Event Report: Elite 96 Camp

<p>With the start of the 2015-16 Colorado high school basketballs season now only five weeks away, we have been feel a real palpable sense of excitement as we’ve gone through our weekly practice of talking to dozens of players and coaches. We saw more of that today at Lincoln High, where former Lafayette assistant coach Pete Schwethelm was running his Elite 96 camp.</p><p>Pete had a great recruiting seminar in the middle of event, bringing up a number of good points for players and their parents to focus on -- and some things to avoid -- during the recruiting process. One that resonated: Be proactive in your recruitment. It’s a message we’ve tried to convey since coming aboard in June. We want to help players of all levels create some exposure for themselves. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us with any kind of information about you recruiting you want us to share. Remember, our network is subscribed to by coaches across the country, so you never know what a coach may be looking for. You want to keep getting your name out there whenever you can.</p> <p>With that said, here are a few players that caught my eye during the time I was able to spend at Lincoln today.</p> <p><strong>Umar Jalloh, 6-foot-6 2017 wing, Lincoln:</strong> Jalloh, the younger brother of Colorado Hawks standout Alpha Diallo, is a rising, talented player in his own right. Jalloh demonstrated a complete feel for the game Saturday, handling smoothly in transition, hitting an outside jumper with great consistency and exploding to the rim, where he doesn’t often layup the ball up. He finishes with rim-shaking authority. If Jalloh’s outside jump shot stays consistent, he’s going to be a very dangerous offensive player.</p> <p><strong>Isiah Gilbert, 6-foot 2016 guard, Cherokee Trail: </strong>I saw Gilbert back in June, and his game has improved even since then. He is a very smooth ball-handler who can see the court a move ahead in transition. Good pull-up game and a deceptively quick ability to get to the rim. Averaged 4.5 points per game as a junior at CT last season, but I’d imagine he’ll have a bigger impact for that team this season.</p> <p><strong>Brian Read, 6-foot-6 2017 forward, Fort Collins: </strong>The versatile big man has gone to great lengths to improve his guard skills, as he knows he won’t be able to rely on post game all the time once he starts stacking up against bigs at the next level. Read plays with great energy and is a solid rebounder. It’s evident that his time with Billups’ dynamic 16U team this summer helped Read elevate his game.</p> <p><strong>Nick Holmes, 6-foot 2017 guard, Overland: </strong>Holmes is another guy who plays with a nice energy level. The left-hander is smooth in the open court and is crafty in getting to the basket. Has good range from the outside, just needs to work on getting that shot to be slightly more consistent. Athleticism makes him strong on the perimeter defensively. His motor and enthusiasm for the game should help the Trailblazers this season.</p> <p><strong>Cameron Horning, 6-foot-2 2016 guard, Glenwood Springs: </strong>Horning averaged 17.2 points per game for the Demons last season, and those who say, “Oh, well that’s 3A” likely haven’t seen him play. Horning has a great IQ for the game and always puts himself in position to make a productive offensive play, whether its coming tightly off screens for a quick-release jump shot or finding gaps on a drive, Horning does everything with deceptive quickness. Evidenced by his 51 percent clip from the floor last season and an 81 percent mark from the free throw line, Horning knows how to score efficiently.</p> <p><strong>Jamison Washington, 6-foot-1 guard, Lincoln. </strong>I’ve provided my take on Washington’s solid point guard game before, but the thing that stands out to me know is that Washington appears to be getting quite a bit bigger. He’s considerably more built than when we saw him at the Colorado Invitational in July. That will be key for him, as he certainly has a solid skill set. It will be interesting to see how he uses that increased size in his favor on the perimeter and attacking the basket.</p> <p> </p>