An After Christmas Treat: The Campbell Holiday Tournament
After 38 highly impactful years coaching at Campbell High School in Smyrna, and having the likes of “Ballin Like Mr. Clean” himself 2 Chainz among his former players, it seemed more than apropos for boy’s coach James Gwyn to have…
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Continue ReadingAfter 38 highly impactful years coaching at Campbell High School in Smyrna, and having the likes of “Ballin Like Mr. Clean” himself 2 Chainz among his former players, it seemed more than apropos for boy’s coach James Gwyn to have their beautiful 2-year old gym named after him. His Spartan squad welcomed Miami Brito from south Florida in the nightcap, and I was excited last Thursday to get my first look at Campbell’s multiple D-1 signees in wing Andrew Thomas (5, pictured above) and point guard Myson Lowe.
Myson LoweCampbell vs. Miami Brito – Headed to Mercer next fall, the 6-7 Thomas didn’t disappoint, and what I liked most about his game was his willingness and comfort in finding a pocket of space for jumpers between 8 feet and the 3-point arc. A sign of a player who knows his game and doesn’t force it beyond his comfort zone, he had multiple pull-up knockdowns from mid-range against the smaller and over-matched group from Miami. Long and athletic, he can run the floor beautifully and flush it in close. Mercer’s getting a terrific player who, at #45 on our rankings list, looked to me to have the ability of a high D-1 talent. The senior driven Spartans also feature Lowe at lead guard, and the 5-10 senior headed to Alcorn St. also showed why he’s so highly regarded. A skilled penetrator with a knack for finding the open man, he was simply too much to handle for Brito, but also showed off some offense of his own with 3-point range and an ability to create his own shot. It’s easy to be slightly overlooked in the Atlanta-area right now with the incredible depth of guard play, but Lowe surely belongs in the discussion. Senior shooting guard Jaylon Simpson is an excellent complement to Lowe, an uber athlete who can play both guard positions as well as slide to small forward at 6-2. Junior Chandler Jones came off Gwyn’s bench to spell Lowe and was an eye-catcher, an elite leaper and solid ballhandler at just 5-10, he is a clear player to watch in 2021 as he assumes a larger role.
Justin Coleman Jaiden Neville
Decatur vs. North Cobb – In the game prior, the Warriors out of Kennesaw just up I-75 impressed and upstaged the Decatur bunch who played so well at Westlake’s Thanksgiving tournament, coming on in the second half for a 65-57 win behind the play of guards Justin Coleman and Jaiden Neville. Coleman, a 6-3 senior, was all over the floor, aggressive off the dribble getting to the basket, active on the glass and on defense and showing versatility getting up and down the hardwood. After a quiet first half scoring-wise, he had 13 of his 14 total in the last two quarters, including going 9-11 from the FT stripe to help seal the game. Neville did a nice job handling the point against a slew of athletic Decatur guards showing a nice shooting touch as well, and like Coleman the 5-9 junior did his damage in the second half, getting a pair of big buckets and going 9-10 from the line. North Cobb got excellent contributions as well from two more guards in an oft-used 4-guard look, as junior Tyler Gorsuch did damage from the perimeter with 14 points (two 3’s) and senior Freddy Woods finished with 9 points and helped key his team’s second-half surge with some terrific on-ball defending.
Kasheem GradyDecatur, suiting up just 8 players, had a solid first half building a 27-21 lead, with 6-3 junior Kasheem Grady leading the way, as he buried two three-pointers (3 for the game) on his way to 10 points in the opening 2 stanzas. Senior Sherard Lucas, who was so impressive at Westlake, continued to show the fight off a bigger man playing the 5 at just 6-2, getting 11 points on the day and hustling and grinding his way on the glass. Superb senior point guard Travon Smith was bottled up offensively under relentless pressure by North Cobb, but he showed his quality handling the ball and distributing to teammates, and his quickness as an on-ball defender is on par with anyone in the area. Picking up some of the slack in the backcourt was senior 6-0 guard Mackenzie Norman, who had a nice evening with 10 of his 14 in that first half and showed no fear in slicing his way to the hoop or catching and finishing in close.