The prestigious Pangos All-American Camp, an invite-only event featuring the top high school prospects in the nation, returned this summer after the 2020 rendition took a different form, due to the pandemic. Pro Insight was on hand to evaluate the event and caught up with Alex Karaban of IMG Academy (FL) and Expressions Elite (MA). Karaban was selected to the Top-30 Cream of the Crop Game and averaged 18.5 points and 6.0 rebounds while making a camp-high 14 three pointers in four games.
As part of the Pro Insight Q&A series, Karaban discussed what he hoped to showcase over the course of the camp, guys on his Pangos squad he enjoyed playing with, his recruitment update including upcoming visits, and more.
For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2022 prospect Alex Karaban, from Northborough, Massachusetts:
Pro Insight: How did you feel out here in the last game?
Alex Karaban: I felt well. I thought I played well, showing a little bit of everything that I do — three-pointers, attacking the rim, a little bit in the post, too. I thought I played well, overall.
PI: What are you looking to showcase in front of scouts and media at this event?
AK: I'm just trying to showcase my versatility. In the NBA, there's like no position anymore so I'm just trying to showcase that, show NBA scouts how versatile I can be.
PI: For those who aren’t familiar with your game, describe your strengths.
AK: Yeah. My strengths — I can create a bunch of mismatches. If I have a smaller dude on me, I'll post him up. Bigger dude, I'll go by him. But otherwise I'd say I'm a knockdown shooter, an elite rebounder and I'm unselfish. I'm very unselfish when I play.
PI: Who on your team are you looking forward to playing with the rest of the camp?
AK: It's always fun to go against and to play with the top kids, especially since we always play against them in AAU, but I'm happy I have my [AAU] teammate Reed Bailey with me and Roddy Gayle [Jr.] — he's pretty cool to play with. He’s also on my team, just because he's another top-ranked kid too.
PI: How has your AAU season been with Expressions Elite?
AK: It's been good so far. We're starting to figure ourselves out. We got off to a very slow start, but now we're starting to pick it up, got a couple wins going. We're just trying to figure it all out.
PI: What is your recruitment update?
AK: I'm always looking at more schools, so I'm very open right now. I have a couple of visits planned right now to Northwestern (official), Penn State (official) and UConn (unofficial) — that's for June. But I'm open to anyone — I'm willing to listen to every school.
PI: What are you ultimately looking for in a school of your choice?
AK: Yeah, I would say first is the relationship with the coaching staff — not just a four-year journey for me. Play style and development — I want to become a better player for us there, but then just a better person off the court, too. Just to get a degree at this school, too, is very important for my family. And a winning culture. I don't want to lose in college.
PI: Does proximity to the east coast factor in at all?
AK: Any location is fine with me. Whatever's best for my family.
PI: Who do you try to model your game after and study on film?
AK: I don't really know who I model my game after, but I watch a bunch of Jayson Tatum. I'm trying to get to the point where I could shot-create like him and just kind of do what he does.
PI: At the end of the day, what do you hope to be remembered for?
AK: I'd say someone who made an impact in his community. Basketball is all cool and stuff, and it leads you to so many opportunities that you never thought of. So giving back and that everyone would just remember, like, “yeah, he did this for us.” I think that would be pretty cool for me.