RICHMOND, Va. -- The ninth annual NBA Players Association camp for top high school talent sported some notable changes from the previous eight versions. For one, the media was allowed to be at each session. But most importantly, the camp had more of the top talent than any previous assemblage in camp history. The camp was held at Virginia Commonwealth University and the facilities were perfect for a camp of this kind.

Although held in late June, this is still pre-summer. (Any basketball activity that takes place before either the Nike or ABCD camps qualifies.) And that made this camp invaluable to us as it gave us a great look at roughly 50 or so of the nation's top 100 seniors in the class of 2004.

Starting at the top, point guard Shaun Livingston (6-6, 170) from Peoria, Ill. clearly showed why he is a special player. He is definitely top five in this class. Livingston plays solely to win and has a great understanding of the game.

In the best single performance of the camp, Livingston willed his team back from a double-digit deficit with less than three minutes remaining on the clock -- even more impressive since no shot clock was used in camp.

He led a full court press, made a steal, hit two big three's and just took over the game. Livingston's jumper is improved over last year. He has a very consistent pull up from 12 to 15 feet, and his three-point shot has also improved. He had a little trouble with some of the smaller, quicker point guards, but in general defended pretty well.

We thought that Livingston was the top performer at the camp because he was the most consistent, both in terms of performance and effort, at a high level, and he definitely carried his unit/team.

Teammate Glenn Davis (6-8, 325) from University Lab in Baton Rouge, La. was the major beneficiary of Livingston's largess, as he led the camp in scoring. Davis looked much better being spoon-fed for easy shots by Livingston than when he tried to do a lot by himself. Of course, since Davis tries to create something for himself on just about every possession, he should lead the camp in scoring. This reinforces our notion that statistics are rather meaningless in evaluating players. To be fair though, Davis did show the best post moves in camp. Aaron Agnew (6-10, 350) from Bellaire, Ohio. Agnew was not as athletic as Davis but also showed surprising nimbleness around the rim.

Getting back to point guards, there were several excellent guards in the camp. Nit-picking, we could say that Daniel Gibson (6-1, 180) from Jones in Houston, Texas spent too much time trying to impress everybody that he is a point guard and not a shooting guard trying to play point, but he had an outstanding week. Although he put up good numbers, Gibson, who is a great shooter with deep range, could have looked for his shot a little more. The Texas Longhorns will be in good hands with Gibson.

Kyle Lowry (5-11, 170) from Cardinal Dougherty in Philadelphia, Pa. also showed a knack for running a team at the camp. Lowry is an equal opportunity distributor and generally displays excellent decision making on when to penetrate and who to go to. He's a Philly point guard so his jumper could be better, but we are very high on Lowry. Besides learning to square his hips on his shot, he needs to prove that he can consistently defend his position to maintain his status as one of the nation's top point guards.

Surprisingly, Jordan Farmar (6-1, 170) from Taft in Woodland Hills, Calif. was running a second unit here and rarely matched up against the best the camp had to offer. Farmar may be the best all around offensive player of all the point guards in this class and will immediately make an impact at UCLA if he learns to defend. Yes, you read that right. Farmar not only looked like he lacked confidence in defending the other guards, but didn't make much effort to stay in front and/or hustle to recover when beat -- and he was getting beat frequently. You can bet Ben Howland will address that immediately. However, his offensive instincts are almost impeccable.

Maryland fans should be ecstatic. James Gist (6-7, 205) from Good Counsel in Wheaton, Md. is going to give them four great years of hustle and athletic plays. Gist just gets the ball. On the glass, on the floor, in the air, it doesn't matter. He makes a lot of athletic plays. Gist plays the four, but will be a true wing forward in the future. He is a great recruit and a great fit for Maryland and Gary Williams.

Disappointments
Shaun Pruitt (6-8, 220) from Aurora West in Aurora, Ill. plays very upright and doesn't have much explosiveness around the basket. That meant he was in for a long game every time he was matched up against an athlete -- which was frequently. He's a smart player and tries to use fakes and his body to create space and fouls, but was much more effective from 12 to 15 feet with the face-up jumper. Pruitt's still a Top 100 prospect, but not one of the elite, as he was advertised.

Power forward James Mays (6-7, 190) from Garner, N.C.had a rough time finishing. Mays looks great in warm-ups but has no game right now. You can be a tweener with no position, but you must have something you do well. Right now Mays needs a lot of work to find his niche on the court if he wants to be a major contributor at a high major program.

Cedric Simmons (6-9, 205) from West Brunswick in Shallotte, NC is a good project, but didn't show much of a feel on the offensive end of the court. However, like Dowell, he is "All Upside." North Carolina State should have him for four years.

Rob Kurz (6-8, 215) from Penn Charter in Philadelphia, Pa. just looked weak the whole week. He was not strong or aggressive around the basket and hurried shooting jumpers. Kurz, who is going to Notre Dame, has a lot to prove.

Point guard Jason Horton (6-1, 170) from Cedar Hill, Texas showed a great handle, but that was the problem. He just showed it. He seldom went anywhere with it and he wasn't efficient with it. Obviously talented, but needs to simplify his game.

While not ranked as high, J.R. Smith (6-4, 180) from St. Benedict's in Newark, N.J. may have been the most talented if you consider athleticism plus ability to create your own shot. Smith, who can simply just go past most people with his first step, made several "fake" moves, like a kid trying out some stuff by himself in his back yard, but he went nowhere. Smith frequently got our attention as we have never seen a player fall on his backside so much without being touched. He tryed so many difficult, deep fall-away shots that he was off balance and fell without contact from the defender. Usually a great passer, here Smith exhibited disdain for the pass. In truth, we have seen Smith several times and know how talented he is, but absolutely cannot ever remember a player with his talent looking so bad in a venue of this stature. The only positive thing we can say is that he had a phenomenal dunk, taking off of two feet from the left hand side of the basket and bringing the ball across his body with two hands for a power dunk on a two on one. Try that one at full speed sometime. That takes tremendous balance, coordination and strength.

Surprises
Always fun to see that some guys are better than advertised, or, just not highly thought of relative to the rest of the campers and show up some of the higher-priced beef.

Jeremis Smith (6-7, 230) from Dunbar in Fort Worth, Texas is an athlete and a half. Smith made play after play on both ends of the court and is that rare American prepster who knows that he's strong and uses it first before going to option two. He is definitely a true power forward who could eventually be a wing forward with power. Smith will finish or die trying.

Alfred Horford (6-8, 230) from Grand Ledge, Mich. is a more willowy power forward type than Smith, but gets it done with his quickness to the glass and a quick first step. Horford will also be a wing forward over time. A lot of upside.

Walter Sharpe (6-9, 230) from A. H. Parker in Birmingham, Ala. isn't a surprise to the schools recruiting him. But what was surprising about Sharpe, is that while he played center in the camp, he handles the ball as comfortably as a guard and can pass. He could stroke it a little better, but he is ready to be a tall wing forward right now. Sharpe is much better facing than with his back to the basket. He knows what he's doing with the ball out on the perimeter. He should be a big-time offensive player some day.

Matt Salley (6-8) from North Mecklenburg in Huntersville, N.C. is still raw but is one of the strongest rising senior sleepers in the class. He is very quick and has a soft touch. Salley could explode as a wing forward three years down the line.

No surprises here ...
Dwight Howard (6-11, 225) from Southwest Atlanta Christian in Atlanta, Ga. re-established himself as the top center in the class of 2004 and with the way he move,s he will be a power forward sooner than later. Howard was the best shot blocker at the camp (ask Kalen Grimes) and his moves around the basket are much more decisive than a year ago. He is a quick leaper and has a nice touch as well. He can take any big man in this class outside and go around them with his first step. Jawann McClellan (6-5, 200) from Milby in Houston, Texas was one of the steadier players here. Fundamentally strong, McClellan, although he is very athletic, plays within himself and lets the game come to him. He suffered from not having a quality point guard on his unit, but he quietly played consistently well all week.

Help, I need somebody, help, not just anybody, help, I need a point guard; or, does anybody have the Zapruder tape because it must have been a conspiracy… It was difficult to see how 7'0 Robert Swift (Highland HS/Bakersfield, CA) had developed since last summer. Senior point guard Quentin Thomas (Oakland Tech/Oakland, CA) must need prescription specs since he often was looking at a perfectly positioned Swift and never gave him the ball, while 6'3 junior shooting guard Monta Ellis (Lanier HS/Jackson, MS) took the name of his position a little too seriously and jacked it up all over the Sigel Center courts. And to top it all off, Swift looked like he was running his camp coach's version of the Wisconsin offense with Swift being the designated screener, usually 15-20 feet away from the basket. Thus, our critique of Swift is limited to the fact that he seldom went for and/or got an offensive rebound, not showing a lot of effort on the offensive glass.

Randolph Morris (7-0, 245) from Landmark Christian in Fairburn, Ga. showed here that the "light" has come on. Morris looked quicker on his feet and rebounded very well, showing much better anticipation than he did last summer. Morris also showed a nice touch from close in but still needs footwork in the post and a go-to move. With his AAU teammate Dwight Howard beginning to look like an early-entry out of high school in 2004, Morris is a "must-have" for Georgia Tech.

Motoring in from Detroit were Malik Hairston (6-5, 175) and Joe Crawford (6-4, 205), both from Renaissance High School. Hairston can really score although he had a quiet camp. Hairston is a talented swing player, but we were actually more impressed with Crawford at this particular venue. Crawford appeared to be a little more aggressive than Hairston. Both are plums, and Crawford has already verballed to Michigan.

Point guard Drew Neitzel (6-1, 165) from Wyoming in Wyoming Park, Mich. gets our "true grit" award, which is good since he'll be playing for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Neitzel consistently pressed up and played tight, tough man to man on each guard at the camp. His handle looked a little more diversified also.

It was a good camp for LaMarcus Aldridge (6-11, 215) from Seagoville in Dallas, Texas. Physically, he was no match for Howard, who he couldn't stop from posting him up down low due to the strength differential. But Aldridge, with a long wingspan, altered a lot of shots, rebounded well and showed his upside. Although a lot can happen in a year, he should most definitely NOT bypass college for the draft, but he should be a future first rounder if he can keep his head straight and has a strong work ethic. As a lot of young, thin big kids are wont to do, he liked to step out a lot. He made a couple but really needs work on his form since the knuckleball is not a popular pitch among top shooters. But he will eventually be more of that outside-inside type of big man -- and a very good one.

Aldrige played with Daniel Gibson and had help from future Texas Longhorns Mike Williams (6-7, 225) from Wilcox Central in Camden, Ala. and 6'7 Dion Dowell (6-7, 190) from Texas City, Texas. Williams hit turnarounds and rebounded well, which are the two things he is being brought in to do as a freshman. Dowell showed his future as he hit an occasional three, but also played good defense and made athletic plays around the basket and in the open court. Regular readers know that we seldom compare players but Dowell reminds us of a poor man's mix of Scottie Pippen and Shawn Marion and he is definitely first team "All Upside."

Rounding out the best unit on any of the camp teams was Aaron Afflalo (6-4, 195) from Centennial in Compton, Calif., who will be a UCLA Bruin. Afflalo had a good battle with Malik Hairston and while his shooting was erratic, his play wasn't. Afflalo is a competitor, and a talented offensive player.

Players we think will pass up a lot of players rated higher than them now after they have played two years in college: Matt Salley, Walter Sharpe, Alfred Horford, Dion Dowell, Jeremis Smith, James Gist.

David Benezra and Mark Mayemura of Recruiting USA cover the national college basketball recruiting scene. E-mail at: hoopsusa@mindspring.com or call 818-363-1978.