Camp Chatter: What players were saying at USA Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS - After four sessions of the 2017 USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp, the elite group of invited players had plenty of opinions on what they saw at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. We asked some of them to give their opinions on some of the camp's highlights.
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BEST DUNKER
"Best dunker? Are you serious? Zion Williamson. It's not even a question. Everyone knows it. Next." - 2019 point guard De'Vion Harmon
"You're really asking people like they're not going to say Zion? Come on, he's the G.O.A.T." - 2018 point guard Immanuel Quickley
"Name one other person out here that can do what Zion does. Like seriously, he's on a level of his own." - 2018 forward Nassir Little
SECOND BEST DUNKER
"Second best dunker would have to be Emmitt Williams. He’s so powerful and then he just talks so much trash right afterwards." - 2020 Wing Scottie Barnes
"I like Emmitt Williams' game a lot. I mean, we both love to dunk and it's fun to be out here playing with him. He's nice with it." - 2018 forward Zion Williamson
CLASS OF 2018 MVP
"I would give the MVP to either Cam Reddish or Jahvon Quinerly. Cam Reddish was just a bully on the court. I just felt like he was everywhere. And with Jahvon, he’s just so quick and can find anyone in the lane." - 2020 point guard Jalen Green
"I'll go with Cam Reddish for MVP in the 2018 class. I think he played the best out here and has a strong all around game." - 2020 forward Dudley Blackwell
CLASS OF 2019/2020 MVP
"Jalen Green gets the MVP for the 2020 group for sure. Just in the way he competes and the fact you can’t even tell he’s a 2020 kid." - 2018 guard Quentin Grimes
"R.J. Hampton. He has a high basketball IQ. He can shoot it, drive it, and play D. I like his game a lot." - 2018 guard Anfernee Simons
"James Wiseman is playing phenomenal this weekend. That dude deserves to be No. 1 in the class for real." - 2018 guard Darius Garland
BEST POINT GUARD
"Tre Jones. He runs the point really well and he’s so confident. He’s always getting people involved, getting people open shots." - 2020 guard Jalen Suggs
"Probably Darius Garland. His hesitations are so crazy. Like, very crazy. Dude’s tough to guard." - 2018 wing Keldon Johnson
BIGGEST TRASH TALKER
"Emmitt Williams for sure. He talks way too much. He’s out here fouling someone hard and then starts saying, 'that’s good D, that’s good D,' and everyone on the floor is like, 'you fouled him, bro.' He doesn’t talk smack to me though. He knows better." - 2018 guard Romeo Langford
"Without at doubt Keldon Johnson. That’s all he does on the court. He would say stuff to me like, ‘you better stop before I get going,’ and he always makes sure to say something to you running down the court after he makes a shot." - 2018 guard Immanuel Quickley
BEST SHOT BLOCKER
"Best shot blocker is Bol Bol. He didn’t block any of my shots, but I watched him all weekend protect that rim." - 2020 guard Scottie Barnes
"It’s either Isaiah Stewart or Bol Bol. Isaiah’s just so big and strong and his timing is on point and Bol is just so long and he gets up there." - 2020 guard Jalen Green
BREAKOUT PLAYER
"Xavier Foster came out of nowhere and had a big weekend. I’m not even talking about shattering the backboard. He was good all weekend." - 2018 forward Reggie Perry
"Did you see Tyler Herro shoot tonight? He was not missing. He can be on my team all day any day. Ty had a great weekend." - 2018 forward Emmitt Williams
TOP DUNK OF THE WEEKEND
"Scottie Barnes when he dunked on Emmitt Williams. That was tough. And Emmitt runs his mouth so much but he wasn’t saying anything after that happened." - 2020 guard Jalen Suggs
"That one play where Zion Williamson had that block and then came down the court for a dunk. When I saw him running down in transition we all knew what was coming." - 2018 guard Anfernee Simons
FASTEST FIRST STEP
"Probably Tre Jones. He was on my team this weekend but I’ve guarded him in the past and he’s just so quick with that first move. It’s like he doesn’t even have to think about it." - 2018 guard Romeo Langford
"Jahvon Quinerly. He’s so fast. JQ got it. He gets me sometimes when I’m playing D on him and after that first step, you just can’t recover." - 2021 guard Zion Harmon
BEST SHOOTER
"Immanuel Quickley. He came out here and shot the ball well every drill and every game. And then that dude is out here after each session getting more shots up. That’s what’s up." - 2020 guard R.J. Hampton
"The best shooter here is Darius Bazley. He’s cash money behind the three. He's going to make some noise at Syracuse that's for sure." - 2020 guard Scottie Barnes