Names to Know From Follow Me Top 40 Camp

The Follow Me Top 40 Camp gave me another strong setting to evaluate young players in a competitive environment where traits have to show quickly. In these settings, I am watching offensive skill first: who can create, who can shoot, who can get to spots, who can initiate offense, and who can make the next read. From there, the evaluation moves to the other end: who competes, rebounds, contests, guards, and impacts possessions when the ball is not in their hands. This group had several players who showed offensive flashes with enough defensive or activity-based value to keep their names on the tracking list.    Ashtin is a versatile talent with the ability to play across multiple spots, and that versatility showed up in the way he impacted the game offensively and defensively. Offensively, he gave a glimpse of his lefty scoring comfort by getting to his spots and playing with enough feel to find scoring windows. He is a player who can operate from different areas of the floor and his impact is seen in the fact that he does not have to be locked into one role. He can be used as a connector, a scoring option in space, or a matchup problem depending on the group around him. His ability to play the 1-4 makes him a difficult cover because defenders have to respect him away from the ball and still account for his ability to attack when the ball is in his hands.     Anthony is a young PG with positional size, and that is a good starting point for his eval, because he is a young lead guard who showed promise running the show. Offensively, he showed three level scoring, and the deep ball provided immediate spacing value. He showed flashes of being able to get the offense started, connect actions, and help the group stay in a rhythm. He also did a good job attacking closeouts, creating paint-touches, and making good decisions in tight spaces. Defensively, I ant to see him continue to grow into using his size with discipline by staying in his stance and living low, containing the ball, and finishing possessions with rebounds or clean rotations.     Jeff is an athletic combo guard with a bag loaded with offensive tools. He showed scoring aggression, slashing ability, ball-screen burst, ability to make tough shots, and the ability to knock down the three. When he is attacking with purpose, his athleticism puts pressure on the defense because he can turn the corner and force help to react. He is really good at getting into the heart of the defense and creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates. He has the athletic pop and confidence to create, but the next step is using his tools to generate easier looks instead of living on difficult attempts.     Melvin is a young guard PG with a lefty scoring package that stood out which puts him into a category of being able to balance scoring and facilitating when a lot of the lead guard sin camp was focused on getting their looks. He has a multi-level scoring arsenal, transition craft that makes him dangerous in the open floor, and the ability to pressure the game in motion, meaning he attacks so quick that the defense can hardly get set. His left-handed scoring comfort gives him a natural rhythm with his production from the perimeter with his outside shot. What makes Melvin interesting is that he is not limited to one scoring lane. He can shoot it, create in transition, and get into offense when the floor is not perfectly spaced.     Cordi is a young wing who showed offensive creation ability and flashes of being the primary initiator of the offense. That is a valuable because wings who can start possessions, handle pressure, and create a look give coaches more lineup flexibility, and that is what Cordi is able to provide. He has enough handle and confidence to get into actions and make things happen. As he keeps the reads simple and make sure the creation leads to quality shots his playmaking is going to be a valuable asset when he is on the floor. Defensively, he showed consistent competitiveness with his size and athletic tools. He can guard wing matchups, rebound his position, and stayed active off the ball providing quality help.     Ocie is a small, young PG with a scoring-guard profile who can still run the show despite being a little more aggressive than what a true lead guard would be when it comes to scoring the rock. He scores from all levels and his mid-range touch was impressive. He looked like a rhythm scorer who can find areas of the floor where he is comfortable and when he was getting to his middle game it gave him a way to score when defenders ran him off the line or when the lane was not fully open. He was really good at controlling pace, handling pressure, and change of direction to get to his spots without over-dribbling.

The Follow Me Top 40 Camp gave me another strong setting to evaluate young players in a competitive environment where traits have to show quickly. In these settings, I am watching offensive skill first: who can create, who can shoot, who can get to spots, who can initiate offense, and who can make the next read. From there, the evaluation moves to the other end: who competes, rebounds, contests, guards, and impacts possessions when the ball is not in their hands. This group had several players who showed offensive flashes with enough defensive or activity-based value to keep their names on the tracking list.