There is always excitement at the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp and this year's edition closed with a strong Cream of the Crop Top 30 Game. When the dust settled, the camp's Most Outstanding Player went to sophomore guard Reese "Lil Skip" Alston of Second Baptist in Houston. The son of former NBA guard Rafer Alston wasn't the only standout guard, and there was a nice set of bigs who shined.

The Cream of the Crop Top 30 All-Star Game, reserved for the top participants at the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp, usually is a quality game and the separator of the two-day event. The past two years, the camp's final games have told the tale and been quality games and there year was so different. The players chosen were indeed the camp's elite among the 230 plus campers from 17 different states who called the Duncanville Fieldhouse home over the weekend and the player who took home the camp's Most Outstanding Player honors clearly showed why in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 Game.

Reese Alston, a bouncy 6-foot-1 sophomore (2027) point guard from Second Baptist (Houston, Texas) with an advanced game and an incredible pedigree, controlled the action with his outstanding point guard abilities, whether having the ball on a string, seeing the entire floor one step ahead, getting quality paint touches or stopping on a dime to pull up for a shot or a whip to pass to a teammate. Alston's impact was quite evident from the start and he helped his Black jersey-wearing club jump out to an early lead on the White jersey-wearing club by hitting a couple of rhythm 3-pointers and dishing off some nifty assists. Even more than Alston's numbers, his command of the game is something you don't often see from rising sophomores.

Alston, the son of former NBA point guard Rafer Alston, then closed out the game strong on his final line shift and helped the black seal its 83-71 victory over the white. Alston finished with 13 points and eight assists in 16 minutes of play. He could easily have also bagged Top 30 Game MVP honors, but long-time event director Dinos Trigonis traditionally spreads the love around when it comes to individuals honors.

Alston is primed for a big sophomore campaign with his high school team, as he led Cooz Elite to the 15U circuit title on the Pro16 Circuit and followed up his terrific summer with a show-stopping performance on the Pangos Frosh-Soph circuit. Alston is known as "Lil Skip", a play on his father's nickname "Skip To My Lou", or Skip for short, that he earned while growing up in Bayside, Queens, New York and drawing crowds on the blacktop even before he was a teenager attending PS40 Elementary School and IS-8 Middle School.

"I don't know, it's just putting in the work and wanting to showing everyone what I bring," Alston said about the motivation behind his camp performance.

Veteran observers would assume with his father's pedigree as the best and most famous modern streetball player that "Lil Skip" would have a little extra flash in his game or ball-handling. But that is far from the truth. Putting aside his street ball credentials, Alston's dad developed into a NBA starting point guard who played in the NBA Finals and his son takes the lessons learned from his father's pro experiences and applies them to his game. He doesn't waste time with any unessecary movement or over-dribbling, which can easily be done in an individual camp setting for young players.

"Every play, I want to work to make the best play, I don't try to over do it," Alston said. "I am a team player and do what's best for my team to win."

Trigonis and the scouts in attendance tapped 6-foot-8 2027 power forward Xander Pruzinsky of Memorial (Frisco, Texas) and 6-foot-7 2027 wing forward Galen Roberts of Midtown (Atlanta, Ga.), formerly known as Grady High School, as co-MVP of the camp's top all-star game. Pruzinsky was among the plethora of bigs who gave supreme effort, and the local product was the one who had the best combination of instincts, skill and relentless around the rim. In camp games and in the Cream of the Crop Top 30 game, Pruzinsky consistently finished at the rim off misses, including tip dunks and strong putbacks. He is also patient around the rim in the half court setting and has good touch around the basketball. Pruzinsky is a natural interior player and is using settings such as the Pangos All-South Frosh/Soph Camp to expand his game.

"I usually get back in rotation and make it a point to sprint back," Pruzinsky said. "I'm always trying to find an opening. For my high school team, I play down low so I am working on my face up skills."

One of the camp's top overall performers came from the Peach State and had to be satisfied he met his goals for the weekend. Roberts came into the weekend known as a talented prospect locally, but left as a national recruit because of his athleticism, length and skill as a wing prospect. He was arguably the best slashing scorer in attendance and used his length and competitiveness to consistently jump passing lanes for easy buckets and to blow by defenders from the top of the key or deep baseline.

"I came and looked at this camp as a great opportunity," Roberts said. "I saw that alot of pros came to this Pangos Camp and thought I had to give it a try. For me I feel I am getting better at my base and working on getting lower with the dribble. I used to be real high and now it's easier for me to get past people on the perimeter."

Among the other top shelf lead guards other than Alston included 6-foot-1 2027 Chris Hunt of FAB 50 power Duncanville (Texas), 5-foot-11 Isaak Hayes of North Crowley (Ft. Worth, Texas), 6-foot-1 2027 Josiah Jones of Harlan (San Antonio, Texas), and 6-foot 2027 Brandon Lohmann of Liberty Christian (Argyle, Texas).

Among the shooting guards, the best of the lot included 6-foot-3 2027 Cadarian Urune of Rowlett (Texas), 6-foot freshman (2028) Jax Sharum of Lewisville (Texas), 6-foot-2 2027 Amare Johnson of Homeschool (Midlothian, Texas), 6-foot-3 2027 Avery Huston of Dynamic Prep (Dallas, Texas), 6-foot 2027 Daylan Jackson of Groves (Port Neches, Texas) and 6-foot-3 2027 Dylan Franklin of Crandall (Texas).

Joining Roberts among the top wings included 6-foot-5 2027 Jacari Irvin of Elkins (Missouri City, Texas), 6-foot-7 2027 Dawson Battie of St. Mark's (Dallas, Texas), 6-foot-3 2027 Broderick Wyatt of Legacy School of Sports Science (Spring, Texas), 6-foot-7 2028 Carter Coleman of Oklahoma Christian Academy (Edmond, Okla.) and 6-foot-6 2027 Malachi Booker of St. John's (Houston, Texas).

The pivotmen led by Pruzinsky were talented and plentiful. They included 6-foot-9 2028 Xavier Young of Lewisville (Texas), 6-foot-9 2027 David Baliraine of Hallsville (Texas), 6-foot-9 2028 Terrell Jackson of Carter (Dallas, Texas), 6-foot-8 2027 Steven McLeod of Grand Prairie (Texas) and 6-foot-8 2027 James McCall-Spears of Lakeview Centennial of Garland (Texas).

Among the top players in the fully-loaded Creme of the Crop Top 40 Game with over 40 participants included 6-foot-3 2027 Kyle Amadi of Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas) and his 6-foot-2 2027 teammate at Lake Ridge, Onie Lewis IV, 5-foot-10 2028 Jordan Hopkins of Emerson (Frisco, Texas), 6-foot-2 2027 Bryce Vann of Crawford (Rosharon, Texas), 6-foot-2 2027 Amarion Hunter of Carter (Dallas, Texas), 6-foot-7 2027 Harrison Jones of Trinity Christian (Lubbock, Texas), 6-foot-5 2028 Musunguindji Mwenentanda of Washington (Sioux Falls, Idaho), 5-foot-11 Aiden Clark of Legacy Schools of Sports Science (Spring, Texas) and 6-foot-2 2027 Vincent Green II of Mesquite (Texas).

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