A dramatic close to the Cream of the Crop Top 30 All-Star Game and a well-played Cream of the Crop Top 70 game capped a deep and talented 2024 Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp at the NBN Sports Academy (Wilmington, Del.). A slick guard and a powerful forward named co-MVPs among 240 campers.
The Pangos All-East Frosh/Soph Camp traditionally closes out the Pangos Frosh/Soph series of four camps each fall and usually is the camp with the most interior size. Among 240 participants from 15 states, plus the District of Columbia and Canada, this year was no different. There was at least 16 players 6-foot-8 and over and the one who had everyone talking at the conclusion of this year's East camp was 7-foot sophomore (2027) Theophilous Edema of Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.).
In looked like the easy-going big was going to be the goat of the event after he missed a point-blank chippie two-hand lay-up near the end of regulation that would have given the Black jersey-wearing club the victory over the White jersey-wearing club in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 All-Star Game reserved for the camp's best players.
The crowd assembled to close the camp let out a collective groan when the big fella missed the chippie to send the game into sudden death overtime (first basket wins) tied at 62-62. But at the end of the day, he ended up being the hero with his incredible display of determination to grab offensive rebounds to keep the possession with his team and thwart the white club's offensive attack with an incredible display of blocked shots.
In the final minute of the contest, the rules stipulated automatic 1-and-1 free throws on a foul in order to keep the game moving and to let the players decide the play with their talent. For some unexplained reason, however, the referees decided there would be no shooting fouls in the sudden death and that a made basket would decide it. Predictably there was physical defense played and the white club had plenty of prime opportunities to seal the game, but Edema wouldn't allow that to happen after his offensive mishap. He also rebounded the ball like a madman to keep his team's offensive possessions alive, but it couldn't convert either.
Edema, an upright big who goes after balls well outside his area but is a work in progress on the offensive end, blocked a series of shots during sudden death, including a few where he went high outside his regular defensive assignment. To give one an idea of his effort, Edema (a native of Nigeria) had three blocked shots in regulation, including one near the end, but ended the game with nine. He also had 11 rebounds, two steals and two baskets.
After his series of incredible blocks, the black club finally put the game away on the first and only field goal with at least a two elapsed minutes of game play, and a stoppage to fix the backboard, on a corner 3-pointer by 6-foot-4 2027 wing Ashton Graves of Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.) right in front of his own bench to make the final score 65-62 with the fans cheering wildly and both benches locked in like something one might see in a high school playoff game.
"When I missed that at the rim, I thought I cost my team the game," Edema said. "My coach and my teammates told me 'we're good, we got this, be your best for the team' and I wanted to help my teammates. My gosh, that was the longest overtime game of my life."
Graves finished with 10 points, including a 3-pointer with 39 seconds in regulation to give the black club a 62-59 lead. The white club's 6-foot-7 2027 Joshua Rivera of Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), who left the game earlier with an injury, tied the game by making a free throw after being fouled on a 3-pointer. The white club had a chance to take control, but Missoni Brown, a 6-foot-2 2027 guard out of Windsor (Conn.), missed a free throw.
Edema and 6-foot-4 2027 guard Caiden Jenkins of Rolesville (Raleigh, N.C.), who netted nine points for the white club, were named game MVPs. It was balanced scoring for the white, with 6-foot-3 freshman (2028) Malik Moore of Union Catholic (Scotch Plains, N.J.) adding seven points, 7-foot 2028 Toussaint Malukila of Paul VI (Haddonfield, N.J.) contributing eight points, and 6-foot-7 Daniel Abass of DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) adding 10 points.
Joining Edema and Graves as Black team standouts included, among others, 6-foot-7 2027 Jacoby Briscoe of Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.). He made many timely buckets down the stretch and finished with a game-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while 6-foot-4 2027 Brandon Singletary of Health Science Charter (Buffalo, N.Y.) added seven points.
In a camp with so much size who made their talents known, it's ironic joining Abass as the overall camp Most Outstanding Player wasn't a big or a bruising forward. It was actually a pass-first lead guard who made his mark with his deft ball-handling, team first play and leadership. It made no difference that Josh Charlot of Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Conn.) didn't start or only scored two points in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game; he made his mark throughout the two-day camp with his advanced feel and terrific communication.
"I've been playing point guard my whole life," Charlot said. "I love to study and watch YouTube of players like Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Mark Sears and Aden Holloway of Alabama."
The 5-foot-9 freshman has a brother, Nathan Charlot, who is 6-foot-1 and plays at Clark-Massachusetts, so there is a chance Josh could have a spurt in height down the line. Even if he doesn't, he's still quite a D1 college prospect as were many others in attendance.
Cream of the Crop Top 70 Recap
There was an abundance of talent at this year's All-East camp, as camp director Dinos Trigonis and the assembled scouts on hand who aided his selection for the camp all-star games didn't have an easy time pairing it down to the Top 60 players for one of the two games. There was easily 100 players who were considered and more time could have been spent breaking down each potential candidate to get picked. At some point, the players had to be chosen and Trigonis decided to include an additional 10 spots for deserving campers in the second game.
Some of the second all-star games are traditionally not as well played, as players are often disappointed they were not selected for the top game or the talent level drops off. That was not the case in 2024, as the Cream of the Crop Top 70 game was one of the most well-played second all-star games in recent memory at any camp.
The White jersey-wearing club came away with a 76-69 victory over the black, as it jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back. The game was intense and the black club make a run.
Chosen as game MVPs were 6-foot-6 2028 Josiah Dunkley-Samuels of Life Center Academy (Trenton, N.J.) and 6-foot-5 2028 Colton Hiller of Coastesville (Pa.). Dunkley-Samuels made his mark by moving without the basketball and scoring early in the game, while Hiller made some key shots for the white club as well.
Nolyn Proudfoot, a 6-foot-2 2028 shooting guard from Corning Painted Post (Corning, N.Y.), was another standout for the winning white club with a game-high 15 points.
A handful of participants in the Top 70 age could have played in the Top 30 game and one getting some mention of that was 6-foot-7 eighth-grader (2029) David Johnson of Aquinas Institute (Rochester, N.Y.). Ozzing with talent and potential as a wing forward, he canned four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for the white club.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
Excellent wrap-up of the Pangos East Frosh/Soph elite camp at NBN in Wilmington, DE this past weekend. The Top 30 All-Star game was absolutely awesome and I personally loved the unorthodox tweak of the rules to let the teams keep fighting and competing! Thank you.
Our son, Braxton Bogard, had a great weekend and had fun playing physical basketball against many of the best players in the NE and East USA!