Noel Stars at NBA Camp

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, June 20th, 2011

After a reportedly slow start at last week’s NBA Players’ Association Camp, Nerlens Noel rebounded in a big way to be named the Camp’s Most Outstanding Underclassmen. 

“Nerlens Noel last 2 games were 18 & 15 points,” ESPN’s senior basketball analyst Dave Telep tweeted on Monday. “When the playoffs were in full bloom he was at his highest level of play on both ends.”

Telep went into further detail in his blog Monday, noting that one camper referred to Noel’s arm as “a human twizzler” because of its length when blocking shots. 

Scout.com’s National Recruiting Analyst Evan Daniels was even more effusive in his praise of the Tilton big man. 

“Often times NBA Camp can be rough on the underclassman,” Daniels wrote…”the longer camp went the better it was for Noel. In the semi-finals Noel broke out for 18 points and he added 15 more in the championship game, scoring more points in those two than the previous five games combined. Noel’s length is a problem for the opposition on the defensive end and he’s learning how to score on the offensive end.”

Rivals’ recruiting analyst Eric Bossi offered a similar analysis:

“For the first two days of camp, Noel struggled on the offensive end due to his lack of strength. But, he still blocked plenty of shots. Saturday, he came alive on the offensive end by utilizing his quickness advantage to make up for what he lacked in strength. While other big guys seemed to be running out of energy, Noel seemed to be finding more.”

Other New England Prospects:

Andre Drummond – The reviews were mixed at best with Drummond reportedly showing his typical flashes on day two but failing to ever consistently dominate the field like he did two weeks earlier at the Pangos All-American Camp.  ESPN’s National Director of Basketball Recruiting Paul Biancardi’s headline on Monday pretty much said it all, “Should Drummond Stay on Top?” 

Mitch McGary – He finished ninth overall in the camp, scoring at 12.3 points per game. "He is a brute on the basketball court with a nonstop motor that makes him tough to handle,” Biancardi wrote. “McGary is a good rebounder who can be a great one when he puts his body on people, and overall he's making a case to move up in the rankings.”

Kris Dunn – The quality of the point guard play was one of the major headlines coming out of this year’s camp.  Dunn was right in the middle of a series of intriguing match-ups with battles against L.J. Rose, Ryan Arcidiacono, and Marcus Paige, where he was at his best using his length defensively to deny Paige the ball according to Telep.