2006 Reebok Next Factor Spotlight Camp

Ft. Wayne, Indiana

May 20 & 21, 2006

Prepared by Rob Taylor

Publisher, Buckeye Prep Report

Most summer basketball fans are well aware of the many big time shoe company sponsored camps and tournaments that dominate the spring and summer season.  Well, the list of grass root events has just grown with the recent emergence of Reebok-sponsored regional training camps. With their new training camps, Reebok has now added another event to their stable of Next Factor events.  The initial round of Reebok Spotlight Training Camps were held the weekend of May 20 & 21^st at four regional sites though out the country, including Ft. Wayne, IN., Orlando, Fl., Boston, MA. and Pittsburgh, PA.

Over the weekend I had a chance to check out day-one action at the Ft. Wayne regional site, which was held at the state of the art facility at Spiece Fieldhouse.  In terms of numbers, the camp was limited to 60 accomplished high school players in the class of 2007-2009. Because the camp was designed to draw a very competitive group of players, several of the players at the camp had already established themselves as elite players in their class, and were already ranked nationally by scouting services such as the Hoop Scoop.

In terms of the format, Spiece’s Bill Hensley and his coaching staff did a fantastic job hosting the event.  The day started off at 10:00 am each morning with stretching, followed by station work and then games.  The roughly 60 players were divided into groups of about 8-10 players and were rotated between eight stations.  Day one was primarily instruction with one afternoon game, and day two consisted of station work and two afternoon games.  Each group was assigned an evaluator who followed the group through the various stations and ranked each player’s performance in the drills and games. 

Although the players were competing for a handful of invitations to Reebok’s ABCD Camp or Camp Next, the camp seemed to focus more on development rather than exposure. With that said, Prep Spotlight’s Vince Baldwin was onsite the first day to evaluate the players. Getting back to the instruction, I thought the station work was excellent and covered just about every aspect of the game.  Because of the high level of competition, the drills were more competitive than what I have seen in other camps 

Although a majority of the players hailed from Indiana, Ohio sent nine players and Illinois had a couple of representatives. For Ohio, the following players participated in the camp:  Danny McElroy 2009, Stefon Johnson 2009, Orlando Williams 2009, Robbie Taylor 2008, Kierre Greenwood 2008, Zach Brown 2009, Ryan Siggins 2009, Brian Wozniak 2009 and Stevie Taylor 2011. A majority of the Ohio kids currently play for either the Spiece Ohio Force or Spiece Cincinnati Tigers, the top two U-15 teams in the state.

Although the level of competition was deep, as with every camp or tournament, a few players set themselves apart from the crowd.  In my opinion, the top player in the camp was Danny McElory (2009), a 6’6 PF/C from Cincinnati, Ohio.  McElroy, ranked # 43 in the country by the Hoop Scoop, was dominant for most of the camp.  With his combination of size, athleticism and the ability to put the ball on the floor, McElroy is a force in the paint.  Reports have it that McElory had numerous dunks on Sunday.

Right behind McElroy was Tommy Freeman (2007), a 6’5 PF from Muncie, Indiana.  Freeman was quite impressive with complete game and a solid fundamental foundation.  Freeman was very active on both ends of the court and played very hard in the drills and games I watched.  

Chris Reed (2009), a 6’6 SG/F from Indianapolis, IN, showed signs of greatness.  Reed has many of tools needed to play big time basketball.  Reed has good size and athleticism, can play multiple positions, and excels on the offensive end of the court.  If Reed can increase his intensity level his upside potential significant 

Stefon Johnson (2009), a 6’5 PF Cincinnati, OH, logged in a nice camp.  Johnson got better as the camp went on.  Johnson is very explosive, athletic and he has a super nice touch around the cup.  In several games on Sunday, Johnson unleashed several nice dunks. Below is a partial list of the top players I saw on Saturday.  Johnson’s AAU and HS teammate, Orlando Williams, a 6’2 WG from Cincinnati, started the camp strong.  Williams already has good size for a 9^th grade SG, and he has complimented his shooting range with the ability to get to the bucket.

Top Players

Danny McElroy 2009 6’6 PF/C Cincinnati, OH  (Ranked # 43 by Hoop Scoop)
Tommy Freeman 2007 6’5 PF Muncie, IN
Chris Reed 2009 6’6 SG/F Indianapolis, IN (Ranked # 173 by Hoop Scoop)
Stefon Johnson 2009 6’5 PF Cincinnati, OH (Ranked # 62 by Hoop Scoop)
John Freeman 2007 6’4 SG Indianapolis, IN
Ryan McDaniel 2007 6’3 PG/SG Indianapolis, IN
Miles Plumlee 2008 6’8 PF Warsaw, IN
Julian Mavunga 2008 6’7 PF Indianapolis, IN
Larry Smith 2009 6’4 SG Indianapolis, IN (Ranked # 55 by Hoop Scoop)
Zach Brown 2009 6’2 PG/WG Mason, OH (Ranked # 146 by Hoop Scoop)
Robbie Taylor 2008 5’9 PG Gahanna, OH
Eric Ganaway 2007 6’1 PG Fort Wayne, IN
Orlando Williams 2009 6’2 WG Cincinnati, OH (Ranked # 78 by Hoop Scoop)
James Hollowell 2008 6’5 SG/PF Indianapolis, IN
Christopher Schwartz 2007 6’4 SG Sioux Falls, SD
Jeff Robinson, Jr. 2009 6’7 PF Indianapolis, IN
Stevie Taylor 2011 5’4 PG Gahanna, OH (Ranked # 12 by Hoop Scoop)

Although not all of the Ohio kids stood out, they all logged in impressive showings and represented Ohio basketball well.  It’s interesting to note, in terms of the top 2009 talent in Ohio, a majority of the top kids are from the Cincinnati area. In terms of the class of 2008, Kierre Greenwood, a 6’1 PG from Cincinnati, was a surprise.  Greenwood plays with the Lincoln Heights Tigers and played varsity ball with Winton Woods HS.  Although I did not watch him closely, from what I did see, Greenwood did some nice things at the camp.

Robbie Taylor, a 5’9 PG from Gahanna, Ohio, has also been flying under the radar.  In his first and only game at the camp (he had to leave early for a HS function), Taylor was an impressive floor leader who got hot from beyond the arc and lead his camp team to a victory on the strength of a game-high 21points.  Taylor is a pure PG with good fundamentals, superior court vision and the ability and willingness to pass to the open man.

Of course I have to mention Stevie Taylor (2011) from Gahanna, Ohio. Although Taylor (ranked # 12 in the country by Hoop Scoop) was the only middle school player at the camp, he put on a show and impressed a lot of evaluators at the camp.  In a two-game stretch on Sunday, Taylor got hot from the perimeter and averaged 20 + points and 4 assists.  Despite his significant size disadvantage, Taylor’s quickness and ability to knock down the 3-pointer made him a match up problem for the bigger players.  By most accounts, Taylor more than competed with the big boys.  If you don’t believe me, ask Bill Hensley who was very impressed with Taylor’s game.

For a first-time event, the Reebok Spotlight Training Camp in Ft. Wayne was a great success.  Although I can’t speak for the other regional sites, the experience I had at Spiece has me considering attending another session later this summer.  Future camps will be held at various locations around the country the weekend of June 3 & 4^th and June 10 & 11^th.  Check out the Reebok website for exact locations. http://www.nextfactors.com/spotlight_training/home.html.