Xavier Team Camp

Dorian Jordan

On Saturday and Sunday teams from all over the midwest headed to Xavier University to compete in two days of high school scrimmages. CPHR made the trip over to Cintas and was impressed with the amount of talent in the building. Here is a recap of how the top local teams fared in the event: Photos

• Princeton- There are some schools that, no matter how hard they are hit by graduation, will always be a talent gold mine. Princeton is one of those schools. After losing 4 senior starters this team came to XU with something to prove and made a real statement. The lone returning starter, junior PG Dorian Jordan, had a sensational weekend. Jordan has elite court vision and his combination of ballhandling and quickness allows him to get anywhere on the court and find teammates, while rarely turning the ball over. On top of that Jordan made several deep three pointers and was able to score with floaters in the lane. The Vikings leading scorer was senior SG Malcolm Smith, who has really become one of '12 top scoring guards. Smith had his touch tuned in from deep and was strong taking the ball to the rim where he has some deceptive moves to create space and the leaping ability to finish above the rim. CPHR also was impressed with the physicality of senior C De'arius "Tank" Young and the shooting stroke of junior combo guard DiJuan Scott. 

Tyonte Robertson

• Withrow- Next year's Tigers team looks to be taking on a new, and very exciting, dynamic. As always at Withrow they have plenty of talent to mold their team around. Their four guards- sophomore PG Tyonte Robertson, junior PG Tim Coleman, senior SG Damon Gooch, and senior SG Kendall Beamon all played at a high level the entire weekend while their inside trio of junior C Devin Williams, senior C Rozelle Nix, and senior PF Tyler Jordan gave them the rebounding and scoring they needed. In particular it was the play of Williams, Nix, and Robertson that stood out this weekend. Williams showed an improved ability to put the ball on the floor as well as step out and hit the jumpshot; when you combine this with his overpowering strength he becomes an unstoppable post player. Nix racked up block after block in every game, including at least 7 blocks against 6'10 Springboro C Maverick Morgan; Nix's conditioning and touch around the rim have improved tremendously since the end of HS ball and he looks like he could be a force next year. When Tyonte Robertson, and the other guards who were red hot from deep, is hitting shots he is a tough player to handle. Robertson did a great job of picking the right spots to pull up and not settling for tough shots, and as always he showed great ability when it comes to breaking his man down and finding a teammate or scoring at the rim. 

Paul Woodson

• Aiken- In just a few days since CPHR last saw the Falcons scrimmage they have already shown great improvement. Junior wing Austin Grimes has shown that he the ability to play the point guard spot and create shots for teammates. Grimes did a nice job of pushing the ball when the numbers were there or setting up the offense if they weren't. Willy Moore, a senior SG who is the most talented prospect in '12, put on a show on Sunday as he lit it up from deep, and broke down defenders before firing bullet passes through the lane for easy layups. Senior PF Paul Woodson, who has left Clark and will most likely be enrolling in Aiken (as mentioned in our earlier scrimmage report), was a huge help inside with his outstanding athleticism. Woodson has shown improved ballskills, including the ability to push the ball in transition and finish the play himself; as well a much more consistent stroke from mid-range. 

• Other top players at the event include: Darryl Hicks ('13 SG Louisville Trinity), Jaaron Simmons ('13 PG Kettering Alter), and Maverick Morgan ('13 C Springboro).