first session second report--limited.

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

West Coast All Stars First Session:
Player Report No. 2--(July 11, 1999)

With our first report during the week, and the reports on the all-star games from the first session, we've managed to cover about a third of the players who attended the camp. Here are some impressions of other players we saw during the week:

Marques Houston (5'-11" So. PG) San Leandro--a good athlete with an excellent handle, moves the ball and pushes the break. Had some of the best passes we saw on Friday; good court sense and vision, and nice ability to penetrate.

Scott Cole (6'-2" Sr. PG) Corona del Sol--another point guard with a strong handle, a nice athlete with excellent ball handling skills and passing skills. Good defense and nice footwork.

Jeffrey King (5'-8" Jr. PG) East Lake--this camp was full of point guards, but not many 5'-8" guys were willing to get in the way of the big boys down in the paint on defense, but we saw King take two charges in the span of 5 minutes. Plays great defense, a sort of stocky, fireplug type of player who runs the floor.

Gerald Johnson (6'-6" Sr. SG/SF) Natomas-- a thin, quick athletic player who really defends well, both on the ball and off, with reasonably good footwork.

Adam Kaplan (5'-11" So. PG) Acalanes-- He got our hypothetical vote for either the frosh-soph all-star game or the 100% game, but unfortunately our vote was just that, hypothetical. A good handle, good passer who sees the court well, he was one of the smarter point guards at the camp among the younger players. Will definitely improve as he gets older and stronger.

Jared Knotts (6'-6" So. F) Saint James-- a big strong player who made the frosh-soph game. He runs very well, has good court sense and ball handling skills for a big player, and like most of the young guys, shows great promise for the future.

Kenny Penn (6'-5" Jr. F) Oak Hill Academy--Kenny used to live in Los Angeles, and played ARC before enrolling at the prestigious private school located in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, which boasts a team that has garnered the mythical national high school championship more than any other besides De Matha. Kenny is a quick, slender but strong young player who is improving his skills and showing nice defensive ability. A good rebounder.

Justin Waldie (6'-3" Jr. G) Mercer Island--Justin is a thin, agile player who can put the ball onthe floor, passes well, and is a good rebounder. A decent shot, although most of the shots on his team were taken (and made) by Richard Cobbs. Runs the floor well and gets out on the break.

Trinity Smith (5'-10" Jr. G) Dublin--a very strong defender, good lateral quickness and on-ball defense, he was also a remarkably good rebounder for a guy only 5'-10". Alternated at the point on his team with Shea Robinson, and he showed good ball handling skills and a nice ability to always find the open man with a minimum of turnovers.

Jonathan Schroeder (6'-4" Sr. SG/SF) Corona del Sol-- a nice shooter with a good size body, he's got an excellent release on his shot, good footwork and nice position, able to create his own shot off the dribble, and plays good defense both on and off the ball.

Scott Skjei (6'-7" Jr. F) Mt. Vernon--Made the Junior All Star Game, and deserved to be there a lot more than some. A very big guy, he runs the floor extremely well for someone with his size, and he's a lot stronger than his 195 lbs would indicate, so he's a bit deceptive because he has a slender build. He'll make a nice college three or wing player; has a good stroke on his shot. Impressed a lot of coaches and scouts this time out.

Trevor Mates (6'-3" Sr. F) Skyview--Although Trevor's information in the coaches packet says he's a forward, on this team he played a lot of guard, and he showed good skills, nice ability to penetrate, dish and also finish at the basket.

Christian Scacco (6'-0" Sr. PG) Westlake-- a very tough ballhandler, had some really nasty moves in the open court. Built very strong, like a football player (we wouldn't be surprised to learn he's a two sport guy). Nice penetration skills and ability to penetrate and dish. Needs to work a bit on his mid-range jumper but otherwise a very good release and stroke.

More first session reports later today. In the meantime, we've got to get going over to Dominguez for the first day of the second session and a swing by Rim Rattler.

See you there.