Local Products at Nike 100
Four local sophomores - Jermaine Samuels (Rivers School), Kimani Lawrence (Cushing Academy), Philmon Gebrewhit (New Mission) and Samuel Japhet-Mathias (Vermont Academy) - are currently in St. Louis, Missouri on the campus of St. Louis University for the annual Nike Elite One Hundred.
The event features the 100 best underclassmen in all of Nike grassroots basketball. The action got underway on Thursday and will continue through Sunday morning. The top performers in the camp will then be selected to move on to the Nike Basketball Academy, which replaces the Lebron James Skills Academy this year as Nike's most prestigious national camp.
Samuels and Murphy both played up with Expressions' EYBL team this year while Gebrewhit was one of the key's to their 16u squad. This is Samuels' second trip to Nike Elite One Hundred while Murphy and Gebrewhit are both making their first trip.
Japhet-Mathias is a product of the PSA Cardinals program and while he wasn't in action during the April live period due to NCAA rules on first year international products, he'll be with PSA when they head to the EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam in the first week of the July evaluation period.
Samuels and Lawrence both measured in at six-foot-five on Thursday but validated their length at six-foot-eleven and six-foot-ten respectively. Gebrewhit was the biggest of the wings at six-foot-six but didn't have quite as much overall length. Japhet-Mathis measured in at six-foot-ten, 289 pounds with a seven-foot-three wingspan.
Media coverage is not permitted at the Nike Elite One Hundred until Sunday.
Philmon Gebrewhit
Kimani Lawrence
Jermaine Samuels