Jacob Alley
SWFLHoops.com Scouting

June 16, 2008

A number of schools showed up for this Camp, and with over 35 hours of basketball with four games going at the same time, there is a lot of basketball to catch up on. A number of local teams were present: Fort Myers, N. Fort Myers, S. Fort Myers, Gateway, Community School of Naples, Bishop Verot, Dunbar, Charlotte, Port Charlotte, Palmetto Ridge, Golden Gate, Lely, Barron Collier, Riverdale, Estero, Florida Christian, Gulf Coast, Ida Baker and Lehigh. The teams were all split into pools, and based on their Day 1 performance, were split into two different tournaments: the Gold and the Silver. In the Gold finals Cypress Bay prevailed over Fort Myers High for the second time that day. The final score was 47-36 as the strength and talent of James Jackson proved to be too much for the Green Wave to cap a great weekend of basketball. I will get into the players who had notable weekends in a second but first, as this is a team camp, I will talk about what teams impressed and what teams left with more questions than answers.

Teams that had good weekends:
  • Fort Myers- They made it to the finals and went 6-2 with their only two losses coming to the champions Cypress Bay. Josh Nicholas showed glimpses, the youngsters held their own, and John Michael Hodge even had a breakout game for the first time since his injury. They scrapped out close wins against St. Thomas Aquinas, Haggerty, Lake Mary Prep, Bishop Verot, and Charlotte and they crushed silver tournament finalists Golden Gate.

  • Bishop Verot- The team looks good; Hagan and Thomas are looking to steal the starting guard spots as they had great weekends. Melvin hit a clutch three to steal a win from Charlotte and keep his team alive ensuring them third in the God Bracket tournament. They lost to Fort Myers by three, 48-45, in the loser’s bracket final. They also went 6-2 on the weekend, beating Charlotte, Lehigh, Palmetto Ridge, and Gulf Coast along the way.

  • Charlotte- The damage still looks bad from all the talent that left this squad, but maybe not all is lost.  D’Monte “D.J.” Scott had a great weekend and he gets better with every game. Nick Goshay was sick for the beginning of the weekend but that did not stop him from being Charlotte’s focal point on offense. During the weekend, they beat silver tournament champions Community School, Lehigh (by 1 in OT), Lely (who beat Dunbar), and they were an insane last second three pointer with 3 seconds left in overtime away from beating Verot. The team came two wins away from the championship game and that is no small feat considering the turnover that this team has had.

  • Community School of Naples- The Mitch Woods Show continued as despite losing their first two games, CSN plowed through the competition, reeling off six straight and earning the first place in the Silver Bracket. Mitch played well, and they had a breakout weekend from 6’3” 2011 WG/WF Kent Coyne. They beat Ida Baker, lost a close one to Lehigh, and beat a good shooting Haggerty team and Golden Gate twice.

  • Gulf Coast- Did not have an amazing weekend but they proved that there will at least be life after Liabo. Korenzo Smith had a solid weekend, and Mike McGahee spearheaded the crew of blue collar players that make this team one that can surprise a few people. They crushed Lake Mary Prep and beat Dunbar on a buzzer beater, and they were competitive against Verot.

Teams who have a lot left to prove-

  • Dunbar- Sure the German brothers were not present and they only had 6 players, but the team needs to play better. They lost two games that they should have won, and if Paulk had decided to cross the half court line on Defense instead of cherry picking (not one of his attempts at cherry picking even lead to an easy bucket for him), then we could be talking very differently about this team. Troy Simmons looked good and Paulk had his moments but the team went 1-5 on the weekend.
  • Ida Baker- The team only decided to show up for some of their games, as they went 2-3, losing to CSN, Lely and Port Charlotte. Their wins came against teams who were a combined 1-10…not very impressive.
  • South Fort Myers- Joey Earle played decently, same with Kenny Louisma, but over all the team struggled. They lost to some pretty good teams but should have come away with more than one victory in six tries if they are going to compete this year. They lost to St. Thomas Aquinas, Barron Collier, CSN, Lehigh and Lake Mary Prep.

Now on to the players (In no particular order):

  • Mitch Woods - 2010, 6’3” PG, Community School of Naples - This kid is a great player and he had a fantastic weekend. He showed he was comfortable going left or right, and was great at giving his under talented team great looks. He led his team to the Silver bracket finals and showed why he is possibly the best point guard in the area. He has a big frame and man handled every point guard that was thrown at him. He showed good awareness of the double team and was able to kick out the ball. Probably his greatest and yet most underrated asset is his ability to control the tempo of a game. He does not let another team dictate the flow of the game and is very effective at eroding the opponent’s defense over the course of a game. He does need to work on his speed, and he needs to go up with his left hand more for lay ups on that side of the basket. He has showed he can hit a jumper but I would still like to see him more comfortable with pulling up and taking the shot.
  • Josh Nicholas - 2009, 6’11” Post, Fort Myers- Josh is getting better every time he touches the ball.  He put up 20 in the finals against two of the best players at the entire FGCU camp, however, the majority of his points came from mid range jump shots. His touch and consistency from the free throw line really impressed me. He is improving his foot work down low but needs to use the back board more when he is shooting from the block. He also needs to keep the ball above his head on a rebound rather than putting it on the floor; he does this far too much if he is going to put his height to good use.  He lacks intensity on both sides of the ball. Smaller guys were out positioning him on the boards and he refuses to stay big with his arms on defense. He also needs to drop his hips more in order to gain leverage when boxing out in order to compensate for his lack of strength.  Another example of his lack of intensity is the fact that he only had 3 dunks in 8 games.  Despite this list of knocks I think this kid had a fantastic weekend and were a main reason Fort Myers were as impressive as they were.  If he continues to improve at the rate he is and he can bulk up and add some meat to his huge frame, then he will be an absolute monster, and virtually unstoppable at this level of basketball.
  • David Paulk -2010, 6’5” WF, Dunbar -This kid was, to me, the biggest disappointment of the weekend. He had glimpses of brilliance, but he forced too many bad shots, would not give up a shot to an open team mate, despite being surrounded by a capable cast of shooters, and worst of all is he wouldn’t play defense. It’s been my experience that the players that love defense have the most burning passion for the game, and it was clear that Paulk’s heart was not in it this weekend. There were several occasions where he refused to cross half court. When he was back defensively he was a liability. He needs to do his natural gifts and talents justice and commit himself to the game of basketball. He also needs to realize that he plays for the team; they are not there just for him. On the bright side, he showed he had the explosiveness offensively to get to the rack, and the strength handling the ball to put it on the floor and navigate it through traffic. When he was feeling it he made some pretty deep shots, but there were a lot of cold spells during the weekend. Maybe when the rest of his team is there, there is more on the line, and he is more in the rhythm of the season then we will see a very different David Paulk.
  • Brennen Melvin - 2009, 6’4” WG, Verot- This guy has great size and coordination and can be used all over the court. This weekend he played well except for a poor shooting game against Cypress Bay. Apart from that game in which there was a lid on the basket, his shots were falling all weekend. He also showed a good job of utilizing his strength, out manning smaller opponents offensively; and there was nobody that he did not match up with well defensively the entire camp. He is a clutch shooter, as demonstrated with his OT buzzer beater to beat Charlotte by 1. He has great ball control for a player of his stature, and has an ability to get to the rack and the strength to out rebound many 3’s and 4’s down low. Despite his skill from beyond the arc, he has not shown much dedication to creating mid-range shots and hitting them. He needs to take over the game more; at times he seemed to just fade away for chunks of the game at a time. The site has him listed at 175 pounds, he looks like he has gained some weight, if he continues in the weight room and seizes the opportunity to be the leader of this team then this player will have a special future.
  • D’Monte “D.J.” Scott - 2011, 5’10” G, Charlotte- This kid is an animal. When I first saw him I thought, “there is no way this short and almost stocky kid is going to be good at basketball” but boy was I wrong. What he lacks in height he makes up for with energy and talent. He is a very explosive player that plays with a great level of intensity and passion. He never takes a play off. He runs the floor well and is great at creating space for his teammates and feeding them for an open shot. He is a great complement to Goshay’s strength and shooting ability as he proved capable of feeding him nice dimes down low and along the perimeter for spot up threes. He is definitely a slasher. He has the speed to beat his man to the lane, and the strength to plough through any help defense while maintaining his dribble. He needs to spend a lot of time developing his shot if he wants a chance at an eventual scholarship. He is also a big erratic, but that is a result of the high level of passion he plays with. I think that he will become a much smarter player as he gets older and the young Charlotte team gets better.
  • Luis Sanchez - 2009, 6’3” WG, Lehigh- Luis is one of those players that makes everyone else around him play better. He is persistent with the ball and despite his height followed a number of his own misses and converted them into points for his team. He is a gritty player and scraps for the ball on defense. He did as good of a job with Mitch Woods as anyone else at FGCU, and he made some clutch plays at the end of the game on both ends to ensure a Lehigh win. His shooting needs some work, he seemed a lot more comfortable shooting the ball in comparison to last year, but they were not falling. If he can keep working on his shot, and maintain his level of intensity, then he will be a threat for any opposing defense.
  • Korenzo Smith - 2010, 5’10” PG, Gulf Coast- Smith is a stud. He needs to grow a little, gain strength, and improve his shooting ability, but he does a number of things well. He brings the kind of energy that picks up a team when things are not going well. He has the drive/kick and the running tear drop down to a science. Defensively, he needs to work on his lateral speed, because he does not have the strength to match up with bigger guards, he needs to have the speed to beat them to the spot. He also needs to use his hands to create havoc in the backcourt. However it is his untangibles that make him great. In the few glimpses I got of him this weekend, the team played better and more collectively when he was leading them down the floor. His energy also sets a standard that his team strives to match when he is on the floor.
  • Zach Gilyard - 2010, 5’10” PG, Gateway Charter- He dropped 24 in a breakout game against Gulf Coast. This combo guard is head and shoulders above the rest of his team. Because his team is strapped for talent he is being asked to play outside of his element. Maybe as the season grows on he will develop into a better combo guard, but he seems to be much better suited for the 2 or 3. He needs to be a spot up shooter on a team with another star to help take the pressure off of him. He is being asked to do too much and because of this he forces a lot of bad plays. He will improve with another year under his belt and just needs to slow down and let the game come to him. He has a good three point shot, but would be a lot better off catching and shooting rather than bringing the ball down the court and pulling up for three. Defensively I have nothing but good things to say, he makes up for his turnovers offensively by creating them defensively.  He was on the floor sliding after loose balls more times than I can count. He has good lateral quickness and great strength to provide problems defensively. All in all I feel like he could be poised for a break out year.
  • Tyler Terrell - 2009, 6’2” WG, Palmetto Ridge- Tyler had a breakout game during his first game of the tournament. Palmetto Ridge crushed Estero 74-11, and in part because of his resilience on defense and his ability to get up the court on fast breaks. He finishes well in transition, and has improved his jump shot a lot. He still will have trouble taking anybody off of the dribble because he lacks the explosiveness, but if he gets an open shot, he can knock it down. Defensively he was good with his hands and smart, he did not risk everything for a steal; rather he was patient in picking his spots. He is one of 8 seniors returning for a very good Palmetto Ridge team.
  • Colin Henry - 2010, 6’4” WG/WF, Fort Myers- Henry, to me, is one of the most underrated players in the area. He is both a bull dog and a work horse. He steps up to any challenge defensively, managing to shut down James Jackson for a good part of the Green Wave’s first game against Cypress Bay. He runs the floor well for a player of his size, and he has the commitment to the game that a coach loves in his players. He proved he is capable of knocking down the long range shot when he is open, and he has soft hands down low. However he is a little predictable with his move getting to the hoop. His hop step may have worked against smaller players but against 4’s and sometimes 5’s he is going to get blocked a lot unless he tweaks that move. I would like to see him drop his hips down low, in order to turn his strength into leverage against bigger players. Look for this kid to have a breakout season.
  • Jacquard Hagan - 2010, 5’11” PG/WG, Verot- Jacquard is definitely Thing 1 in the Thing 1 & Thing 2 combo that is the Verot backcourt. Players with Jacquards speed are often slashers with no shooting ability, however he has touch from behind the arc and consistency from the line that make him invaluable at this level. His game changing speed needs to be put to better because he is too timid around the rim. If he could work on his finishing with lay ups and become more aggressive as a whole offensively, then he will be a vital weapon for this Verot squad. 
  • Mikail Morgan- 2009, 6’4” WF, Port Charlotte- This kid was a walking mistmatch. He played the 5 on Defense but was sometimes bringing the ball down the floor on offense. He is a very unselfish player who is also a surprisingly gifted passer. He has length and height on defense making him a tough player to drive on. Though he does not always put his heart in it, he is capable of running the floor better than any player his size. This kid is a two sport stud that clearly showcased his athletic prowess this weekend.  He already has offers in football as a wide receiver from big time schools such as Syracuse just to name one.
  • Trey Boston - 2010, 6’1” WG, North Fort Myers- Boston has apparently shot up in height a lot since last year. In his first game his team beat Riverdale 38-27, he scored 27. In that game he was slicing to the hoop at will. However, when playing against more talented teams he was limited to only glimpses of potential. Being on such a talent barren team, he seems already disinterested and the season has not started yet. He does not want the ball enough and cannot get by bigger or faster defenders. He also needs to pick up his game defensively and start using his length to his advantage. He is very light on his feet and can score from beyond the arc. He just needs to spend a little more time focusing on the game and getting involved, and a lot more time bulking up and he will be a great player in this area.
  • Bobby Thomas - 2010, 6’0”, PG, Bishop Verot- Thing 2 of the backcourt duo at Verot.   If you could bottle KG into a 6’0’’ guard, then you would have Bobby. He plays with more heart and more determination than anybody I saw all weekend. He loves his team and loves basketball that much is clear every time he steps on the court. He also is the greatest communicator of any player I have ever seen. He is always talking to his teammates on both ends of the court, telling them what to do, or letting them know what he is doing.  He is a great slasher that has an uncanny ability to finish around the rim. His shot needs some work, and he needs to become a better distributor, but he proved this weekend that he is a legit player that deserves attention.
  • Sean Smikle - 2009- Palmetto Ridge- He had a very quiet weekend, and not in a good way. He needs to pick up his energy if he is going to live up to his potential. He is a tweener that is mobile enough to play the 3, but his team’s lack of size forces him to play inside. He has definitely mastered the turn around shot from the block, I saw him nail it multiple times in every game that I saw him play. He needs to become more involved in the offense, he is too talented to fade back and wait for his team mates to set him up. He needs to change his attitude if he is going to live up to his talent.
  • Reuben Riffin - 2010, 6’4” Post/WF, Golden Gate- Riffin is similar to Smikle in that he does not have the size to be a big at the next level and he has a lot of work in order to prove that he is capable of moving to the wing in order to play college basketball. His team got crushed in the Silver finals against a team with no height, CSN (I think PG Mitch Woods at 6’3” may be their tallest player or close to it), and he failed to take control of the game. When he did have the ball he looked competent but he needs to pick up his effort and intensity level, as well as prove that he has any kind of mid-range game as he refused to get involved on offense. Defensively he was sound, cleaning off the defensive glass all weekend. He did not look good against bigger players down low, as he got man handled by the frontcourts of Fort Myers and St. Thomas Aquinas. However he had a very solid game against a much bigger FCI team when it mattered most. All in all this kid is a work in progress but with a lot of elbow grease he could be a real stud going into 2010.
  • Troy Simmons - 2010, 5’11” PG, Dunbar- Simmons just transferred from Riverdale to Dunbar, and what a godsend he is. He proved capable of both taking it to the hoop and finishing with his left hand. He proved to be an exceptional ball handler with surprising strength in order to make up for his lack of explosiveness. He is competent at hitting threes, and is a pass first player that will do wonders for getting Paulk the ball. He pummeled a smaller Korenzo Smith in a losing effort, and scored in double digits in 3 of the 4 games I saw of his. As with Paulk my only question is passion. He seemed more involved in the offense than when I saw him just a month ago in Ft. Lauderdale but still lacked any real intensity on defense.
  • Nathan Howard - 2011, 6'4" WG, Bishop Verot- Probably not one of the biggest names this weekend, and there are probably players even on his team more worthy of this spot, but despite his age he looked good this weekend. He played smart on defense and has no conscience shooting whatsoever. He was aggressive at getting to the hole and has a great shooter’s touch. This kid is going to be special.

SWFLHoops.Com 2008 FGCU Camp All-Tournament 1st Team:

  • G) Mitch Woods (2010)- Community School of Naples
  • G) Brennen Melvin (2009)- Bishop Verot
  • F) James Jackson (2009)-Cypress Bay (Should have been mentioned earlier, definitely best player at the tournament, though he is not from SWFL)
  • F) Mikail Morgan (2009)- Port Charlotte
  • C) Josh Nicholas (2009)- Fort Myers HS

SWFLHoops.Com 2008 FGCU Camp All-Tournament 2nd Team:
  • G) D.J. Scott (2011)- Charlotte
  • G) Jacquard Hagan (2010)- Bishop Verot
  • G) Troy Simmons (2010)- Dunbar
  • F)  Colin Henry (2010)- Fort Myers HS
  • F) Blake Foeman (2009)- Cypress Bay (Also an amazing player that deserves mention, just not SWFL)

SWFLHoops.Com 2008 FGCU Camp All-Tournament Team (Junior Varsity)
  • G) Jason Maresca-2011- Charlotte
  • G) Alwyn Laplace- 2011- Port Charlotte
  • F) Tom Ebbel- 2011- Gulf Coast
  • F) Jack Ebbel- 2011- Gulf Coast
  • F) Tevin Westbrook- 2011- Cypress Bay

2008 FGCU Team Camp Recap
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