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NBPA Top 100 Camp: Day 3, Morning Session

Charlottesville, VA- Friday morning at the NBPA Camp saw Ohio State-commit Anthony Crater matched up against Arizona-commit Brandon Jennings (left) in a showdown between two of the class of 2008’s top floor generals.

Jennings’ Lakers squad won the game but Crater wasn’t shown up by any means.  The players had vastly different styles of play on this day as Jennings did most of his damage by driving to the hoop and executing acrobatic finishes while Crater played like any coach would want his point guard to play as he continually drew the defense to him and dished to open teammates, including a pair of behind-the-back passes to BJ Mullins that resulted in dunks.

Jennings looks a step quicker than any point guard he’s faced this week and we have yet to see a defender that can stay in front of him.  Although Jennings’ numerous dribble drives and finger rolls were impressive, the most exciting play came late in the game when he was wide open on a fast break and instead of laying the ball in himself, he threw the ball off the backboard to teammate Demar Derozan for an alley-oop dunk.

As for Crater, he isn’t a big scoring threat at this point in his career, but he has been second-to-none this week when it comes to creating plays for his teammates.  He has a great sense of how to penetrate and draw the double team which gives his running mates open looks.

Elliot Williams continues to impress this week and he followed up his 21 point effort from last night with another good showing this morning.  Williams had his outside shot going as he hit a number of trifectas in addition to blowing by defenders for easy lay-ins.  He showed off his athletic ability when he got out front in transition and threw down a nasty 360 dunk.  Don’t be surprised if this uncommitted star takes top honors at camp.

Others to impress us this morning were Iman Shumpert (6’4 CG River Park, IL) who patiently waits for open shots and is money when he gets his opportunities, Tony Mitchell (6’7 SF Swainsboro, GA) who has put up big scoring numbers in most games he’s played in and looks the part of a legit top 50 player and rising, Kendall Marshall (6’3 PG Bishop O’Connell, VA) who is one of the most poised point guards in camp despite being only a rising sophomore, Elston Turner (6’4 SG Roseville, CA) who is a bulls-eye shooter that also looks to be a top 50 caliber player nationally, and Henry Sims (6’10 C Mount St. Joseph’s, MD- committed to Georgetown) who has been finishing at a high percentage when he gets the ball close to the basket.

Stay tuned for more event coverage from the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp!

Nathan@HoopsReport.com