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Carroll's Derrick Jones impresses at Reebok summer camp

The back of Hannibal's black bathrobe said he was "Da Most Electrifying One." The emcee wore a heavyweight title belt on Friday afternoon and traversed the Philadelphia University basketball court with a microphone.

Archbishop Carroll's Derrick Jones. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)
Archbishop Carroll's Derrick Jones. (Steven M. Falk/Staff Photographer)Read more

The back of Hannibal's black bathrobe said he was "Da Most Electrifying One." The emcee wore a heavyweight title belt on Friday afternoon and traversed the Philadelphia University basketball court with a microphone.

He makes his home at Harlem's Rucker Park and was brought in to give the all-star game at the Reebok Classic Breakout a playground-like vibe. If he needed reason to use that microphone - likely, he didn't - Hannibal found it in Archbishop Carroll's Derrick Jones.

The area's top basketball recruit soared for a two-handed alley-oop midway through the first half. The emcee instructed the scorer's table to "give that basket to D.J." The 6-foot-7 wing player knocked down a deep three-pointer on the next possession. Hannibal told the crowd that Jones was his "main man."

Later in the half, Jones grabbed a pass at the top of the key and drove the lane. He dodged a defender and threw down a windmill slam.

"Turn down for what!" Hannibal hollered.

Jones finished with a game-high 24 points and put the final touches on a strong three-day performance in front of the nation's top college programs. He displayed his all-around game this week, proving he is more than just a highlight-reel dunker. Florida and Michigan, two schools that are likely to soon offer Jones a scholarship, watched him on Friday.

"It's great just to be blessed and have all these college coaches here watching all of us top players play," said Jones.

Jones plans to fill August with visits to Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville and Syracuse. He is ranked by ESPN as the nation's No. 27 recruit in the Class of 2015.

In the second half, Jones blitzed the lane, sped past a defender and sealed a dunk with an extended hang on the rim. Jones started the next possession and pounded the ball onto the court to fake the defender into thinking he was penetrating the lane. Jones stepped back and knocked down a three. In the second half, he called for a screen on the left side but it was sniffed out by his opponent. Jones improvised and dribbled to his right for a strong layup.

"When you're able to do things that look easy to other people, then you have a gift," said Terrell Myers, the director of Jones' WeR1 AAU program. "He's very gifted athletically and I also think he's gifted to be able to handle what comes along with it. He does a great job of staying low-key and being true to himself."

With about two minutes left in the game, Jones crashed the lane when his teammate misfired a shot. The shot bounced off the rim and Jones leaped for the rebound. He reached his long right arm behind his head, clutched the ball, and rocked it through the net. That was his favorite dunk, Jones said, because he's naturally left-handed. The crowd roared and Hannibal shouted "Ohhhh" into his microphone. Even he was at a loss for words.