Jacob Alley
SWFLHoops.com Scouting

June 16, 2009

The Florida sun was shining and so were the area's brightest stars. Over this past weekend, some of the area's best were mixing it up and competing with their high school teams at the Florida Gulf Coast University team camp. Last years team camp was one of the better tournaments i have been to,  who can forget the tough BV vs FM match up in the semi's that FM won by three, Brennan Melvin's last second three in OT to secure the semi-finals spot in a tough matchup with Charlotte, or the variety of teams from outside of the area including St. Thomas Aquinas and eventual champions Cypress Bay. With the economy in the state it is, and the florida team camp looming next weekend (as well as the usf team camp taking place the same days as the FGCU one) the turn out was definitely not the same. That is not to say that there was not some great basketball being played.

This year's team camp title game came down to two familiar squads, as Charlotte and Fort Myers faced off, with Charlotte prevailing 52-43 behind a solid group effort from their starters as well as their bench.  Fort Myers reached the final game by defeating last year's Class A-Region 3 Champion Bradenton Christian by 1 in a hard fought outing.  Charlotte knocked off Mitch Woods, and Community School of Naples in the other semifinal. 

After a lackluster year last year, Charlotte is looking to return to prominence, and they may have the squad to do just that. The Tarpons will be led this year by seniors Nick Goshay and new addition, Darion Shine, who transferred in from Desoto.  However equally, if not more dangerous, this weekend was starting point gaurd and 2011 stand out DJ Scott. Last year he played more off of the ball, and struggled trying to distribute when he was put in the point gaurd spot. What a difference a year makes. This kid can still attack the rim, but now he has shown that he has worked on his jumpshot, and he has become a true facilitator of the offense. He has developed patience and control. I figured control to be a major weak point in his game, however he has turned this dimension of his game into an asset. He does not force shots that are not there. He did a great job of setting up Goshay, Shine, as well as Alex Mut and Jonny Ocasio with open looks all weekend. He could still work on his right hand, but the sky is the limit for this kid if he continues to show the same kind of improvement throughout his junior campaign.

The one matchup we did not get to see which would have transpired if the camp had held a 3rd place game was Community School versus Bradenton Christian.  As a team, Bradenton Christian may have pulled out the win with a more balanced attack, but it would have been interesting to watch Woods face off against the BCS guards, Jordan and Jonothan Negrin, as they gave opposing point guards fits ALL weekend with their quick and aggresive defense

There were a bunch of solid performers throughout the weekend but we caught most of the action on Saturday, and here a few that stood out when we got a chance to see them:

  • The Negrin Brothers (2010)-Bradenton Christian- Jordan and Jon- are truly a spectacle. I had not seen them play much before and when I saw them step on the court, I made the easy mistake of underestimating them because of their height, both standing no more than 5'7 at best. And boy did they make me pay for that oversight. They are both electric, their speed allows them to make risky plays on defense and still recover, resulting in a plethora of steals. Jordan passes like butter. They both make everyone around them play better which is all you can ask for from your back court. Add to that, they both shot the ball extremely well from beyond the arc all weekend and attacked the rim with consistent finishes.  The best is that they clearly love playing with each other, they know exactly where the other one is on the court the whole time, and they do not miss a beat. Great showing by these two.

  • Evin Graham, 6'3'', PG (2011)-Fort Myers- Evin has grown a lot since this time last year, probably 20 pounds and 3 inches. His game reflects it. He is now versatile enough to play 1-3, but he clearly flourishes at the point. He's one of the more unselfish players I have seen, and he now has the strength to finish around the rim, something that he definitely lacked this time last year. Defensively he has improved a lot also. The player that dogged it sometimes and failed to hustle back, now plays defense as passionately as he does O. His length defensively makes him a nightmare to shoot over. Much like DJ, if he can improve the amount he has this last year, again in time for his senior campaign, then look out world.

  • Nick Goshay, 6'4", F (2010)-Charlotte- What is there left to say about Nick Goshay that has not already been said. I absolutely love watching this kid play. He is a good character kid, that can play anywhere on the court aside from maybe the point. His lack of height probably diminishes his chances of playing anything down low at the next level despite his ability to dominate in the post even against players much taller than he is. He is a hard working utility guy that can do a number of things for this team and I believe he will bring the intangibles needed to push them over the edge this year. That is one thing you know about Goshay, he is never going to give up, and he will always give you his best. Last year during this tournament he was actually sick, this year the only sickness was the feeling left in his oppositions stomachs after they witnessed one of his 4 or 5 monster jams this weekend. His intensity has picked up and he looks great out there.

  • Jaquard Hagan, 6'1'', G (2010)-Bishop Verot- Hagan has shown a lot more promise this year. This time last year i thought he and Bobby were about neck and neck, this year i feel like Hagan definitely gets the edge. Hagan has developed some control going to the hoop and far more of his looks go for 2 instead of rimming out. He has the quickness to run with anybody defensively. He is still a little streaky from the outside, but he definitely has shown a propensity for hitting threes. One of the biggest improvements have come in his off the ball movement. Look for him to have a big year running the show with Sandoval and a rapidly improving Howard.

  • Darion Shine, 5'11", PG (2010)-Charlotte- Great pickup for the Tarpons. He is a little streaky, but when on form he can put a dagger in the heart of any defense. He can hurt you in a number of ways: his speed and ball handling ability allow him to beat you going either way; he can hit from deep; and he is developing a pretty pull up jumper. Having him in the backcourt with DJ will be a luxury because they can both play either position. Look for this to be one of the strongest back courts in the area.

  • Nathan Howard, 6'4'', SG (2011)-Bishop Verot- Lengthy shooting gaurd that is able to change a lot of shots defensively. He has big shoes to fill now that Melvin is gone, but he looks like he is prepared for the challenge. He shot well, passed well, and recorded a few blocks in the time i saw him play.

  • Mitch Woods, 6'4, PG (2010)-Community School of Naples- Mitch did not have his most consistent weekend ever but he was still one of the best in camp as should be expected.  For Community School to be successful he is going to have to do a lot of everything including score the basketball, however, he is still growing as a scorer since his natural position is point guard.  He will pick it up more as it goes on that he will need to put up probably 20 to 30 shots a game from outside but also at the basket to get the team into the win column as it has been in the past, while also running the team and finding the open man once teams collapse on him.  The hardest battle he will have is with himself, knowing that in this day and age point guards score big numbers regularly in high school and that does not mean they are all of a sudden considered a shooting guard.  In their win against Bishop Verot in bracket play and against Lely, he really looked a lot more comfortable in that role and shot it well in the process.

  • Matt Yance, 6'5, SG (2011)-Fort Myers- Yance impressed me this weekend with his ability to not only shoot but make a few more "basketball plays" than usual whether it be rebounding the ball more aggresively, putting it on the floor more effectively, or showing a little more effectiveness as a defender.  His body is starting the process of filling out just a bit and with added weight it will be interesting to see how well he uses that to compete inside the three point arc.  We all know he has great range on his shot, and continued to display that this weekend knocking down numerous treys in rhythm. 

  • Ahmed Abu-Khadier, 6'4'', F (2010)-Gateway Charter- Well built kid that brings a lot of intangibles to the table. His energy and work ethic on the boards will be critical to gateway's success this year. He does not have a go to low post move, but he showed some ability to hit a jumpshot or two from outside the paint. He is relentless on the offensive boards, i counted 4 in one half.

  • Kent Coyne, 6'4, F/G (2011)-Community School of Naples- Kent has started to hit a stride in his improvement as a wing, and starting to become more than just a shooter once he catches it outside of the arc.  He showed the aggressiveness to get by his defender and attack the hoop, rebound in traffic, but also shot it well for the most part.  He still has a lot of room to get better but with a more aggresive approach, his upside is looking brighter and brighter.

  • Daniel Magley, 6'2, G (2011)-Bradenton Christian- Daniel is another junior-to-be that looks to be  coming into his own a bit.  The long and smooth wing guard had his ups and downs throughout the weekend but he continues to show promise and improvement from year to year as a playmaker and great decision maker.  He is a high IQ, high skill type of guy that always seems to find his way to score inside, very similar to Evin Graham's craftiness around the hoop.  His consistency outside the arc remains a strong suit, however he doesn't rely on it much.  Instead he tends to be more aggresive and attack the basket more often than not.  He runs the wing on the break excellently, staying wide at all times, increasing his ability to do good things when given the opportunity.  Look for Magley to thrive this year as his role as a scorer increases with the loss of JoJo Wood and Spence Purnell to graduation. 

  • More may be added as we sift through our notes...

Good luck to all of the teams the rest of the summer, and in particular to the teams competing this weekend in more team camps.  We will do our best to gather how each of the teams do at their other events and post them on the site, so coaches, if you would like to have us post how your team did please drop us an email. 

We will also be covering the North Port Shootout June 23-25 next week and stop by the Fort Myers Shootout that following weekend, June 26-28, to catch some of the action, so stay tuned as it has been a slow couple months for local hoops action but we finally got some blood pumping and are excited to see more of the guys playing hard and playing well!
2009 FGCU Team Camp Recap
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