Blue-collar mentality in Golden State

HAWTHORNE, Calif. -- The Under Armour Combine, directed by Ted Gladue, made its way to California to unveil its program to many of the elite players in southern California. The players competed at various stations to see how they compare with their respective peers. The Under Armour staff provided a high-energy platform of intense drills that challenged the players in the areas of vertical jump, lane agility and skill development.

In this day and age when scouting is primarily limited to watching club teams run up and down the court with very little structure, it was refreshing to see players in various stations being taught the fundamentals -- not too mention being held accountable for their effort.

Standout players

Skylar Spencer (Los Angeles, Calif./Price)
2012, PF, 6-foot-7, 200 pounds
He has a terrific frame and his game has continued to evolve since his sophomore campaign. Spencer plays with great energy and possesses a blue-collar mentality despite having a wiry frame. His offensive game needs attention, both from a skill and fundamental standpoint, but he's an intriguing talent because he runs hard and fills the lane, usually finishing with a dunk. Defensively, he is an elite shot-blocker and his ability to rebound in traffic is improving.

Jahmel Taylor (Chatsworth, Calif./ Sierra Canyon)
2013, PG, 6-0, 160 pounds
Taylor is an undersized combo guard, but he can really shoot (shot it really well in the scrimmage). His range extends out to 23 feet and he gets great lift on his shot. He can also pull up in transition or explode to the hole. However, at one of the skill set stations, he showed that he needs more work on developing his left hand, especially while finishing. Overall, he is a solid scorer, but needs to develop more savviness for the point guard position and continue to learn how to run an offense in the half-court set.

One to watch

Riley Dearing (Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle)
2013, SG, 6-3, 170 pounds
Dearing may have been the best prospect at the event. The lengthy wing-type has a great frame with extremely long arms and broad shoulders. He uses his length and burst to get to the basket and he can stroke the 3-point shot as well. During the scrimmages he scored effortlessly, but he needs to do a better job of moving without the ball. Defensively, he has the type of frame and lateral quickness to guard the one, two, or three at the next level.

Surprise player

Taj Adams (Los Angeles, Calif./ West Adams)
2012, SF, 6-6, 170 pounds
He has a wiry frame with terrific length and bounce. Adams glides up and down the floor and has excellent timing in and around the paint area. Due to his length and athletic prowess he gets his hands on numerous balls, while defending and hitting the offensive glass. He is extremely raw from an offensive standpoint and Adams will need to pay attention to his ballhandling and develop a consistent jump shot.

Notes

• There may not be a player that plays as hard or with as much attention to detail than 6-4 Dominique Dunning (Corona, Calif./Centennial). He is the prototypical glue-type for the next level.

• Wesley Saunders (Los Angeles/Windward), a 6-5 senior, displayed his face-up game as he drove by numerous opponents for tough finishes or delivered a nifty assist.

• One of the greater enigmas in California is 6-1 seniorGelaun Wheelwright (Corona, Calif./ Centennial). He has all the physical tools to be a very good Division I combo-guard, however, he was still erratic during the ballhandling drills.

• Elite sophomore, 6-3 Isaac Hamilton (Los Angeles/Crenshaw), has the innate ability to score in a variety of ways and his passing is impressive. Once he gets stronger, his shot should continue to get better.

• A couple of promising eighth graders, 5-8 Marcus LoVett Jr. (Altadena, Calif./Odyssey Charter) and 6-5 Mason Shepard (Malibu, Calif./New Roads Middle School), were on display. LoVett Jr. is a crafty left-handed point guard prospect who is tough to stop going to the basket, while Shepard has a nice lengthy frame with long arms.

• One of the most explosive athletes at the event was 6-4 junior Ater Manyang (Rochester, Minn./Century). He has limited skills and fundamentals, but he had a number of high-level finishes above the rim in traffic.