Former NBA player and legendary basketball player developer John Lucas has been widely recognized and known around the world for developing some of the nation's top players. Over the past 10 years, he has developed some of the elite basketball camps in the country, which have been comprised of the nation's top young talent. This weekend, Lucas and his staff ventured to Inspire Courts in Gilbert, Arizona, to host their annual Camp Right Way Southwest.
The camp is always excellent as it features excellent player instruction, and a wide variety of stations and drill work. The camp staff works tirelessly over the two days to develop the young prospects with excellent basketball fundamentals. Participants of this annual camp get a lot out of the instruction from one of the world's best teachers of the game.
The talent level at this weekend's camp was a little down from last year's camp, but there were some very good prospects for the future at the camp. Players traveled from all over the country to take part. Here are my top 10 overall prospects from the 2020 class in this weekend's camp, and also a member of the 2021 class to watch out for (in no particular order) . . .
Top Individual 2020 Prospects
Che Evans Jr. 6-5 8th Grader SF St. Anges Middle School (MD) - 2020 Class
Evans came into this year's event as the premier prospect in the event, after recently receiving a big scholarship offer from Arizona State University. Evans is a big-time young prospect that already has excellent size and length - towering over all of this year's camp participants. Evans has a very good skill level already which allows him to make plays with the basketball in his hands at a high rate. He is able to score off the dribble, where he likes to get into the lane and create for himself or his teammates. He plays very unselfish and enjoys making the right pass to an open teammate. An excellent finisher. A good shooter with range on his shot. A very good rebounder and shotblocker. Needs to play with more energy for a full game to realize his full potential over time. A budding young prospect with elite-high major size and ability for the future.
Xavier Dusell 6-3 8th Grader PG/SG Rancho Solano Prepatory - 2020 Class
- Dusell (pictured) is a highly touted young guard prospect with a bright future. He has an excellent young and lengthy body with a very nice motor on both ends of the floor. He has very good length of body and very good athleticism already, and is capable of making plays that most players cannot, as a result of his nice length. He has a very nice shooting stroke with nice range on his shot, and is capable of making shots with ease. An excellent slasher and open court player. A very good finisher. A good defender that plays passing lanes. A very good overall scorer that can create his own shot almost at will, and likes to get others involved on the floor. An excellent ball handler and passer. A combo-guard prospect with a nice overall feel for the game. Has an excellent future ahead of him and will become an elite-high major prospect over time.
Nico Manning 5-10 8th Grader PG Rancho Solano Prepatory - 2020 Class
- Manning is an excellent ball handler and passer with a superior feel for the game. He is very crafty with the basketball and is fun to watch play as a result of his court vision and willingness to makes plays for himself and others. Will become a highlight reel performer over time. An excellent shooter of the basketball with textbook form and excellent range on his shot. Capable of playing both guard positions. Should grow a great deal over the next 4 years.
Frank Gilliam 5-7 8th grader PG Northside Christian School (FL) - 2020 Class
- Gilliam is a very nice-looking point guard prospect that has an excellent handle of the basketball and a nice overall feel for the game. A floor general with the basketball in his hands. Capable of scoring when he wants to or creating scoring opportunities for other players on the floor. Has excellent court vision and enjoys getting his teammates involved. Makes players around him better at a young age. An excellent penetrator and a very good finisher. A good shooter with range. A good rebounder for his size. A very good defender with quick hands and feet. A nice guard prospect for the future.
Noah Simmons 6-2 8th Grader SG/SF Kyrene Middle School - 2020 Class
- Simmons is a sure-fire young talent that comes from a serious basketball family. Simmons is the younger brother of two other top-rated performers, so he will become no different from the other two. He has excellent size already and good length. Simmons, like his older brothers, is very skilled already and has a nice combination of being able to score inside and out. A solid shooter with range. A good ball handler and passer. Active rebounder with good physical strength already. Good finisher. Will also attend Desert Vista HS like his older brother Caleb Simmons.
Dominique Newsome 5-5 8th grader PG Vista Del Sur Middle School - 2020 Class
- Newsome is very small in size and stature, but he flat out gets a lot done with the basketball in his hands. He will definitely need to grow a great deal over time to continue to impact the game as much as he already does, but this young man is a scoring machine and creates havoc for opposing guards - getting to the free-throw line quite often. A left hander, Newsome enjoys physical contact for his size and loves to penetrate the lane and score on a variety of floaters from many different angles. He is an excellent shooter with unlimited range, although his shot selection can be questionable. A very good defender with quick hands and feet.
Tyrese Rogers 5-11 8th grader SF Madison Middle School (NM) - 2020 Class
- Rogers has good size and length and a good overall skill level which allows him to be very versatile. He is a good ball handler and passer with the basketball in his hands, and likes to push the basketball up the floor. A solid shooter. Good finisher. Good slasher and open court player. Solid defender. Active rebounder.
Dominick Harris 5-10 8th grader SG Rancho Christian Middle School (CA) - 2020 Class
- Harris is a very skilled guard prospect with a nice feel for the game and a knack for scoring the basketball. Capable of scoring with either hand when he drives into the lane. A good finisher. Pushes the basketball up the floor and enjoys getting the ball to the open man on the floor, or making plays for himself. A good defender with good lateral quickness. Could develop into a combo-guard over time.
Latrey Robinson 5-5 8th Grader PG Kindsridge Middle School - 2020 Class
- A very good playmaking point guard prospect with a very nice handle and feel for the game. A very good penetrator that pushes the basketball and can finish in the lane. A good shooter of the basketball that also likes to score. A good passer. Good defender with good lateral quickness.
Za-Ontay Boothman 5-10 8th Grader SG Bales Elementary - 2020 Class
- Boothman is a long, athletic and wiry guard prospect that resembles the build of a young Cameron Satterwhite. A slashing wing performer that will grow a great deal over the next 4 years, and should become a nice looking wing prospect. A very good finisher that plays with good energy and activity on the floor. An active rebounder. Good shotblocker. Good overall defender.
Top Individual 2021 Prospects
Dalton Emery 6-2 7th Grader SF Desert Ridge Junior High - 2021 Class
- Emery is a true project in every sense of the word at this point in his young career, but he has tremendous size already and runs the floor hard. He is not a good finisher yet, but he will develop nicely over time with some serious hard work. He has such good physical size already, which suggests that he will continue to grow a great deal over the next 3-4 years, and become a true post talent. An active rebounder and shotblocker. Has excellent length.
