By Brian Crownover
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{mosImage}Here is a look at more of the top players at Eastern Invitational from Friday evening and all day Saturday.

Andrey Semenov (2008, 6-7 SF)
Andrey is a very skilled European style player. He does an excellent job of moving without the ball and it leads to a number of easy lay-ups. He possesses a smooth jumper as well; although he was hitting too much on this day. Andrey wowed the crowd with a beautiful behind the back dribble and followed it up with a finger roll finish. He handles the ball quite well. He is on the thin side and plays much more on the wing than in the post. Andrey has several CAA schools tracking him and the gifted forward put together a solid outing. 

Jordan Clarke (2008, 6-7 230 SF)
Jordan is a big and skilled wing player. He handles the ball very well for his size and can get to the hoop in that fashion. The lefty can hit the pull up jump shot as well. He scored on a difficult bank shot in the lane during one game. The face up forward also rebounds the basketball and scores off of the offensive glass. Jordan did miss on a three point attempt. It would also be nice to see him use his size some more in the low post. The face up forward is quite a talented player though.

Greg Mangano (2008, 6-9 PF/C)
Greg was one of the more skilled big men at the camp. He’s very efficient on the interior and seems to have mastered the short turnaround jump shot. He has good hands and soft touch. Greg plays more of a finesse game than an explosive or powerful one. He is versatile and if left outside unguarded he can bury the deep jumper. Not surprisingly, he is also pretty good on the boards. 

Ruben Balkum (2008, 6-4 SG)
I’ve been very interested in catching Ruben again since I only saw him in limited action back at the Southern Invitational. Ruben can flat out score the ball. The lefty is very smooth with the rock in his hands and has a good crossover move. He has a nice mid range game and his shot does extend out to three. Ruben has a knack for making good passes very late after drawing the defensive towards. He also runs the floor well. He appears to be flying under the radar, but that may change.

John Edwards (2008, 6-8 PF)
John was back to the form he showed here last year. The skilled lefty opened with a nice spin to the right for a lay in down in the low block. He finished around the hoop throughout the game. He’s not a great athlete, but instead a highly skilled and versatile forward. John stepped outside and banked a deep jumper. He also dialed in another long range jumper. He can get to the basket off the dribble too. John is a player whose ability play inside or outside should draw him a lot of attention.

Marquel DeLancey (2008, 6-2 190 PG) Committed to Old Dominion
Marquel is a solid point guard with good size. He gets up the court fairly quickly by dribbling in a straight line. He doesn’t possess an explosive handle though. Marquel is an unselfish player who looks to get his teammates involved. On this day, he might’ve done that too often as he rarely looked for his own offensive. He didn’t make any spectacular passes or poor decisions. Marquel jumped into the passing lanes and picked up a few steals on the defensive end. He didn’t show much in terms of a jump shot. He also had trouble finishing around the basket from time to time. Marquel had a decent day, but really could’ve helped himself by being more aggressive and assertive. 

Marc Hill (2008, 5-9 PG)
Marc didn’t look nearly as dominant as he was with his high school team a couple weeks back. The small, but quick point guard was still solid though. He had several nice passes to his teammates. He also converted on a beautiful one handed runner in the lane. Marc did struggle with his outside shot though. 

Kendrix Brown (2008, 6-2 PG/SG)
Kendrix is a guard who possesses a good combination of quickness and strength. He ran the floor well and finished on the break, although he did have some trouble with that from time to time. He’s quick off the dribble and can get into the lane. Kendrix can also hit the deep jump shot.

Eghoesa Edomwonyi (2009, 6-8 PF) 
Eghoesa is a big, strong and athletic forward. He’s a great rebounder and a pest in the paint. Eghoesa can also handle the ball and finishes around the hoop with his size. Because of his size and skills, he also gets to the line a ton.

Tony Taylor (2008, 5-10 PG/SG)
Tony had a decent game. The quick guard had several nice finishes on the break. He also hit a one handed runner with a high degree of difficulty.

William Harrison (2008, 6-5 SG/SF)
William is a long armed and talented wing. He opened with a nice pass in the first game and looks to distribute often. He gets into the lane in a hurry off of the dribble. William can also step outside and knock down the occasional jumper. He’s at his best driving though. He has athleticism to go along with his quickness. William had some trouble finishing at times when he got into traffic. Overall he had a solid day though.

Troy Franklin (2008, 5-10 170 PG) 
Troy is a small guard who is fairly quick off the dribble. He has a solid crossover move. He does like the pull up jump shot and hit it fairly frequently. Troy had a nice spin move in the paint, but couldn’t finish. He could look to pass the ball more often.  

Jermel Jenkins (2008, 5-10 PG)
Jermel is a small, pass first point guard. He’s a solid ball handler, but not super explosive. He hit a nice pull up jumper in the lane and really had that shot going in the second half. He also played solid defense.

Sean Thomas (2008, 6-3 SG)
Sean put together a solid outing. He hit a tough fade away mid range jump shot. He also ran the floor well. 

Leek Leek (2009, 6-5 SF/PF)
Leek was easily the most athletic player at this came. He’s only listed as 6-5, but was blocking shots like a 6-10 player. He has great hands and rebounded well. He also made several nice passes. Leek did miss a pull up on one of the few perimeter shots he took. His offensive game could still use work, but there’s really no substitute for his athletic ability.

Jarrett Jernigan (2009, 6-2 PG)
Jarrett is a guard who’s very quick off the bounce. He distributes the ball quite well. He scored on a nice spin moves and floater in the lane. Jarrett was quiet from the perimeter though.

Chris Morris (2009, 6-1 PG)
Chris is a big bodied guard. He runs the floor and can score in transition. He has a good feel near the hoop and uses his size well in that area. Chris finishes well after contact too. He’s a solid ball handler, although not dynamic. He hit a pull up jumper as well, although also missed on another attempt.

Jasheer Bronson (2009, 5-10 PG)
Jasheer is a very quick ball handling guard. He can drive in either direction. His best play of the game was a difficult bank shot in the lane after putting the ball on the floor.

Brian Freeman (2009, 6-7 SF/PF)
Brian is a player who has a smooth shot and can hit from the mid range area. He is an okay ball handler, but could improve in that area. Brian had a nice put back on the offensive glass and was steady on the boards throughout the game.

PJ Mills (2008, 6-11 C)
PJ was the tallest player at camp that I was able to catch. He has good size on his frame too. He’s not a great athlete, but does rebound well. PJ can score around the basket some, but his offensive game does need some work. 

Mario Monroe (2010, 6-7 PF)
Mario is a long and athletic player. He’s a good finisher around the basket.  The  youngster has a pretty bright future ahead of him.