Phenom Hoop Report (ACC, A10, Big East, Big South, Big 10, Big 12, CAA,
Conference USA, Independents, Missouri Valley, Northeast, PAC 10, SEC,
Southern Conference)
Before getting out of the game, Rick Lewis established himself as one of the
most successful N.C. AAU Basketball coaches in history. His teams won N.C.
state AAU championships seven times, including five from 2002-08. At the AAU
National Event, Lewis’ teams placed in five of the past eight, finishing in
the top 10 five of those years and winning a national championship in 2004
for the 11 & under team.
Rick was coach and founder of the Carolina Flight AAU organization. His
philosophy was simple, but effective: to build championship-caliber teams
and players on and off the court by helping players develop character,
sportsmanship, a hard work ethic and a winning attitude, things that they
could carry forward in high school, college and the rest of their lives.
That philosophy has worked: more than a dozen of Rick’s former players are
now playing or will be playing Division I college basketball.
For several years, Rick has also been the regional director for the N.C.
Junior Phenom Camp and the N.C. Phenom 150 Camp. Rick has developed a
reputation nationally for providing the most organized and professional
regional exposure/evaluation camps in the country. Rick is now the founder
and editor for the Phenom Hoop Report, a college basketball scouting service
that is known for covering the top high school, AAU and exposure events in
the country.
Today, schools from every major conference are taking his service. The
Phenom Hoop Report was based upon a simple philosophy of “balance, thorough,
and detailed evaluations based upon the 3 P’s philosophy of Performance,
Production, and Potential.”
Rick graduated from Appalachian State University in 1979 with a degree in
Business Administration. Rick has been married to his beautiful wife
Margaret for over 30 years and is a father of three. He has one daughter,
Bridgett, and two sons, Colby and Tyler. Colby is currently a sophomore at
the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he is a preferred walk
on and his youngest son Tyler is a junior at Forsyth Country Day School.
January 17th, 2011
Phenom Quote of the Day “Team work makes the dream work.”
Phenom Hoop Report Philosophy: “Balanced, thorough, and detailed evaluations
based upon the 3 P’s philosophy of Performance, Production, and Potential.”
9th Annual North Carolina MLK Scholastic Showcase
Game of the day
United Faith 90- Oak Hill Academy 88
One thing is for certain, United Faith’s head coach Shaun Wiseman loves the
big stage and the bigger the stage, the better. Coach Wiseman is a very
young and intense coach that has the unique ability to maximize his talent
and find ways to get high level players to buy into his concept. From the
start of the jump ball, Coach Wiseman was “into” the game and his on court
demeanor rubs off on his players and his team played superbly against the
high powered Oak Hill Warriors. Leading the way for United Faith was 6’0
junior guard Braxton Ogbueze and 6’3 SG Paris Roberts-Campbell. I have often
talked about Ogbueze being one of the elite level scoring guards in the 2012
class. Ogbueze has strength, power and explosive offensive arsenal. While he
may be a little loose with his handles at time, his performance against Oak
Hill Academy was simply phenomenal. Ogbueze’s best offensive weapon is the
right to left crossover dribble pull jumper and also has perfected a running
floater into the lane, but on this night, Ogbueze had it dialed in from the
3 point line. He knocked down 6 three pointers for the game and finished
with 31 points. Coach Jeff Lebo and ECU have to be thrilled about signing
6’3 senior SG Paris Roberts-Campbell. Campbell has been outstanding all
season and finished with 25 points knocking down 5 three pointers. When
Campbell was not knocking down outside jumpers, he was driving at will to
the basket creating fouls and the senior SG has a velvet touch from the
charity stripe. Another player that was outstanding was 6’5 junior Ivan
Bankovic. Bankovic has good size and is another lights out shooter from the
3 point line. 6’11 junior Henry Uwadiae was strong in the first half
controlling the boards and provided nice outlet passes to get the high
powered transition game going for United Faith.
For Oak Hill, 6’5 junior Jordan Adams was equally sensational for Oak Hill
has he tallied 33 points and showcased a feathery touch from the free throw
line. 6’5 senior WG Ben McLemore was saddled with foul trouble and tallied
16 points and 6’1 senior PG Quinn Cook (Duke) tallied 11 points.
Other top performances of the day
Robert McAdoo of Norfolk Christian (UNC)
Marshall Plumlee of Christ School (Duke)
Damarcus Harrison of Christ School (BYU)
6’1 junior combo guard Rob Gray of Christ School enjoyed a solid all around
performance playing aggressively on both ends of the court. He finished with
18 points by knocking down 3 pointers and dribble drives to the basket. Gray
also has good athleticism as he trailed a break on the defensive end and
went high to reject a layup by the opposing team. Another young player that
has good potential is 6’2 Corban Collins. Collins is another strong combo
guard that has really good size and strength and could easily transition
into a PG at the next level. While 6’11 senior center Jaleel Roberts of
Greensboro Day was on the losing end, but proved to be an effective shot
blocker for Greensboro Day. Unsigned senior 6’5 Tyquan Roberts of Jamestown
Ragsdale showcased tremendous range on his jumper and the power and strength
to score at will on the inside. He finished with 26 points in the loss to
Forsyth Country Day. 5’11 junior PG Tyler Lewis didn’t have his “A game ”
against Ragsdale, but did finish with 23 points and 8 assists while rallying
his team with 14 of the team’s fourth quarter points. Another player, we
liked was 6’6 junior PF Mario Nixon of Norfolk Christian. He is a strong and
athletic PF that is just a workhorse on both ends of the court.
Last weekend, I travelled to Portsmouth, VA to cover the Inaugural Seven
Cities Roundball Classic. The most important matchup of the day was the game
between I.C. Norcom of Virgina vs. national powerhouse Findlay Prep of
Nevada. I.C. Norcom is lead by Virginia Tech signee Dorian Finney-Smith and
Morgan State signee Jeremy Canty. On the other hand, Findlay Prep is loaded
with talent that features Arizona signee Nick Johnson, Texas signee Myck
Kabongo, and St. John’s signee Amir Garrett. On paper, you would think the
private (Findlay Prep) vs. public (I.C. Norcom) would be a no contest in
favor of the high powered offense of Findlay Prep. I.C. Norcom has played
the role of “giant killer” quite well by recently winning the prestigious
Glaxo Tournament in Raleigh, NC over the holidays. Not only did they defeat
powerful Word of God in overtime in the opening round game, but it crushed
highly favored United Faith of Matthews, North Carolina.
I.C. Norcom held on for a big-time upset with a 68-66 win over Findlay Prep.
With the score tied at 66 all, Myck Kabongo drove the lane for the game
winning shot, but 6’8 Dorian Finney Smith blocked the shot and rebounded the
ball. During the scramble for the ball, Smith was fouled and calmly hit 2
free throws to win the game. That being said, the biggest surprise for I.C.
Norcom has been the play of 6’2 combo guard Jeremy Canty as he has been
absolutely phenomenal for his team this season.
Player on the Rise
Player: 6’0 Frank Mason
Hometown: Petersburg, VA
High School: Petersburg
Class: 2012
Projection: MM/MM+
I have written about Mason in the past since and he is enjoying an
outstanding junior season for Petersburg High School. At 6’0 and 170 pounds,
Mason is a “tough as nails” combination scoring guard. Last night, he scored
46 points as Petersburg defeated Meadowbrook by the score of 73-68. Mason
was scoring from points on the floor, 3 point jumpers, and drives to the
basket and a stellar 17-19 from the free throw line. Mason is physically
strong and has a mentality of pure toughness. Mid majors should definitely
jump all over Mason while some high majors should carefully monitor his
progress. He will be teaming up with Tyler Lewis and Andrew White of Team
Loaded this spring. Most scouting services have Mason as a 3* prospect, but
don’t be surprised that Mason will crack the 4* status by the end of the
summer.
Best high school coaching performance
Coach: Coach Duane Lewis (no relationship, but has great last name)
High School: North Mecklenburg HS
Team Record: 13-2
During the off season, Coach Duane Lewis lost 6’8 signee Bernard Sullivan,
6’6 Phillip Anaglade, and 6’4 Andrew Frowine due to transfers to private
schools. The lone returning starter was 6’0 senior combo guard Carlin
Bremner. Bremner has been outstanding averaging over 20 PPG per game, but
was recently injured with a high ankle sprain. Even with his star player
out, North Mecklenburg HS and Coach Duane Lewis has continued to find a way
to win. With a 13-2 record, North Mecklenburg is receiving votes for the top
10 in the state. It seems like Coach Lewis has enjoyed the challenge and his
team’s performance on the court speaks for itself.
Little Big Man
Player: 5’8 Reggie Arceneaux
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
High School: Olympic
Class: 2011
Projection: LM+/MM-
Last night, senior PG Reggie Arceneaux finished with 20 points as Olympic
defeated West Mecklenburg 76-63 in a home victory. Olympic is 16-1 for the
season and 5-0 in the ME-GA 7 conference and is also ranked #7 in the NC
Preps.com state 4A poll. While many people think Arceneaux is too small to
play division I basketball, I totally disagree. Arceneaux is the ultimate
team leader and is one of the quickest point guards with the ball in his
hands. He plays with tremendous heart and desire and also plays with a
purpose and passion on the court.
