Monday, August 31, 2009

More pics from the camp



Coach MJ giving instructions!



















Players and Pics

The camp was loaded with quite a few talented young ladies, some of which I had never seen or heard of before including a couple of 2011's from California, Erimma Amarikwa and AhjaleeHarvey




Since we're out West, there was a kid from Arizona's class of 2010, Kaitlin Meister, that was nailing jumpers everytime I looked up. She is standing to the right of one of Houston's top 2012 guards Nicole Blaskowski. I watched Meister nail jumpers all weekend, open, guarded, off balance, you name it.

Another from the class of 2010 was a product from Georgia, Kris King, who was just a workaholic the whole weekend. Strong and athletic, King stepped up to the challenge everytime she was called on.


Rounding out the 2010 players in attendance was Taryn Gregory. I had a chance to coach her the last couple of years and she had quite a year. She led her high school team within one victory of the Regional Final Four and gained attention from Hoopgurlz this summer, playing with a fractured shooting hand at that.
I won't rank any of the younger kids or give up too much information because I'm not running my blog as a cheat sheet so some "club coaches" can go out and recruit. With that being said, I don't mind talking about Moriah Jefferson and Curtyce Knox being two of the top guards in the class of 2012. That same class has 6'4 Derreyal Youngblood and 6'3 Kendall Shaw, not to mention another fine shooter, Chelsea Jennings. Natalie Vantress is a very gifted player from the class of 2011 who is blessed with size, nice handles and the ability to put it on the floor as well as hitting the jumper. From the class of 2013, I want you to remeber this name, Jessica Jackson. 6'1 and still growing and one of the top players at the camp.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Ganon Baker Camp


I heard all of the stories about Ganon Baker, he trains the best players in the league, Kobe and LeBron, runs the Nike Skills Camp and I even watched the Youtube.com highlights.

Number one, I am not impressed very easily but Ganon does a great job not only instructing but motivating the players. He is so intense that you can't help but want to put out 100% for this guy.

His goal is to try and help the girls work more on their skills. "I am here to train" said Baker. "You guys have great talent but it's undeveloped"

He then added something I have been saying for years as far as kids not working on their weaknesses. "That's what wrong with grassroots, you play 100 games and can't hit a jumper"

I agree with him 100%, most kids just don't put in the extra work because it's hard, trust me I know. Hopefully those who attended this camp were motivated enough to accept what was being said and utilize what he taught them. I really liked this quote " How many tools are in your toolbox"

The camp was coordinated by none other than Kelvin Powell. Kelvin is a major player in high school basketball on both sides and he runs several exposure events including Basketball On The Bayou, which is one of the top July events. He also has a National Scouting Service, Roundball Journal, along with being a member of the McDonald's All American Selection Committee and Gatorade National and State Player of the Year commitees, plus he's a national evaluator for Hoopgurlz.com.

Kelvin introduced me at the end of the camp as " Someone you need to know in Houston" and I guess in a sense he may be correct. I truly appreciate him inviting me to cover this event along with introducing me to Ganon. I saw some very talented young ladies, many I had never seen or heard of before. Thanks guys!

Tomorrow I will break down a few of the players and add some photos.