PHILADELPHIA -- After kids struggled to wake up in early morning games at the second day of Reebok's Breakout Classic on the campus of Philadelphia University, the action got moving as the day wore on. The Maryland bound duo of four-stars Romelo Trimble and Jared Nickens stretched the nets and were among several standouts.
Maryland bound duo can stretch the nets
Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon had to feel good watching his committed duo of four-stars Romelo Trimble and Jared Nickens. Both players are smart, both players are tough and both can really shoot the ball from deep.
Trimble has been listed as a point and will play some there as a Terp, but with a penetrating point guard like Roddy Peters already in College Park, Trimble may be even more valuable as a defense-stretching two who can also help out with ball handling duties. A sturdy 6-foot-2 competitor, Trimble is never sped up, makes good decisions and looks like the type of player who lives for the big moment.
Longer and taller than Trimble, Nickens isn't quite the same level of ball handler as his future teammate. But the 6-foot-6 wing from Westtown (Pa.) High is every bit the shooter. A willowy wing scorer who has become dangerous off of two dribbles, Nickens gets his shot off quickly with a nice, high release point. He will have to get stronger, but he is a great fit for what Turgeon already has cooking with his Maryland program.
Right now we would bet on Trimble making a little bit more of an early impact, but it's clear that both he and Nickens should develop into valuable contributors.
Things relatively quiet for five-star
Somewhat surprisingly, things haven't started getting crazy for class of 2015 five-star Derrick Jones. A big-time left-handed athlete with a dangerous stroke from deep, the Radnor (Pa.) Archbishop Carroll product isn't yet a finished product. But the flashes he shows are pretty impressive.
Jones loves to use a shot fake and then makes use of a long and quick first step to get to the rim in a hurry. If a defender challenges him, odds are Jones will come out on top, and he did exactly that on Thursday with one monstrous slam. His ball handling still needs some fine tuning, but it's helpful that he is a threat as a jump shooter.
Still, things haven't gotten too crazy just yet for him on the recruiting front.
"I've gotten a couple of phone calls but it hasn't really been crazy," Jones said. "I feel pretty good about the level of interest though."
According to Jones he's hearing from St. Joseph's, Villanova, Penn State, Syracuse, Kentucky, Kansas, Kansas State and Maryland, among others. Jones said that he garnered an offer from Kentucky on Wednesday night but when asked how the offer was delivered he said that he read on twitter that he had been offered and that the offer had not been delivered by a Kentucky staff member, so we'll hold off on confirming that offer just yet.
Aaron improving, setting his sights on bigs
Through two days of camp, perhaps nobody had played stronger than Louisville-bound Shaqquan Aaron. A lengthy 6-foot-7 wing from Seattle (Wash.) Rainier Beach by way of California, Aaron is at the top of the four-star range and inching ever so close to five-star status.
In the past, Aaron has been content to let it fly from deep. If he was hot, then he was a problem; but if not he became easy to guard. As he did at the recent LeBron James Skills Academy, Aaron was making a noticeable effort to attack off the dribble, which is a good thing. Off the dribble, Aaron is a versatile playmaker for others and scorer. Also, when he plays in that attack mode and gets some easy plays, his jumper seems to start falling as well.
"I'm not taking plays off anymore," said Aaron. "When I'm more active and attacking guys can't relax on me and it helps my teammates out."
In addition to Aaron, Rick Pitino and the Cardinals also hold commitments from two other high end perimeter players in point guard Quentin Snider and Jaquan Lyle. Feeling good about themselves as a dangerous perimeter trio, Aaron said that they are now focused on reeling in one or two quality big men. When pressed, Aaron says that they are really working on five-star big men Myles Turner, Cliff Alexander and Trey Lyles to join them in college.