Measuring Up at NIKE Skills Academy
August is a time for camps.
NIKE hosted numerous high major prospects mid-August at their NIKE Skills Factory. This event used to be splintered into positions like a Point Guard Skills Academy, Wing Skills Academy, and Bigs Skills Academy. In the last two years they streamlined the schedule and host just the one. Who knows what NIKE plans for the 2019 year with all of the NCAA rule changes?
These players were measured and evaluated at NIKE this weekend.
James Wiseman stood 7-foot-1 with a nice, but not spectacular 7-foot-4 wingspan. Wiseman has grown maybe 1-2 inches in the last year. His weight is now up to 237 pounds. That is encouraging as James was very thin early in his school career.
With NBA aspirations it makes sense he is angling for more weight. Penny Hardaway and his trainers really helped improve James physically as well as mentally. The mental toughness of James Wiseman (#1 in 2019 in TN and #3 nationally) is light years ahead of where it was at Ensworth.
The only other recent Bluff City Legends player in attendance was D.J. Jeffries. Jeffries recently decommitted from Kentucky and as you might expect BBN lost their minds. Jeffries seems poised to pick Memphis, but his college choice is still not announced.
At the combine Jeffries measured 6’7.5. He projects as a taller wing with supreme athleticism and shooting range. DJ plays high school with Olive Branch, a team that really should win a Mississippi state title in 2018-2019. The wingspan of Jeffries resides at 6’9.5.
There were not many other players with Tennessee ties. Former Team Penny starter John Petty (AL) competed. He attends University of Alabama. Petty was measured at 6’5.5 and still hasn’t found a way to tack on meaningful weight. He only nudged the scales to 190. Petty’s trademark mid-range game vaulted him to a Kentucky offer, but ultimately he selected Bama.
Finally, M33M/Hoop City starter Trendon Watford checked in at 6’8.5. That is very, very tall for the shooting guard position, but unlike his older brother Christian the younger Trendon practiced ball handling throughout his youth. He can handle and shoot so well that he might get away with lining up as a scoring wing in college and beyond.
Watford’s wingspan is a staggering 7’1.5.