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CoBL Performance Camp Standouts (Aug. 30)

08/30/2015, 10:30pm EDT

By Josh Verlin & Daniel Newhart

Anthony Guilardi (above) was one of several standouts at Sunday's CoBL Performance Clinic at Nexxt Level Sports. (Photo: Abigail Hoffer/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Danny Newhart (@dan_newhart)
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VOORHEES, N.J. -- CoBL held its first Performance Clinic of the fall on Sunday at Nexxt Level Sports, with the NLS staff putting 40 area high school hoopers through a competitive and tiring afternoon of basketball and more.

After a brief warm-up, the participants spent the next two hours going through a variety of stations that focused on defense, passing, shooting and dribbling as well as some agility and footwork exercises before finishing off with an hour of 5-on-5 games on Nexxt Level’s two courts.

Here are some standouts from the clinic as determined by the CoBL scouts in attendance:

Kevin Brown (2016/Cherokee)
One of several Cherokee players who came out and impressed was the Chiefs’ senior shooting guard, who was one of the best in the camp at creating for himself in 1-on-1 drills. Brown is a crafty scorer who knows when to blow by his defender for a layup or when to slow things down and work off the bounce, hitting several tough jumpers with a hand in his face. And while some guards are focused only on scoring, Brown takes equal pride in his defense--especially when matched up against one of his high school teammates. He's going to have a lot of Division III schools in pursuit this year, and could even get some D-II looks if he can show a more consistent outside shot and be a little more careful with his shot selection.

Eric Esposito (2018/Conwell-Egan)
A left-handed slasher with a nice build for a shooting guard, Esposito displayed a nice off-the-dribble jumper and an accurate mid-range shot as well. Can blow by defenders, but needs to work on protecting the ball after the initial move. Handle in both directions is pretty good, however needs to penetrate to the rim more and avoid dribbling side-to-side. Esposito saw limited action last season, mostly at the junior varsity level for a Conwell-Egan team that brought home the PIAA Class AA state title this past season. CEC brings quite a bit from last year, so while Esposito might be a year away from making a name for himself on the high school circuit, he will be able to learn from his older teammates and know what it is like to be in a winning environment.

Grant Gibson (2016/Cherokee)
One of the oldest players at the camp was Cherokee's big man, and his experience showed on the courts and in workouts. While many of the younger players were worn out after the first two hours, Gibson played hard all afternoon long, and his motor paid off. The 6-foot-6 power forward has a decent face-up game but is relentless within 10 feet of the rim, utilizing a number of spin moves and fade-aways to get his shot off, and he can score with both hands under the basket. Defensively, he does a good job of staying down on his man and has a good understanding of help defense; he also rebounds well for his area and displays solid hands. Gibson isn't the fleetest of foot but he knows what his job is and he does it well.

Anthony Giulardi (2017/Rancocas Valley)
A hustle player and scrappy on-ball defender with good court vision. In a 5-on-5 game toward the end of the clinic, jumped into the bleachers to save the jump ball. Though he is slight of build--5-9 and 150 pounds--Guilardi showed he is not afraid to play physically and fight through contact. He showcased good ball handling, patience in pick-and-roll situations offensively, and was consistently able to use his first step to blow by defenders. Once down low the crafty guard used ball fakes and his body to shield off defenders and get his shots off. Guilardi also guarded several players bigger than him at the defensive end exceptionally, beating his man to the spot consistently. His jump shot as well as his shooting mechanics could use some tweaking, but overall the rising junior performed very well.

James Hines III (2017/Camden)
Hines III is also slight of build--5-foot-10 and 150 pounds--but his agility when driving to the rim and raw athleticism were impressive. Like most young left-handed players, Hines III would benefit from working on his right hand, but his handle in both directions for the most part was crisp and clean. He has a nice pull-up jumper off the dribble when driving left. Hines III also showed that he is coachable - during a 1-on-1 defensive slide drill early on, a clinic director got on him for not going 100%. Rather than hanging his head and sulking, Hines picked up the intensity immediately, something coaches will certainly take note of.

Christian Ray (2018/Octorara)
Perhaps the prospect at the camp with the highest ceiling, Ray could do some serious damage in the Ches-Mont League for the next three years. The 6-4 shooting guard is a natural scorer with a smooth outside shot, and he won’t hesitate to take advantage of a defender who’s a step slow on a rotation to attack the bucket. If he continues to polish his handle and ability to shoot off the bounce, Ray could easily be a mid-major guard in a few years, because even though he’s not stellar in those areas he’s able to work his way to the bucket and can score it with both hands. Does a good job of following up on missed shots and knows how to use the glass on second-chance opportunities.

Justin Sutton (2016/Cheltenham)
One of the more physical players at the clinic, Sutton used that to his advantage, bullying his way to the rim time and time again both in 1-on-1 drills and during 5-on-5 games. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound forward didn’t mind finishing through contact with both hands, and he did a good job of using shot fakes to get his defender off his feet. On the defensive end, Sutton was quick enough to stay in front of bigger guards, and caused a number of problems as a 1-on-1 defender against other forwards with his reach and strength. During the agility and strength drills, Sutton stood out amongst the camp’s forwards with his athleticism and footwork.

Jordan White (2017/Moorestown Friends)
The rising junior is a strong finisher at the basket with either hand, and ran the floor and filled lanes as well as any player in attendance. White looks to push the tempo, but also pulled the ball back out to run an offensive set when his teammates were not there. At 6-0, 175 pounds he has a nice frame for the point guard position and has excellent court vision. In several 5-on-5 games White got cheers from the crowd, reacting to his no-look feeds to streaking teammates. He showed the ability to hit the open three, and with his athleticism should look to crash the boards more frequently.

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Honorable mention: Jalen Collins (2017/Triton), Noah Ehlin (2017/Council Rock North), Jeremy Fleming (2017/Williamstown), Luke Gibson (2016/Cherokee), Joshua Hall (2018/Cherry Hill East), Marcus Marshall (2016/Cherokee), Devin Moore (2016/Phelps School), Donavan Spencer (2016/Timber Creek)

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The next CoBL Performance Clinic will be Sunday, September 20 at Widener University from 11 AM-2 PM. High schoolers interested in participating can sign up here.