The college coaches continued to pile in at The Hoop Group Elite Camp, and some of the biggest names in the business were in attendance. Kentucky’s Billy Gillespie, Drexel’s James “Bruiser” Flint, Seton Hall’s Bobby Gonzalez, LaSalle’s John Giannini, Michigan’s John Beilein, West Virginia’s Bob Huggins and Villanova’s Jay Wright were some of the top dogs at The College of New Jersey for the final day of Session IV of the camp, which fell on the final day of the summer live evaluation period. There were some phenomenal matchups, as Thursday was playoff time, and was also All-Star game day. The following campers shined the brightest during the playoff games in the morning and early afternoon:

Zach Rose ‘09, Cannon School (NC)
Corey Ford ‘10, Bishop McDevitt (PA)
Egheosa Edomwonyi ‘09, The Hun School (NJ)
Khalif Wyatt ‘09, Norristown (PA)
Rayner Moquete ‘09, Our Savior New American (NY)
RJ Zukowski ‘10, Friends School (MD)
Justin Harris ‘11, Paramus Catholic (NJ)
Will Adams ‘09, Imhotep Charter (PA)
Donald Rauchut ‘09, Penn Charter (PA)
Luis Leao ‘09 PG, The Winchendon School (MA)
Carl Johnson ‘09 PG, St. Thomas More (CT)
Lorenzo Christmas ‘09, Norristown Area (PA)
Ryan Nalls ‘10, Delcastle (DE)
Gabriel Estrada ‘09, Gulliver Prep (FL)
Michael Murray ‘10, St. Benedict’s (NJ)
Henry Smith, ‘09 Monsignor Bonnor (PA)
Greg Benjamin ‘09, Newark (DE)
Corey Spence ‘10, Dunbar (MD)

Of these dozen and a half players, five of them really stood out. Corey Spence, a class of 2010 kid from Maryland, was fantastic. He got to the rack with ease and had great intensity. He is a player to keep an eye on. Rayner Moquete was great yet again. He had a fabulous camp and generated a lot of buzz. The OSNA baller can score off the drive or with his jumper. Egheosa Edomwonyi was also fabulous. He was one of the best players at TCNJ.  He is strong and is one of the best rebounders I have seen all summer.  Egheosa gets his hands on just about everything around the rim. Carl Johnson was terrific as well. Jere Quinn has a gem on his hands in Johnson, formerly of Lower Merion (PA).  The quick lefty has developed his game as a point guard and still has a great knack for scoring.  Finally, Henry Smith showed his great inside-outside game - nailing 3’s as well as scoring in the low post. 

SCHOOL LISTS-

Luis Leao ‘09 PG, The Winchendon School (MA): Columbia
                               Favorite: n/a
                               Dream School: None, “I just want to have a good education, that’s very important to me. . . . I just want to be able to have a good education and play ball.
                                Note- Leao, who says that he has a 4.0 GPA, let me know that there are other schools recruiting him that his coach knows about.

Tyree Harris ‘09, Prep Charter (PA): Penn St., Villanova, Stanford, Temple, Drexel, St. Joseph’s, LaSalle, and Michigan
                               Favorites: Stanford, Penn St., and Temple are his top three in order

Markens Charles ‘09 PG, The Nia School (NJ): Mississippi St., Arkansas, Missouri, Towson, and San Francisco
                                          Favorite: None, “I’m wide open.”

Anali Okoloji ‘09, Benjamin Banneker (NY): West Virginia, Penn St., Rhode Island, Fordham, Albany, Virginia, Providence, and LaSalle
                                Favorites: None, “I haven’t decided.”
                                Note- Okoloji mentioned to me that his is doing Velocity Sports Training to get in even better shape, and told me that if tomorrow were signing day that “probably Providence” is who he would sign with.

After the playoff games were completed came the awards ceremony. The top teams and players in camp received recognition, as did those who put in the most effort. There were two players in the NBA East that received the highest honors. The pair happened to be the top center and point guard selected in the NBA East Draft, are both big names with a lot of talent. Aaric Murray ‘09 of Glen Mills (PA) was named the NBA East’s Most Outstanding Player, while Isaiah Epps ‘10 of Plainfield (NJ) received the Most Outstanding Prospect honor. The award for Most Improved Player in the NBA East went to Anthony Mayo ‘10 of Roman Catholic (PA). After awards were handed out, it was time to announce the All-Stars in each of the five games. The NCAA and NBA West each had an All-Star game, while the NBA East had a Top 20 game, a Senior game, and an Underclass game. A list of all the All-Stars will be up shortly!

The NBA East Top 20 game took place just after the Most Outstanding Players of the other four All-Star games were announced. Brandon Romain ‘09 PG of Boys & Girls (NY) was the Most Outstanding Player of the Senior game, while Alex Francis ‘10 of Holderness Prep (NH) was named the MOP of the Underclass game. The Top 20 game was a nice spectacle as the stands were packed full of college coaches. The White Team, which had camp Most Outstanding Prospect Isaiah Epps on it, was in control form start to finish and jumped out to a huge 15+ point lead at one point. The Blue Team, which featured camp Most Outstanding Player Aaric Murray, would not give in, though, and fought back to the finish. They were not able to climb all the way back and ended up on the wrong side of a 77-69 game. After the contest, Egheosa Edomwonyi ‘09 of The Hun School (NJ) was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player.

NBA East Top 20 Game Top Performers
Shaquille Thomas ‘10, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
Egheosa Edomwonyi ‘09, The Hun School (NJ)
Dave Coley ‘10, Thomas Jefferson (NY)
Devon Saddler ‘09, Aberdeen (MD)
Isaiah Philmore ‘09, John Carroll (MD)
Aaric Murray ‘09, Glen Mills (PA)
Ron Giplaye ‘09, Elkton Christian (MD)

NBA East Top 20 Game Other Standouts
Curtis Loving ‘09 PG, Wadleigh (NY)
Erique Gumbs ‘09, Caravel Academy (DE)
Calvin Newell ‘09, Strath Haven (PA)
Kellen Jones ‘09, Hotchkiss School (CT)
Isaiah Epps ‘10, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
David Laury ‘09 PG, The Nia School (NJ)
Will Adams ‘09, Imhotep Charter (PA)

All in all, Session IV of The Hoop Group Elite Camp was definitely a success. There were hundreds of quality players on hand and even more college coaches there watching.  Hoop Group Elite provided players with an opportunity to showcase their talents and get college looks, and many campers did just that. There will be more Elite Camps coming in August and even more kids will be able to display their abilities!