KAMO Hoops Prospect Camp 2020: Class of 2021 Top Performers
KAMO Hoops put together a very solid prospect camp this past Saturday in Kansas City. The gym was filled with some of the top prospects in Kansas, hidden gems, and a ton of college coaches. The style of play was…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingKAMO Hoops put together a very solid prospect camp this past Saturday in Kansas City. The gym was filled with some of the top prospects in Kansas, hidden gems, and a ton of college coaches.
The style of play was competitive, up and down, and high level so it helped bring out the best in a lot of the players in attendance. The class of 2021 is who I was able to check out this Saturday and here were some of the stand out performers from the event.
Nathan Johnson, 6’3 Guard, Washington High School
The 6’3 Washington guard was arguably the most consistently impressive guard throughout the afternoon at the KAMO camp. He has a great combination of size, smoothness, and strength from the guard spot that makes him really tough to guard. The comfort level and skill he has with the ball in his ands makes him a threat to score from all three levels and he flashed his play making ability by finding guys on passes in tight windows or in traffic after drawing defenders on drives. Johnson showed off the shooting touch knocking down a couple of catch and shoot threes and some pull up jumpers from both the mid range and three point areas. His shooting stroke is very consistent and has very little waisted motion. He is a tough finisher on drives and is crafty in his finishes, mixing in a solid variety of moves to keep shot blockers guessing.
Preston Reynolds Preston Reynolds 6'4" | CG Shawnee Mission East | 2021 State KS , 6’4 Guard/Wing, Shawnee Mission East
Reynolds has always been an impressive prospect for me to watch, and Saturday at the KAMO Prospect camp was no different. His length and versatility made him a nightmare matchup on Saturday as he exploited the defense on multiple possessions when cross matched with post players. What was really impressive in those situations is that he did not just solely rely on jump shots, but got by the mismatch and finished at the rim, or put the help side defense in a bind and found shooters on the perimeter. His relentlessness at the rim in both the half court and in transition really stood out and he finished with great efficiency.
Cooper Starks, 6’2 Guard, Pembroke Hill
Starks is a really complete guard that flourished on Saturday both on and off the ball. He showed that he can be a tremendous cutter on Saturday, and with his athletic ability was able to catch passes on his back cuts and finish at the rim with ease. The Pembroke guard is also very strong off the bounce and attacks defenders with a purpose off of the dribble. With his size at the guard spot, jumping ability, and body control, Starks performed well at the rim constantly finishing layups high above the rim or getting his ball off the glass. He compliments his attacking ability with a nice looking jump shot with a solid stroke and he knocked down an array of shots from around the perimeter. He is just an overall solid guard who makes plays in a variety of ways.
Michael Cahill Michael Cahill 5'11" | PG St James | 2021 State KS , , St. James Academy
For an extended stretch in the second half of one of his games Saturday, no one in the gym could guard Cahill. He absolutely dominated for a period of time, lighting his opponents up from the 3 point arch, hitting pull up baseline jumpers, and hitting shots off the bounce coming off of screens. It was an absolute shooting and scoring show that the St. James guard put on and it was fun to watch. Cahill has tremendous balance on his shot and can get it off consistently off the dribble, off screens, and on simple catch and shoot situations. Although his shooting ability was off the charts, he was a 3 level scorer on Saturday, showing off a tremendous floater, quick and powerful pull up jumper, and can get himself into the paint.
Cameron Matthews, 6’ Point Guard, Blue Springs
Matthews had a very solid day and showed the college coaches in attendance that he is a guard that they need to keep an eye on for sure. He has a nice well rounded skill set and helped pace his team along in the two games that they played. From the point guard spot, he stood out the most in the pack and playing with guys who can shoot the ball like Tanner Hecht Tanner Hecht 6'5" | CG Wamego | 2021 State KS helped him show off his ability to get his teammates involved and put them in spots to succeed. Matthews was very strong with ball, got into gaps consistently, lived at the rim, and he knocked down a compliment of 3 point shots himself.
Will Townsend Will Townsend 6'8" | PF Shawnee Mission East | 2021 State KS , 6’8 Forward, Shawnee Mission East
Townsend once again showed off his versatility and why he is ranked so highly in the class of 2021 for Kansas on Saturday’s KAMO Prospect camp. He has a great frame to go along with his 6’8 length and it does not slow him down with his movements. On the day, Townsend was able to hit a couple of nice trailer spot three balls which will be a huge shot for him at the next level, and showed his ability to catch the ball from that spot and make plays either scoring or hitting open teammates. His versatility also made him a tough guard for anyone in the gym on Saturday. The Shawnee Mission East forward had a great day on the defensive and offensive glass as well turning those boards into break out transition opportunities, extra possessions for his team, and points for himself.
Elijah Corner, 6’5 Forward, Ruskin High School
Corner is a player who I was unfamiliar with prior to Saturday, but from this point forward I won’t forget him or how he plays. He was constantly playing hard throughout the day and was one of the best court running forwards or posts on throughout the games Saturday. His effort and ability to beat other “bigs” down the court got him great success scoring the ball and put him in nice situations on the offensive end. Corner was a willing and solid passer, especially on a highlight play for him catching and facing from the mid post and hitting a diving guard for a layup, the play showed a lot of ability on Corner’s end. The Ruskin forward also showed off his nice jumper knocking down a wide variety of jump shots including short corner turn arounds, transition threes, elbow jumpers, and one dribble pull ups from about 17 feet out. Corner was a fun player to watch, and was a stand out from the get go.