Pangos AA Camp: Ayton stands tall

CERRITOS, Calif. -- Class of 2017's top-ranked player DeAndre Ayton and the class of 2019's potential No. 1 Charles Bassey both impressed at the 2016 Pangos All-American Camp on Sunday. Here is a full report from the event, including the latest recruiting news on elite prospects.

When you are the No. 1 player in the country, the spotlight is always shining on you. When the best of the best at the Pangos All-American Camp tangled during Sunday’s camp ending Top 30 Cream of the Crop game, it was 2017’s No. 1 player DeAndre Ayton who came up big, winning game MVP honors in a 20-point performance.

We’ve written plenty about Ayton and at this point not many need a description of what he’s capable of. But, in limited time so that everybody got to play even minutes, he really put on a display of his vast skill and ability.

Ayton drained trail three-pointers on the break, he played above the rim in traffic, he rebounded and he did a little bit of everything in between.

On the recruiting front, he reported no changes to a group that has consisted of Kansas, Arizona, UCLA and Kentucky poking around and he’s yet set any visits.

The top-ranked point guard in the class of 2017 and the No. 5 ranked player overall, Trevon Duval, earned camp MVP honors.

After looking a bit off his game and worn down just a week ago at the Under Armour Association’s Southern California stop, the 6-foot-2 floor general looked like himself at Pangos. His explosive first step and impeccable ability to change directions with his dribble in tight spots were on full display and he pretty much did what he wanted to when he wanted to in a nice bounce-back performance.

Up next for Duval is rest. He told Rivals.com that he’s taking a break and that he doesn’t plan to play in any events until the Stephen Curry Select Camp at the end of June.

When it comes to those recruiting him, Duval didn’t really want to get specific. Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, California, Villanova, Maryland, North Carolina and many others are involved but he says that he has no favorites and won’t start getting serious about picking a spot until later this summer.

“There’s not really a five or even top 10 schools that I feel are out in front or recruiting me the hardest right now,” Duval told Rivals.com. “It’s going to be the end of the summer before I worry about that.”

Currently ranked No. 50 overall in the class of 2017, six-foot tall point guard Quade Green is on his way to making a move up the rankings. Much of it has to do with a shift in style.

Green has always been a talented kid who excelled at scoring and then finding teammates. This spring, he’s been playing pass-first ball and then scoring when his team needs it from him. As a result, he’s performed at optimum level and his reputation has soared.

Even though he’s been playing great individually, Green says he’s not satisfied.

“I’m not too happy yet because my team (PSA Cardinals) lost a few games in the EYBL and I think we should have gone undefeated,” said Green. “Individually, I’ve done well. I’m playing with different guys and lots of future pros and it’s made my job easy to get them the ball and look good.”

Later on this month, Green said that he plans to take an unofficial visit to Kentucky and he’s getting hit up by Arizona, Duke, Michigan State, Syracuse (where he took a visit last month), Texas, Michigan, Kansas, UCLA, USC and many more. As for cutting down his list, he is another who says it will be at least the end of the summer before he cuts things down.

While Ayton is the No. 1 player in the class of 2019, 6-foot-10 power forward Charles Bassey is one of the early frontrunners for that spot in 2019. We won’t rank that class until after the summer, but Bassey’s size, athleticism and mobility make him a strong candidate. Playing against older and stronger players, he looked more than capable.

We would love to see more of the Victor Bailey that finished out Pangos Camp strong. A four-star shooting guard, Bailey is an explosive athlete who has at times settled too easily for jump shots. At Pangos, he was looking to attack the basket more and the more he mixes it up the better he will be down the road.

The up-and-down tempo of camp was a good match for the skill set of 2018 four-star small forward Nassir Little. The Floridian is at his best in an uptempo setting and he sought the rim for jams and played well in transition. He’s a good straight line driver, is going to add power to his game when he matures physically and has a jumper that can be worked with down the road.

The class of 2019 has made waves all grassroots season and 6-foot-7 power forward Precious Achiuwa is another to keep an eye on. He’s got good instincts around the hoop, didn’t back down from older players and had himself a very nice showing.

Finally, it was a nice weekend run for 2017 point guard Blake Harris. Harris is an intriguing individual talent who hasn’t always played his best in structure and he’s had several high school transfers. However, he played very well at Pangos Camp and did a good job of setting up teammates, getting loose in transition and taking what the defense gave him rather than forcing things. It was pretty surprising to see him left out of both Cream of the Crop games because his play throughout the weekend should have earned him a spot.