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CoBL College Exposure Camp Standouts (June 21)

06/22/2018, 12:00pm EDT
By CoBL Staff

Penn Treaty's Hafeez Abdul-Malik (above) was one of the standouts at Thursday's CoBL College Exposure Camp. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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The second CoBL College Exposure Camp of 2018 took place at Friends’ Central on Thursday, with just shy of 80 rising high school juniors and seniors taking the court for a day of drills and games.

Here are the staff picks for standouts:

Hafeez Abdul-Malik (2019/Penn Treaty)
One of several impressive Penn Treaty guards at the camp, Abdul-Malik stood out with his unselfish play at the lead guard position, controlling the tempo whenever he was in the game, keeping his teammates involved while also showing he could score the rock as well. The 6-1 guard used a quick first step to blow by his defender often, and could finish at the rim with both at a high rate, even through contact, though he tended not to force the action if it wasn’t there. Excelled in transition, where he constantly made the right pass at the right time, or split through defenders to get to the rim.

Rodney Carson (2019/Girard College)
Carson drew eyes to himself at camp, not just because of the gold tips on his hair, but because of his athleticism around the rim and finishing ability. One of the more physical guards at camp, Carson has no problem blowing by his defenders and accepting contact at the rim. He caught a few dunks in transition, and even had an impressive putback slam; not typically known as a knockdown outside shooter, he also had his jumper working for him with regularity. The 6-3 guard, who transferred from Cheltenham last year and reclassified, has a chance to be a problem at the Division II level in a few years.

Tyler Henry (2019/Putnam Science Academy)
A 6-3 lead guard from the Lehigh Valley -- he graduated from Stroudsburg High School this spring and will do a prep year in Connecticut -- Henry opened eyes with a standout performance at our May camp, picking up his first scholarship offer from Lincoln U that evening, and continued with another stellar outing on Thursday. Henry had his shot working for him all day long, whether it was pulling up from deep in transition or making tough shots off the bounce, and he also showed off his point guard abilities with assists all day long. What helps set Henry apart is his always-positive attitude and near-constant vocal presence on the court; with his size, athleticism and scoring ability, he could find himself poking into Division I territory if he keeps it up.

Tariq Kalim (2019/Downingtown East)
A 6-4 guard with range, Kalim knows he’s on the court to score the basketball, and it’s a trait he does quite well. He doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when left open anywhere in the half-court offense, and his jumper hits with consistency, but he’s also a hard worker who puts himself in position to be successful. Kalim got a good percentage of his production off second-chance buckets, following up on his own and his teammates’ shots, and he’s a good athlete who can make adjustments to score from less-than-typical spots on the court. His frame still holds a lot of upside, and Kalim’s best days should absolutely still be in front of him.


West Catholic's Samier Kinsler (above) was knocking down 3-point shots all day long. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Samier Kinsler (2019/West Catholic)
Kinsler’s shot was in form early on in drills, as the 5-11 left-hander was knocking down mid-range and long-range shots with ease. And that didn’t stop once the games got going, as he was continually knocking down 3-balls and long 2s, with a smooth, high release and comfortable arc time and time again. One of the more active defenders all day long, Kinsler loved to put pressure on opposing ball-handlers as soon as they came across midcourt, and came up with quite a few steals (or forced bad passes) that resulted in easy buckets for his team the other way.

Lakeem McAiley (2019/Mastery North)
McAiley was perhaps the biggest eye-opener of the camp, coming out with a bang to the tune of 34 points--the highest total of anyone all day--in his first game and tacking on 15 more in another win to end the day. A burly 6-foot-4 wing, McAiley is a wrecking ball attacking the rim with his dominant left hand, showing explosiveness one may not expect of someone of his build once he gets there. Despite an awkward release, he consistently knocked down shots from 3-point range with confidence. McAiley will be on the scholarship radar for Division II schools, if not higher, over the course of the next year.

Jaelen McGlone (2020/Cheltenham)
One of the highest-upside prospects in camp, McGlone got progressively better as the day went on, scoring 1, 11, and 20 points, respectively, in his three games. A lanky and fluid 6-foot-4 wing, McGlone is still a bit of a project but shows flashes of a highly intriguing skillset. He excels getting out in transition, where he can finish at the rim creatively with either hand, but also flashed impressive ball skills in the halfcourt and a solid 3-point stroke. Very young for his grade and with the potential to ultimately enter the 2021 class, McGlone is a prospect we’ll continue to track closely into the summer AAU season.

Ryan McKeon (2019/Sanford School, Del.)
A 6-7 post from the First State, McKeon made sure to show off his athleticism in the drill portion of camp, running the floor hard and finishing above the rim for several big-time slams during transition work, and showing his lateral mobility on the defensive side. And he put that all to use during the games, doing everything from spotting up for mid-range jumpers, posting up and finishing a hook shot or two, and even bringing the ball upcourt and attacking the rim off the bounce as well as playing tough interior defense and blocking more than a handful of shots.

Tim Myarick (2019/Cheltenham)
A left-handed shooting guard out of Cheltenham, Myarick brought one of the more composed floor games to the camp. The three-year varsity player certainly acted like someone who’s been there before, with a panicless on-court demeanor that doesn’t get high or low; he just keeps plugging away and playing his game. Even in a camp setting, Myarick does a great job of giving up a good shot for a better one, despite the fact that he’s plenty capable of rising up and knocking down shots on his own right. A bigger guard (6-4) who rebounds well for his position, he’s improved his handle and finishing ability over the last year as well.

Brandon Perez (2019/Kensington CAPA)
Perhaps the biggest surprise at the camp came out of the lower levels of the Public League, as Perez played like a veteran of any big-time program around. A composed 6-1 lead guard, Perez fit right in with some bigger-’name’ teammates, showing off three-level scoring ability, though his most impressive asset was his ability to finish around the rim, doing so with both hands in a variety of ways. With a lanky, athletic frame that he should be able to develop nicely with the aid of a college weight program, Perez got up and down the court with ease with the ball in his hands, weaving in and out of defenders and making the right play much more often than not.


Jackson Piotrowski (above) brought a lot of versatility in his 6-6 frame. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Jackson Piotrowski (2020/Delco Christian)
Watching Piotrowski navigate his way through drills and games, it became clear that the young forward does everything on the court with a certain deliberateness -- not slowly, but perhaps a bit precisely than the rest. At 6-6 and 185 pounds, Piotrowski is a somewhat-undersized stretch-4 at the moment, but he’s got enough in the tank to suggest he could become a bigger ‘3’ by the time he’s ready for college, and it looks like he’s starting to figure out how good he could be. He’s got excellent footwork both in catch-and-shoot situations as well as putting in a few spin moves in the lane -- and has a smooth outside shot with a high release. His frame suggests he could grow a couple more inches, and if that happens he could very well find himself in D-I territory a year from now.

Kamron Roundtree (2020/Academy Park)
When talking pure athleticism, Roundtree was perhaps the standout player of the camp. The 6-6 big man seemingly spent more time at the rim than below it, whether he was using his impressive leaping ability to throw down one of several big-time slams, sky for a rebound or block a shot. The dreadlocked rising junior’s motor never stops, as he hustled all day long for offensive rebounds and putbacks, sprinting up the court in transition as well. His length and standing reach separated him from the rest of the competition on the rebounding spectrum, and his hustle proved effective when going for loose balls. With a rapidly-improving on-ball skill set, Roundtree could play himself into Division I recruiting territory before long.

Scott Spann (2019/Sankofa Freedom)
The ball seemingly followed Spann around the court on Thursday, as he was in the right spot for rebounds and open shots time and time again. There’s no denying the 6-3 wing is one of the hardest-workers around, as it’s not coincidence that he just finds his way to production in every venue; he can play anything from the ‘1’ to the ‘4’ thanks to a smooth outside set shot, the ability to make plays off the bounce and his willingness to bang around inside for layups and rebounds. Spann scored in double figures in all three of his teams’ games, topping out with a 22-point effort, but he was involved time and time again when he was on the court.

Khalil Turner (2019/Sankofa Freedom)
In terms of long-time upside, there weren’t many more prospects in the gym that were more impressive than Turner. A 6-6 wing guard, Turner is fully capable of being a big ‘1’ with his court vision and basketball IQ, but he’s also useful as anything from a ‘3’ to a small-ball ‘4’ who can stretch the floor with his shooting. The biggest thing for Turner to reach his potential is to play at his hardest on every possession; when the effort is there (and it’s there often), the ability to ‘wow’ comes naturally, but there were a few times he would take possessions off or give less-than-maximum effort. Either way, he’s a scholarship-level prospect.

Jihad Watson (2019/Math, Civics, and Sciences)
A 6-1 guard nicknamed “Squid”, Watson can find the open man almost all the time, even if it means weaving passes in between the defense. He didn’t shoot that many jumpers, and the pass-first point guard was very selective with the shots he did take, though he showed off his slashing moves in iso situations time and time again, even if those drives tended to results in made buckets by his teammates. Right now, the hot thing in basketball is length, and Watson has plenty of it, with long arms that make him a bothersome defender even against bigger wings, plus the athleticism to keep small guards in front of him.

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Honorable Mention
Blaise Bekkedam (2020/Malvern Prep), Jalen Cassidy (2020/Academy Park), Spencer Cochran (2020/Malvern Prep), Gavin Henry (2020/Winslow), Bryce Horn (2019/Lower Moreland), Javon Gordon (2019/Delsea), Jordyn Kendrick (2019/St. Augustine Prep), Cameron McCole (2019/Downingtown West), Ian McCaw (2019/CB South), AJ Mitchell (2019/North Penn), Chaz Owens (2019/Shipley School), Justin Owens (2020/Caravel Academy), Sean Rafferty (2019/Unionville), Steve Payne (2019/Lower Merion), Conor Regan (2019/Gloucester Catholic), Jaymes Savage (2019/Sankofa Freedom), Shane Scott (2019/Conestoga), Damian Smith Jr. (2019/Cherokee), Bryce Spriggs (2019/Friends’ Central), Charlie Trey-Masters (2019/George School)


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