St. John Bosco’s Daniel Hamilton makes a move on Mater Dei’s Stanley Johnson at last year’s Pangos All-American Camp. The Trinity League rivals are among the plethora of high major prospects set to attend this year’s camp this weekend in Long Beach.
Strong California contingent expected at 2013 Pangos All-American Camp, including state junior of the year (Stanley Johnson) and freshman of the year (Trevor Stanback). Chicago center Cliff Alexander goes for MOP honors for second consecutive year.
Note: At the conclusion of the Pangos All-American Camp, we’ll be providing a report and player rankings from the event. These rankings will be for Gold Club members only. To check out what a Gold Club membership offers, CLICK HERE.
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The Pangos All-American Camp, now in its 11th year, has become a must-stop for national scouts on the summer grassroots hoops circuit.
Fullctpress.net publisher Dinos Trigonis founded the camp in June 2003 as a tool to help promote the Pangos brand. In its early years, Trigonis’ event was the first major stop on the annual All-American camp circuit and served as a “coming out party” for many up-and-coming national high major recruits.
In recent years, following the demise of the shoe-sponsored All-American camps for elite prospects in 2007, the camp has gained notoriety and significance nationwide.
“I feel the camp has evolved into the first must-stop of the summer circuit,” Trigonis said. “It’s now an ingrained part of the June-July national recruiting calendar.”
The Pangos All-American Camp, starting Friday evening at Cabrillo High in Long Beach, brings together approximately 120 of the nation’s top high school players, including high major prospects from outside the state of California.
The MOP’s of the first two Pangos All-American Camps were prep-to-pro players — Bakersfield’s Robert Swift (No. 12 pick in 2004 NBA Draft) in 2003 and Dallas Skyline’s C.J. Miles (No. 24 pick in 2005 NBA Draft) in 2004. All-time MOPs include the Houston Rockets’ James Harden (2006) of Lakewood Artesia, the Milwaukee Bucks’ Brandon Jennings, a California native who finished up at famed Oak Hill Academy, and Mr. Basketball USA picks Harrison Barnes (2009) and Shabazz Muhammad (2012) of Iowa and Nevada, respectively.
Harden is the last MOP who attended a California high school at the time.
In 2012, an underclassmen earned MOP honors for the first time ever. Cliff Alexander of Currie (Chicago) thrust himself into the upper echelon of the nation’s elite prospects with a series of show-stopping performances over three days and headlines this year’s camp participants. The wide-shouldered center earned second team All-American honors as a junior during the 2012-13 high school season and this spring did nothing to hurt his reputation as one of the nation’s top five prospects.
“Cliff had a dominating performance last year and was very consistent from start to finish at the camp,” Trigonis said. “He has a chance to solidify himself as the No. 1 player in the country. Clark Francis of the Hoop Scoop already has his ranked No. 1. He has a good chance to repeat as MOP.”
After trainer Joe Abunassar (Impact Basketball) leads individual instruction on Saturday afternoon, the campers play in a series of games Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The three-day camp is highlighted by two all-star games on Sunday afternoon. The “Cream of the Crop” Top 50 Game and the “Cream of Crop” Top 25 Game will showcase the top overall players at the camp and usually go a long way in solidifying a national reputation or turning a sleeper into a household name.
One local player who Trigonis feels could emerge into a national household name is 6-foot-10 sophomore-to-be Trevor Stanback, last year’s Cal-Hi Sports State Freshman of the Year.
For more info about the Pangos All-American Camp and schedule, please visit fullctpress.net.
Tentative Notable Camp Participants
Justin Bibbins, Bishop Montgomery (Torrance)
Terrence Phillips, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) Jr.
Tra Holder, Brentwood (Los Angeles)
Sedrick Barefield, Centennial (Corona) Jr.
Leland Green, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) Soph.
Robert Cartwright, Flintridge Prep (La Canada)
Isaiah Briscoe, St. Benedicts (Newark, N.J.) Jr.
Josh Perkins, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.)
Casey Benson, Corona de Sol (Tempe, Ariz.)
Julian Richardson, El Camino Real (Woodland Hills)
Trey Kell, St. Augustine (San Diego)
Stephen Thompson Jr., Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) Jr.
Robbie Berwick, Atascadero
Emmanuel Mudiay, Prime Prep Academy (Dallas)
Tyler Dorsey, St. John Bosco (Bellflower) Jr.
Namon Wright, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)
Cameron Walker, Righetti (Santa Maria) Jr.
Rashad Vaughn, Robbinsdale Cooper (New Hope, Minn.)
Daniel Hamilton, St. John Bosco (Bellflower)
Vance Jackson, La Salle (Pasadena) Soph.
Stanley Johnson, Mater Dei (Santa Ana)
Jack Williams, Chaminade (West Hills)
Kevon Looney, Hamilton (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Elijah Thomas, Prime Prep Academy (Dallas) Jr.
Chimezie Metu, Lawndale Soph.
Cliff Alexander, Currie (Chicago)
Chris McCullough, Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)
Chance Comanche, View Park (Los Angeles) Jr.
Trevor Stanback, Chaminade (West Hills) Soph.
Chase Jeter, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Jr.
Jacob Hammond, Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)
Stephen Zimmerman, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Jr.
Thon Maker, Carlisle School (Martinsville, Va.) Soph.
Thomas Welch, Loyola (Los Angeles)
Ronnie Flores is the managing editor of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
