RELATED: 3 or More NBA Pros on a HS Team | Who's the Greatest HS Team Ever? 

There is a definite difference on how great a high school player is while in high school and how good of a NBA prospect he is and how good of a player he can be down the line.

The same ideology holds true for great high school teams.

Obviously, its record and position in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com is a good indication of how good a team is, but sometimes it's not until many years later that one can look back at a high school team and realize just how great it was. When a player goes on to success at the highest levels of a game, that can obviously enhance the perception of just how good his high school team was. That especially holds true if a team has more than one great player or future pro.

Once in a blue moon a team comes along that you know is special right away in real time as you're watching it. It's evident in its makeup, skill level, size, pedigree and results of its games. In that situation, even the players on the team know it.

That was clearly the case with the high school team most long-time followers, prep editors, and national rankings compilers feel was the best overall during the last 40 years: 1982-83 Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.). That outfit went 31-0 and defeated a strong schedule of foes (for its era) by an average margin of 36.5 ppg. The players on that roster and coach Bob Wade knew how special the group was right then and played accordingly.

It's the same feeling the players off the 2019-20 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) felt in 2020 as the Eagles rolled to a 25-0 record and beat every foe on a true national schedule by an average margin of 38.9 ppg.

Wade's '83 unit cemented its status four years later in the 1987 NBA Draft when three of its players were drafted in the first round. Reggie Williams, the 1983 Mr. Basketball USA went No. 4 overall, spark plug guard and team MVP Muggsy Bouges went No. 12 and reserve Reggie Lewis went No. 22 overall. It blew many people's minds when Lewis, who was Dunbar's sixth or seventh man and averaged 5.5 ppg, became the third player off a single high school team taken in the same draft when the Boston Celtics selected him.

There has been 46 documented high school teams with at least three NBA players on its roster, but that '83 Dunbar team set the standard for other high school teams to follow by having three players taken in the first round of the same draft.

That was the standard until the 2019-20 Montverde Academy team came around.

The Eagles also produced the best player in the country (Mr. Basketball USA pick Cade Cunningham) and rolled to a No. 1 mythical national title as Dunbar did. The players on the Eagles' roster didn't have to wait four years to make history, as the core of the group all declared for the NBA Draft after one year of college (a record-low seven seniors were drafted in 2021). Not only did three players off that Eagles team go in the first round, the team produced the No. 1 overall pick (Cunningham), the No. 4 pick (team glue guy Scottie Barnes) and a third lottery pick in Moses Moody.

Not only did its top three get drafted higher than Dunbar's trio, MVA's 2019-20 team added a fourth first round pick in power forward Day'Ron Sharpe.

2021 NBA Draft Picks From Montverde Academy (Fla).
No. 1 Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State) - Detroit Pistons
No. 4 Scottie Barnes (Florida State) - Toronto Raptors
No. 14 Moses Moody (Arkansas) - Golden State Warriors
No. 29 Day’Ron Sharpe (North Carolina) - Pheonix Suns (traded)
No. 50 Filip Petrusev (Gonzaga/Serbia) - Philadelphia 76ers
No. 54 Sandro Mamukelashsvili (Seton Hall) - Indiana Pacers (traded)
No. 57 Balsa Koprivica (Florida State) - Charlotte Hornets (traded)

As if having four players off the same high school team taken in the same draft isn't enough, the program produced seven of the 60 overall players drafted in 2021.

"This is a special day for all our players their families and the whole Montverde Academy community," said Boyle. "I'm very happy to see all the sacrifice and dedication pay off for all our players. To have seven drafted, four in the first round, and three in the lottery has truly exceeded our expectations. All of these guys are a special part of the Montverde family."

Petrusev was a starter on the 2017-18 team led by Mr. Basketball USA RJ Barrett (the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft) that went 36-0 and wire-to-wire No. 1 in the FAB 50. Mamukelashsvili was a senior on the 2016-17 team that finished 26-5 and No. 5 in the FAB 50. Koprivica, who played with Barnes at FSU, was the starting center on the 2018-19 team that featured juniors Cunningham and Moody that lost in the GEICO Nationals semifinals to eventual FAB 50 National champion IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and finished No. 4 in the FAB 50 with a 22-3 mark.

Cunningham (13.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.4 apg in 2019-20 for MVA) is the third No. 1 overall pick for Boyle, with the first two being Ben Simmons in 2016 (one year after graduating from MVA as the Mr. Basketball USA) and Kyrie Irving, who played at St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.), in 2011. It surprised some when Barnes (11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 4.6 apg for MVA) went ahead of Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs at No. 4 and Moody (10.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg) was drafted alot higher than projected coming out of high school. Sharpe (12.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg) was actually the third McDonald's All-American and earned All-American Elite team honors from Ballislife.

As for the firth starter on that team, that would be sophomore forward Caleb Houstan (10.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who like Barrett, re-classed up after his sophomore season of high school and will head to Michigan this fall after earning All-American acclaim as a senior in 2020-21. In all likelihood, all five of the starters off that 2019-20 Montverde Academy team will eventually play in the NBA.

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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Moses currently hold offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State.

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Moses Moody goes off for 23 points to help the Bradley Beal Squad get the 80-59 victory over Mac Irvin fire. Bradley ended up winning the platinum division championship against Illinois Wolves.

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Related: Texas vs. EVERBODY at Pangos South All-Star Game!

Athleticism will always be one of the first and easiest attributes to identify when scouting young basketball players. Even though it's not hard to spot that aspect of a player's overall evaluation, it was hard to ignore the amount of talented athletes at the 2017 Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp. Among over 200 campers from 13 states, the big guard and wings were easily the positions that produced the most standouts on day one of the two-day affair at The Mac Sports Complex in Lewisville, Texas. Many of them have the necessary size and length to excel on the wing at the next level and the lack of point guards with plus size made the wings stand out even more.

Arguably the two best prospects among the 204 in camp were lengthy wings with an abundance of skill: 6-foot-6 Cade Cunningham, a sophomore (2020) from Bowie (Arlington, Texas), and 6-foot-8 sophomore Greg Brown from Vandergrift (Austin, Texas). Cunningham had the most complete performances on Saturday in terms of scoring, transition game and beating defenders in a variety of ways. Cunningham has a strong frame, good body balance and combines a nice combination of explosiveness and confidence to dominate camp defenders. Brown was scoring in droves, whether making moves off the dribble or scoring around the basket. Brown, who is coming off participating in the 2017 USA Junior National Team Mini-Camp in Colorado Springs, Col. last weekend, was also blocking shots at a good clip and can finish a variety of shots.

Other day one standouts on the wing included Caleb London, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Conway (Ark.), Jaylin Posey, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Grand Prairie (Texas), Jerry Lliya, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from CGM Prep Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.), Chris Moore, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from West Memphis (Ark.), Moses Moody, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from North Little Rock (Little Rock, Ark.), and Matthew Murell, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.).

London has a high skill level while Posey can score on all three levels and is quite bouncy to boot. Speaking of bounce, Lliya was attacking the rim with a vengeance and displayed a relentless motor in both of his Saturday games. Moore was one of the camp's most impressive performers on day one, according to veteran talent scout Van Coleman of The Basketball Channel. He displayed a multitude of skills and got things done for his team. Moody didn't score at a high clip, but he made plays in the backcourt, showed his defensive prowess and continues to develop his body. Murrell is a combo guard who can really glide to the basket, gets good lift on his jumper and uses his aggressive nature to demoralize defenders.

One of the most punishing scorers in the camp so far has been Hayden Brittingham, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas). A beastly scorer around the rim, this physical specimen is a bit undersized for the skill level he brings to the table, but if he continues to develop his face-up game he could develop into a nice combo forward prospect. Regardless of Brittingham's projection, at this camp very few players want a piece of him!

Although there weren't too many plus size lead guards we evaluated, there are some standouts at the one spot. Among the day one point guard standouts included 5-foot-11 sophomore Andre Howard Jr. of Lone Star (Frisco, Texas), 6-foot sophomore Khalen Robinson of Bryant (Ark.) and 6-foot-1 sophomore Gerald Doakes of North Little Rock (Ark.). Needless to say, there are many standouts from the state of Arkansas at this event and it bodes well for the future of high school and grassroots basketball in the Razorback State.

Besides Arkansas and the Lone Star State, the other nine states represented at this deep camp include Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois, New Mexico, Kansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Arizona.

One shooter deserving of recognition for his excellent first day of camp is 6-foot-2 Juan Reyna, a freshman (2021) from Antonian College Prep (San Antonio, Texas). The lefty was confidently knocking down long range shots at a high clip and has an abundance of crafty skill.

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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Lakewood, Calif. -- The purpose of the Pangos Jr. All-American Camp held over the weekend in Southern California was to give some of the West Coasts' top middle school players exposure to an elite camp setting, allow them to test their skills against other elite talent and challenging the participants to break the recent trend of lackluster team play regularly found in grassroots camp settings.

The lackluster me-first attitude of play is proving to be difficult to change overnight, but there were signs of the young teenagers getting the message. They played with a competitive spirit and the ones with a humble attitude and solid work ethic proved to stand out the most among the 120 campers from eight different states in attendance.

One player who combined the correct attitude and work ethic with tremendous talent and oozing potential was 6-foot-3 Moses Moody of Little Rock, Ark. The 13-year old wing is a slasher with the ability to knock down the perimeter shot at a solid percentage. Moody has good length and covers a tremendous amount of ground in the open court where he's most dangerous. Despite being one of the younger eighth-graders in attendance, Moody also had the foresight to know exactly what he needs to work on in order to improve is game.

"People back home say I play like a young Kevin Durant and that is the goal for me, to play like K.D.," Moody said. "He's more explosive than I am and has a better first step and that's where I need to improve."

Moody put his stamp on the weekend with a 23-point, 6-rebound performance in the Best of the Best Game designed for the camp's best overall players regardless of class. He nailed five 3-pointers and made 9-of-12 shots from the field (best among all players) to lead his "Black" team to a 133-100 victory. There is a good chance Moody will end up at Parkview High School in Little Rock this upcoming fall.

Another player unknown in local circles who stood out over the weekend was 6-foot-4 Jalen Green of Fresno, Calif. Green is a terrific multi-dimensional athlete with great burst to beat defenders. He also was one of the camp's high flyers and threw down the most memorable dunk of the event that served notice Green's ability was not to be overlooked. Even though he didn't play particularly well in the Best of the Best Game for the losing "White" team, Green was one of the event's standout performers.

Besides Moody and Green, some of the most explosive players, whether in the open court or with their first step, were 6-foot-3 eighth-grader Khamron Joseph Cantrell of West Los Angeles, 6-foot eighth grader Josh Christopher of Carson, Calif., 5-foot-7 seventh grader Keon Henderson of Detroit, Mich., 5-foot-10 eighth grader Paris Dawson of Carson, Calif. and 5-foot-9 seventh grader Richard Sarmiento of Phoenix, Ariz.

Dawson, a confident guard who can score in bunches, was joined by 6-foot-1 Malik Thomas as the only seventh graders (Class of 2021 prospects) to participate in the Best of the Best Game, which was filled with a vast majority of the most mature and physically developed crop from the camp. Thomas, a big-bodied guard with a variety of scoring skills, was one of six players in double figures for the White team with 11 points. The Alta Loma, Calif. product is the cousin of San Diego State standout and 2015 Ballislife All-American Game participant Jeremy Hemsley.

Leading the way for the White club was 6-foot-6 eighth grader Johnny Juzang of Tarzana, Calif. A fluid and mobile player who grabs offensive rebounds and uses his quick hands and feet to score in a variety of ways, Juzang finished with a team-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Christopher, the younger brother of NBA player Patrick Christopher, added 13 points.

In addition to Moody, the Black team got a terrific performance from 6-foot-1 eighth-grader Ryan Evans of Trabuco Canyon, Calif. and 5-foot-9 eighth grader D.J. Davis of Moreno Valley, Calif. Evans is a sweet-shooting two-three combo who competitive nature with the ability to shoot at a high clip when his feet are set. He finished with a game-high 26 points, including three 3-pointers, and five rebounds. Davis is a natural scorer who can light it up from all three levels. He finished with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and three assists.

The best overall stat line was turned in by the Black's Yassine Gharram, a 6-foot-1 guard from San Diego, Calif. Gharram sees the floor and is an instinctual rebounder who can do a bit of everything out on the court. Gharram finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and one steal.

In the Top 40 (second game), 6-foot-1 eighth grader Dalen Terry of Phoenix, Ariz. had an outing that was on par with Moody's and Gharram's performance in the top game. Terry had 18 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but his White team came up just short against the Black, 74-71. Terry continously looks ahead for the open man and knows how to create for others or get an open look for himself. Similar to Moody, Terry is also a 13-year old heading to high school in the fall and it was evident the lanky point guard was one of the better long-term prospects of the 120 participants. An area of improvement for Terry is finishing high percentage field goal attempts around the basket, which will likely be addressed as he adds strength.

Clark Francis of the Hoop Scoop felt Terry was the best player in the second game, while Sarmiento (14 points, 4 assists) and Henderson (17 points, three assists, two steals) were the standouts in the Top 7th Grade game. Sarmiento is a shooting guard who gets to where he wants on the court and is an advanced scorer, while Henderson was one of the best on-ball defenders and is already an elite ball-handler.

There were a handful of sixth and fifth grader in attendance, and two sixth graders (Class of 2022) deserving of recognition were 4-foot-11 guard Josiah Johnson of Sacramento, Calif. and 6-foot-3 post player Christian Moore of North Hollywood, 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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