High profile high school basketball camps to attract top talent
Two invitation-only basketball camps will bring together some of the state’s best underclassmen players Saturday.
The second N.C. Top 80 basketball camp is at Proehlific Park in Greensboro. Organizer Rick Lewis said all 80 participants have been idenitified as Division I prospects. The camp is for current freshman, sophomore and junior players. Participants include N.C. Gatorade player of the year Dennis Smith of Fayetteville’s Trinity Christian School. There were 33 juniors invited to the 2014 event. Of those, 32 have been offered or accepted college scholarships, according to Lewis.
The camp has some specialized rules to emphasize team play, including no more than three dribbles in the front court. In the second round of games, there must be two passes in addition to the three-dribble maximum before a shot is taken. In the third round, in addition to the passing and dribbling rules, the interior players must receive at least one pass before a shot is taken, so that forwards and centers can become more involved in game action. In many camps like this one, guards tend to dominate the action since they have the ball.
Area invitees: Grant Williams, Providence Day; Rechon “Leaky” Black, Concord; Davion Mintz, North Meck; KC Hankton, Harding; Rayshawn Neal, Garinger; Trey Wertz, Providence Day; Josh Howard, Providence Day; Parker Julian, Charlotte Latin; Lavar Batts, Robinson; Jonnathan Hicklin, Rocky River; Nate Hinton, Gaston Day; Sage Surratt, East Lincoln; Kobie Williams, West Charlotte; Jalen McManus, North Meck; Ray Kowalski, Concord; Q’on Murphy, Hough; Chris Efretuei, Concord Prep
▪ The girls Select 60 is at Rocky River High. Games begin at 9:15 p.m. The event concludes at 3:30 p.m. with awards.
Area invitees: Addison Pennell, North Iredell Middle; Abrianna Green, Fort Mill Middle; Josie Wiles, Davidson Day; Destiny Johnson, East Lincoln; Hailey Gipson, Hough; Trinity Jones, Ashbrook; Erin Thames, Hopewell; Kelsey Ruff-Mills, Hopewell; Mahaley Holit, Central Cabarrus; Maya Caldwell, Davidson Day; Gerlea Patton, Charlotte Christian; McKenna Haire, Myers Park; Shemya Stanback, Kannapolis Brown; Caroline Owens, Myers Park; Jaiden Mason, Charlotte Christian; Parker Thompkins, Davidson Day; Sherry Johnson, Ashbrook; Aja Stevens, South Meck; Kerstie Phills, Charlotte Christian; Kylee Calabrese, Northside; ShaNiya Lester, North Meck; Chanin Scott, Myers Park; Molly Mann, Weddington
▪ The 18th Carolinas All-Star basketball game is Saturday at Socastee (S.C.) High. The game matches some of North Carolina’s top seniors against their S.C. counterparts. The girls game starts at 6:30 p.m. and the boys starts at 8:30. Admission is $10. Area boys include Myers Park’s Zaqwuan Matthews, Cox Mill’s Matt Morgan, Hickory Ridge’s Jalen Stowe, Lake Norman’s Hunter Seacat, Hough’s Luke Maye and North Meck’s C.J. Bryce. Area girls include Myers Park’s Aliyah Mazyck and DD Rogers.
Football
More than 150 of the area’s top football players are expected to try out for the 2016 U.S. National team at USA Football’s regional developmental camp Saturday and Sunday at Rock Hill’s South Pointe High. The two-day event will include 7-on-7 situations and individual skills training. Sessions begin Saturday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday sessions begin at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Soccer
The first Queen City Soccer Showcase concludes Saturday with two games at Charlotte Latin: Providence Day vs. Weddington at 5 p.m. and Charlotte Latin vs. Marvin Ridge at 7 p.m.
Proceeds from the event benefit the ThyCa organization, which supports survivors of thyroid cancer.
This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "High profile high school basketball camps to attract top talent."