Before he took the floor on Saturday, hardly anybody in the gym had ever heard of Australian
Ben Simmons. By the end of the day, the near-6-foot-8 small forward from Australian Institute of Sport in Melbourne had created some kind of buzz.
Arguably the top prospect in camp, the slender southpaw displayed a game that is mature beyond his years.
A fine ball handler who easily creates shots for himself off the dribble, Simmons has feathery touch and deep range on his jumper. In transition, he's a high-level athlete with superior body control who can finish at the rim or make last-second dumpoffs to teammates. He has some post game and will rebound along with everything else.
Rumors are flying that Simmons will end up in the States for his sophomore year, but he denied those rumors and said that for now the plan is for him to return to Australia. That may be the public plan for now, but signs are pointing toward him ending up in the States, where he looks like he will be one of the premier prospects in the class of 2015.
Continuing what has already been a strong Spring,
Jarell Martin was strong on Saturday.
Check that, the 6-foot-9 forward from Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep was downright dominant at times.
Martin is making excellent use of his added strength and has played with tons of energy. He's concentrated his efforts on battling around the rim, running the floor and being a college-ready four man.
It's tough to understand why, but for whatever reason it seems like no matter what
Stanley Johnson does, many question his game. The 6-foot-6 small forward from the class of 2014 is already a star at mighty Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, he's played for USA Basketball and he consistently puts up big numbers.
Still, some sleep on him. Like he has at other stops this summer, Johnson took matters into his own hands at Pangos and showed a game that continues to evolve.
"People have been sleeping on me a little so it's time to wake them up," Johnson told Rivals.com. "I've been in the gym working hard and I'm really just focusing on being a basketball player."
A power wing who gets to the cup, absorbs contact and finishes, Johnson has a well-rounded game. He will shoot the three, is an outstanding low post player and rebounds the ball. Because he's so good in the post, some have argued that he's more of a power forward than a small forward, but Johnson doesn't really care how anybody views him. He just wants to be versatile.
"I want to do a little bit of everything," said Johnson. "I've shown I can play on the wing, and if people say I'm a four, that's fine too because it can be to my advantage to go and play as a four at times."
On the school front, Johnson says that he'll likely start to narrow things down a bit after July. So far he's heard from the entire Pac 12,
Missouri,
Auburn,
Virginia Tech,
Duke,
Kentucky,
Florida,
Florida State and
Texas, among others.
Martez Harrison says that he came awfully close to signing a letter of intent with Southern Illinois during the late signing period. Instead, the 5-foot-10 point guard from Kansas City (Mo.) University Academy will head off to prep school for a year.
"I came real close to going to Southern Illinois, it was a good opportunity," said Harrison. "My dad and I talked and we just decided I should try prep school."
Since making that decision, Harrison has been having a strong spring with the KC 76ers and he continued his strong play at Pangos on Saturday. Powerful and quick, his game is all about staying in attack mode and getting to the bucket to make things happen.
According to Harrison he's received phone calls from
UCLA,
Tulsa,
Clemson, Missouri and Western Illinois, and SIU remains an option.