Penn State Basketball: Dunks and Energy Aplenty at Advanced Skills Camp

68 high school basketball players packed the gyms inside of the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday for the first day of Penn State’s advanced skills camp. The camp gave high school prospects a taste of what it is like at the next level working along side Penn State players and the ever energetic Nittany Lion head coach Patrick Chambers.

For some, the camp was a chance to hone their skills, for others it was a chance to impress and prove their worth to Penn State’s coaching staff. Incoming freshman Julian Moore locked up his seat at the table last year while attending the same camp, so scholarship offers can come from a strong weekend performance.

Here are just a few of the players that impressed on Friday.

Jamal Gregory (2014): The Bishop O’Connell 2014 shooting guard was one of the more impressive prospects at the early evening scrimmages Friday. Quick hands and the ability the leap out of the gym had Gregory throwing down a good number of dunks during the night. During some down time Gregory completed a through the legs dunk that had more than a few heads turning. Obviously the college game is more than breakaway dunks, but Gregory showed he was more than capable of holding his own on the floor, which is all you can really ask for in these kind of situations.

Jamie Killings (2015): A big body and strong athleticism around the rim helped Killings shine on Friday night. The 2015 small forward was able to work his way through the lane with ease with several nice finishes around the basket. 

Jamil Hood (2015): Another crafty guard in the lane, Hood played along side Penn State commit Isaiah Washington and the two both excelled together. At 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds Hood has a nice size about him but still could fill out his frame. Hood was another to impress in traffic around the hoop. Hood comes out of Albany, New York home of former Nittany Lion Talor Battle, who also happens to be one of Hood’s favorite players.

Sam Miller (2015): Miller is an interesting prospect at 6-foot-8. Out of D.C’s Gonzaga College High School. Miller has plenty of basketball skills but isn’t quite big and strong enough to work down low against power forwards but isn’t exactly a small forward either. To Miller’s credit though, he can shoot and did with little hesitation knocking down shots from well outside the usual range of a big man. Penn State has had Miller on the radar for a while now and there is little doubt that he has the skill to deserve that recognition.

Commits In The House:

Isaiah Washington (2014): Washington has been in the fold with Penn State for a long time now and it has been interesting to watch him develop as a player. Working well off the ball, Washington passed the eye test in his most recent visit to Penn State. Washington has a nice combination of length and speed coupled with strength needed to work in the lane. While lots of players were trying to impress or find their role on the floor, Washington had a confidence to his game heading into his final season of high school. Assuming he continues his trajectory upwards in his final year before coming to Penn State, Washington will be a solid addition in 2014.

Mike Watkins(2015): Penn State’s only 2015 commitment at this point, it was easy to see why Chambers offered to the 6-foot-8 prospect, and why he is considered “raw”. From a body standpoint Watkins is every bit his height and 225 pound frame. He is able to use that body to grab rebound after rebound and blocked shots around the rim without a whole lot of effort involved. Offensively Watkins wasn’t as successful but with two years of high school left he can only get better. Watkins is an example of landing a guy before he becomes the prospect you hope he can be. There is little doubt Watkins has an incredibly high ceiling, he just has to develop his offensive game in order to reach it.

Shep Garner (2014): Penn State’s most recent commitment was in town for camp but did not participate again as he is still dealing with a minor leg injury. Garner was active though during scrimmages helping associate head coach Keith Urgo coaching his team.

Other notes:

Almost all of Penn State’s current on campus roster helped out at the camp during instructional drills including senior guard Tim Frazier who looks as healthy as can be. Frazier is on schedule to medically cleared from his Achilles recovery in the next two weeks. As of this weekend Frazier has taken part in all team activities except live contact drills.

Sophomore Brandon Taylor had an ankle brace on but did not seem to be too hampered by the injury. Taylor also looks to have put on some muscle while losing weight.

Transfer guard John Johnson continues to wear a boot on his  left foot but is expected to be back to normal by mid-July. Johnson suffered the injury during a pick up game.

Recently transferred 7-foot-1 SMU center Jordan Dickerson looks every bit the seven footer. Sitting out a year due to NCAA rules with give him nothing but time to workout and continue to bulk up his frame.

Former Nittany Lion Tyler Smith was in attendance and helped out during camp. Smith has been a more visible fixture around the program following his return from Japan in 2011. New graduate assistant Andrew Jones was also in attendance while several other former Nittany Lions and former head coach Bruce Parkhill watched from the sidelines.

Chambers had many of Penn State’s incoming freshman and a few veteran players introduce themselves and sit with Parkhill and the former Nittany Lions in attendance. The third year head coach has begun a small internal campaign of getting former and current players more involved with one another building on the concept that winning is not the only way to build a program’s tradition.