Chris Matagrano

July is a big month on the traveling circuit.  The Hoop Group Elite Camp is one of the top events.  Action continued from the College of New Jersey on Sunday.  Here is a look at more of Sunday's action.

Paul Bilbo (2009, 6-8 PF)
Paul put together a very strong outing on Sunday afternoon.  The skilled lefty was very effective on the interior.  He possesses a good frame and nice touch around the rim.  He uses the glass well and often.  Paul showed off a couple moves around the hoop, including a short hook.  He banked in another shot and had several lay-ins.  He does a good job of getting positioning on the inside and very few of his shots were taken from outside of 5 feet from the hoop.  Paul can put the ball on the floor a little too as he showed with a short drive and finish.  He had a nice pass inside from the perimeter as well and had an outstanding game on the boards.  Paul did struggle defensively when trying to guard a quicker forward on the perimeter.  He needs to learn how to move his feet quicker.  Paul isn't the most athletic kid, but he makes up for it with skill and size.  He certainly had a good showing on this day.  He's strong in the classroom too so that should help him out as well.

Chris Matagrano (2009, 6-8 PF)
This big man was also quite impressive.  Chris is very active and moves well.  He possesses good hands and a decent build.  Chris is also skilled and he showed good touch on the interior.  He banked home one shot on the inside.  He also grabbed a couple boards.  From the perimeter, he did miss a jumper.  He can handle the ball a little too.  Chris didn't dominate, but showed some solid all around skills. 

Jordan Allen (2011, 6-5 SF/PF)
This young, left-handed wing player is quite gifted.  He’s very smooth with the rock in his hands.  He can drive in either direction and can get into the lane.  He had a nice drive and dish finish.  Jordan can play on the outside too.  He buried a pair of deep jumpers in the contest.  He showed his athletic ability on a blocked shot too.  Jordan is among the best underclassmen in this event and looks to be making a name for himself.

Kyle Gaillard (2009, 6- SG/SF)
For a while, it looked like this skilled lefty was going to have a bad game.  He got off to a slow start before make many of the impressive plays that he had come up with just a day earlier.  Kyle was at his best in transition.  He’s very good at rebounding and pushing the ball.  He’s got the size to grab boards and the ball handling ability to attack.  He can finish well around the basket with either hand.  From the outside, Kyle hit a fall away jumper as well as another shot from deep.  He used his length to play the passing lanes and grab several steals.  After one of them, he finished with a dunk.  On a day that didn’t produce many standout players, Kyle became one of the few exceptions with another strong performance.

Marcus Damas (2009, 6-4 PG/SG)
Marcus is a lanky wing who is comfortable attacking off the dribble.  He got into the lane frequently off of the bounce.  He converted on a runner, had a scoop finish and also drew a foul in the lane.  Marcus scored on an offensive rebound put back too.
 
Corey Wright (2009, 5-10 PG)
This small lead guard showed that he’s a very quick ball handler.  He can get into the lane off the bounce, although he didn’t look to attack too often.  Early on, he made several strong passes to his teammates.  He did go somewhat quiet though after the quick start.

Joe Willman (2009, 6-5 SF/PF)
Joe put together a decent outing.  Among his highlights were a drive and banked finish.  He ran the floor and scored several times in transition.  The skilled forward made several nice passes too.  Joe has good hands and put forth a strong effort on the board.  He did knock down a mid range jumper, but was inconsistent from that range.  He does a number of different things, but none of them particularly well.  If he could really develop one area of his game, it would help his stock rise.  Joe is still a very solid player.

Parrish Grant (2009, 5-10 PG)
Parrish didn’t take many shots, but he was quite efficient when doing so.  He attacked off the dribble on one play and finished with a lay-up.  On the outside, he knocked down a pair of jumpers, including a pull up jumper where he displayed a quick release.

Riley Maye (2009, 6-8 PF/C)
Riley put together a much better outing than the first time we saw him on Saturday.  The forward scored a couple times on the interior, including a turn around jumper.  He also stepped outside a little and hit a 10 foot face up jumper.  Riley blocked a pair of shots on the defensive end and grabbed several boards too.

Antoine Allen (2009, 6-2 SG)
Antoine is a very quick change of direction ball handler.  He got into the lane some off the bounce, but also wasted a lot of dribbles.  With his speed and quick release, he can get his jumper off quickly.  He hit a pull up jumper among his few shot attempts.  Antoine also possesses nice size for a lead guard.

Mario Monroe (2009, 6-7 PF)
Mario is a lanky, face up forward who is fairly athletic.  In this contest, he hit a 12 foot jumper after grabbing a rebound.  He added in several other rebounds and blocked a shot too.  He did fail to convert in the post.

Jason Sharp (2009, 5-9 PG)
Jason is another guard who can really handle the rock.  He’s very small and quick off the bounce.  He got up and down the court and had a nice finish in transition.  Jason also hit a jumper in the contest.  His lack of size could hurt him as he moves up.

Mike Burwell (2009, 6-6 SF)
Mike certainly passes the look test.  The strong forward already has a college body.  Unfortunately, he really struggled in this contest.  He opened with a nice drive to the rim and bank finish.  He converted on another nice scoop finish.  Mike struggled to hit from the outside.  He can handle the ball some, but seemed to lose the ball on more than one occasion.  He could improve his handle.  Mike did show that he can use his strength to score in traffic.  Overall he could’ve been a bit more productive though.

Naufall Folahan (2010, 6-10 PF/C)
We only saw a few minutes of this contest, but the “other” Massanutten Military Academy big man stood out.  He’s a very long post player.  He scored a lay-in with a foul on one play.  Naufall also hit a short face up jumper on another play.  He does a good job of keeping the ball high around the rim.  He would benefit by adding some strength.

Trevor Cooney (2011, 6-2 SG)
This young talent held his own in the contest we saw.  He possesses a smooth stroke and showed it off with a couple jumpers, including one from very deep.  Trevor also drove to the rim on several occasions and can attack in either direction.

Given Kalipinde (2009, 6-4 SG)
We only got to catch the end of his game, but Given made several nice passes.  He also showed he can handle the ball some.

Rasheem King (2009, 6-4 SG)
Rasheem is a big guard with decent ball handling skills.  He failed to show much else though in this contest.  He airballed a three pointer for the lone shot attempt that we recall.

Shane Southwell (2010, 6-5 SG)
Shane is another guy who we didn’t see much of, but he stood out.  He’s a big, lanky wing player who can handle the ball and get into the lane.  He also had a nice pass in the few minutes of action we saw.

Tony Peters (2009, 6-6 SF)
This face up forward is a very good passer.  He had several assists in the game.  He also made a few plays attacking the basket off the dribble.