a few teammates with very nice, swift passes, and was smart about the assists, passing mainly when double teamed. Using that aggressive, hybrid style to his advantage is what will make Markus an immediate star on the next level.
——————————————————————-

Tobias Harris
PF, 6-8, 210 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Half Hollow Hills West/Dix Hill, NY

Wingspan: 83’

D-1 Comparison: Lazar Hayward (Marquette)

Interest: Connecticut, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, Georgetown, Maryland,

Strong Point: A versatile big man that can beat defenders face up or backing down

Area of Improvement: At times he struggled on the glass; not in position for the rebound

The Skinny:
Tobias is one of the most promising players you’ll find. He has the complete package and a hybrid big man that makes him deadly from almost any spot on the floor on offense. He was down right impressive in the morning big man drills, working great post up moves and beating every defender he faced with a quick first step. His midrange jumper seemed to be falling for the most part, and he even brought several quality drives to the paint, finding the open man underneath for the layup. Most importantly, he’s a team player and communicates with all of his teammates on every possession. Harris can be a huge pick up for any D-1 team.
——————————————————————

College Scouting

Devin Ebanks (West Virginia) and Yancy Gates (Cincinnati) had solid workouts in the one and only session I watched yesterday for the college kids. We got to see Ebanks excel in the fast break drills, playing smart, passing the ball when needed, and knowing when he had the lane to himself to drive. He worked a few moves on Dwayne Collins (Kansas) and got a little revenge from the scrimmage the day before, where Collins had his number.

Gates, who easily had the biggest frame out of all the college kids in attendance, used his strength to his advantage once again, working strong but smooth, agile moves on the back down drills for the big men. He faced Jerome Jordan (Tulsa) and Cole Aldrich (Kansas) and beat both of them several times, usually with his patented reverse pivot head fake and double pump. He also did a solid job defending the ball and keeping his man in front of him.

——————————————————-

——————————————————–