Kevin Easley’s has an eye for basketball. Having an NAIA school in the heart of Atlanta, has its challenges. The college experience is one that no matter the level “wakes up” high school players with aspirations of playing at the next level. Easley is entering his fifth season as the head coach at Life University and held his first-ever Elite Camp over the weekend.
The camp featured the Life University’s coaching staff and current players leading the way with skill development work, offensive concepts, defensive work, and 5 on 5 game play.
There was a very good turnout with campers in attendance from Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida.
One of the things that stood out during the camp was having the campers execute drills against current Life University players. Many of the campers accepted the challenge and were able to get a taste of the speed of college basketball during these sessions. There was a major emphasis on quick decisions and playing fast with a number of drills timed for quickness and fast-paced play.
In team game play portion of the camp, the team that won all of there games got to go up against the college guys in a game to close out the camp. The college guys won the game as expected however it was a good dose of what it takes to play at the collegiate level for those guys that earned the opportunity to go up against them in a game.
Here are the Hillsman Heavy standouts from the camp:
Cedric Taylor 6’9 2025- Creekside Christian (GA); Taylor used his height an length to his advantage. Taylor spent a lot of time above the rim throwing down dunks and catching lobs. Defensively he contested everything which led to a number of blocked and/or altered shots. He also showed touch from the perimeter. As he continues to develop and get stronger his upside is very bright
Bilal Osman 6’3 2024- Creekside Christian (GA); Osman showed a lot of aspects of his game. Shooting, driving and active hands stood out. He is not shy in pulling a deep three. He drives well and uses his body on drives to create just enough. He hits the glass well and plays off the ball well. All of this with continued development will make him one to keep eyes on.
Austin Hillsman 6’3 2024- Union Grove (GA); Hillsman displayed sound aggression, shooting from the perimeter, open floor ballhandling. He rebounded well on both ends, moved well on the perimeter defensively and was one of the loudest communicators in the gym on both ends. He must continue to work on not making easy shots difficult and get crisper with ballhandling. The more he asserts himself the ceiling will continue to rise.
Kaiyu Huffman 5’10 2025-Kennesaw Mountain (GA); Tough player that can showed he can shoot the ball and was up for all challenges. Huffman played well throughout and as he develops could be one know for hard-nosed play but will burn you from the perimeter.
Davenport Cox 6’2 2025- Mays; Cox is an active player both on the perimeter and below the foul line. He made a number of perimeter shots and was always somewhere near a 50/50 ball. Cox, as he develops, will need to continue working on his overall game and fitting it into game structure/settings.
Joe Reddick 6’3 2024- Creekside Christian; Reddick continued to show his patience for the game and allowing the game to come to him. He showed his range, passing and IQ at various times throughout the camp. Reddick’s length is always going to be intriguing. As Reddick gets tougher he will be on to watch.
Shamar Echols 6’3 Unsigned Senior- Echols was hard to miss throughout the day because of his activity. He slashed, hit open shots, defended well and played to make a play. He used the opportunity to his advantage. “Active” was the word that we kept noting. Hands were in passing lanes, contesting shots. Echols as an unsigned senior must continue to force less on offense and allow game to come to him. He is still worth keeping eyes on because of his want to get better and be coached.
The first Elite Camp at Life University set the tone and it should continue to grow over the years as the University and basketball coaching staff continue to search for ways to help athletes reach the next level of the game.
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