Dave Telep Blog: 2012 City of Palms
City of Palms Classic: What I Learned 
December, 23, 2012
12/23/12
11:25
AM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The City of Palms Classic is the best pre-Christmas high school basketball event in the country. And just imagine if top-10 senior Julius Randle (Dallas/Prestonwood Christian) hadn’t been injured and elite junior Joel Berry (Orlando/Lake Highland) hadn’t hurt his knee? How many events could lose two stars and still stand tall?
Unfortunately, the theme of this season continues to be injuries. Regardless, they played the games and there were still plenty of elite-level stars who stood out. This year’s event was capped Saturday night when No. 1 Montverde Academy (Fla.), led by No. 1 senior center Dakari Johnson and No. 2 senior point guard Kasey Hill, defeated No. 4 Lone Peak (Utah) and its band of BYU-bound stars in the championship game.
Over the course of three and a half days in Florida, I was able to find the answer to some questions I had.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Some final news and notes from the City of Palms Classic before heading home on Friday. I'll have a final recap over the weekend with what I learned at this year's event and Paul Biancardi will continue to recap the best performances.
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Marquette recruit compares to Shumpert
December, 21, 2012
12/21/12
2:37
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By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- ESPN 100 shooting guard and Marquette signee JaJuan Johnson (Memphis/Southwind), who's played well this week at the City of Palms Classic, strikes me as a guy who doesn’t come into college with the headlining hype but quickly catches his peers.
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Battle of the nation's best centers
December, 21, 2012
12/21/12
11:44
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By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Take the nation’s highest-rated center from the Class of 2013 and match him against the best from the Class of 2014 class and I’m in. No matter the place, and apparently with no concern for the time.
The matchup between Jahlil Okafor (Chicago/Whitney Young) and Dakari Johnson (New York, N.Y./Montverde Academy) at the City of Palms Classic didn't tip until 11:02 p.m. ET Thursday night. I walked out of the gym at 12:49 a.m. Friday.
In retrospect, it was all worth it.
The matchup between Jahlil Okafor (Chicago/Whitney Young) and Dakari Johnson (New York, N.Y./Montverde Academy) at the City of Palms Classic didn't tip until 11:02 p.m. ET Thursday night. I walked out of the gym at 12:49 a.m. Friday.
In retrospect, it was all worth it.
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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The No. 1 player in America is human and does have work to do on his game. That might be a bit difficult to believe if you watched Andrew Wiggins hang 31 points, eight boards and three blocks Thursday night at the City of Palms Classic.
The fact that Wiggins has noticeable areas for improvement only gets you more excited from an evaluation standpoint. Great players -- guys with his drive and athletic ability -- improve with natural physical development and continued high-level practice and conditioning. Remember when LeBron James couldn’t shoot? They also said the same thing about Michael Jordan at one time.
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Video: Dick Vitale on No. 1 Andrew Wiggins
December, 21, 2012
12/21/12
9:08
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By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Dave Telep asks Dick Vitale and Paul Biancardi for their impressions of No. 1 prospect Andrew Wiggins after watching the 6-foot-7 senior lead Huntington Prep (W.Va.) over HYCA (Houston) at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.
Video: Randle on recovery, recruiting
December, 20, 2012
12/20/12
10:46
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By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
Julius Randle, the No. 4 player in the ESPN 100, broke his foot in November. Dave Telep caught up with the Prestonwood (Plano, Texas) power forward at the City of Palms Classic in Florida to talk about his rehab and his plans for official visits.
BYU recruits will help ease loss of Parker
December, 20, 2012
12/20/12
7:37
PM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- So BYU didn’t get Jabari Parker after he pledged to Duke Thursday.
We all knew it was going to be an uphill battle for the Cougars. Dave Rose deemed it to be a fight worth undertaking and who could blame him? In a lot of instances, the underdog program is left undermanned and with depleted ranks.
BYU’s situation bucks that trend.
We all knew it was going to be an uphill battle for the Cougars. Dave Rose deemed it to be a fight worth undertaking and who could blame him? In a lot of instances, the underdog program is left undermanned and with depleted ranks.
BYU’s situation bucks that trend.
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Video: JaJuan Johnson at City of Palms
December, 20, 2012
12/20/12
11:23
AM ET
By RecruitingNation staff | ESPN.com
After his Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) team thumped Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) at the City of Palms Classic, No. 64 senior JaJuan Johnson discussed his future at Marquette with Dave Telep.
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Day 2 from the City of Palms Classic is over. For a 12-hour day, Wednesday went by quickly. The next few days will yield a Jabari Parker announcement that will require myself and Paul Biancardi to step away for a few hours. We’ll return to a Thursday night slate of games that should be among the best this season. Dickie V will be courtside for the stars as he makes his yearly appearance in Fort Myers.
Here are some additional news and notes from Day 2 at City of Palms on Wednesday:
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Brooks has breakout performance at COP
December, 20, 2012
12/20/12
9:34
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By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- National No. 14 Paul VI (Va.) may or may not have taken its opponent, Lake Wales (Fla.), lightly on Wednesday at the City of Palms Classic.
It sure didn’t seem like the team that beat nationally ranked Oak Hill (Va.) earlier this month had much interest in its City of Palms opener. After Paul VI rallied in the final quarter, Lake Wales senior shooting guard Douglas Brooks crushed Paul VI's hopes of winning a championship here.
Who’s Douglas Brooks? And why haven’t you heard of him?
It sure didn’t seem like the team that beat nationally ranked Oak Hill (Va.) earlier this month had much interest in its City of Palms opener. After Paul VI rallied in the final quarter, Lake Wales senior shooting guard Douglas Brooks crushed Paul VI's hopes of winning a championship here.
Who’s Douglas Brooks? And why haven’t you heard of him?
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BYU-bound center peaking at right time
December, 19, 2012
12/19/12
11:09
PM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Our list of top centers in the 2013 class is littered with guys who “coulda, shoulda, might be.” Fact is, there’s not a lock McDonald’s All-American center.
Guys will have opportunities to punch their ticket to the game, but the postseason all-star games could pass on the position altogether and take power forwards instead. The larger point in bringing this up is the upward mobility of ESPN 100 BYU-bound center Eric Mika (Highland, Utah/Lone Peak).
Guys will have opportunities to punch their ticket to the game, but the postseason all-star games could pass on the position altogether and take power forwards instead. The larger point in bringing this up is the upward mobility of ESPN 100 BYU-bound center Eric Mika (Highland, Utah/Lone Peak).
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Oregon, USC recruits continue to shine
December, 19, 2012
12/19/12
10:25
PM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Wednesday's nationally ranked showdown between No. 22 Omaha Central (Neb.) and No. 6 Long Beach Poly (Calif.) was the best so far of the City of Palms Classic.
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ESPN 60 wing Chatman in holding pattern
December, 19, 2012
12/19/12
9:54
PM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The CIF denied the appeal of Kameron Chatman (Portland, Ore./Long Beach Poly), leaving the ESPN 60 wing ineligible to play until March 16, which happens to be smack dab in the middle of the state semifinals. He's here at the City of Palms Classic but has been limited to cheering on his Jackrabbit teammates.
Would the 6-foot-6, 175-pounder suit up for the playoffs after a season of inactivity? Chatman’s not sure because it might not be in the best interest of the team.
“I don’t know,” Chatman said. “If my team’s playing well I wouldn’t want to come in and mess up the way they are playing. It would definitely be a tough decision.”
Would the 6-foot-6, 175-pounder suit up for the playoffs after a season of inactivity? Chatman’s not sure because it might not be in the best interest of the team.
“I don’t know,” Chatman said. “If my team’s playing well I wouldn’t want to come in and mess up the way they are playing. It would definitely be a tough decision.”
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Johnson flirts with perfection, slices list
December, 19, 2012
12/19/12
6:23
PM ET
By
Dave Telep | ESPN.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Chaminade-esque run of Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.) at the City of Palms Classic ended on Wednesday courtesy of national No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) and a big fella named Dakari Johnson (New York, N.Y./Montverde).
To say the Vikings couldn’t stop Johnson, the No. 1-ranked center in the ESPN 100, isn’t accurate because that would imply they did at least on occasion. Instead, Johnson carve up a depleted Verot frontline for 23 points and 10 rebounds as he went 11-for-11 from the field. Only a 2-for-4 performance from the line cost him offensive efficiency perfection.
Afterward, Johnson still couldn’t miss when he talked recruiting.
To say the Vikings couldn’t stop Johnson, the No. 1-ranked center in the ESPN 100, isn’t accurate because that would imply they did at least on occasion. Instead, Johnson carve up a depleted Verot frontline for 23 points and 10 rebounds as he went 11-for-11 from the field. Only a 2-for-4 performance from the line cost him offensive efficiency perfection.
Afterward, Johnson still couldn’t miss when he talked recruiting.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Dave Telep
Dave Telep joined ESPN in 2010, and is the senior national basketball analyst. His college basketball scouting service is used by more than 225 colleges and numerous NBA teams. Email him at espndt@gmail.com.
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