HACKENSACK, N.J. -- LeBron is gone.

In his place at the 2003 adidas ABCD All-America Camp -- get this -- is a group of roughly 200 pretty darn good high school basketball prospects ready this week to strut their stuff for college coaches.

And those who run this annual all-star showcase are eager for the focus to once again be on the overall talent assembled here at the Rothman Center on the campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University.

"I'm excited," said Gary Charles, an adidas kingpin who runs the perennially powerful Long Island Panthers program.

"LeBron James comes, what, once every 20 years? This is a different year. Now you're talking about 10 to 12 kids."

Probably more.

"The story is the depth," said Dennis Gregory, an East Coast man-about-hoops who runs camps and tournaments out of the Hoop Group's Neptune, N.J., offices.

"Let's get past the unrealistic expectations of a next LeBron. Stop thinking there is a next LeBron. That person doesn't exist. And that's no disrespect to all the talent in the gym."

Food fight

Gobs of America's finest schoolboy hoopsters gathered late Monday night in a ballroom of the Hilton that serves as ABCD's central command. The draw? Grub. Jimmy Salmon coordinated the distribution of obscene amounts of Wendy's cuisine bought specifically to stuff the faces of some 200 hungry teenagers. "Fourth year running," the coach of the Jersey-based Tim Thomas Playaz said with more than a tinge of sarcasm. "Best job in the camp." By the time the task was done, he'd handed out 500 cheeseburgers, 200 hamburgers and 200 orders of nuggets -- 900 servings of food in all. No fries? "We support the Atkins diet," he joked. -- Michael Kruse

Of which there's a ton.

The only question is this: Which position is the strongest?

"It's guard-riddled," said Darren "Mats" Matsubara, a Three Stripes stalwart who heads up the Fresno-based Elite Basketball Organization. "There are so many good guards here."

He's got a point -- no pun intended.

Sebastian Telfair and Shaun Livingston headline a high-profile backcourt roster that also includes Darius Washington, from Orlando, Fla.; Jason Horton, from Cedar Hill, Texas; Josh Wright, from Utica, N.Y.; and Cincinnati commitment Jamar Butler.

But Chris Grier says it's the wings.

"They're the strongest," the coach of the Michigan Hurricanes said Monday evening during the kids' final pre-camp workout.

Josh Smith is considered the best of the bunch -- the 6-foot-9 lefty from Georgia is going to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., next year -- but he's not without company.

Also on the list of perimeter challengers: Roy Bright, from Durham, N.C.; David McClure, a Duke commitment from Stamford, Conn.; and J.R. Smith, from nearby Newark.

But what about the big guys?

Dwight Howard, the brilliant 6-10 center from Atlanta, might be the best prospect in the whole Class of 2004, and AAU teammate Randolph Morris isn't all that far behind.

And Glen Davis, a.k.a. Big Baby, from Baton Rouge, La. is 6 feet, 9 inches and 320 pounds of flat-out unstoppable force.

If the field appears leaner and meaner than in years past, well, that's because it is: It's down around 200 from last year's tally of 230 -- and that's no accident.

"We trimmed the fat," Grier explained, "to make the games that much more competitive."

Mission accomplished. At least so it seems heading into Tuesday's first real day of action here at FDU.

"Look at the talent," said Allen Rubin, who scouts the Northeast for the Louisville, Ky.-based Hoop Scoop. "You talk to the pro scouts, and they're looking at five guys here."

That elite handful: Telfair, Livingston, Howard, Smith, Morris.

And who knows who might join them?

LeBron is gone.

The camp is back.

Michael Kruse, who writes for the Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., is a frequent contributor to ESPN.com.