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LEBRON JAMES SKILLS ACADEMY: DAY I

By Anthony Jaskulski

The first day of the LBJ Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio went off without a hitch on a beautiful Monday afternoon.

Ninety-three of the top elite high school basketball players from classes ’09 to ’11, got a chance a to work out with some of the best coaches in the game of basketball, including Kevin Eastman, assistant coach of the Boston Celtics, 14-year NBA veteran, now college basketball analyst for FSN, Craig Ehlo and New York Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson, among others.

The camp’s namesake, Cleveland Cavaliers’ great Lebron James, worked out with the first group on court one in the first session of the afternoon. Camp participants Trey Zeigler, Ray McCallum Jr and Pittsburgh commit Isaiah Epps were among the few to run drills and controlled scrimmages with James.

But today, we focused mainly on court two, where coaches Jay Bilas and Eastman taught a group led by Kyrie Irving, Kendall Marshall and Dion Waiters fast break and give-and-go drills for much of the day.

The night session, however, was the most intense, with two 20 minute periods of full-out scrimmage for the third high school group on the two courts in the JAR. The most impressive standout was Harrison Barnes, who showed off incredible hustle and stamina, going after every loose ball, and every miss, making sure he finished on every possession…literally every possession. Isaiah Epps was on fire from three-point land, and Jelan Kendrick wowed the crowd several times with his high-flying ability to get above the rim, jamming home a few opportunities.

Here is the scouting report from who stood out the most on the busy day one.

Kyrie Irving
G, 6-2, 172 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: St. Patrick’s/West Orange, NJ

Wingspan: 75½ ‘

D-1 Comparison: Acie Law (Texas A&M)

Top Interest: Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Connecticut, Seton Hall, etc

Strong Point: Showed off a strong, consistent outside jumper, hitting on both off the dribble and catch-and-shoot situations.

Area of Improvement: Needed to find some confidence in his dribble; reckless at times on the approach versus the fast break.

The Skinny:
Kyrie showed some of the best shooting from the perimeter in the Lebron James Skills Academy. He showed off his versatility, and his ability to shoot both open and covered jumpers. He has a strong drive to the rim, and has the ability to get around the rim and finish without drawing traffic. His ball-handling and decision making could use some improvement, as a few mistakes led to fast break opportunities for the opposition. With a little more work to his ball-handling, Irving can be a near-flawless star on the college hardwood in years to come.
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Reggie Smith
G, 6-1, 175 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Thornton Township/Harvey, IL

Wingspan: 76’

D-1 Comparison: Jerel McNeal (Marquette)

Top Interest: DePaul, Marquette, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Oklahoma State

Strong Point: Showed court vision, leading to some very impressive passing, especially underneath.

Area of Improvement: An inconsistent outside jumper; found it even tougher from off-the-dribble looks.

The Skinny:
Reggie is an athletic kid with a very high ceiling. He showed in some drills today—one especially on the fast break run through—that he can keep up defensively with just about anyone thanks to his swift quickness. His defense is strong, and his decision making is even stronger. Just looking at two of his trips down the court defined how comfortable Reggie is with the ball in his hands.
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Harrison Barnes
SG, 6-8, 209 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Ames/Ames, IA

Wingspan: 84½’

D-1 Comparison: Nick Calathes (Florida)

Top Interest: North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA, Kentucky, Florida, etc

Strong Point: A beast on the boards and in the paint. Scoops up loose balls and knows how to finish.

Area of Improvement: Inconsistent outside jumper; continuously coming up short.

The Skinny:
For the exception of a few missed jump shots, Barnes, really, did no wrong in the evening scrimmage. He and DeShaun Thomas (6-7, 221 lbs) went at it in the paint, and Harrison seemed like the obvious winner. Gathering up loose balls, vacuuming up the glass, finishing on second chance opportunities and keeping his man in front of him defensively at all times, it seemed Barnes was in a full groove from start to finish. Perhaps his best attribute of all, the kid does not give up. He will continue to go after the ball and rebound a miss until a foul is called or he drops the basket. You can’t hustle anymore harder then Barnes did tonight.
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Gary Franklin Jr.
G, 6-2, 183 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA

Wingspan: 74½’

D-1 Comparison: A.J Price (Connecticut)

Top Interest: Connecticut, USC, Washington, Oklahoma, Baylor, Texas A&M, Arizona, Utah

Strong Point: Made precision passes and continued to feed the big men and keep the offense moving

Area of Improvement: Needs to bring a little more hustle and speed, especially on the defensive end of the ball.

The Skinny:
Gary responded well in the give-and-go drill, making solid, tight passes to open big men down low. He struggled somewhat driving and avoiding the defender in the full court give-and-go drill, but when he maintained control of the ball, he was a force to be reckoned with. He also brought an impressive drive through the lane, and a nice, solid mid-range jumper. Gary just needs to put a couple of more pieces together in his game to become the complete package.
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Perry Ellis
F, 6-7, 206 lbs, class of 2012

High School/Hometown: Wichita Heights/Wichita, KS

Wingspan: 78’

D-1 Comparison: Sam Young (Pittsburgh)

Top Interest: Kansas, North Carolina, Kansas State, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Marquette, Western Kentucky, Illinois

Strong Point: Aggressive, forceful player that can handle the rock both passing and driving.

Area of Improvement: Needs to develop a more dependable, steady outside jumper.

The Skinny:
Perry was overwhelmingly impressive for how young he is. He played like a veteran, and knew what he was doing on every possession. His defense was in-your-face for the most part, and he excelled in the fast break and give-and-go drills today, playing hard-nosed aggressive style on both ends of the floor. Ellis’ quickness alone makes many D-1 schools salivate, and we learned why today, as he smoked by some of the best in the country.
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Ray McCallum
G, 6-1, 179 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Detroit City Day/Beverly Hills, MI

Wingspan: 73½

D-1 Comparison: Jodie Meeks (Kentucky)

Top Interest: Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, LSU, Duke, Kansas, Louisville, Memphis, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and UCLA

Strong Point: Quick, agile guard that can handle the ball in any kind of defensive pressure.

Area of Improvement: Struggled getting the first step on his opponents running man-to-man defense

The Skinny:
McCallum, like his father Ray, a star at Indiana and Ball State, now the head coach of Detroit University, is a strong guard with a fast tempo and a great frame. He only ran drills today, but he made it look like hardly any effort was needed on his part, playing downhill on both the fast break and a pressure zone defense. He’s deadly with the ball in his hand, because he’s equipped with a triple threat ability that allows him to either go to his smooth jump shot, drive the lane or dish it for the look—he can do all three with superior skills. He just needs to bring a little more intensity and agility on defense, and he will be as close to a complete player as you can find in the 2010 class.
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Dion Waiters
G, 6-4, 201 lbs, class of 2010

High School/Hometown: Life Center/Philadelphia, PA

Wingspan: 78½’

D-1 Comparison: Curtis Jerrells (Baylor)

Top Interest: Syracuse (Verbally committed)

Strong Point: One of the best high school players in the country with an off-the-dribble jumper.

Area of Improvement: Struggled a little bit with his right side; lost the ball trying to crossover on several trips on the fast break.

The Skinny:
Waiters didn’t play much today, but watching him run a few drills in the afternoon session, even Coach Eastman was impressed with his style. He packs a strong physique and an even better, D-1 ready jump shot, that he can fire up from nearly anywhere in the half court. His defense was tough and his passing game, for the few times he handled the rock today, was as good as it gets.
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College Scouting

Devin Ebanks of West Virginia matched up against Patrick Cristopher (California) and had his work cut out for him. Christopher had the step on him offensively, dropping several threes in his face. Ebanks later squared off against Dwayne Collins (Kansas) and showed much of the same, having a hard time keeping Collins in front of him.

On the offensive end, Ebanks had a rough time to start, as he was driving through double teams, getting picked off and having a hard time getting open against Collins’ strong frame. He just couldn’t find the ball at all early on.

Ebanks found his way later on, however, as he attracted a double team, forced both in the air and kicked off to a wide open man on the perimeter on one play, and drove the ball to the lane for the nice finish several times, when squared up against Christopher and Collins.

Yancy Gates of Cincinnati squared off against Jerome Jordan (Tulsa) in the paint and held his own for the most part. He kept Jordan in front of him, didn’t allow any back-down movement when Jordan had the ball, and shaved off of his man to cover the wing when needed.

Gates was one of the biggest kids out there, and he held his own with anybody put against him, including Cole Aldrich (Kansas) and Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest) in the night scrimmage.

Both Gates and Ebanks did not get a chance to play with Lebron James, who was running with the other group on court one simultaneously.

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