One of the coolest parts of Coach Calipari’s Camp was watching the players play pickup games. I’m having trouble with some pics because my camera is crap, and some aren’t uploading correctly, I hope to have Pics of Eric Bledsoe, Jon Hood, and pickup game pics later on, but here’s some other camp pics and the player evaluations.

The freshman were not allowed to work the camp, but they were allowed to play pickup and sign autographs before and after.

Before I give the run down of the games remember that it is hard to judge a players true skill package from pickup games, there is not alot of structure, and its more like street ball than anything. But to dispel a couple of myths, there was defense being played, and the guys seemed to play hard and take it seriously, they wanted to win, And it was call your own foul, and it was really funny because nobody wanted to call a foul on themselves, Demarcus Cousins and Matt Pilgrim were trying to take limbs off of kids. You can get a good feel for a players, athleticism, handle , stroke, quickness and passing skills.

Demarcus Cousins 

Man this guy is a specimen, He is one of the largest human beings ive ever stood next to, now im 6-5 and im looking at his pits, and he has a massive frame. But he looked like he is getting in great shape and didn’t look lazy or slow as some have stated, the kid flat out put on a show, He is without a doubt the most skilled freshman big man that I have ever seen, and I have seen alot. He has the entire spectrum of  skills in his game, he is super strong and when he goes to the rim he just imposes his will, but he has a massivearray of weapons, baby hooks, fade aways, drop steps, face up moves, and that is just on the blocks, the guy went coast to coast on several occasions and has excellent handle for a guy his size, he crossed guys up, he would start to drive then pull up from fifteen feet, and seemed to have a nice deep ball. If this young man plays to his ability any center in the country would struggle to guard him.

    Eric Bledsoe

This kid is an absolute jet, he has another gear that very few players have, now John Wall didn’t play to compare the two, but Eric has a burst of sheer speed with the ball in his hands that I haven’t seen in a while. I was also very impressed with his hops,  I didn’t realize he could get up, but when he gets near the rim he explodes. What was most impressive about Eric was how crafty he is with the ball in his hand, he had some And1 street ball stuff going on, passes between the legs, behind the back, look aways, and he made some dude’s look foolish with his crossover. Eric will be a very good player in the coming years, MARK IT DOWN.

 Jon Hood

I like this kids potential, and he has a really smooth floor game, his stroke looks like it could be good, and he has nice hops and craftiness going to the hole. He needs to get more aggressive and I wonder about his defense, but I think with time he will be good.

Deandre Liggins 

After last year I didnt expect much from Deandre, but I was pleasantly surprised, I really think you will see a much improved player in the future, I never understood how he was rated so high coming out of high school, but  now i see it, he has great quicks, and showed flashes of brilliance, if he can play with confidence and slow down his mind to cut out the mistake’s, he could help this team next year. And the guy loved the kids so you got to like him.

 Dwight Perry

He’s great at holding the bench back, and he plays his butt off in the pickup games, so he’s a Cat in my book.

Mark Krebs

He is really a nice looking player for a walk on, he shoots well and holds his own with the big timers.

Matt Pilgrim

I will have a whole article on Matt later, but I see why people declared him as a beast, he looked as talented and athletic as anyone on the floor. and he tries to rip the rim down with every play.

Josh Harrellson

Josh showed a really nice stroke, and could keep defense’s honest if they collapse, he banged with Demarcus Cousins and that’s an accomplishment in itself. Josh is a really out going guy and was great as a camp counselor.

Perry Stevenson 

You can tell Perry is working on his perimeter game, as he spent all his time on offense on the wing, his stroke was surprising, and he knocked down four 3s in one game, he also had a couple of nice drives and a few lob dunks. You can tell he has really improved his handle, and he’s a tough kid because Matt Pilgrim mistakenly thought it was a UFC match instead of a ball game, Stevenson will be a solid backup for Patterson this year.

Patterson and Orton are in Cali for eight weeks, Dodson is arriving soon, Miller is at the under 19 USA practices, so some of the best players didnt play, and there was a few guys I didnt know, I guess student trainiers, one guy looked like a midget Gerald Fitch, But it was overall a good show and the kids loved all the dunks.

Scott Padgett is a great guy and will make a good coach in a few years, plus he told me the story of power bombing Saul Smith for fun after watching wrestling, so I love him.