University of Michigan Team Camp Standouts
On June 24-25th, teams from Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, New York and Michigan came together to participate in the Michigan team camp. Here are a few players and teams that stood out because of how well they played
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Wendell Green 5’10 Detroit Country Day 2020
As a freshman for Country Day, Wendell averaged 19PPG and 6 assists. This summer he can be found playing for the Michigan Playmakers AAU program. Wendell has solid ball handling skills and his ability to see the floor make him a tough matchup for opposing teams. He split traps, spun and dribbled around double teams, got into the paint with regularity and found open shooters. Wendell hit tough shots, including shots off pick and rolls, pull up 3’s in transition and contested catch and shoot opportunities. One highlight included crossing over a kid up top by the volleyball line, he got into the paint and when it looked like Wendell may go in for a layup, he made a behind the head pass to his big for an AND 1 dunk. It’s only a matter of time before Wendell gets his fair share of Division 1 offers.
Brandon Wade 6’2 Ann Arbor Skyline 2018
Brandon Wade had his team playing really well this weekend at the University of Michigan. His defensive pressure caused all sorts of problems for the opponents and led to a lot of transition points for his team. His ability to penetrate and get both feet in the paint made the defense collapse and he found open shooters. He was also the floor general for Skyline and he showed great leadership throughout the weekend.
Brandon averaged 21PPG and 6 assists last year and he hopes to improve on those numbers this upcoming season. He currently holds several mid-major D1 offers including Oakland, Central and Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Kent State, Toledo, Akron, Wisconsin Milwaukee and Detroit Mercy.
Avery Lewis 6’6 Ann Arbor Huron 2018
The thing that stood out the most to me about Avery is his strength. Avery has the ability to rebound the ball offensively through his positioning and holding off the guy trying to box him out which sets him apart from almost every high school kid. When he puts that arm bar on the defenders ribs/back, the defender has no chance of rebounding the ball. Avery showed that he can knock down midrange jumpers and stepped out to hit a couple of 3’s against Lima Senior (OH). When he catches the ball at 15′-17′ from the basket, he can shoot over a smaller defender or go around a bigger defender with slow feet. He is a really tough matchup for opposing teams. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and will talk a little trash to the other team. He doesn’t have any division 1 offers at this time, but I’d be willing to bet he’ll end up with several mid-major offers.
Julius Brown Westerville North 2018
Julius Brown put on a show in the first half against Toledo Whitmer. He showed that he could knock down the 3 by hitting three of them in the first half. He was able to create space between himself and the defender and hit the midrange jumper off the dribble. He has a pretty good first step and sees the floor well. Julius played really hard especially on the defensive end of the court, which you don’t see a lot in the summer. Julius and Trey Syroka went at each other a few times head to head and it was fun to watch. I can see Julius being able to help a division 2 program after graduating high school.
Ann Arbor Skyline (Michigan)
Ann Arbor Skyline was one of the more impressive teams to watch this weekend. Their guards have a lot of athleticism with Brandon and Ryan Wade who were able to pick the pockets of opposing guards multiple times. When they weren’t getting transition points, the Wade’s were able to get into the paint and kick out to shooters. Jack Ammerman seemed to be the beneficiary of the Wade brothers’ penetration. Ammerman knocked down four 3-pointers in the span of about 90 seconds in one game. Ammerman also showed that he could knock down the midrange shots off the dribble as well. I believe Skyline will be the team to beat out of Ann Arbor this upcoming season with Huron on their heels.
Toledo Whitmer (OH)
Whitmer lost a few key pieces from last year (Rayford, Witcher, Franklin) but you wouldn’t know it by the way they’ve been playing this summer. A week ago, Whitmer went 5-0 at the Michigan St. team camp and was 4-0 (including an overtime win over Westerville North) heading into their last game at the Michigan team camp. Trey Syroka has been solid at running the point and is playing with so much confidence right now. Leon Hughes has been relentless on the glass giving his team extra possessions. He is long and has a high motor and I haven’t seen anyone match his efforts on the glass in the last 2 years. Hughes even tried to dunk on a few guys this summer. Without any seniors on the roster, I look for Whitmer to finish in the top 3 in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference with Lima Senior and Toledo St. Johns taking the other two spots.
Lima Senior (OH)
Lima Senior finished 5-0 at the University of Michigan shootout beating Byron (IL), Frankenmuth (MI), St. Francis (NY), Detroit Country Day as well as Ann Arbor Huron. The Spartans have some guards that will sit down on defense and they caused havoc for opposing point guards all weekend. They also showed that they could play at any pace. The Spartans picked up full court and forced a lot of turnovers that led to easy baskets against all five teams, but they also showed that they could play in the half court and run sets to get good looks. Jaleel King, BJ Miller and Naz Cameron all played very well. The Spartans are 9-1 after playing at Michigan St, and the Univ. of Michigan and they played without their two 6’8 players Keaton Upshaw (football) and Jatsiel Colon (meniscus).