Day One
Greg Oden ('06-IN) showed his stuff and staked his claim early on as one of the, maybe the best big man of the class of '06. His teammate, Daequan Cook ('06-OH), made a name for himself too with some crowd-pleasing plays.
Soon-to-be sophomore Brandon Jennings may be the next high school underclassman making national waves in a few years following in the footsteps of LeBron James and O.J. Mayo ('07-OH).
Texan native Damian James showed his ability to shoot the three, as well, with some highlight reel dunks and blocks. Mayo's AAU and high school teammate, Bill Walker ('07-OH), possibly showed the best dunking ability, rocking the rim on several occasions.
The highlight of day one came at night as O.J. Mayo and Brooklyn freshman Lance Stephenson ('09-NY) squared off in an epically hyped “LeBron/Lenny Cooke” battle, only this time it wasn't as one-sided. The camp quickly turned into a one-on-one street ball battle with all the trash talk and game to back up both players' star reps. After trading baskets for the entire game, Stevenson couldn't convert as time ticked down, Mayo spotted up for a wide-open three then called Stevenson over to guard him and continued to drain the jumper in his grill, sending the crowd into absolute pandemonium.
Day Two
Davon Jefferson ('06-CA), Eddie Rios ('07-OH) Kevin Love ('07-OR), and Derrick Caracter ('06-NJ) made big strides today. Jefferson held his own squaring off against Oden and Rios impressed going up against Caracter and Stephenson in the most heated matchup of the day. Stephenson came out perhaps the most impressive, drawing comparisons to D-Wade with his speed, slashing ability, and perhaps most importantly, his composure.
Day Three
Baron Davis was in the house spreading love and advice to the campers, as Greg Anthony did the day prior. NJ native Troy Murphy also stopped by the campus of Farleigh Dickinson. Jefferson continued a dunking onslaught while O.J. Mayo fulfilled his rep as the next big thing, setting himself apart from any other guard at camp.
Lookout in the next few years for Jianghua Chen ('06-China). If you thought Yao Ming took the USA by storm a few years ago, wait 'till this kid develops. He already impressed many scouts and fans with his combination of flashy passes and baseline jams. Caracter and Oden highlighted the play during the night session. Last year, Caracter got the best of Oden, but Greg came back with a vengeance this year and dominated down low.
Day Four
The all-star games took place with such high-profile names as Will Harris (CA), Mike Conley (IN), and New York natives Paul Harris, Vernon Teal, Eugene Harvey, Rob Thomas, Mike Davis, taking the court along with Chen, Caracter, Jefferson, Cook, and Oden in the Senior Game. The underclass game included Mayo, Love, Walker, Stephenson, and Rios, as well as the best big man of the '08 class so far, Drew Gordon, and the aptly-named guard, Isaiah Thomas ('07-WA).
All in all, Damion James ('06-TX), Corey Stokes ('07-NJ), Renardo Sidney ('09-MS), and Harris and Walker improved their stock the most on the final day. Oden and Mayo began the camp as the two most prolific names and left that way, with Love a close third. Walker and Cook were consensus top-10 players and showed that Ohio is definitely the next hotbed of prep hoops stars. Looks like LeBron was only the beginning.
October 6, 2005
Jim Gloccen:
You commented on some 2008 players, but I wanted to hear your opinion on a player by the name of Olu Ashaolu, a wing who played out of position at power forward at camp but still played well enough to be one of the underclassmen at camp. THanks