Freed from paint, Loughlin's Jayvaughn Pinkston looks good at ReebokBY EBENEZER SAMUEL
Tuesday, July 15th 2008
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/07/15/2008-07-15_freed_from_paint_loughlins_jayvaughn_pin.html
PHILADELPHIA - As Jayvaughn Pinkston dribbled upcourt, one defender after another tried to harass him into a turnover.
But Pinkston had other ideas. He spun past one man, used an ankle-breaking crossover to beat the next. Suddenly, he was slithering into the paint and passing to a teammate for a layup.
The sequence would have made just about any point guard's highlight reel. Except Jayvaughn Pinkston isn't exactly a point guard.
The wide-bodied 6-6 forward from Brooklyn actually doesn't have a position, which made him one of the more enigmatic talents at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia last week.
"He's a good player, really talented," one Big East assistant said. "But where is he gonna play?"It's a question that's been begging for an answer since this past winter. Pinkston, then a sophomore, started for Bishop Loughlin at power forward, using his considerable heft to clear space in the lane.
"I was frustrated with the coach (Khalid Green)," he said. "It seemed like he really wasn't going to let me play."
While teammate Doron Lamb blossomed into an all-CHSAA first-team guard, Pinkston's game was shackled. He barely averaged double-figures in points, often looking clumsy while learning the nuances of play in the lane.
But the broad-shouldered kid from Brownsville didn't complain. He says he didn't want to "make things personal," and he couldn't argue with the Lions' performance: they advanced to the CHSAA city championship semifinals.
"We did good," Pinkston said. "Truth is, wherever (a team) needs me to play, I'll play."
The college game isn't as simple. College coaches often want to pigeonhole players, envisioning them in specific roles. So-called "tweeners" like Pinkston often get lost in the shuffle.
Green says that was never his intent. The Loughlin coach says he played Pinkston in the paint to "develop" him.
"We think Jayvaughn is incredibly talented," Green said. "But we felt the best way to develop him was to start him in the post, make him work hard."The experiment may have caused frustration, but its fruits were apparent last week, when Pinkston impressed his fair share of scouts.
Reebok's All-American Camp, launched as "RBK U" last year, replaced the famed ABCD Camp in New Jersey as the shoe company's flagship summer showcase, a weeklong series of drills and scrimmages that allowed top high school prospects to develop fundamentals while displaying their abilities in front of a who's who of college coaches.
ABCD attracted an illustrious list of prospects that included LeBron James and recent NBA draft pick O.J. Mayo, and this year's class showcased similar talent
This year, prominently ranked players included Abdul Gaddy, an explosive guard from Washington, and Renardo Sidney, a 6-9 big man from L.A. (Calif.) Fairfax who commanded his own press conference on Wednesday.
Pinkston came here with less fanfare, but walked out with a trail of buzz. He's shed about 10 pounds since the high school season, dropping to 225 while adding quickness to complement the post-up skills he gained during his time in the paint.
That inside-outside blend yielded results all week. Pinkston made the camp's underclassmen all-star game, and recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski likened his game and build to those of former NBA player Jamal Mashburn, a graduate of Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx.Gaddy, a top guard in the Class of 2009, ended the week believing that his teammate on Team Jason Terry had found a position.
"He's a great player," Gaddy said.
"I think he's a wing forward - not a power guy."But scouts remain divided.
"I love him," said one Atlantic 10 assistant. "He can do a little bit of everything."
Konchalski still has his reservations:
"He probably has the offensive game of a (small forward), but I don't know if he has the quickness to defend that position".Not that Pinkston is worried. He says he still needs to work on his ball-handling and shooting. He'll play the remainder of the summer with his New Heights AAU team, trying to debunk any remaining skeptics. Then, he says he'll return to Loughlin despite his frustrations with the offense.
"I played pretty well here," Pinkston said. "But I can play better."