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Hoop Group Elite Camp Notebook: Friday, July 17

07/19/2015, 11:45am EDT

By Teddy Bailey, Jeff Griffith, and Ari Rosenfeld

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld),
Jeff Griffith (@Jeff_Griffith21) &
Teddy Bailey (@TheTeddyBailey)
--

READING, Pa. -- For the second week in a row, Albright College played host to hundreds of high school basketball players from different parts of the country in the Hoop Group Elite 2 Camp. On the final day of action, the camp’s top players took part in their championship games, as well as various all-star games showcasing the best talent the camp had to offer.

Here’s a notebook and some standouts from day three at Albright:

Malik Johnson (2016/Blue Ridge School, Va.)
At 5-foot-8, Malik Johnson isn’t exactly the tallest player on the court.

Not even close.

Nonetheless, the rising senior from Virginia is optimistic about the advantages that come from his smaller build and made his presence known despite the size drop-off during Hoop Group’s second Elite camp of July.

“I never look at it as a bad thing because I use it to my advantage, being quicker than those bigger guys, so I wouldn’t say my height is an issue,” he said.

As far as the big picture of his future in basketball as he transitions out of high school, Johnson’s height doesn’t seem to be hurting him in that regard either, at least not as much as it may seem.

“I don’t think it affected [my recruiting],” Johnson said. “I just don’t think I got that much exposure yet and the chance to show what I can really, really do.”

The Blue Ridge School guard, whose brother Robert just wrapped up a strong freshman season at Indiana, has already built up a decent list of low-major Division I offers from the likes of Tennessee-Chattanooga and Louisiana-Monroe.

He’s also generated interest from recent NCAA Tournament teams like Wofford, East Tennessee State, and Cleveland State, but the two that have offered him still seem to stand above the rest. Of those who have yet to offer scholarships, the head coaches plan to watch him play later this summer in Las Vegas.

“What I like about Chattanooga is the style of play that the coach is telling me that they want, and a chance to play my freshman year right away, or compete to play,” he said. “[Their coach is] telling me that I could do a lot of pick-and-roll, and that’s what I love to do, so that really stands out,” he added.

Johnson said he felt the similarly about Louisiana-Monroe, citing it as a school that competes alongside UT-Chattanooga in the Sun Belt Conference, and that he knows the Warhawks’ point guard, Nick Coppola, who also hails from Virginia.

Deciding between these schools won’t be easy for Johnson with such similarities in interest and level of play, but according to Johnson, it will come relatively soon.

Johnson intends to take official visits to both schools on his list and plans to make his decision before he begins his senior of high school, meaning the choice will likely be final by the beginning of September.

Wabissa Bede (2017/Cushing Academy, Mass.)
In the wake of live recruiting periods, there are always players that see their stocks rise significantly. In essence, their recruiting blows up.

Enter Wabissa Bede.

The 6-foot-1 point guard from Massachusetts entered April with just one Division-I offer; New Hampshire. Now, nearly four months later, Bede has the fortune of listing a laundry list of schools that are after him.

In addition to UNH, Bede boasts offers from La Salle, high-majors Boston College and Providence, as well as Rhode Island, UMass, Chattanooga and Bryant.

The reason is clear for the New England guard; his shooting. At Hoop Group’s Elite Session II, Bede showed his new and improved outside scoring arsenal. Combine his sheer scoring ability with his natural athleticism and there’s the answer to why the rising junior has been a hot commodity this summer.

“They like how I play,” Bede said of why he thinks that his recruiting has blown up. “They like the outside shot I have because I improved it since last year and how I got more athletic than last year.”

Bede will transfer from North Andover to Cushing Academy for his junior season and has reclassified to the 2017 recruiting class. It would be a severe understatement to say that he is eager to play for Cushing.

“I am very excited about playing for Cushing next year, I like the school and basketball program. It’s a great place for me to start my next step. I’ll have great competition. The NEPSAC, some people can argue it’s the best league in the country. It’s very tough, a lot of good players there.”

Even better, he’ll be playing with some familiar faces. 2017 wing Kimani Lawrence, a teammate of Bede’s in the Elite Session II Top 20 All-Star game, will join Jarrod Simmons and Greg Kuakumensah at Cushing Academy.

“We all met ‘cause me, Jarrod, and Greg all play Mass Rivals [AAU] together,” Bede said. “And we all knew Kimani because we played him multiple times.”

Bede was named the MVP of Elite Session II’s entirety, and rightfully so. He scored at will for the majority of the camp’s final day while still finding his teammates all around the court - a rarity for some of these camps.

“It was good,” Bede said of this past week.” I had a lot of fun with the players on my team and we really gelled together towards the end of the week. I love playing with Kimani [Lawrence]. I think I composed myself on the court. I’m more of a general, pass first.”

Recruiting wise, Bede is appealed to the thought of staying in the New England area for college. The high-major prospect has been hearing from Xavier, George Mason and George Washington, among others. With performances such as Friday, that list will surely expand.

Holding a La Salle offer, Bede seemed delighted with the Explorers’ coaching staff and what the school has to offer.

“Yeah, I talked to Coach [John] Giannini. He’s a great guy and I really like Coach [Sean] Neal too.”

Tucker Lescoe (2016/Cocalico, Pa.)
Tucker Lescoe can flat out shoot. He’s shown it at Cocalico High School for the past three years and he’s shown it at offseason camps for just as long.

Where Lescoe hasn’t been able to show his pure shooting stroke, is on the AAU circuit. He’s buried beneath a potent Team Final 17U backcourt rotation of Tony Carr, Lonnie Walker, Nazeer Bostick, Vaughn Covington and Josh Sharkey.

The 6-foot-1 guard appeared in ten of Team Final’s 15 games in April and May, averaging just 5.5 minutes per game. His shooting, meanwhile, is still there. The fundamentally sound from Denver, Pa. shot 11 of 22 (50 percent) from beyond the arc - his bread and butter.

“I take that as my pride right there, shooting-threes.” Lescoe said. “I knock them down whenever I can.”

Lescoe clearly has the talent to contribute consistently for one of the area’s top AAU programs - he showed it time and time again at Hoop Group’s Elite Session II last week. The rising senior, though, would rather play as a role player amongst some of the most highly touted recruits around.

“I think it’s worth it,” Lescoe said of his role on Team Final. “I like being loyal to the team, too. You get so much exposure, even in practices because you’re playing with some of the best players around.”

While Team Final boasts and produces some of the best talent on the eastern seaboard, possibly even beyond, its Peach Jam was a little sour during the live recruiting period. Lescoe’s AAU team went just 1-4 in North Augusta, defeating Team CP3 (N.C.) as its lone win. With Tony Carr suffering a hip injury that kept him out of the tournament, Lescoe was finally able to play a little more in the spotlight.

“As a team, it was a little rough,” Lescoe said of Peach Jam. “It was good for me because I got a little more playing time than usual, so I got a chance to show what I could do. I’ve been working all spring to get out on the court for us.”

At Cocalico High, meanwhile, it’s a different role for Lescoe. He’s the guy there. Celebrating his 1,000th point during his junior season, Lescoe has scored in double figures all three seasons. The Eagle averaged 21.5 points per game last year, draining 95 3-pointers - seven games included five or more triples. The Eagles were bounced from the first round of their district playoffs, but according to Lescoe, they should be back there.

“My junior season was good, I scored my 1000th point in my junior year,” Lescoe said. “I’d like to make it further in the state playoffs so I can play teams like Roman and Goretti. We only lost two seniors last year so we got a strong 2016 class coming back. We have an athletic group with people that can shoot it, we should be good.”

Lescoe boasts an aesthetically-impressive jump shot to go along with a strong distribution mind. The aspiring Division-I player holds a D-II offer from American International College and has been hearing from Boston U, Army, Bucknell, Penn, Brown, and others. Lescoe is appealed to high-academic schools, citing that his college decision is more than just basketball. The rising senior knows how monumental this summer will be to his recruiting. Being named to the Senior All-Star game in Elite Session II will surely help the cause.

“I played pretty well this week, shot the ball really well consistently all week, now I’m trying to just work on my defense. “I feel like I’m pretty close, I gotta keep working for it. I think that they need to see me create my own shot, create for others and defend on the ball.”

Quick Hits
--Rasir Bolton (2018/Life Church Academy, Va.), even as one of the younger players in the top division of the camp, proved himself as possibly the best true floor general in the entire event. The 5-foot-10 point guard plays a great floor game, as he seems to see plays develop before they happen and always remains a step ahead of the defense. Bolton has the ability to score from all three levels, with an uncanny arsenal of pull-up jumpers and floaters for a player his age. It’s easy to see why local schools like Virginia Tech, Richmond, and Hampton have already extended offers, with James Madison, Clemson, and Stanford having expressed interest as well. Bolton made the Top 20 All Star game at Albright as just a rising sophomore, but is still focused on improving over the rest of the live periods: “I think I’ve played pretty good, but it’s always room to get better,” adding that he’s working on, “dominating the game. Not by scoring, but just dominating the game.”

--Tyrn Flowers (2016/Sacred Heart, Conn.) wasn’t necessarily the flashiest player on the court this week, but got the job done in a variety of ways that surely impressed some scouts. The 6-foot-7 forward has grown three inches since his sophomore year and is really using that extra size to his advantage, both in his length on the defensive end and ability to get to the rim on offense. The downside of that sudden late growth is that his size isn’t something he’s completely learned how to fully use, but with his athleticism, there could be a very high ceiling, one that’s been growing about as quickly as he has. Flowers, who reportedly has an offer from Massachusetts, intends to take an post-graduate year of basketball after his senior year at Sacred Heart. He’s not completely sure where he’ll be playing, but said the highest choice currently on his list is Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, which has recently turned out top college talent like C.J. Fair, Mitch McGary, and Thomas Robinson.

--Tyrone Cohen Jr. (2016/Christ the King, N.Y.) was yet another strong backcourt prospect, who has the look of a very strong mid-major point guard. At 6-foot-3, he plays the game with great pace, really running the team and dictating the tempo of the game. However, he’s got the athletic ability to put his foot on the gas when he wants to and blow by defenders before finishing well above the rim. Cohen comes from two strong programs, playing at Christ the King and for the New York Rens on the AAU circuit, both of which have a number of high-major guards on their current teams. His recruitment hasn’t reached that realm, as he currently holds offers from Fairfield, Brown, Yale, Canisius, and Fordham, with interest of San Francisco, George Washington, and “most of the Patriot League schools. Right now, he seems to be leaning towards going the high-academic route, which would presumably land him in the Patriot or Ivy League: “It’s good because once basketball is over, I’ve got to have a backup plan, so graduating from one of those schools is probably the best way to go,” he said. “I’m questioning it, it’s definitely in my mind.”