Pangos Premier 80: Top Playmakers
Lynwood, Ca. — Belmont Shore club director and Pangos camp and events director Dinos Trigonis drew another strong contingent of players to his July live viewing period kick-off event, the Pangos Premier 80.
Prospects ranged from incoming freshmen to rising seniors and were well-balanced from a positional standpoint with a strong mix of guards, wings and big men. The one-night showcase drew over 40 Division I college coaches as well as a handful of Division II and Division III coaches and a solid media presence.
Here are the top playmakers from the event:
Kevin Bethel, Westchester (CA)
Bethel continues to prove that he’s one of the most underrated point guards in Southern California. The 6-foot rising senior rarely gets sped up, has his head on a swivel in transition, and operates the high ball-screen with precision. Bethel delivers his passes with precision in both the transition and half-court settings.
Jonah Crumpton-Murray, Buchanan (CA)
Crumpton-Murray showed good balance between scoring and creating for teammates. The 6-foot-5 senior to be is smooth with the ball when attacking off the wing, creates his own shot off the bounce, but also has good feel as a passer when probing the paint and kicking to open shooters.
Kameron Ng, St. Francis (HI)
Ng was one of the smallest guards in the gym, and also traveled the one of the greatest distances to get to SoCal, and he didn’t waste his frequent flyer miles or his dribbles. Ng advanced the ball in transition, didn’t over-handle or dribble the air out of the ball, and got into the paint at-will where he drew defenses and found open big men with drop passes or kicked to perimeter shooters.
2019 point guard Daishen Nix showed his elite vision and passing skills at the Pangos Premier 80.Daishen Nix, Trinity International (LV)
Nix’s combination of basketball IQ, laser vision, feel for the game and elite strength and athleticism, and you have yourself a bona fide high major point guard prospect. The 6-foot-4 rising junior ran the show in each game he played in, scoring at-will in transition, while also hitting unsuspecting teammates with bullet passes to their hands. Nix has every pass in the book and makes others around him better.
Jakob Poulton, Columbia (ID)
Poulton has all the intangibles needed for a true point guard prospect. The 6-foot senior-to-be is crafty and shifty with the handle, but also manages to stay under control in both the half-court and transition settings. His deep package of dribble moves and slight hesitations and body contortion allows him to get two feet in the paint when he pleases where he can finish with a floater or make a high IQ pass to a teammate.
Kadar Waller, Bakersfield Christian (CA)
Waller was one of the point guards who did a nice job of balancing getting his own shots and getting his teammates shots. The 5-foot-11 rising senior beat his defenders off the dribble with a good stop-and-go and hip-swivel change of speed and direction. Waller gets off the ball, moves to from side to side and doesn’t settle for contested jump shots.
D’Maurian Williams, Westview (AZ)
Williams made a concerted effort to play the game the right way and his teammates benefitted from it. The 6-foot-4 rising senior rebounds well for his size and position, has the ball skills and vision to push the break and dish to teammates, and uses his strength to overpower defenders in the half-court setting and get into the paint where he can finish through contact.