By ADAM ZAGORIA
The 16th annual Pangos All-American Camp has been certified by the NBA, meaning NBA scouts can attend and observe some of the top high school players in the Classes of 2019, ’20 and ’21, a source told ZAGSBLOG.
An official memo to NBA teams will be released on Tuesday.
The camp runs June 1-3 at Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif.
“I think they just want to give us more access,” one NBA scout said.
The move comes as the NBA’s one-and-done rule seems destined to end sometime in the coming years. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported there was movement to end the rule “but not before 2020.”
“I think you’ll see more events get sanctioned that are worthy of [the NBA’s] attention, whether they’re shoe-related or not,” the source said.
Right now, only a handful of high school events are sanctioned by the NBA, including the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Nike Hoop Summit, Adidas Nations and a few others.
At the recent Signature All-Canadian Showcase, 22 NBA scouts showed up.
The Pangos A-A Camp is one of the top exposure camps in the nation and is regularly one of the most heavily attended events of the year by major media and scouts .
NBA All-Stars James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Jrue Holiday are just a few of the 72 camp alums that are currently playing in the NBA.
Among the top Class of 2019 national prospects that have accepted invitations to this year’s event are Charles Bassey, Precious Achiuwa, Cassius Stanley, Jaden McDaniels, Kofi Cockburn, Josh Green, Wendell Moore, Jalen Wilson, Isaiah Mobley, Tre Mann, Aidan Igiehon, PJ Fuller, Isaac Okoro, Jahmius Ramsey, Alonzo Gaffney, Samuel Williamson, Christian Brown, Omar Payne, Drew Timme, Isaac Johnson, Charles Coleman, Eric Dixon, Jaime Jaquez, Jake Kyman, Gianni Hunt, Boogie Ellis, Jalen Hill, Dontaie Allen, Max Agbonkpolo, CJ Walker and Qudus Wahab.
Among 2020 recruits, Scottie Barnes, Isaiah Todd, Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, Josh Christopher, Cade Cunningham, Kyree Walker, Sharife Cooper, Jaden Springer, Johnny Juzang, Jaylen Clark, Anthony Edwards, Brandon Boston, Xavier Foster, Ziaire Williams, Isaiah Jackson, Isaiah Cottrell, Mark Williams, Chanse Robinson, Che Evans and Jaemyn Brakefield have accepted invites.
The 2021 guys include Moussa Cisse, Mousa Diabate, Adrian Griffin, Sekou Kalle & Franck Kepnang.
Barnes, ranked No. 5 in the 2020 Flo40 out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) University School and Nike Team Florida, said he doesn’t envision himself going straight from the preps to the pros even if he has the option.
“It’s always going to be something to look into to see if you’re in the right position or not, but me personally I think I want to go through the college experience and see what’s that like,” the 6-foot-5 Barnes told me last month. “I just want to go to college.”
He also said he can’t see himself following the Darius Bazley model of skipping college for the NBA G League.
“I don’t agree with that decision,” Barnes said. “I’d rather just go to college and just do that.”
Photo: Jon Lopez
