Pangos: Parham Perspective
This past weekend in La Grange, IL the Midwest Pangos All-Midwest Frosh/Soph event was held for underclassmen. A great event where most of the top players in the Midwest show up just to show out. While PrepHoopsIllinois’ Scott Burgess has you covered with most of the players from the camp I have my own interesting players to check out.
BallisLife Tiny Guard Matchup
The mixtape matchup on Saturday was a fun full court 1 on 1 battle of small 2021 point guards in Kendall Martin vs Kevin (Boopie) Miller. Watch it here!
Kendall Martin (Fenwick) 5’5 2021
Martin has a strong physique for a freshman. He has a good handle and is more of a scoring guard who shoots it from deep range. He’s a good on ball defender who does a great job beating the ball handler to the spot he’s trying to get to. In his matchup against Boopie, he made numerous long range three pointers that got the crowd hyped. When Miller crowded him Kendall used his strength to drive to the bucket and make tough shots look easy. Kendall Martin has good intangibles that should have him see quality minutes as a Friar.
Kevin (Boopie) Miller (Morgan Park) 5’6 2021
Boopie is quick guard who has a bag of tricks in his handles when you try and guard him close. Miller was a grammar school favorite for years in Chicago and now he is transforming into a high school star as well. He mixes up his attacks depending on how he’s guarded. If you are worried he will get pass you and play off him he will just shoot the three and knock it down. In the 1 on 1 matchup he did the same made Martin look silly at times trying to crowd him on the perimeter and twice sent the crowd into a frenzy so much that the refs had to stop play during the game. Kevin is in place to be one of the next point guards for Morgan who has a strong history of next level guard play.
Time Flying By
3 years ago around this time I did an article on three 7th graders who dominated a high school fall l eague. Two of the kids were present at Pangos.
Troy D’Amico ( Niles Notre Dame) 6’5 2021
Troy has definitely gotten better with time. Now at 6’5” D’Amico has become a better shooter. He fits the mold of a stretch four man right now but also has the potential to put the ball on the floor and make plays. Troy is also very skilled in the post making several moves that & gets you excited to watch him for the next four years to come. He is attending Niles Notre Dame with Anthony Sales who is still a stud on the court but didn’t attend Pangos this year.
Elijah Bull (Evanston ) 2021
Bull was a pint size shooter in grammar school who has expanded his game more and is making strides at becoming a lead guard and not just a scoring guard. During the Pangos camp Elijah was looking to get his teammates involved instead of looking for his own shot. If given the space he took good shots that went in. Still small in stature Bull has a really good IQ for basketball which translates really well when you watch him. Elijah is now at Evanston with arguably the most talented freshman class in Illinois.
BITE SIZE Guards
I’ve already mentioned three freshman point guards who were who were 5’9 or smaller at the camp since I like even numbers I have to add another one.
Terrance “T Baby” Ford (Harlan) 5’7 2021
Ford is a high energy guard who will lock up on defense the full length of the floor and is a tenacious penetrator on the offensive side. T-baby is making the adjustments to high school pretty well, he gave guards fits over the weekend with his hard-nosed on ball D. He causes numerous turnovers by stealing the ball or speeding up the ball handler. On offense he’s fast with the ball can get in the lane and create for others. Still working on an outside shot but is effective with the ball. Terrance should see some significant time on varsity this winter.
Big Piece to a Puzzle
Bloom has three major players in their 2020 class in Dante Maddox, Keshawn Williams and Donovan Newby. Often missed is 6’9 Martice Mitchell.
Martice is a long and lanky big man who runs the court well and is often around the rim when he plays with a motor. Mitchell has a really big upside when he runs the floor consistently. He’s a great target to pick up points in transition. When the game is slowed down Martice is a face up 4 man type who can make 15 to 20 feet jump shots confidently. He didn’t do much in the pos0,t but he has time to develop that part of his game. On defense he changes and blocks shots and is very active on the boards. Mitchell will be a coveted big man when he becomes a senior.
Future Impact Makers
While most of the camp is full of sophmores and freshman you have a fair share of 8th graders who test the waters some and two from the Chicago area made an impact by making the Top 60 and 30 Game.
AJ Casey (Arbor Park Middle School) 6’7 2022
Dangerous 8th graders who has a high skill set that will make him a high major prospect once he reaches high school. He was selected to the Top 30 game.
Jaylen Drane (Ariel Middle School) 6’0 2022
Drane is a dynamic guard who we will find out more in the upcoming years. He was selected to the Top 60 Game at Pangos.