Phenom High School Jamboree Session 1 All Defensive Team

As the old saying goes, 'you will play at the level you can defend.' In speaking with college coaches on a regular basis, one of the biggest questions asked about prospects is 'how do they defend.' Too often, we have a tendency to highlight offensive production, but in all honesty, defense is played equally to offense in the game of basketball. At the Phenom High School Jamboree, we had some of the top teams in the state participating. There were many outstanding offensive performances, but the storyline was some of the terrific defensive performances too. Now, let's take a closer look at Coach Rick's All Defensive team.

6'7 2021 Omarion Bodrick (Independence High School) 

There are very few players in the state today, that can make such a tremendous impact on a game and the outcome without scoring a single point and that can easily be stated about Omarion Bodrick. Bodrick is blessed with athleticism, excellent length and is extremely quick off his feet. He has extraordinary basketball instincts, timing on blocking shots and securing rebounds on the defensive end of the court. Bodrick has outstanding lateral quickness and rarely gets beat off the dribble and has the ability to patiently stay on his feet and use his length to prevent uncontested shots. That being said, Bodrick is fast, fluid and electric in transition often finishing with power dunks. Independence looks impressive in the three scrimmage games and Bodrick's defense will be a major reason for their success this season. 

6'0 2020 Shakeel Moore (Moravian Prep)

Shakeel Moore came into the event with a lofty reputation as being one of the state's best 'on ball defender.' As a matter of fact, we can take it a step further and say it would be hard press to have a better 'on ball' defender on a national level than Shakeel Moore. Standing a strong, athletic 6'0, Moore has long arms and active hands. Moore has the frame that can body up a bigger/taller guard, but has the lateral quickness, along with an impressive 'lateral reach.' Moore has excellent 'defensive posture,' and plays much bigger than his listed height. He is always playing with his arms wide and his quick hands allows him to get 'picks' in the open court and has great anticipation on passes where he often gets deflections and steals. 

6'3 2021 Javonte Waverly (Henderson Collegiate)

Standing a lengthy 6'3, Javonte Waverly simply has the 'it factor' going head to head against players with a more established reputation. Although Waverly could improve his defensive posture by sitting lower on the defensive side of the ball, he has the athleticism, length and most of all heart in denying the opposing guard the ball. It's hard to score when you constantly deny the opposing guard the ball and Waverly's ability to deny the opposing guard the ball is extremely good. That being said, Waverly is a fierce competitor and takes pride in simply winning head to head competition. While playing excellent defense is often contributed to length and athleticism, a large part of being a strong defender is also mental. You simply have to want to stop the opposing player and Waverly checks all the boxes in that category. He takes every 'head to head' match-up personal and his competitive nature makes him on tough defender!

6'10 2020 Justice Ajogbor (Christ School)

There are simply very few players in the state that commands the defensive presences as Christ School's Justice Ajogbor. Ajogbor is a physical specimen that is extremely blessed with strength, length and all-around natural basketball instincts. To put it simply, Ajogbar is just an intimidating player around the rim. He's a rim protector and has outstanding leaping ability for his size, and often rebounds above the rim on the defensive end of the court. In addition, he does a really good job of working hard to deny the ball entry into the post area. 

6'0 2021 Jamari Thomas (Piedmont Classical)

Jamari Thomas is strong, explosive and athletic, but most of all, he is just one 'bad dude' when it comes to playing tough, hard-nosed defense. Thomas like Javonte Waverly, both have the 'it factor' when it comes to being competitive. With Thomas, you have someone who takes pride in shutting down the opposing guard. He treats each possession as his own personal battle and his take no prisoners attitude is simply a treat to watch. For coaches who value winning each possession and treating it as such, Jamari Thomas is just your guy. He's going to sit low on defense, move his feet and have aggressive and active hands.