Alex Jesswein, Georgetown Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Providence Recruiting

NY2LA SUMMER JAM PLAYER REVIEW

by ALEX JESSWEIN

Good friend of NBE Alex Jesswein spent some time at the recent NY2LA Sports Summer Jam to close out the opening July Evaluation Period last month in the Milwaukee (WI) area. Many of the top players from the Midwest were there, as well as many Division 1-A assistant and head coaches looking at the field of talent.

Alex gives his thoughts on some of the top performers and NBE adds some recruiting notes to his reports to give readers a sense of who is looking at some of these players, from the Big East and around the country…

Trey Zeigler, 6’5, Team Detroit: Zeigler has the size and shooting ability to score on just about everyone. He is a fundamentally sound player who gets after it on both the offensive and defensive end. There is no doubt he is one of the high major wings in the country.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Mt. Pleasant (MI) informed NBE at the NBA Top 100 camp last month that he has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Miami, Michigan State, Michigan, Providence, UCLA, LSU and Dayton.

Zeigler also told NBE Pittsburgh has also been showing strong interest and Zeigler definitely plans to visit Pitt later this summer, likely in August. He has already visited Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA and also would like to visit Arizona State and LSU this summer. A top five list would likely be created following the summer visits.

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Ray McCallum Jr., 6’1, Team Detroit: Knowing that McCallum is a coach’s son, it is not surprising to see such a smart and efficient player. McCallum does not seem to force things offensively and with the weapons on Team Detroit he did a good job of getting everyone involved.
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Brandan Kearney, 6’5, Team Detroit: Much like Zeigler, Kearney is wired as a scorer. Although he needs to gain some consistency on his outside shot, Kearney has the handles and athleticism to get by defenders and finish above the rim. His length allows him to rebound well and play tough defense. The upside on Kearney, a 2011 prospect, is exciting.
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Percy Gibson, 6’8, Team Detroit: Another 2011 prospect, Gibson is a big-bodied post player with solid skills. Gibson runs the court well and can mix it up a bit inside. He still needs to develop his moves in the post but his rebounding ability will no doubt make him a high major player.
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Xavier Jones, 6’3, SYF Players: Listed by some sites as a combo guard, Jones only plays point for SYF and does a good job with it. Jones is strong and compact and he uses his body well to draw contact in the lane. His mid range shot is decent but he could use some consistency on his outside shot. The best thing about Jones is that he seems to be a vocal leader.
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Jesse Berry, 6’2, SYF Players: Berry, a Dayton commitment, is a very good shooter from the outside. He has very good leaping ability, which makes his jumper very difficult to defend. At this point, I am still undecided on whether or not Berry will be able to play point at the next level.
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Dominique Ferguson, 6’8, SYF Players: It takes just a couple of minutes watching Ferguson to deem him one of the top prospects in the country. Just his measurables (height, wingspan, athleticism) alone, give him the look of a top player. Ferguson excels at finishing in traffic and scoring from mid range and in. His length also makes him a very solid defender.

At the NBA Top 100 Camp, Ferguson told Matt Whitfield of NBE that Arizona, Wake Forest, and Tennessee have offered. Louisville is also interested. He also attended the Indiana elite camp back in June as well.
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Brendan Dawson, 6’5, SYF Players 16U: Dawson played the role of junkyard dog in leading SYF 16U to the finals. He played the role of undersized power forward and excelled at it. Defensively he rebounded and altered shots using his giant wingspan. Offensively he hit mid range shots and scored in the post. He brought many people out of their seats when he had an enormous tip slam over two defenders. Going forward, I see Dawson sliding over to the wing position, where he will ultimately play in college.

Georgetown is one of the schools that has already offered the Lew Wallace junior, according to the Gary Post Tribune.
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Cameron Wright, 6’5, King James Shooting Stars: Wright was one of the players who improved his stock the most at this tournament. At 6’5, Wright’s ability to handle to ball is what puts him ahead of many guys at his size. He was hitting shots from the outside all week which made him a very dangerous player. Wright has the ability to play the point and off-guard at a high major program.

The former Ohio State verbal commitment has opened up his recruitment after a mutual parting of the ways with the Buckeyes and NBE has learned that Pittsburgh and Michigan State have made a push recently.

“Yeah, both offered,” Wright informed NBE’s Ray Mernagh in an e-mail asking about the interest of late from the Panthers and Spartans.

He has visited Notre Dame this summer and Wisconsin and Indiana have been seen tracking him in July.
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Vander Blue, 6’3, Milwaukee Spartans: With many high major division one coaches looking on, Blue put on a show against Team Detroit. He hit two long-range bombs in the last two minutes of the game to seal the deal for the Spartans. Blue undoubtedly has elite quickness and leaping ability. He has continued to become more and more consistent on his outside shot, which was a weakness at one point. His decision-making has room for improvement as he can get in a mind frame of forcing shots.
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Quevyn Winters, 6’5, Milwaukee Spartans: Winters has great form on his shot and can really fill it up from the perimeter. His ability to slash and finish will determine whether or not he can play at the high major level. Defensively he plays hard and gets into passing lanes. Winters is a 2011 prospect so he does have time on his side.
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