2007 USC Elite Camp
The USC Elite Camp took place over the weekend. It was the first year it was held in the Galen Center after being held the past two years in the Lyon Center. Below are some of the highlights.
Ervin Johnson Featured Guest Instructor
After having Stan Van Gundy and Tiny Archibald at the first two USC Elite Camps under Coach Floyd, 13 year NBA Veteran Ervin Johnson attended this year’s Elite Camp. Johnson story is well known as Coach Floyd found him in working in a grocery store when he was the coach at New Orleans and asked him to come play for him. Johnson ended up a first round pick (#23 overall) by the Sonics in the 93 draft and played for the Sonics, Nuggets, Bucks and Timberwolves. Ervin worked a drill station on Saturday morning for post moves and then spoke about his journey to success right after lunch, with OJ Mayo listening intently.
Demar Sporting a Lot of SC Gear
Demar showed up to camp on Saturday afternoon with a USC t-shirt on. During the dinner break it looked like he took a trip to the USC bookstore as he came back from the break wearing a new USC sweatshirt and then came in Sunday morning, with a new shirt and USC sweats. Doesn’t really sound like something someone would do who was still wavering on his college choice does it?
Joyner Loses Out
Terrance Joyner, who I believe is one of the sleepers in the Class of 08, was expected to attend the camp. He didn't and potentially lost out on an offer. Instead USC watched and loved Donte Smith and gave him and offer and he accepted. It's amazing how recruiting can change in a day.
Class of 2011 Point Guard Makes Commitment
USC made news last fall when they took a commitment from Class of 2010 Dwayne Polee, Jr. Now they are making news again taking a very, very early commitment. Not only did USC land PG Donte Smith, but they also got a commitment from Ryan Boatwright, a 6 foot point guard from East Aurora, IL. On Sunday morning I had heard that USC had given him a verbal offer, but I didn't expect much to come out of it. Then on Tuesday afternoon, word started to spread that Boatwright indeed gave USC a verbal commitment. Boatwright's dad told Scout.com that DePaul and Indiana had been interested, but USC was the first to step up with an offer.
Tom Shirley A Surprise
The brother of ex-NBA Player Paul Shirley, Tom Shirley attended USC's Elite Camp and was a nice surprise. If he continues to play at this level he should have some nice schools after him this summer. Paul played for Coach Floyd at Iowa State.
What about those shoes?
When I returned from lunch I noticed a new player sporting some very colorful shoes. It was none other than OJ Mayo, who was there with Davon Jefferson and James Harden. Mayo shot around for a bit during lunch and then stayed to listen to Ervin Johnson's talk. He came back late on Saturday night to play pick up and wasn't around Sunday at all. I will have more on OJ's performance in the pick up games in a different report.
