The Phenom Hoop Report’s 2nd Annual Basketball Elite Summer Showcase evaluation with Cory Hanes(High Point Central) and others

Courtesy of Rick Lewis at The Phenom Hoop Report/www.phenomhoopreport.com…..

Phenom Quote of the Day: “Playing hard should be the norm rather than the
exception”

Phenom Question of the Day: “Would you rather coach this kid every game of
the year or coach against him twice a year.”

Phenom Hoop Report Philosophy: “Balanced, thorough and detailed evaluations
based upon the 3 P’s philosophy of Performance, Production, and Potential”

After covering many different events this past spring, there is one thing
for certain and it is not enough emphasis in recruiting is placed on
winning. Do you win and make your team better relative to the overall
talent? In our coverage of the Nike EYBL in Hampton, Virginia last week, we
tried to capture just that and not take the “cookie cutter” approach that is
often seen today. Without question, our game summaries were a “grand slam”
with our readers/subscribers. One coach had shared this comment and it still
stands out, “would you rather coach this kid twice a year or coach against
this kid twice a year” and this comment makes perfect sense. But the best
comment came from a coach that stated the following about the Phenom Hoop
Report. “This is great stuff with heartfelt input. You are right; knowing
how to win is a key component that is a lost art even by top rated players.
They tend to focus on getting better and building the supporting cast around
them better. I have read all of your material; you have a true eye for
talent and a great sense of verbal expression that puts the reader in the
moment.” In addition, the Phenom Hoop Report tries to cover events at all
levels, especially local and regional events like the 2nd Annual
Southeastern Summer Showcase sponsored by Marcus Shockley and staff of
Basketball Elite. The Southeastern Showcase was held at the beautiful campus
of Forsyth Country Day in Lewisville, North Carolina. Over 75 players were
in attendance and one thing was for certain, the high school prospects
played with passion and played hard!

The best player in attendance and camp MVP belonged to 6’1 2013 PG Charis
Fitzgerald of West Gadsden HS in Quincy, Florida. The town of Quincy is
located in the Florida panhandle approximately 30 minutes northeast of
Tallahassee. The trip from Quincy to North Carolina must have been a long
journey for the relative nationally unknown player, but this young man is
definitely a player division one colleges should monitor over the spring and
summer months. While he may project as a mid major level player , this young
man made a big impression on us. Listed at 6’1, Fitzgerald plays much bigger
than his listed height. He has a physically mature body and long arms. He
has a quick and powerful bounce to his step and he combines athleticism and
skill that was head and shoulders above the competition. He has good open
court speed and advanced ball handling and passing skills, but his biggest
attribute is his ability to shoot the basketball. He was simply dialed in
from deep and shot the cover off the ball. In one 5 minute segment, he came
down in transition on three consecutive possessions and tickled the net
which time. He was shooting threes of the dribble, off pick and rolls, you
name it Fitzgerald absolutely loved the nets at the Forsyth Country Day
School. In addition to his superb shooting touch, he was efficient in his
pump fakes and jab steps, which is rarely seen at his level today.

One of the most improving young players in the 2014 class is 6’1 PG Colton
Bishop of Forsyth Country Day School and is now getting serious attention
from SoCon and Big South schools. Make no mistake about it; the “gym rat”
list of schools will grow rapidly this summer and next season. Colton is a
long 6’1 and also sports good bounce off the dribble. He is a very unselfish
player and showcased his passing skills as he continuously made lengthy
passes off the dribble (using both hands easily and efficiently) for nice
pitch ahead assists that were dead on. He has been ability to stretch the
defense with his accurate three- point shooting, and is excellent with his
left to right cross over pull up jumper. In transition, he favored the one
handed “inside-out” cross over move that would have made Bobby Hurley
envious, but our favorite move was when he switched hands from right to left
to make a beautiful transition layup against a bigger defender. The next
step in his development is to become more vocal and learn the leadership
role that comes with being a division one PG.

One of the fastest guards in the state of North Carolina is 6’2 2014 PG
Larry Curry of East Forsyth HS in Kernersville. Curry has “jet like”
quickness/speed in the open court and has good size, strength, and power for
a young PG. It would be hard-pressed to find another NC PG with more end to
end speed with the ball than this young man. While he is a lefty, Curry
loves to attack using his right hand only to cross over to his left hand for
his mid-range jumper or direct move to the basket. Another favorite move by
Curry is the “euro step” in transition as the young and talented PG has
strong body control. That being said, the one move that was even more
impressive was his put back dunk off a missed shot as he elevated above the
rim for the mix tape highlight jam. The next step in his development is to
become a more efficient shooter from the perimeter to expand his overall
value.

2013 6’7 WF Craig Hinton of East Forsyth of Kernersville, NC may challenge
Donte Buford as the state’s best dunker. It seems to be old habit that both
players have run out of closet space to house the many slam dunk contest
trophies and the Southeastern Showcase was no exception. The explosive and
wiry WF gets anyway close to the basket; you know he is going to “throw it
down.” He will need to diversify his offensive perimeter skills to garnish a
division one offer, but many schools are definitely sniffing around and
don’t be surprised if his first division one offer comes sooner than later.

Other players that made an impression were 6’7 2013 PF TqQuan Biting of Mt.
Tabor HS in Winston-Salem, NC. He looks more physically mature and has toned
down quite a bit from the last time watching him play at the DTCC. Biting
does post up well on the interior and gets good positioning with his feet.
He did get wide and low and did a solid job of calling for the ball, but
more importantly he was effective in knocking down the mid-range jumper from
the free throw line that is appealing. He has good fundamentals and runs
well in offensive transition, but would like the same effort in defensive
transition. He has improved a lot since we first watched him as a freshman
at the NC Phenom 150 camp and his improvement is steady and forward! 6’6
2013 WF David “Tyler” Rose of Calvary Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC is an
intriguing prospect that showed good mobility and is versatile for his
size/position. We were surprised by his handles in the open court, but more
importantly has a soft shooting touch from the perimeter. With added
strength, Rose could easily position him as a potential division one
prospect. 6’5 2014 Corey Hanes of High Point Central was a surprise player.
We were impressed with his hardnosed and blue collar work ethic on the
court. He hustled on both ends of the court, but really handled the ball in
the open court well. He has surprising athleticism and made numerous
baseline moves with a quick bounce off the dribble for impressive dunks. He
has excellent body control. We really liked his ball handling and passing
skills for his size/position and if he fine tunes his outside jumper, he
could elevate his status to a division one prospect. He could use a quicker
release on his jumper. 6’4 Lepreece Lynch of Mt. Tabor HS in Winston-Salem
is a smooth and athletic WG that is fundamentally sound. He has uncanny body
control and rarely took a poor shot. He was patience on offense and loved
his steady diet of pump fakes and jab steps to get defenders off their feet.
More importantly, he was a solid defender and took pride in his defense
which was impressive. 6’2 2014 SG Spencer Scott of Charlotte Christian is
growing rapidly into a solid prospect. He has good strength and sports a
feathery touch from 15-20 feet. 6’3 2013 PG/SG Oshon West of North Rowan HS
in Salisbury, NC is a strong and powerful guard. He uses his strength well
getting into the paint where he finishes with at a high rate. 6’3 2013 WF
Trey Mitchell of Olympic HS in Charlotte is a wiry and long athletic wing
that is outstanding in transition, but his ability to set screens correctly
and properly along his overall team defensive understanding made a strong
impression on us. He also was efficient at boxing out, again not a trait
often seen at showcase events. Last, 6’4 2015 Zaqwuan Matthews of Myers Park
in Charlotte, NC has all the looks to be a solid division one prospect and
his skill sets definitely matched his athleticism. While the 2015 appears to
be a rather weak class in North Carolina, he just could be one of the more
talked about rising sophomores in the state. Below is the All Star Roster
produced by Basketball Elite. Congratulations to all the players who were
selected.

All-Star Rosters:

Jameal Robinson, 6’3″, SG, 2013, Greer SC (Greer HS)
Daryl Myers, 5’10”, PG, 2015, Fredericksburg, VA (Oak Hill)
Ty’Quan Bitting, 6’7″ PF, 2013, Winston-Salem, NC (Mt. Tabor HS)
Tyler Rose, 6’6″, SG/SF, 2013, Pfafftown, NC (Calvary Baptist)
Oshon West, 6’3″, SG 2013, Spencer, NC (North Rowan HS)
Lepreece Lynch, 6’4″, SG, 2013, Winston-Salem, NC (Mt. Tabor HS)
Craig Hinton, 6’6″, SF, 2013, Kernersville, NC (East Forsyth HS)
Parker Smith, 6’1″, PG/SG, 2013, Winston-Salem, NC (RJ Reynolds HS)
Charis Fitzgerald 6’1 PG/SG 2013 Quincy, FL (West Gadsden HS)
Colton Bishop 6’1 PG/SG 2014 Winston-Salem, NC (Forsyth Country Day)
Trey Mitchell, 6’4″, SG/SF, 2013 Charlotte, NC (Olympic HS)
Zaqwuan Matthews, 6’4″, SF, 2015 Charlotte, NC (Myers Park HS)
Michael Bowman, 6’1″, 2014, G, Spencer, NC (North Rowan HS)
Cory Hanes, 6’5 SF/PF 2014 High Point, NC (High Point Central HS)
Larry Curry, 6’2″ PG/SG 2014 Winston-Salem, NC (East Forsyth HS)
Nehemiah Stafford, 5’11 PG/SG 2013 Fleetwood, NC (Ashe County HS)
Broderick Avery-Ellis, 5’8 PG/SG 2014 Cleveland, NC (North Hills Christian
School)
Enoch Koudja, 6’3 PG/SG Charleston, SC (Christian Sports Academy)
Jalen Ford, 5’9″, PG, 2012, High Point, NC (Andrews HS)
Kendrick Stukes, 5’10 PG, 2014 Thomasville, NC (Thomasville Prep)
Jake Turner 5’10 PG/SG 2014, Clayton, NC (Clayton HS)
Michael Conner, SG, 6’1, 2014, Spencer, NC (North Rowan)
Nigel Williams 6’2 PG/SG 2012 Charlotte, NC (Queen City Prep)
Evan Peatross, 6’3 PG/SG 2013 Pfafftown, NC (Reagan HS)