PHILADELPHIA — The Under Armour All-America Camp might have had the best overall collection of talent in the country during the second week of the July Live Evaluation Period as top-100 players from multiple classes took part in a three-day camp at Philadelphia University.
With a few Class of 2018 five-star prospects in attendance, and some others making names for themselves, it was a great chance to see some of the best players that will be entering college basketball for the 2019-20 season. Here are five takeaways from the camp.
1. Four-star point guard Devon Dotson is coming on strong in the Class of 2018
The crop of point guards in the Class of 2018 is strong when it comes to players who could have a major impact at the college level. While we’ve spoken about players like Immanuel Quickley, Tre Jones and Darius Garland as the best in the class, the second tier of guys is also strong.
One of the players who will push five-star status after July is North Carolina native Devon Dotson. The 6-foot-1 native of Charlotte was the best player overall at the Under Armour All-America Camp as he was unstoppable off the dribble. Scoring in multiple ways around the basket, including some thunderous dunks, Dotson is a very good athletic if he gets a full head of steam going towards the rim.
Dotson can occasionally get tunnel vision when he has the ball in his hands, but coaches also have to like the ultra-aggressive way that Dotson plays the game. Always putting pressure on the defense with the way that he plays, Dotson is a consistent three-pointer away from being a major problem in college.
Back in June, Dotson named a top eight of Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Ohio State, USC and Wake Forest as it’ll be interesting to see if things heat up after his strong camp performance.
2. The upside of Class of 2018 center Moses Brown is scary
The Class of 2018 has a glaring lack of potential one-and-done players and a short supply of big men. As a fluid 7-foot-1 big man with a rapidly rising skill level, you can see why New York native Moses Brown has positioned himself as a consensus top-ten player in this class.
Moving very well for his size, Brown is still learning how to be productive at all times as he continues to add strength and coordination, but he’s now learning how to also use his extreme gifts to his advantage. Brown has now become a consistent presence at the rim thanks to his length and defensive IQ and he’s also rebounding near rim level at every play. Also improving as an offensive player, Brown showed some versatility by pushing off of rebounds and making more plays as a passer.
Still a tad inconsistent in terms of overall motor and offensive production, Brown could stand to work more on his post game beyond a hook, but he’s also the type of big man who should fit in well with the new age of basketball. Brown wasn’t tested a lot defending high ball screens in Philadelphia, but he has a chance to be a very disruptive defender at all levels of basketball if he continues to get better.
3. Class of 2018 point guard Jahvon Quinerly continues to impress
It wasn’t the strongest camp showing in terms of production from five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly, but he also displayed the ball handling, passing and leadership that made him one of the best players in the nation this spring.
Possibly having the tightest handles in the class, Quinerly has the ball on a string at all times and it enables him to make a lot of difficult passes for easy buckets off of drives. Also gifted as a perimeter shooter, Quinerly should be a gifted enough floor spacer to play a bit off the ball and still be a weapon on the three-point line.
Something to keep an eye on with Quinerly’s development will be how he adjusts to long and athletic defenders at all positions. Without elite burst, Quinerly will have to use some counter moves the get open and scoring over length is another area that Quinerly can work on. But with his combination of overall basketball savvy and skill level, Quinerly should be a great college player.
Still considering Arizona, Kansas, Stanford, UCLA, Villanova and Virginia, Quinerly had an official visit to the Wildcats already.
4. Class of 2018 big man Riley Battin opens eyes with production
Opening eyes with his play at the Under Armour All-America Camp with his overall skill and production was three-star Class of 2018 big man Riley Battin. Shooting 59 percent from the field during the week while finishing near the top in overall camp scoring, the 6-foot-8 Battin is an intriguing player at the next level even if he isn’t the greatest athlete.
With great footwork and good touch on his jumper from all three levels, Battin can knock down three-pointers (42 percent this spring in the UAA) while also scoring in the post or the mid-range. Already taking an official visit to Vanderbilt towards the end of August, Colorado, Davidson, Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Utah and Wichita State are also involved.
Battin is the type of player who won’t get a lot of hype in national recruiting rankings but he could very well be a damaging player in the right system. A tough cover because of some unconventional moves, Battin could be a lot of fun to watch at the next level.
5. The second week of the July live period needs a major overhaul
The Under Armour All-America Camp was a strong event during a weak second week of July and it’ll be curious to see if any changes are made to fix the timing of this on the recruiting calendar.
With all three major shoe companies having major summer championships the week before many of the nation’s elite players played in high-profile events last week before getting injured or sitting out the second week
Since the first week of the recruiting calendar is heavy in Georgia and South Carolina and the third week mostly goes to Las Vegas, the second week is also way more spread out than any other time during the July period. The coast-to-coast nature of events during the second week of July makes it tough for college coaches traveling because the talent is so diluted at most events.
It’ll be interesting to see if any changes occur with how events are run or how the calendar looks because the second week featured a lot of watered-down play.
