Over 70 boys gathered on a rainy morning last Sunday at Contra Costa College in San Pablo for a skills clinic and some competitive game action with all activities directed by Northern California high school, college and pro skills trainer Kelvin Potts, or “KP” as the kids and almost everyone else in the NorCal high school hoops scene calls him, of RepsOnReps and Team Arsenal.
The group was mostly freshmen and sophomores but there was even a handful of middle schoolers that attended.
While only 20 players made it to the Top 20 game held after nearly six hours of skills, drills and two 20-minute half running clock games that all the boys participated in, the staff and analysts, including noted California boys hoops expert Ronnie Flores of GrassRootsHoops.net and Cal-Hi Sports, made sure to engage the other boys to let them know their efforts did not go unnoticed, and they should continue working hard on their game and their grades in the classroom.
As is the case in almost any event there was a snafu when the Top 20 was announced, and one deserving player did not hear his name called. The Top 20 game was nearly halfway over when the staff and analysts realized someone was left off, so these evaluations include 21 boys.
The boys were ranked by the analysts and those rankings likely will be used in the future by the analysts and the respective scouting services, but for this feature they are listed alphabetically in both the top 10 and second 10 groups, other than the MVP of the camp.
Camp MVP
James Akinjo – Salesian-Richmond, Guard, 5-10, 2018
Akinjo wasn’t the top performer coming out of the skills sessions but was close to the top, however, in game action is where he literally took over. He was comfortable attacking the basket, delivering the ball to others or shooting the 3-point shot. He was also a lock down defender in every match-up in every game he played in at the camp, and there was no one at the camp he didn’t try to take on either on offense or defense. According to Flores: “Akinjo is a multi-level scorer with a strong body and a confident demeanor on the court.”
Top 10 evaluations
Zachary Chappell – Capital Christian-Sacramento, Guard, 6-3, 2018
Chappell is tall and long for a point guard but his length does nothing to deter his ball handling. The analysts liked his game equally well in the skill sessions as the games. “Zack has a great all-around package of ball-handling, shooting, scoring and athleticism. He’s unselfish to boot,” Flores remarked.
Elijah Hardy – Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, Guard, 6-1, 2018
Despite playing the night before in a heartbreaking Northern Regional Division III loss to Manteca, Hardy was there bright and early and played pretty darn hard from the moment the skills session got under way in mid-morning. “Elijah is a lefty with cat-quick instincts and has shown marked improvement in his offensive game,” Flores remarked.
Damon Harge – Orlando Christian Prep-Orlando, Florida, Guard, 5-9, 2018
The well-travelled Harge, who has California ties, made the trip to Northern California to test his wares against a good group of young NorCal guards. A highlight was when he and Akinjo matched up in the Top 20 game and he held his own for the most part. He showed quickness and explosiveness. According to Flores: “Harge is a dynamic scorer but must continue to work on his jump shot release which occasionally has a sidespin.”
Andre Kelly – Lincoln-Stockton, Forward, 6-7, 2018
Coming out of the skills session, Kelly was not the top big man at the camp but by the time all was said and done he was arguably on top and had some of the analysts calling him Andre the Giant. He was also well-spoken, showed maturity and has a 3.5 GPA. According to Flores: “Kelly came on as the camp wore on with great defensive instincts. He’s a very confident ball-handler for a player with his size and body."
Jayce McCain – Sacramento Country Day-Sacramento, Guard, 6-1, 2018
McCain was smooth and confident in the drills and it translated over to the games. “Jayce was one of the few campers that was not preoccupied by his primary defender. He was always looking to attack or set up teammates because he was usually one step ahead mentally,” remarked Flores.
Jaden McClanahan – Salesian-Richmond, Guard, 5-9, 2019
The second half of the dynamic freshmen twins from Salesian has a solid game when it comes to defense and ball-handling, but it was obvious to all the analysts that he needs to work on his shooting touch. “Jaden has very similar talent to his twin brother but was slightly less engaged,” Flores said.
Jovan McClanahan – Salesian-Richmond, Guard, 5-9, 2019
The first half of the Salesian twins has slightly better all around skills than his brother but also can use some work on his shooting touch. According to Flores: “Jovan impacted the camp defensively as much as any of the participants, using his strength and football instincts to dominate at times.”
Deon Stroud – San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno, Forward, 6-3, 2019
With his size, strength and quickness, Stroud dominated in the skills and drills and at one point the analysts had him near the top of the heap, but as the games unfolded he went from dominating in transition to deciding to do too much launching from outside the arc, and the fact he came up almost empty knocked him down some pegs. The good news is he only a freshman and can learn from the experience.
Jake Virga – Jesuit-Carmichael, Guard, 5-10, 2018
The Jesuit guard was the player whose name was supposed to be called for the Top 20 game and his name was on the list. Instead of sulking he went and sat down and watched the game. Before the start of the second half he was brought to center court where the players and fans gave him a shoutout. During the skills and drills he showed explosiveness, excellent ball handling and defense, ability to shoot the 3-ball and he can dunk. “Jake had the best individual move of the camp with a stop and go baseline drive that left defenders frozen. His confidence and maturity made a difference,” said Flores.
Evaluations for other standouts
Brandon Beckman – St. Ignatius-San Francisco, Guard, 6-1, 2018
Beckman did well in the skills and drills but it was in the running clock games where he nailed three-ball after three-ball and continued his long-range shooting in the top 20 game. Smart player on the court and in classroom where he has a 3.7 GPA.
Caleb Beliz – Newark Memorial-Newark, Forward, 6-0, 2019
An undersized but stout inside player in the style of Newark Memorial showed hustle and was unafraid to do the dirty work and mix it up.
Jamario Bibb – Salesian-Richmond, Forward, 6-4, 2018
Bibb is oozing with talent but at times he was going through the motions at this event, and that could very well have been that he was on one of the weaker teams. It could also have been local familiarity for the fourth of five Salesian players.
Ezekiel Holman – Lincoln-Stockton, 6-1, Guard, 2018
Holman was an active second tier player that the coaches liked but he needs improvement on his offensive game.
Conner Jackson – Dublin, Guard, 6-2, 2018
Jackson worked hard and showed prowess in the drills and had an impact in the games as well.
Derrick Langford – Salesian-Richmond, Guard, 6-1, 2018
Langford has a solid skill set with a nice burst and shows flashes of being a major scoring threat.
Jacob Monkarsh – Campolindo-Moraga, Forward, 6-2 2018
A sleeper from the Campo football team was “awoken” according to Flores who really liked his hustle and defense. According to Flores: “Monkarsh moved better without the ball than anyone in the camp and knew where to deliver the ball or get open to receive it, ala John Havlicek of the old Boston Celtics.”
Garrett Pascoe – Clayton Valley-Concord, Guard, 6-0, 2018
A shooting guard that can drain the 3-ball showed fluid motion and excelled at both the skills and drills as well as the game action. Some analysts felt he was first tier.
Darin Similai – Jesuit-Carmichael, Forward, 6-8, 2018
Similai needs to toughen up a bit but he showed nice touch around the basket and on defense he altered shots and rebounded well.
Sam Smith – Lincoln-Stockton, Guard, 5-11, 2018
Made the top 20 with defense and hustle and he has a decent shot but needs work on his skill set.
Jay Allen Tovar – Gunderson-San Jose, Forward, 6-7, 2019
For being 14-years old, Tovar was the No. 3 big man at the camp and should develop into a solid player down low. He took his lumps at times but showed a lot of potential.
