In what was a great first year showing for the Baton Rouge Community College team camp, head coach Todd Foster and his staff really put on a great 2 day event that included several talented players and teams. The Louisiana Basketball Report wasn't in attendance on friday, but on saturday we saw some very good young players and teams. Let's start with some teams that surprised us.
After losing a host of seniors, The Dunham School of coach Johnathon Pixley has a young team but will be very competitve next season. They have a nice young point guard and a couple of other solid role players with decent shooters that can give a few teams fits next year. We didn't get to catch up with coach Pixley but as soon as we get this pg's name we will let you know it. Another team that looked promising were the Dutchtown Griffins. Ductchtown has a solid PG in senior Jordan Biagas and also a talented scorer in Terrance Cushinberry(who was absent this weekend) as well as a 6'5" sophomore post that will be a factor once he gets some strength and toughness to his game. After defeating Dunham, the Griffins ended the camp with a heartbreaker loss to Covington.
Speaking of Covington, they will be a solid team again next year as long as senior guard Jordan Bickham can follow the scoring prowess that was left by the graduation of BRCC signees Phillip Bickham(his brother) and Jordan Bedford. Another solid 5A team on the day was the 5A runner-up this past year Scotlandville. Scotlandville has a pair of division 1 prospects in 6'1'" senior Levie Wright and 6'8" junior post Zarif Basil. Potential low D1 guards Deshawn Washington and Thaddeus Fortune, also juniors looked very good handling the ball, defending and also making open shots. Wright, showed very good quickness, a knack for scoring off the dribble, with a mid-range jumper and also deep 3 balls. Basil, a little raw offensively, but really rebounds very well, catches the ball in traffic and scores at will when given the opportunity. Scotlandville has all the makings of another potential Top 28 run.
One of the more surprising teams of the day were the Redemptorist Wolves led by junior 6'4" guard Gervaughn McGhee. McGhee, the younger brother of Ronald McGhee(a North Texas signee) showed potential to be better than his brother. Not as good of a shooter, but he can knock down the 3, the mid-range or score on smaller or taller posts with very good post moves. Not only can he score, but he is a very talented passer. With improved strength and quickness, he can be a mid major D1 prospect. Also making a good showing were the Istrouma Indians led by junior PG Darius Johnson. A quick and efficient guard, Johnson ran the show, defended at a high level and showed deep range. With a hard to defend crossover, Johnson was a tough guard for opposing defenders including one of the top defenders in the state in Louis Dabney of Riverside.
The final two teams that played in the event were Christian Life and Riverside Academy, both defending state champions and both well-known powerhouses with good performances on the weekend.. After losing 7 seniors that included 3 division 1 signees, the top 28 MVP, and 5 of the state's top 50 seniors, CLA showed a lot of promise. Led by sophomore Frank Bartley and a solid duo of freshman in Will Jones and Johnathon Stove, the Crusaders may take some bumps and bruises this summer and early next season, but don't count them out. If the freshmen can mature quickly, the Crusaders can make their 5th straight Top 28. Now, the best team of the event with the top player of the event in Ricardo Gathers, the Riverside Rebels looked very strong. While losing a nice group of seniors in Southern Miss signee Cedric Jenkins, Ed Gallina, Kyle McClue and Franklin Francois, the Rebels looked very strong as they easily dominated Redemptorist and Istrouma. With several highlight dunks by nationally known Ricardo Gathers and tenacious defense by Louis Dabney and Lucas Martin, the Rebels looked every bit of one of the top teams in Louisiana next year along with Bossier and St. Augustine.
In what was the first event of its kind for BRCC, the 1st annual team camp was a great success. We want to personally thank head coach Todd Foster of BRCC and his assistant James Rix for hosting a great event that was first class. Also want to thank all the teams and coaches for attending. Everybody had nothing but great things to say of this event. Speaking with Coach Foster saturday he had this to say "It was a great day yesterday(friday) and the matchup of Basil and Gathers was fut to watch." Foster said. "All the coaches were impressed with our facility and said they would love to come back. I expect this event to grow next year and we expect maybe 20 teams or so in the future."
1. Ricardo Gathers- Riverside Academy LaPlace, LA 6’7” 225 lbs. Junior Forward
2. Gervaughn McGhee- Redemptorist HS Baton Rouge, LA 6’4” 180 lbs Junior Guard
3. Louis Dabney- Riverside Academy LaPlace, LA 6’3” 185 lbs. Junior Guard
4. Darius Johnson- Istrouma HS Baton Rouge, LA 6’2” 180 lbs Junior Point Guard
5. Levie Wright- Scotlandville HS Baton Rouge, LA 6’1” 170 lbs Senior Guard
6. Frank Bartley- Christian Life Baton Rouge, LA 6’2” 185 lbs. Sophomore Guard
7. Jordan Bickham- Covington HS, LA 5’10” 165 lbs Senior Guard
8. Zarif Basil- Scotlandville HS Baton Rouge, LA 6’8” 240 lbs Forward
9. Johnothan Stove- Christian Life, Baton Rouge, LA 6’2” 180 lbs Freshman Forward
10.Lucas Martin- Riverside Academy, LaPlace, LA 6’2” 180 lbs Sophomore Guard
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