This is the third year we have held this team camp and it has grown every year. This year we sold out at 24 teams, and each of these teams are incredibly talented. We have all of our events open to the public, so we want to make sure the public knows what to watch for.
Here is part 1 of the storylines to watch.
Ben L Smith Vs Lincoln Charter Vs Word of God
Lincoln Charter is a defending state champion, Ben L Smith has possibly the most talent on its roster of any public school in North Carolina and Word of God is long famed for putting numerous players at the highest level.
This Word of God team is no different, carrying the likes of 6’7” 2018 Aaron Cash, 6’ 2020 Evan Johnson and 6’5” 2019 Jamal King. Each of these players are already being recruited by high major programs. They surround this three with the likes of 6’1” 2018 Zach Newkirk and 6’6” 2019 Max Farthing. Also watch for 6’6” 2020 Todd Burt and 6’6” 2019 Trevon Spencer.
Lincoln Charter won a state championship and they return everyone. A year older and a year more mature. They are led by 5’11” 2018 Kody Shubert who is a wizard with the ball. 6’2” 2019 sharpshooter Jackson Gabriel and 6’1” 2019 Lavonte Knox are the other guards. Gabriel can go off for 30 at any given moment and Knox is the elite on the ball perimeter defender. They are anchored in the middle by 6’8” Jahlon Johnson and have 6’5” 2018 London England filling the lanes. This team is great to watch, they move the ball so well and play selfless basketball.
As we mentioned above, Ben L Smith may have the most talent (man for man) of any public school in North Carolina. They are led by two seniors in 6’10” Jaylan Gainey and 6’6” Isiah Bigelow. Gainey carries around 10 D1 offer and offers great length and athleticism. Their best prospect may be 6’6” 2020 Silas Mason. The long wing is already getting high major offers and is an absolute jumping jack. There are more players here to watch for, they are deep.
Each of these three teams will play each other. It will be a lot of fun as they are all heavy hitting high level talents.
The Youth at Athens Drive
Athens Drive has been a basketball afterthought for the past 10 years or so. Things are changing now, they have a stable of young and talented players, ready to take the reigns of the program. They will be led by 5’11” 2019 DJ Robertson is their leading returning scorer at 14.8, the crafty point guard also averaged 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game his sophomore year.
A pair of 2020 prospects are primed to take a major step forward this year. 6’ Lawrence Frost and 6’4” AJ Thompson are both players who are ripping and running through the summer. Frost is a sturdy point guard who is incredibly competitive and knows how to make his team better. Thompson is a brutish forward who is a rebounding and defending machine.
Athens Drive also returns their second leading scorer, at 9.7 per game, 6’5” 2018 Michael Armstrong. This group of four are supremely talented and ready to win some ball games. Most notably bring Athens Drive High School back on the basketball landscape.
Forest Hills Vs Page
These two teams are both tough. They are undersized teams, led by their guard player, but their guards are very good. This game is sure to be a knock down and drag out fight.
The individual match up to watch here is Page’s Jahlen King and Forest Hills’ Nas Tyson.
King is the reigning conference player of the year. He is a tough point guard who takes pride in defense and is able to get into the paint at will. He shoots the ball well and is able to set up his team mates for easy buckets. This year it will be his team and he will be asked to shoulder a larger scoring role. This is a task King is certainly up to and we are very excited to see what that looks like this Saturday.
Tyson is a supreme defender and a deft long range shooter. He has an innate toughness about him that he was a quiet leader for this team even as a sophomore. He has a nice downhill game and is an incredibly productive guard.
Even though the game is going to be a tough match up, this matchup within the game is going to be one to watch closely.