B2B Nation All-American Camp - Notables
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA - Coach Loren Hall and B2B Nation have become a top talent destination for the middle school and younger ages, and he brought both together earlier this month at his annual two-day All-American Camp.
Some of the top names to get to know moving forward were in attendance, here were some “Notable” talents from the two classes I got eyes on Day 1 that I’m sure the Scouting community will be tracking very soon:
2029
Elijah Ross | Guard (pictured at top)
Vision and quickness that was a tough ask for most of the guys trying to guard him, so impressive guard from a pure development level standpoint he was an eye-opener right away, for a guy his size he was pretty much able to dominate with pace or decision-making and that alone sets him up as a name to now.
Ja’Cori Thompson | Forward
Very athletic and wiry length for a 7th-grader sets him up as an exciting potential above-the-rim type guy down the line, showed off some shooting distance but was ideally effective running the floor at this stage as a serious finisher off the catch near the basket and as a rejector on the defensive end.
2028
King Araujo | Guard
Have caught his act now for two years as he’s been rising through the middle school ranks, elite skill level for the age group and quite simply has the potential to be a top player in the state and possibly even nationally-ranked at the pace he’s going at, not much I can’t see him doing well last the high school level.
Bryson Jatta | Guard/Forward
The cream generally rises to the top at middle school events and Jatta once again was hard to miss, like Araujo he emerged last fall in camp settings to me and has ingrained his name, can play big and strong like a developing young power forward but can face you up and knock down the J or drive it past you, commit the name to memory for sure.
Keegan Keeton | Guard
Was the day’s lights-out shooter as several other scouts in attendance had him as an easy Top 3 performer of the day, it wasn’t just the high percentage knockdowns but the basketball IQ and the ability to both handle it as a 1-man and knowing when and where to set up on the wing for his idyllic jump shot.
Austin Dennard | Forward
Imposing size and the aggression to go with it made him nearly impossible to stop on the catch near the basket, had a good matchup with 2029 Ja’Cori Thompson (featured above) that was fun to watch as the skill level between the two was notable, already around 6-5 or so he seems destined for 6-8-ish and with really good feet and soft hands already as an 8th-grader the post possibilities tantalize with a frame like his.
2031
Tricky to truly evaluate players this young, as what they may become can look so different than what they show us now, but below are some names who definitely showed off some real potential to track in this 5th-grade class.
Keith Agran is the Chief Scout for Beyond the Bracket, and is also in year 2 as the Girls Basketball Head Coach at Mt Bethel Christian Academy. He's lived in Georgia since 2011 and has worked most recently for On the Radar Hoops as a National Evaluator. He previously scouted for Prep Hoops as well dating back to 2019, and also spent multiple years as a sports writer at a major daily newspaper in New Jersey. You can reach him at keithagran1@gmail.com and follow him on social media on X (formerly Twitter) @BracketSage and @agrankeith on IG.
