The inaugural Spida Elite Camp concluded last weekend with resounding success, offering top young guards from across the country a unique opportunity to learn directly from NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell and his hand-picked cadre of professional coaches. Throughout several on-court sessions at Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif., event participants engaged in hands-on drills led by Camp Director Johnnie Bryant (New York Knicks), accompanied by his expert staff. Mitchell himself conducted insightful film breakdown sessions, while players showcased their skills in front of NBA scouts during competitive scrimmages. Evenings were filled with programming as well and offered the campers and college counselors an opportunity to connect off the court, highlighted by a comedy show at the luxurious “Spida House.”
Access to Donovan Mitchell and his coaching team proved invaluable, as players were offered first-hand advice on the intricacies of professional basketball. They received continuous feedback on navigating the daily challenges of the sport and tips into maximizing their talents. The camp’s structured format, including morning film sessions and stations, complemented by afternoon scrimmages, facilitated a direct application of newly acquired skills in a competitive environment.
The fact that every player attended the voluntary “breakfast club” workouts each morning before practices and got better each day of camp highlights the success of the event and the importance of NBA stars such as Donovan Mitchell giving back to the next generation. With that, let’s take a look at each of the camp’s attendees:
CAMPERS
Matthew Able | 2025 | 6-5
One of the major stock-boosters from the weekend, Able impressed with his positional size, length, underrated athleticism, smooth shooting stroke, feel for the game, and two-way ability. The Florida native is an exceptional complementary piece whose confidence grew each day and is only scratching the surface as a prospect.
Ikenna Alozie | 2026 | 6-2
The physically mature guard and impressive all-around athlete does a good job leveraging his tools on the court. Each day, Alozie showcased his self-creation, tough finishing, gritty defense, and rebounding proficiency in front of numerous NBA scouts — all while bringing a competitive edge and positive energy to the event.
Jamarion Batemon | 2025 | 6-3
The recent Iowa State commit is a rangy and athletic combo guard who was praised by staff as being one of the more focused campers in attendance. Batemon is a well-rounded prospect who can stretch the defense, put the ball on the floor, attack the rim, and lock up on defense — all traits that should translate well to the Big 12.
Darius Bivins | 2026 | 6-1
While he wasn’t the biggest nor most athletic camper in the gym, Bivins made up for it with his basketball IQ and toughness. He shined as a lead guard and regularly carved up the defense with his deep bag as a creator, court vision as a facilitator and crafty finishing inside the paint. He also showed his fight, anticipation and quick hands on defense, turning plenty of heads in the process.
Bruce Branch III | 2027 | 6-5
Branch is a high-upside prospect who already possesses exceptional size and length, but is clearly nowhere near done developing both physically and athletically. As the youngest player in camp, the Arizona native made the most of this opportunity to go against some of the country’s best upperclassmen by staying aggressive off the catch, making his mark as a shooter and competing on both ends.
Mikel Brown, Jr. | 2025 | 6-2
Brown is a polished lead guard who continues to mature into his frame and athleticism. Fresh off winning a gold medal with Team USA, the rising senior stood out as a shot-maker, self-creator, crfty finisher, facilitator, and willing defender. He brings a valuable blend of physical tools, natural talent, competitiveness, and feel for the game.
Korie Corbett, Jr. | 2026 | 6-4
Corbett is a strong and athletic guard who plays with a fearless mindset and isn’t afraid to get into opponents physically, especially on the defensive end. Throughout camp, the rising junior also showcased his explosiveness around the rim, quick hands/feet and budding perimeter skills.
Eli Ellis | 2025 | 6-0
This South Carolina commit is a gritty, confident, fierce competitor who raised the energy in the gym any time he was on the floor. A dynamic shot-maker, playmaker and pesky defender, Ellis consistently rose to the occasion and made a positive overall impression to those in attendance.
Winters Grady | 2025 | 6-7
The tallest player of the group, Grady possesses the size, functional athleticism, assertiveness, and the requisite skillset to provide some real positional versatility for his team. The Oregon native excelled in Thousand Oaks as a knockdown shooter, efficient off-ball mover and with his lethal pull-up game. He’s on a positive developmental trajectory and seems poised to have a breakout senior season.
Jeremiah Green | 2025 | 6-2
Green is a strong-framed guard who plays under control and with poise. Throughout the course of camp, he provided flashes of his soft touch inside, multi-level shooting, playmaking, facilitating, and sound defense — offering evaluators in attendance a lot to like about his long term outlook as he continues to develop.
Davion Hannah | 2025 | 6-5
Hannah is an athletic guard with perimeter size who showed glimpses of versatility, self-creation, finishing, and shot-making, but wasn’t able to fully showcase himself due to a minor injury that caused him to miss a chunk of the camp. He remains a highly-intriguing player who should have a big year for Link Academy (KS).
Jasper Johnson | 2025 | 6-4
Johnson is a tantalizing prospect who continues to grow into his lanky frame. This lefty is a microwave scorer with NBA range who lit it up in SoCal as a tough shot-maker and crafty finisher. He also displayed his defensive playmaking upside and stood out as one of the most confident, assertive players in the gym.
Tay Kinney | 2026 | 6-1
The rising junior is a tough, high motor, endearing point guard who is reliable, prone to make the right play and capable of putting pressure on the rim. Throughout camp, Kinney did a good job utilizing his frame to knife into the paint and finish, drive and kick to open teammates and contain penetration on defense. He can play off the ball and serve as a catch-and-shoot option, as well.
Jaylen Lawal | 2025 | 6-3
Lawal got better by the session, culminating in a strong two-way performance during the final scrimmages where he showcased some creativity as a finisher, effective slashing, spot-up shooting, tough defense, and smart decision making. The senior-to-be is a two-way complementary piece who offers value in a variety of ways.
Adam Oumiddoch | 2026 | 6-4
The Virginia product is a big, skilled guard who’s comfortable playing at either backcourt spot. Oumiddoch boasts a slightly unorthodox game as he finds different ways to be effective. He’s at his best when making quick decisions as a creator, facilitator and scorer. Prior to getting banged up on day one, he also showed a level of toughness when battling defensively and on the glass.
Jaylen Petty | 2025 | 6-0
Petty is the latest Seattle guard to make a national name for himself, with Spida Elite Camp being the most recent setting. He’s a backcourt spark plug who plays bigger than his listed size thanks to his quicks, bounce, toughness, and energy. He differentiated himself in front of NBA scouts by displaying multi-level scoring, shiftiness with the ball, and intentionality in his off-ball movement.
Jasir Rencher | 2025 | 6-6
Rencher possesses eye-catching physical tools and impressed evaluators by showing his development as a creator, finisher, shooter, and defender at camp. He’s still just scratching the surface at 17 years old and on his current trajectory, there is a lot to like about his long term outlook.
Xaviel Rodriguez | 2025 | 6-5
A native of Puerto Rico, Rodriguez is a big guard who made the most of his opportunities at camp both as a shooter and as a slasher. He showed a willingness to compete and a level of toughness as he gritted through pain after suffering an injury on the first day of camp and kept playing.
Taj Walters | 2025 | 6-5
Walters brings terrific size and strength to the perimeter and offers translatable traits in his versatility, slashing, finishing, and defensive tools. Both during 3SSB play and in this setting, he’s looked the part as a connector on offense and someone who will do the dirty work on defense.
Isaac Williamson | 2025 | 6-2
Williamson is a crafty, defensive-minded combo guard who impressed with his ability to play on or off the ball in Thousand Oaks. Throughout high school, he has developed into a trusty creator, finisher and an automatic shooter to complement his lockdown defense. He quietly got better each day of camp and is a name that should continue to trend up, moving forward.
COLLEGE COUNSELORS
Rakease Passmore | Freshman | 6-5 *Kansas
The former Garner Road (NC) standout is a big time athlete who thrives in the open court and puts pressure on the rim as a powerful finisher. Passmore brings positional size and a frame that projects to fill out nicely over time. He continued to show growth as a floor-spacer, creator and decision-maker as he didn’t force the issue and knocked down open shots throughout camp.
Trent Perry | Freshman | 6-4 *UCLA
Petty is a fundamentally-sound player with ideal size and strength as a combo guard. He showcased his feel for the game, smooth outside shooting stroke, slashing, footwork, and ability to play off others throughout the weekend. As per usual, he stood out as a reliable all-around prospect who contributes to winning.
