baylor Recruiting, Brian Bosworth, Cincinnati Recruiting, Drexel Recruiting, Duquesne Recruiting, Florida State, George Washington Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Hofstra Recruiting, Kansas Recruiting, LaSalle Recruiting, Penn Recruiting, Providence Recruiting, Quinnipiac Recruiting, Rhode Island Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, South Carolina Recruiting, St. Bonaventure Recruiting, St. Joseph's Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Temple Recruiting, Texas Recruiting, UCLA, Villanova Recruiting, Virginia Tech Recruiting, Wake Forest Recruiting, Xavier Recruiting

‘LIVE IN AC’ REPORT – DAY I

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

While “Live in AC” is only in its inaugural year that didn’t stop New Jersey Playaz director Jimmy Salmon from putting together quite an impressive field of talent. I’ll be camped out at the main Stockton College site throughout the tournament which features most of the 17U action with some of the younger guys sprinkled in. Here’s who caught my eye on Wednesday night.

Top Performance of the Day:

Rysheed Jordan (Philly Pride 2013) – An electric scoring combo guard, Jordan played in two games on Wednesday night and was the best player on the floor in both including a matchup with Team Final that featured a bunch of high major talent. While Jordan refers to himself as a combo guard it’s his ability at the point that stands out to me. He has unique athleticism for someone running the show and is able to use his physical advantages to explode past defenders and work his way into the paint. Jordan is best in the open floor when his physical tools can shine and his vision in high paced action also stands out. He has a great feel for the action in an up and down game and has a way of gliding through traffic and creating angles with his speed. In half court sets, Jordan punished defenders for playing off him by knocking down deep jumpers and then blew past them when they tried to press up on him. His decision making and knowledge of how to efficiently run a team still need work but Jordan’s physical tools already make him a high major priority.

Sleeper Performance of the Day:

Larry Richardson (D-One Sports 2013) – A name I was unfamiliar with entering play on Wednesday, Richardson announced his presence very early in a game against the NY Lightning by catching an alleyoop pass and spinning while in the air to hammer home a 2 handed reverse jam. It wasn’t his last loud finish at the rim as the 6’3” wing showed outstanding bounce in the lane and a real nose for the ball around the rim. Richardson appeared to be more athlete than well rounded basketball player at this point but certainly has physical talent that the right coach can work with.

Other Standouts:

Benjamin Bentil (We R 1 2014) – Bentil is someone I hadn’t seen live since last July and he looks like a completely different player from a year ago. Prospect has become player as the 6’8” power forward showed an advanced feel and great passing ability from the high post. Bentil doesn’t need the ball in his hands to impact the game as he rebounds, sets big screens, and attracts massive attention in the lane. He’s still just scratching the surface of the player he can become and from talking to him seems like a hard worker and a coach’s dream.

Miles Overton (Philly Pride 2013) – A powerfully physical scoring guard, Overton made deep shots in bunches and carried his team throughout a long stretch of the second half in a victory over Philly rival Team Final. Once he caught fire it was obvious that Overton wanted the ball and did a great job of working without the ball to free himself up for jumpers. He can also attack the rim but Overton’s bread and butter is clearly the long ball.

BJ Johnson (Team Final 2013) – A long, smooth lefty with a pretty stroke from behind the arc, Johnson is a player with his best basketball in front of him. While he’s sometimes overpowered by stronger opponents at this stage, the 6’6” wing has a chance to explode once he goes to work in a college weight room. Schools willing to wait for big impact until later in a college career would be wise to get involved with Johnson now as his upside is very high.

Malachi Richardson (Team Final 2015) – Playing in an afternoon 15U game against the Ottawa Guardsmen, Richardson flashed the skills that have gotten him recognition as one of 2015’s top prospects. He’s a natural scorer at 6’5” who can put it in the basket from all three levels but really impressed me with his passing on Wednesday. Richardson drew tons of defensive attention and rather than force things picked out the open man and controlled his team’s offense without having to be the primary scorer.

Jon Severe (NY Lightning 2013) – Severe is a hardnosed NYC guard who can really space the floor by knocking down jump shots. He established the long ball early in a win over D-One Sports and then utilized a strong shot fake to sneak past defenders and get into the paint. While Severe’s scoring mentality serves him well at times, I would like to see him create for others a bit more. He has a tendency to force the issue offensively rather than letting things come to him and could be even more dangerous if he learns to pick his spots.

Kamall Richards (We R 1 2013) – Listed as a 2012 prospect, Richards’ coach confirmed with me that he will be attending prep school next year and re-classifying to the 2013 class. The exact location is still being determined but whoever lands the 6’6” wing will be getting a very talented scorer. Richards scored from all three levels at will against a loaded NJ Playaz team impressing most with repeated soft floaters in the lane. He’s a player who has a chance to see his recruitment explode once more coaches realize he’s on the board for 2013 and have a chance to see him put the ball in the basket.

Recruiting Updates:

Rysheed Jordan (Philly Pride 2013) – Jordan rattled off a list of schools involved in his recruitment including Temple, La Salle, Villanova, Xavier, Kansas, UCLA, Georgetown, Syracuse, Rutgers and Seton Hall. I personally saw coaches from all of those schools court side for both of Jordan’s games except Kansas and Georgetown and frankly I could have missed them given how many coaches were present. Jordan stressed academics when pressed on what he’s looking for in a program citing that he needs to prepare himself for life after basketball and wants to use the college experience to do that. He’s planning to narrow things down after the AAU season is over but was unsure whether he would sign early in November or wait for the spring signing period. He honestly sounded like a kid who isn’t giving all that much thought to the recruiting process right now but is instead focused on playing and improving every day.

Jon Severe (NY Lightning 2013) – Severe listed Florida State, Cincinnati, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Drexel, Seton Hall, Providence and George Washington as schools in the mix for him while acknowledging there were probably a few others he couldn’t think of. Of those schools Severe stressed multiple times that George Washington is pushing for him the hardest and really making him a priority but didn’t necessarily suggest that made them his leader. He said that all the schools are basically equal at this point. Severe plans to narrow it down in August once he has time to step back and process everything.

Zach Lewis (NY Lightning 2013) – Once a committed member of Hofstra’s 2012 class, Lewis confirmed his plans to do a post-grad year at Fishburne Military Academy (VA) and to re-open his recruitment. Hofstra is still in the mix but they’ve been joined by Duquesne, St. Bonaventure, St. Joseph’s, Drexel, Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac. Lewis is unsure of exactly who he has offers from because some schools had offered for 2012 before he committed to Hofstra and are now involved again but he wasn’t clear whether he held 2013 offers or not. Of the schools he listed, Lewis acknowledged Duquesne as the school coming at him the hardest saying he talked to someone from the staff almost every day. He plans to figure things out after the season and sign in the fall stating that early signings are basically the policy for all Fishburne Military Academy players.

Miles Overton (Philly Pride 2013) – Overton holds offers from Wake Forest, Temple, Villanova, Penn, La Salle, and St Joseph’s along with heavy interest from Xavier, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Seton Hall. He’s already taken a visit to Wake Forest and is planning to visit Xavier, Virginia Tech and the “Big 5” local schools from Philly after the AAU season. While he declined to mention a leader, Overton said that he plans to wrap up his recruitment fairly soon wanting to narrow things down in August and announce a decision before heading back to school for his senior year.

Benjamin Bentil (We R 1 2014) – In a refreshing change from what I’ve become accustomed to hearing, Bentil isn’t even thinking about the recruiting process right now and lets his AAU coach handle all the calls and texts from colleges around the nation. It hasn’t stopped schools from showing interest as Bentil’s coach told me he holds offers from Villanova, Syracuse, Xavier, St Joseph’s, Temple, Rutgers and Seton Hall. In addition, Baylor and Texas have called to express interest (Baylor had an assistant watching Wednesday) but neither has extended a scholarship offer as of yet. Bentil’s play on Wednesday leads me to believe both will offer soon and will likely be joined by just about every other high major school in the country.

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