RELATED: Introducing Ben Baker and Kamaka Hepa

Norwalk, Calif. -- The depth of the 2015 Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp reflected the vast amount of quality players in the West's 2018 and 2019 classes. There were approximately 15 players in attendance who are a notch above the rest in terms of long-term college potential, but that group dominated camp games to varying degrees. No one player put his stamp on the camp as the undisputed top performer.

There were a vast amount of standouts in the second tier and a number of players had legitimate cases to be selected to the camp's Cream of the Crop Top 60 game, which is for the best performers not selected to the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game, which is designed for the camp's top performers as selected by camp directors and media in attendance.

There was plenty of discussion about the merits of some of the campers who weren't selected for the camp's showcase games or the ones who perhaps should have been in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game instead of the Top 60, but when the dust settled two shooting guards emerged as the Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp MOPs. David Singleton, a 6-foot-4 sophomore combo guard from Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), and Jules Bernard, a 6-foot-5 left-handed wing guard from Windward (Los Angeles), were as close to the ideal combination of high major prospects who consistently dominated camp games as there were at the two-day event.

Singleton had multiple 20-point games to follow up on the excellent performances he stringed together at the recent Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic for Bishop Montgomery. Singleton is also a throwback in terms of competitiveness regardless of camp atmosphere and because of his will to win in every situation. The sophomore wasn't too pleased his team lost in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game despite his 15-point, 6-rebound, 2-steal performance.

With his advanced triple threat game and ability to cover ground while driving, in addition to keeping the defense honest with a dependable jumper, Bernard was arguably the toughest perimeter check at camp. He came as close as any player to dominating camp from start to finish, but a sprained ankle suffered in a Sunday game kept him from producing at his normal level over the second half of the event on Sunday. Bernard finished the Top 30 game with seven points and one rebound.

Two players who might have made their case as camp MOP has they participated in the Top 30 game were 6-foot-5 freshman wing Cassius Stanley (Harvard-Westlake/North Hollywood, Calif.) and 6-foot sophomore point guard Spencer Freedman (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif.).

Stanley wasn't available on Sunday because his high school team was competing in a fall league game (in which he went for 41 points). Freedman didn't play in the Top 30 game because of an academic priority. Stanley is favorably compared to former Compton (Calif.) High School and NBA All-Star Demar DeRozan because of his athleticism and world-class leaping ability. As far as Freedman, it would have proven difficult to find a better perimeter shooter at the event.

The Top 30 game was a close affair until 6-foot-5 sophomore wing Harrison Butler (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.) of the White club made some big plays down the stretch to help his team pull out a 96-87 win over the Black club. Butler knocked down a clutch 3-pointer, made three of four free throws, and came up with five rebounds in the final three minutes of the contest. Butler finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Leading the way in the first half for the White club was 6-foot-8 sophomore power forward Riley Battin (Oak Park, Calif.). Battin used his wide variety of slick post moves and good positioning to score on the inside and clean up on the glass. Battin is coming off knee surgery and wasn't moving as well as his normally does, but his fundamental play made up for the lack of mobility. Last year's freshman All-American (as named by GrassrootsHoops.net) finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.

Payton Moore's Coming Out Party

Six-foot-4 Payton Moore, a power combo guard from Windward (Los Angeles), didn't come into the camp with the national reputation of some of the West's top sophomore prospects, but he upped his national profile because of his standout play. There were probably a dozen or so prospects with more projected "upside" than Moore in attendance, but no player from start to finish played consistently harder on both ends of the floor. Inch-for-inch, pound-for-pound, Moore was the camp's best rebounder and he displayed tremendous finishing ability around the basket.

"Honestly, when I'm out on the court, I think I'm the best player on the floor," Moore said about his mindset coming into the camp. "I pride myself on being a high motor player and doing the right thing. I had a lot of confidence coming in, because I knew with my rebounding I would touch the basketball."

Moore, who has been offered by USC and Boise State, is excited about Windward's upcoming season. The Wildcats have Moore (who came off the bench last season), Bernard and 6-foot-8 Shareef O'Neal (the son of former NBA standout Shaquille O'Neal who wasn't in attendance) for three more seasons. They also have junior point guard Jaylen Harris returning and could be FAB-50 ranked in 2016-17 -- and perhaps this upcoming season with continued development.

Long Trip Pays Off For Trey Johnson

While Kamaka Hepa flew from the Northernmost part of Alaska to attend the Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp, the amount of traveling 6-foot-5 Trey Johnson did to get to the camp is commendable.

The sophomore from Hillcrest (Idaho Falls, Idaho) came with his father via a 16-hour automobile ride and the road trip back home likely felt shorter than the ride in to Southern California after his 15-point performance in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game. Johnson is a solid athlete with a good inside-outside offensive game. He has the ability to hit the deep-range shot or take defenders off the dribble and is an active rebounder.

There wasn't an official Top 60 game MVP named, but Johnson and 5-foot-10 point guard Ethan Anderson (Fairfax/Los Angeles) would have been the prime candidates. Anderson is explosive with the ball in his hands and is nicely developing his lead guard skills. Anderson was one of three talented 2019 prospects from Fairfax -- the other two being 6-foot-4 Robert McCrae and 6-foot Dijuan Chumack.

The Lions' best player, however, in attendance was 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard Jamal Hartwell. A camp veteran, Hartwell has cut down on his turnovers in this type of setting over the last year and is making sound decisions once he gets in the key or past first level defenders. This is significant because he gets the nod as the guard with the best first-step explosiveness in the camp. He finished with five points and six assists in the Top 30 game.

Some of the names prominently mentioned that would have been suitable for the Top 30 game who participated in the Top 60 were Anderson, 6-foot-2 sophomore Jalen Flanagan of El Camino (Oceanside, Calif.), 6-foot-6 sophomore Kaveon Batiste of Pacific Hills (Los Angeles) and 5-foot-11 sophomore Taurus Samuels of Vista (Calif.).

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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Norwalk, Calif. -- One of the most refreshing aspects of the fall grassroots event period is to evaluate young players that may not have played in the big-time July viewing period events or/and those participating in a camp setting with other elite talent for the first time.

The Pangos All-Frosh/Soph Camps serve many purposes -- to evaluate some of the nation's best young talent on the same floor, to give talented young players a platform to gain experience playing against elites in their class and to evaluate young players who may help some of the nation's elite programs during the winter.

The Pangos All-West Frosh/Soph Camp at Cerritos College was the first experience in an elite camp setting for many in attendance and in the first set of games it showed. In those games, there were all-arm shots that didn't come close to the rim, panicked over dribbling and some awkward movements. That is to be expected, but a selected few overcame the early jitters a lot quicker than others and settled into their game.

A couple of newcomers to the camp scene looked stood out and looked like cagy veterans on the first day of the two-day event. For 6-foot-2 sophomore shooting guard Ben Baker of Berkeley (Calif.), he came in with a chip on his shoulder and used that motivation plus his skill to impress the national contingent of scouts in attendance.

Baker is an aggressive offensive player who can finish around the rim with high efficiency and from both sides of the paint. Baker also makes the correct decision the majority of the time in the open court and excels at passing from various angles. Where he really makes his mark is on defense. Baker has great instincts in the backcourt and harassed many offensive players into turnovers before they even got the ball past the half court line. He also picked the pocket of highly-regarded 6-foot-4 freshman Elijah Scranton (Village Christian/Sun Valley, Calif.) in the open court.

"I came here to experience all the different competition, especially since I'm from Berkeley and people don't really know me" Baker said. "It definitely gives me an edge. I've never been to stuff like this."

Baker, who has been playing basketball since he was six years old, patterns his game after "stretch guards" such as Paul George and James Harden. He feels Berkeley's team success will lead to individual accolades.

Kamaka Hepa, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward who came to Southern California from Barrow (Alaska), made quite an impression considering his long trek with his high school coach all the way from the North Slope of America's northernmost state. Hepa is a 4-man with solid face up skills who can attack either way. He is not the quickest of foot, but Hepa makes defensive players commit to him and has solid instincts around the basket. Hepa blocked some shots, has soft hands and knows how to finish once he gets his mitts on the basketball.

It will be interesting to see if Hepa shows even more on the second day of camp as he continues to get comfortable in the camp setting.

Like Baker, 5-foot-10 David Mixon of South Gate (Calif.) hopes team success will boost his individual profile. Mixon is not new to the Pangos Frosh/Soph Camp -- he participated last year -- and displayed marked improvement. That is always something evaluators like to see in a camp veteran.

Mixon's improved physical conditioning helps his confidence and he also has an improved offensive skill set. Mixon has the ability to break down defenders off the dribble and either set up teammates or finish himself with a high percentage shot. Mixon also can get in a stance and defend. His play should help make the Rams one of the top contenders in the L.A. City Section Division 2 ranks.

Marlon Cunningham, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Albuquerque (N.M.), was another relative newcomer to the Grassroots scene who turned heads his with his impressive play. Cunningham is a major factor around the basket with solid scoring ability and great instincts for the ball. He definitely made a positive impression and it will be interesting to evaluate his production level in one of the Cream of the Crop All-Star games.

Other first day camp standouts who came in under the "sleeper" category who had a breakout day include 5-foot-10 sophomore point guard Ronnie Green (Silverado/Victorville, Calif.), 5-foot-11 sophomore shooting guard James Chun (Riordan/San Francisco, Calif.), 6-foot-2 sophomore combo guard Jalen Flanagan (El Camino/Oceanside, Calif.), 6-foot-4 sophomore wing Ofure Ujadughele (Millikan/Long Beach, Calif.), 6-foot-2 sophomore combo guard Caden Farley (Coronado/Henderson, Nev.) and 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Michael Miller (Diamond Ranch/Pomona, Calif.).

Some of the standouts mentioned above don't yet have the national reputations of some of the elites in the 2018 and 2019 class, but with continued development and production could one day be mentioned in the same breath as that small group of players.

Up-and-comers who had productive days shouldn't necessarily be confused with those with the biggest national reputations or the best long-term prospects in attendance. Those players include 6-foot-4 freshman wing Cassius Stanley (Harvard-Westlake, North Hollywood, Calif.), 6-foot-4 sophomore shooting guard David Singleton (Bishop Montgomery/Torrance, Calif.), 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry (St. Augustine/San Diego, Calif.), 6-foot-5 sophomore shooting guard Jules Bernard (Windward, Los Angeles) and 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard Spencer Freedman (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, Calif.).

How the new kids on the block compare with the established campers will further be determined on the camp's second day.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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