By Chris May
Contributing Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — The shoe camps have come and gone for the summer, and many recruiting fates have been sealed. While I watched the action at the Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis, there is no lack of information and opinions on the performances of Hoosier players at Reebokâ??s ABCD and the adidas Superstar camps in Atlanta.
Here is a breakdown of who did what, and what some scouts and reporters think about the performances of Indiana kids:
Nike
Jamil Tucker â??? The best Hoosier at Nike Camp in Indy did little to either help or hurt his recruiting ranking. Tucker, ranked 72nd in his class by scout.com and 125th by rivals.com, showed a propensity to try to run the point too often and bring the ball up the floor when he should have found the point guard, but weâ??ve known that about Jamil for a while. At this point, Tucker is dying to join the Ohio State Buckeyes, but Thad Matta can afford to be choosey with his scholarship recipients. Tucker was looking to announce for OSU July 11, but it appears he may be out of luck with the Buckeyes, leaving Southern Cal, Purdue, and Indiana as his top suitors.
Eâ??twan Moore â??? East Chicago Centralâ??s heady junior-to-be continued his solid summer play in Indianapolis during camp. Moore was placed on a camp team that included one of the top guards in the class of 2007, Derrick Rose from Chicago, but managed to play well. Moore has another year on the summer circuit, and his scholarship offers (currently Iowa and Purdue) are sure to increase. He claims IU has not recruited him, and he is therefore unlikely to consider Mike Davis & Co.
Robbie Hummel â??? Indianaâ??s high riser of this recruiting season, Hummel was buried deep on what was one of the top two teams at Nike. Hummel is a kid that isnâ??t selfish enough to excel in this type of setting, yet showed the skills necessary to play at the upper-Division I level. He knocked down 3-pointers when left open, but I felt he had some difficulty creating his own shot in the games. Look for the Valparaiso star to continue to grow physically (heâ??s sprouted 10 inches in the last year and a half) as well as improve his game with SYF, and there is absolutely no doubt that more scholarship offers are on their way.
Gary McGhee â??? A first look at the 6â??9â?, 250-pounder from Anderson Highland proved that the big guy has some work to do on his game, but heâ??s an interesting prospect. Watching early on Day 2, McGhee looked soft and intimidated, but he improved his showing after his second or third rotation into the game. McGhee ultimately showed a very nice turnaround post-up basket and contributed with a put-back slam. It appears he is still grasping an understanding of the game and looked to be a step slow defensively, but he has some size to work with. A subsequent recruiting article quoted McGhee as saying North Carolina is his current favorite; it will take quite a bit of improvement to get to that level. The only offer he has thus far is from Dan Dakich at Bowling Green.
Cordell Passley â??? Pikeâ??s sophomore-to-be has improved from last summer and looked much more composed this year. Passley has already committed to Tennessee and was watched by Vols head coach Bruce Pearl and an assistant, but he still has plenty of room to improve. In the game I caught, the 6â??2â?, 193-pounder showed good defensive effort, but I felt he dribbled the ball into a couple of bad spots offensively.
Reebokâ??s ABCD Camp
Greg Oden â??? Oden lived up to his No. 1 ranking with a stellar camp, including a dominant performance over 6â??9â? challenger Kevin Love. Love, ranked as high as third in the class of 2007, reportedly skipped an invite to Nike Camp for the exclusive chance of taking on Oden; he may have regretted the experience. Oden caused numerous problems and forced the Oregonian to 3-of-11 shooting and only three rebounds, while the Lawrence North star was 6 for 7 from the floor and grabbed nine boards. Oden also got redemption on Derrick Character from all accounts. Last summer, Character schooled Oden at the camp, a fact admitted by Oden. A late-week meeting between the two this tie around, however, was much more competitive. Character outscored Oden 13-12, but was a less-than-stellar 5 of 13 from the floor. Oden was efficient as always with his shot, going 5 of 7 for 12 points; both players had four rebounds. Most scouts and reporters in attendance claim Oden was the best performer of the camp: He was named one of two senior players of the week and participated in the campâ??s all-star event until a back injury early in the game limited him.
Mike Conley â??? Reports have Conley as another top performer in New Jersey. Coupled with current AAU and future college teammates Oden and Daequan Cook, Conley was able to distribute the ball effectively but also scored when needed, including a 19-point performance Thursday. In the All-Star event, Conley notched 11 points; also of note was the fact that his team was the winner.
Marques Johnson â??? The Fort Wayne Snider senior and future Tennessee Volunteer impressed many with his performance at the camp. Johnsonâ??s game has received quite a bit of compliment in the past few weeks between the NBA Players Camp and ABCD.
Eshaunte Jones â??? Another Fort Wayne kid (North) who went to New Jersey. It doesnâ??t sound like he was spectacular, but he showed promise in his games. He must have some upside: Jones told reporters UCLA, Louisville, Miami, and Kansas are after him the hardest.
adidas Superstar
Eric Gordon â??? The North Central junior was the marquee Indiana participant in Atlanta last week and, by all accounts, one of the top performers. Parting from AAU teammates Oden and Conley, Gordon went south to display his smooth jumper. While at the camp, Gordon reiterated that Illinois is his top college choice right now, with IU, Notre Dame, Missouri, Kentucky, and Miami also in the running.
Coming up on the July basketball schedule are the Las Vegas events beginning around July 22. Thatâ??s another evaluation period that college coaches will use to get a better look at players.
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