LISLE, Illinois -- The Fab Frosh All-American Camp, which was founded by college basketball broadcaster Clay Dade, is becoming the premier event for players entering high school. The camp was held this past weekend at the Chicago Bulls/Sox Training Academy just outside Chicago with players from 22 states and Canada. Overall, the players' talent level and athleticism were very good for an eighth-grade event.
Standout players
Jahlil Okafor (Chicago/Whitney Young)
2014, C/PF, 6-foot-8, 260 pounds
Okafor may have been the best and most dominant player at the camp. He has good hands and very good feet and reminds us of a young Jared Sullinger. He scored practically at will during the camp, and his favorite move was a spin move going right that he finished with regularity. Okafor is also a great rebounder and is bigger and stronger than most players his age, so gaining position inside was not difficult. He has tremendous talent with nice upside.
James Blackmon
(Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers)
2014, SG/PG, 6-2, 170 pounds
Blackmon is a silky-smooth combo guard with a sweet stroke that is good to 20 feet. His father, former Kentucky All-American James Blackmon Sr., will coach him in high school, so you know he has a solid basketball IQ. The incoming freshman has a solid handle and is a good, willing passer. He is also a good scorer and knows how to set up his opponent for his dribble-drives to the basket. Blackmon is an excellent prospect with great upside.
Jalen Lindsey (Nashville, Tenn./Christ Presbyterian Academy)
2014, SF, 6-6, 170 pounds
Lindsey is another smooth operator. He already has great size and length for a wing. Lindsey has a very good skill set and wastes very little motion on the court. He is an excellent athlete and pulled off one of the best dunks in camp when he took off outside of the lane for a monster flush. Lindsey is a solid shooter with range to 20 feet and drives well to the basket. He can go either left or right but generally prefers to drive left even though he is right-handed. He has tremendous upside if he continues to work and improve.
Surprise players
Sean O'Mara (Lisle, Ill./Benet Academy)
2014, C/PF, 6-6, 240 pounds
O'Mara is a big-bodied insider who takes no prisoners in the paint. He has solid hands and good feet and is developing post moves that are already solid. He plays hard, especially inside the paint. O'Mara was one of the better and more productive bigs at the camp. He will need to make sure he stays on top of his conditioning, but he appears to have a solid work ethic and nice skill inside.
Emmanuel Mudiay (Arlington, Texas/Grace Prep)
2014, SG, 6-3, 175 pounds
Mudiay is an athletic wing who is wired to score. He is an excellent slasher to the basket who uses his size, strength and athletic ability to get to the lane and finish over his opponent. He's physically stronger and maturer than most kids in his age group, and that allows him to do what he wants on the perimeter. Mudiay is a streaky shooter right now but has range to 20 feet and very good upside.
Leron Black (Memphis, Tenn./White Station)
2014, SF/PF, 6-6, 175 pounds
Black is a skilled combo forward who can do it all on the court. He is long and athletic and more of a skilled power forward right now, but it is easy to see him being a small forward soon. Black can slash to the basket some and is very effective inside 15 feet. He has a nice midrange jumper and is a very good rebounder. As Black continues to improve, look for him to be one of the better prospects in the 2014 class.
Notes
• This event had a few high-level athletes, which is rare. Normally, big-time athletic ability hits an athlete later in his teens. Two of the best were 6-4 SG Theo Pinson (Oak Ridge, N.C./Military Academy) and 6-4 SF Justice Winslow (Houston/ St. John). Pinson is a long, natural scorer with solid skills. Winslow is explosive and scores mostly in the paint. These two had some of the best upside of all the campers.
• Size is always a highly sought after commodity in basketball. Two of the bigger and better prospects were 6-9 C Trayvon Reed (Montgomery, Ala./Carver) and 6-7 C/PF Tyler Herron (Cleveland/undecided). Reed is very long and was the tallest player in camp. He has a decent skill base and attempted a few 3s during the camp. Herron has improved greatly during the past year and now has solid moves in the paint. He is becoming productive on the court (although still in spurts).
• There were 11 players from the Chicago area. Besides O'Mara and Okafor, a couple of the other standouts from Chicago were 6-foot scoring PG Larry Austin (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) and 6-7 skilled combo forward Paul White (Chicago/Whitney Young).
John Stovall is a recruiting coordinator for ESPN Recruiting. He has worked as part-owner and director of scouting for Prep Spotlight Scouting Service and magazine for 15 years.