CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The first day of the NBA Top 100 Camp is in the books. There wasn’t a singular player who commanded the spotlight, so we’ll focus on a few matchups and guys that caught our eye.
Marquee matchups
Jabari Parker (Chicago/Simeon) vs. Andrew Harrison (Richmond, Texas/Travis)
Two of the elite players in the senior class opened camp staring right at each other, sort of. Parker, the versatile No. 1 player in the country, checked Harrison and chased him the entire game. Think about that. The best small forward guarded the top point guard and did a nice job on him. The rim runs from the wings were closed down. Harrison, to his credit, found chances to penetrate and pitch. Parker was better in transition and his pull-up 3 won’t easily be forgotten. Overall, the fireworks were kept to a minimum. The unique thing about camp for Harrison is that he and his brother Aaron, running mates for life, were split up and put on separate teams for the first time in a while.
Zach LaVine (Bothell, Wash./Bothell) vs. Emmanuel Mudiay (Dallas/Grace Prep)
On paper, this was a bit of a mismatch but if it was that one-sided, you wouldn’t be reading about it. Credit LaVine in a big way. He’s nowhere near the physical specimen Mudiay is, yet he played the standout junior straight up and tough. Mudiay drove him for a bucket. No big deal. Next play Mudiay felt him attached at the hip. The point is, LaVine competed. He wasn’t intimidated. You want kids like this in your program; both of them.