There was no shortage of West Coast talent at this year’s edition of the Kingwood Classic in Houston TX which was held last weekend (April 20-22). Although they hung in tough for a half, Pump-n-Elite proved to be no match for Indiana Elite in the championship game and lost by a 20 point margin.

Top West Coast players that I saw here include:

Reeves Nelson 6’7” So. Modesto Christian (Modesto CA)

Reeves was one of the more dominating players here as he was a brut force on both ends of the floor and appears

to be a more athletic version of Mark Madsen (former Stanford star and current NBA player). Nelson attacks the basket with the intensity of a kamikaze. Excellent student made a strong case for national Top 10 soph status here.

DeMar DeRozan               6’6”      Jr.        Compton (Compton CA)
Making an national appearance for the first time in front of some major media and high-major coaches, DeRozan showed flashes of the ultra-athleticism and emerging skill level that has created a buzz in SoCal for the past year. DeRozan was terrific in a double OT game on Kingwood’s opening night, scoring 32 points against Team Jones (OR) and basically taking over the game down the stretch.   DeRozan did in fact commit to USC on an un-official visit there recently, but his high school coach Tony Thomas maintains that he is not officially committed and DeMar appears to be leaving the door open to other options.   North Carolina and UConn are among the national powers testing just how strong that USC verbal is.

Jrue Holiday                   6’3”      Jr.        Campbell Hall (North Hollywood CA)

Holiday is simply a winner on the court and a truly elite player that sparked his squad to two straight tourney championship game appearances. As complete an all-around lead guard as there is in the nation, Holiday has North Carolina, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, UConn and Texas in a fierce recruiting battle to land him.

Brandon Jennings         6’1”      Jr.        Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson VA)

Jennings (arguably the best “true” point in the nation) had one of the top individual performances of the event (33 points versus the Atlanta Celtics). Kansas and Kentucky join UConn, Arizona and USC as the schools with the best chance to get his signature this November.

Malcolm Lee                6’4”      Jr.        North (Riverside CA)
Lee established himself as an elite lead guard at this event. While many have recognized his skill level and upside for a while, he really took care of business here – showing an ability to take over a game and make key shots down the stretch of a contest, like he did in Inland’s upset playoff win over Belmont Shore. While Jrue Holiday is the hot name in the combo-guard arena, when it all said and done it could be Lee that has the biggest, long-term potential.

/i/z16 Misc/Renaldo_Woolridge_L_-_Angelo_Johnson_R_Article_Pic.jpg
Renaldo Woolridge      6’8”      Jr.        Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood CA)
While Woolridge is still a high-major work in progress, Renaldo did give coaches multiple flashes of his immense potential here which served to increase the numbers of schools now interested in him.   Texas, Arizona, Marquette, USC, Arizona State, Florida, Kansas, Washington, LSU, Illinois, Oregon State, Pepperdine, UNLV and Colorado are among the many schools monitoring his progress.

Jordan Hamilton          6’6”      So.       Dorsey (Los Angeles CA)
Big time scoring machine lit up the scoreboard in Kingwood. Top 15 national soph reminds me of Kirk Snyder (Houston Rockets).

David Wear                  6’9”      So.       Mater Dei (Santa Ana CA)
Talented young big man showed up in the championship game – scoring 15 points and displaying an excellent stroke from behind the arc. As is the case with twin brother Travis (see below), the sky is the limit for this skilled soph.

Isaiah Thomas              5’9”      Jr.        South Kent (South Kent CT)

Washington state native is small but plays very big on the offensive end. Great quickness allows him to compete with most. Outstanding shooter has been committed to Washington for quite sometime.

Julyan Stone               6’6”      Sr.        Dos Pueblos (Santa Barbara CA)

Big lead guard prospect was very impressive in Houston and is now getting serious interest from a growing list of schools that include UTEP, Washington State, Colorado, New Mexico, Penn State, Wyoming, Oklahoma State, San Francisco, Portland, Marshall and Lamar.

Brad Tinsley                6’4”      Jr.        Oregon City (Oregon City OR)
Physical and aggressive wing attacks the basket with strength, can knock down long-range shots and has an uncanny ability to get to the free-throw line. Tinsley’s drive, finish and “and 1” was the play that finally finished off Belmont Shore in the 2^nd OT of Team Jones’ 88-87 win during Kingwood’s 1^st night of play (Friday).

Angelo Johnson         5’11”    Jr.        Stoneridge School (Simi Valley CA)
Maybe as quick as any PG in the country, Johnson is usually just a blur to most defenders. Reports indicate that he has accelerated his academic credentials and is very likely headed to USC (he committed to the Trojans recently) a year early (next fall).

DJ Seeley                  6’6”      Jr.        Modesto Christian (Modesto CA)
Athletic wing is an excellent defender and dangerous slashing scorer. One of the top national sleepers in the West.

Jason Paul (JP) Olukemi     6’6”      Jr.        Stoneridge School (Simi Valley CA)

JP continues to draw heavy interest from high-majors looking for a strong and physical wing who can explode to the basket as well as knock down perimeter shots. JP’s athletic drive and dunk over 6’10” J’Masin “Bobo” Morgan (South Oakcliff/Dallas TX) was a tourney memorable moment.

Travis Wear                6’9”      So.       Mater Dei (Santa Ana CA)
Very skilled forward with size is an underrated defender whose basketball IQ is not fully appreciated yet.

Roberto Nelson          6’3”      So.       Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara CA)
Chauncey Billups-type lead guard makes plays at both ends and is already on the radar of several elite national programs.

/i/z16 Misc/Darius_Morris_Article_Pic.jpg
Darius Morris              6’1”      So.       Windward (Los Angeles CA)
Quick and slithering point has a knack for making the right play at the right time. Excellent ball skills with pinpoint passing ability (as well as a 3.5 GPA) make him an attractive 2009 national PG prospect.

Michael Snaer            6’5”      So.       Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley CA)
Physical and athletic swingman has a great build and an excellent mid-range game.

Chris Jones                 6’2”      Jr.        Newark Memorial (Newark CA)
Terrific on-ball defender is a very underrated scorer.

Jerime Anderson             6’2”      Jr.        Canyon (Anaheim CA)

Anderson was very impressive here until the championship game where he could not hold off a dominating Indy Elite team. Deserves to be mentioned when the Top 50-75 players in the nation is the topic of discussion.

Cheyne Martin                6’2”      Sr.        Laguna Beach (Laguna Beach CA)
High scoring combo-guard can really shoot the rock as well as take defenders off the dribble.   San Diego State leads Cal Poly and BYU.

Nate Schulte                  6’5”      Sr.        University Park Academy (Houston TX)
Las Vegas NV native plays much bigger than size and is an absolute beast in the paint. Great student (4.5 GPA) showed his tremendous heart when he returned to one of his Kingwood games late in the 2^nd half after having his two front teeth knocked out and played the remainder of regulation as well as both overtime periods. Underrated perimeter scorer is a great post defender.

Larry Drew                    5’11”    Jr.        Taft (Woodland Hills CA)
Skilled PG has deceptively great quickness and a lethal first step. Injured in earlier play-off rounds, Pump-n-Run Elite could have used his talents in championship game versus a loaded Indy Elite squad. Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA round out his final three college choices.

/i/z16 Misc/Jeffree_Withey_Article_Pic.jpg
Jeffree Withey            7’0”      Jr.        Horizon (San Diego CA)
Agile and active center is skilled and has huge upside. Great shotblocker has committed to Louisville.

Tyreese Breshers       6’6”      Jr.        Price (Los Angeles CA)
Burly post continues to play well, but bigger, more athletic players (as well as being susceptible to fatigue) caused him problems at times here.

Deividas Dulkys         6’3”      Jr.        Findlay Prep (Las Vegas NV)

Sharpshooting wing is starting to attract high-major attention.

Genesis Maciel         6’9”      Sr.        Centennial (Compton CA)
One of the best unsigned posts in California, Genesis has the size to take up space inside as well as the skill to step away from the basket and knock down perimeter shots.

Colin Chiverton                        6’6”      Jr.        Mitty (San Jose CA)

High-scoring swingman is one of the nation’s top sleepers.

Aaron Moore                            6’7”      So.       Dominguez (Compton CA)
Athletic combo-forward played well at Kingwood. Excellent slashing scorer and active rebounder is drawing interest from schools such as Washington.

Keion Bell                                6’3”      Jr.        Serra (Gardena CA)

Athletic combo-guard is an excellent defender.

Victor Rudd                              6’7”      So.       Sylmar (Sylmar CA)

Very intriguing young forward has a nice upside.

James Dean                             6’3”      Jr.        Centennial (Las Vegas NV)

Aggressive wing has an accurate perimeter stroke and is a solid defender. Terrific student (4.7 GPA) may transfer to Fork Union or Hargrave next year.

Elston Turner                           6’4”      Jr.        Roseville (Roseville CA)

Washington-bound wing was very disappointing here and was a mere role player on a Pump team that was very good but not extremely deep.

Teandre Hubbard                   6’1”      So.       Sacred Heart (San Francisco CA)

Savvy combo-guard plays hard at both ends.

For the Lowest Prices in Travel/Lodging/Car Rental Please visit the Fullcourt Press Travel Center ...