KSR's 2022 Pangos All-American Camp Superlatives
The 20th annual Pangos All-American Camp has come and gone, with the prestigious event being held out in Las Vegas last week at Bishop Gorman High School. 110+ of high school basketball’s best players all came together under one roof to compete, combining all shoe circuits and age groups to let the cream rise to the top.
KSR had boots on the ground from start to finish, watching every player on multiple occasions, along with the Top 30 and Top 60 Cream of the Crop All-Star games to close out the camp.
With the dust now settled, it’s time to crown some end-of-event superlatives, including a camp MVP.
Camp MVP
There were numerous standouts deserving of top honors, many putting forth consistent production from start to finish. Ian Jackson was a clear standout, with Devin Royal, Yves Missi and Xavier Booker all making arguments for the biggest highs and flashes of brilliance. Give me Isaiah Miranda, though, for putting together a string of dominant performances from start to finish, including a few against the nation’s top big men. The 7-foot-1 center was efficiently knocking down 3-pointers, blocking shots, throwing down dunks in transition and showing off touch around the rim.
Miranda has been knocked for his erratic play throughout his high school career, highlighted by poor shot selection and unnecessary turnovers, but he’s deserving of nothing but praise following his strong week at Pangos. The kid can play.
— Jack Pilgrim
3-point sniper
You may not know KJ Windham’s name quite yet — he entered the event without a recruiting page at On3, 247Sports, Rivals or ESPN — but the 6-foot-3 shooting guard made it clear you will soon. A native of Indianapolis, IN, the Ben Davis High School standout proved he belonged in a sea of top-level competition, specifically as a 3-point specialist. The smooth lefty showed off a confident shooting stroke, knocking down catch-and-shoot looks with ease from day one through the Top 60 Cream of the Crop Game. And he did so on high volume, regularly launching and converting on his attempts from deep.
Other players shot well, but no one did so with the volume and efficiency Windham put forth.
— Jack Pilgrim
Smoothest on-court player
It’s tough to describe exactly what I mean by “smoothest”, but it will only take you a few minutes of watching Ian Jackson’s film to understand what I’m going for. You know how Kyrie Irving dribbles and attacks like he has a ball on the string? It’s to that same effect, but at a lower level. Jackson is just fun to watch when he has the ball in his hands. He has a wide array of dribble moves and is nearly unstoppable when he decides he wants to get to the rim in a one-on-one situation. Jackson loves to mix in no-look dimes, never looks too sped up, and is always enjoying himself. His jumpshot is especially pure. The 6-foot-5 point guard is already a top-three player in the 2024 class with a potential reclass on the table.
— Zack Geoghegan
Most exciting dunker
For this superlative, it depends on our criteria. Are we awarding this to the prospect who dunked more than the rest and did it at a consistently high and powerful level? If so, the easy choice is Pharoah Compton. We don’t have his exact number of dunks throughout the camp, but I would be shocked if it were anything under half of his total makes. Compton was a ball magnet, inhaling rebounds and using his massive frame (with unexpected athleticism) to scoop up rebounds and slam home anything and everything around the rim with viciousness. Once he grabbed the ball in the paint, everyone in attendance made sure to watch what was about to happen.
But if we’re going for pure style and flair, the winner might be the stock-rising AJ Johnson. The skinny 6-foot-7 guard was tossing down in-game windmills with impressive ease. But even those were few and far between. Compton became a must-see player in Vegas because of his constant dunking — even if they weren’t “flashy”.
— Zack Geoghegan
Best individual performance
For me, this one is easy. Amier Ali, a class of 2024 Kentucky target, put on the best shooting display of the entire tournament in his first game on day two. The 6-foot-7 wing has yet to meet a shot he didn’t like and that was especially true when he poured in 30 points on 11-17 shooting that included a jaw-dropping 7-10 mark from beyond the arc. It didn’t matter where he was on the floor, Ali was firing as soon as he touched the ball. It got to the point where you could only laugh as a spectator once he began launching from two to three feet behind the perimeter and the ball hits nothing but the bottom of the net. Additionally, he added nine rebounds and six assists in that same outing, too.
The biggest knock on Ali’s game so far is being able to play like that at a consistent level, but when he’s on, there might not be a better all-around scorer in the class.
— Zack Geoghegan
Biggest surprise/stock-riser
This one is an easy call. 6-foot-6 point guard AJ Johnson entered the spring as a consensus four-star, top-100 prospect in the senior class. Solid player, sure, but not a can’t-miss talent among rising seniors. His stock has grown this grassroots season thanks to his impressive play on the adidas 3SSB circuit suiting up for Jalen Green Elite, with high-major offers stacking up in the last month or two. Johnson then broke through in Las Vegas, dazzling onlookers with polished handles, elite quickness, defensive length, impressive athleticism and a solid jumper. It was an all-around effort that led to one common question from those in attendance: how high is too high for Johnson?
The answer? He genuinely may be a top-15 prospect in 2023. He’s got to add weight — he’s officially listed at 160 pounds — but everything else is there. It’s not a surprise that Johnson is a solid player. It was, however, a surprise at how quickly the 6-foot-6 playmaker jumped from good to potentially elite in such short order.
Welcome to five-star status, AJ Johnson.
— Jack Pilgrim
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