Global Elite Exposure Camp
From MBA
Jackson
February 24-25, 2018
As always the Global Elite Exposure Camp lives up to expectations as being the best junior high camp in the Southeast. National media came out to try and catch the next wave of MS ballers and get in on them early. Two national ranking companies were in attendance to see how our kids compare on the national level as well as two in state rankings sources. Several scouting services were in attendance along with a couple college Coaches catching a peek at the next generation of recruits. What was missing was some of the better 2022 players in the state. Don’t get me wrong, there was a very solid top 25 that could hold my rankings up any day but we were missing several of the supposedly “top ranked guys” for some reason or another. I know several of the better kids got the call up and are on playoff rosters. Nothing wrong with that at all. This rant is mainly for the ones around the Northwest and the Gulf Coast that have travel ball coaches claiming they have and are the best but never seen to get out and put the kids against real competition to see where they stack up. They might really be the best and could now be on the national radar but they never showed up to prove it. I get hundreds of messages from kids all the time wanting to know why they are not ranked or why they are not ranked higher. I can’t go see every team in the state even though I try to see as many as I possibly can. These type of events allow me to see as many as possible and actually see them against top level comp. The following notes are on some of the top participants that caught my eye at the Global Elite Exposure Camp. Players listed are in no particular order.
2022
Zadreus Davis 5-4 ’22 PG Corinth: He didn’t catch my eye at all on the first day but he did the second. He scored several times around the basket around contact. He also got several long shots falling for him.
Mason Manning 5-10 ’22 PG Jackson: The YouTube and mix tape sensation showed up to play some ball. He showed his extended range on his long ball to go with his ability to score from all over the court. Where he was the deadliest at was when he had the ball on the break. He provided some amazing passes while setting his guys up in a perfect scoring situation. The nationally know player didn’t do anything but bolster his national presence.
Mark Drone 5-9 ’22 PG Jackson: Hello Mr. Drone. A new addition to the top players in the state conversation for the ’22 class. He excelled in all aspects of his game. He scored easily on all levels. He is a natural born scorer. He has the ability to pass and play a point but he can flat out score. The younger brother of a former high level MS high school player got my attention most of all with his defensive rebounding. It seems like he grabbed every single board for his team and he either looked up court for an open man or got the ball up the court fast for a break.
Ledarion Perkins 6-3 ’22 SG Brandon: One word describes him best. POTENTIAL. POTENTIAL. POTENTIAL. He really doesn’t have a clue of how much potential he really has. He is very skilled and freakishly athletic. He tomahawked on a break showing how high he can get up. He could even be so much better than what he is.
Shane Davis 6-4 ’22 C Madison: Big, strong post that takes up some space and will be a good one to keep an eye on down the road.
Cameron Brent 5-6 ’22 PG Jackson: A true point that can perform point duties at a very high level. He can score on all levels but he is more of a true point. He is one of the players that you watch on the court that makes you say “wow he’s good.”
Braxton Bishop 5-8 ’22 PG Tupelo: I’ve heard about the legend of Braxton Bishop and to be honest I was very hard on my evaluations of his game just because of the lure and legend of him. Future150 recently declared him as a national level prospect. The first day of the camp I was like ok he’s a little better than what I expected but he’s still not legend good. The second day of the camp, he really turned it on and blew up. I’m still not throwing him out there as a national player yet but I was extremely impressed with his skills. He can score however he wants to and he pulled off some highlight reel passes throughout the event.
Robert Johnson 6-0 ’22 G/F Olive Branch: He recently performed at a high level at a CP3 camp and he came in and continued his high play. His game was kinda one dimensional. He would get a defensive board, get up the court really fast with the ball and either draw a foul or get the layup. Sounds elementary but it wasn’t what he did, it was how he did it. He played with a different type of aggression than any of the kids there. He played with more focus and kinda looked like he was playing angry. I liked it but I didn’t but I did. Very confusing emotions. I would’ve liked him to show multiple levels of his skill set but why do that when what he was doing worked and worked at a high level.
Brylee Wall 6-1 ’22 SG Louisville (Winston Academy): He was only able to attend the first day of the camp but he played well enough to get my attention on that day. He has nice size and length and can shoot the long ball. I listed his high school because he actually saw minutes with the varsity team this season.
Ja’Zerius Whitehead 5-7 ’22 F Jackson: He had a really solid weekend. Nothing special or big time but solid enough to get noticed. He was in the right place at the right time and he was the guy that made you look at the roster and say “Who is that, that was solid.” He didn’t try and play out of his game.
LJ Shumpert 6-0 ’22 PG Booneville: A player that most likely went unnoticed at the event because he played a point and didn’t shoot many shots. He pulled off several high end passes and could’ve easily led the camp in assists. He played solid defense and he crashed the boards on both ends.
Josh Dukes 6-2 ’22 SG Booneville: The Booneville kid that had the most amount of buzz. He earned some attention with his solid play. The shooter was bad off so he transitioned his game into more of a 10-12 foot game. He used the glass and worked the angles on the shots. He rebounded very hard and played solid defense. He also contributed to his team as a passer. He made several nice look passes over the duration of the event.
Caleb Gaston 6-4 ’22 G/F Booneville: The high level, high talent stud probably had the worst weekend of his life. He couldn’t get a shot to fall from long range, short range or any range. However, he didn’t lay down. He rebounded at a high level and continued to play with hustle the entire camp.
Mac Shinault 6-3 ’22 C Booneville: I’m not sure about 6-3. Looks more like 6-5. This is the constant that I heard about him all weekend. All he does is make layups. I wish I had a dime for every time I heard that. Then it was followed with and there are players getting paid millions to do the same thing he does. He also rebounded at an extremely high level. He scored every time he got the ball down low and every one of them looked like layups. He contested shots on the defensive end. He had several people talking about him over the time of the weekend.
Tremaine Dixon 5-6 ’22 G Raymond: He shot the ball really well over the weekend. He was a high percentage outside shooter. You rarely seen him miss.
Joshua Graham 6-5 ’22 F Jackson: He showed that he has some range to go with his size and length. He nailed several extended range threes.
Derion Lee 6-3 ’22 C Pass Christian: I watched him at a camp on the coast over the summer and I’m proud to say he is improving right along with what I thought he could be. Not a big time, show time player but a solid low post threat. He played solid all weekend and I hope he continues to progress at the same rate over time.
Kenan Westbrook 5-5 ’22 PG Memphis: Another player that seemed to be in the right spot at the right time. He played with a solid basketball IQ and has a feel for the game. He played solid defense. He was another player that made you keep looking at the roster saying who is that.
Erin Jones 6-3 ’22 G Richland: He played hard and brought the hustle. He was one that got after it very hard in the drills sessions.
2023
Sam Stogner 6-2 ’23 F Brandon: Long and lanky. He has some good size and good potential. He played up with the ’22 kids and didn’t show out but he did look very solid and held his own. He will be one to keep and eye on over the next several years.
2024
Trey Petty 6-0 ’24 PG Starkville: Here are my notes and don’t just start ready and skim by them. Read them all the way. He didn’t really do anything. He looked bored on the court. Not giving his best effort because he’s just kinda playing around and not taking it seriously. That was my notes from the first several hours when he was playing with the ’24 kids. I asked to let him play with them to make sure he separated before moving him up and it didn’t take long to see where he belonged. Once he moved up to playing with the ’22’s he showed out. He went right at the best and looked forward to the challenge of playing wit hand against them. You can look back at an earlier report on him over the summer where I said he was going to be a national prospect. It was proven this weekend. He can and does do everything on the court. The future is extremely bright for him. Click on the link below to see what I said about him.
Adidas Middle School Nationals
Eric Paymon Jr 6-2 ’24 F/C Jackson: Big time size for his age. Keep an eye for him to develop over the years.
Kidada Strode 4-9 ’24 PG Clinton: 4-9???? OK. I think he might be a little smaller than that. Don’t really matter to me. I watched him at this same camp last year and I was impressed with his heart and effort. Same again this year. He can handle really well. He knows the game of basketball and you can tell he really loves it. He is one of my favorite younger players and I’ll be keeping a close eye on him over the years.
Carter Mullins 6-1 ’24 PG Jackson: Good size and a pretty good developing skill set. He can step out and shoot the three. Made several nice passes that made me go “hmm ok.”
Rakwuez Thompson 5-8 ’24 G Jackson: Extremely fast. Handles the ball at full speed. Good ball handler and a good shooter with range. He played with high effort and energy.
2025
William “Wiggy” Ball 5-0 ’25 PG Madison: Lefty can handle pretty well. He’s a Coaches son so can see him developing into a high level player as time goes along.
Jayden Harrington 5-4 ’25 G Jackson: Loved the effort he played with.
Magnolia Hoops 
I’m surprised the other Memphis PG c/o ’22, Nehemiah Ausley, isn’t getting any recognition. And he had a strong showing against all of the guards listed here.
LikeLike