Richmond Recruiting

TARIQ CAREY RECRUITMENT HOLDING STEADY

Tariq Carey, the Class of 2012 guard out of Newark (NJ) East Side High School, continues to fly under the radar as he heads into his final AAU season on the circuit. Playing for Gary Charles’ New York Panthers this summer could very well change that soon.

“I honestly feel he will finally get his just due this summer,” Troy Long told NBE’s Matt Whitfield late last week of Carey. “He has the grades and game of a Top 100 player, but everything happens for a reason. Once more people see him his stock will rise in my opinion.”

Long, an assistant coach at East Side High, handles the recruitment of Carey and other players in the Red Raiders’ program. He told NBE that Carey’s recruitment is holding steady, naming schools like Providence, Virginia, Notre Dame, UNC-Charlotte, Richmond and Rhode Island being active in the process with a few more schools from the Atlantic 10 also being involved. The previous staff at Penn State had invited Carey to their elite camp this summer and Long added that Richmond and Charlotte have also extended similar invitations.

“He just turned 17,” said Long. “He played great at Pitt[sburgh Jam Fest], he has upside and he’s proven he is on that level (Big East) and now he’s becoming more consistent…he’s excited about the upcoming live period.”

Before the live period NBE plans to get a good look at Carey at the upcoming Rumble in the Bronx. Last year at the Rumble Carey was regarded as one of the Top 10 players in the Class of 2012 NBE saw. Playing with the NJ Playaz last season, Carey showed a much-improved his all-around game as he hit several three-pointers, many of the knuckleball variety, which he struggled with in previous viewings. He also showed an ability to get into the lane and finish or distribute. Carey can score with contact at the rim. Defensively, he is very aggressive and is adept at racking up steals and starting fast breaks.

NBE looks forward to seeing Tariq Carey in action this summer. This under-the-radar recruit could be ready to plant himself firmly on the minds of high-major programs as they look for a do-everything guard in the Class of 2012.

NIKE BALTIMORE ELITE INVITATIONAL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

Last weekend many of the top teams on the AAU scene in the Mid-Atlantic region invaded Baltimore to participate in the Nike Baltimore Elite Invitational. Most of the 17U action took place at Annapolis Area Christian School and that is where NBE Basketball Report’s Matt Whitfield spent his time Friday night and much of the day on Saturday. Below are some of the key recruiting notes he was able to pick up on in his time at the event.

Mike Owona: 6-foot-9; Class of 2013; Baltimore Elite – College physique already and just finished his sophomore season at John Carroll in Bel Air (MD). The native of Cameroon has decent agility and athletic ability for a young big man, moving well for a player his size. Battles on the boards, but still has a very raw offensive game with little in low post moves to score with back to the basket. While Owona definitely needs to work on his basketball fundamentals, he definitely has a shot to play basketball at the high-major level in the future as he has only been playing the game for four years.

As for his recruiting, he told NBE he has interest from Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Xavier and Maryland.
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Kameron Williams: 6-foot-2; Class of 2013; Baltimore Elite – Williams is an exciting scorer that starred in his sophomore season for Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey. He has continued to see his stock rise early this AAU season with some high scoring outbursts this spring. Williams told NBE over the weekend he is on the radar of progrms such as Providence, Miami, George Mason, VCU, Richmond and Maryland.
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MORE PITTSBURGH JAMFEST RECRUITING NOTES

By Lauren Kirschman

Recruiting rundown of some of the top names from this past weekend’s Pittsburgh Jamfest put on by the Hoop Group…

Jalen Robinson (2012)
Power forward
AAU Team: All-Ohio Red
Height: 6’7″, Weight: 215
Considering: Wisconsin, UCLA, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Iowa, Penn State, DePaul, Cincinnati, Ohio University, Tennessee, Michigan
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Elijah Macon (2012)
Power foward
AAU Team: All-Ohio Red
Considering: West Virginia, South Florida, USC, Cincinnati, Tennessee
Offers from: South Florida, USC
Height: 6’7″, Weight: 200
Leaders: West Virginia and Cincinnati
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EYBL – BOO WILLIAMS: PREP SCHOOL PROSPECTS SHINE ON AAU TRAIL

BY PAT STEVENS

HAMPTON, Va. – The first major national event of the travel hoops season took place this past weekend with the first session of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League getting underway in it’s annual spot of long-time coach Boo Williams’ backyard.

Several prep school players were in action with their 17-under division teams, as BABC went 5-0 with Tilton (N.H.) teammates Georges Niang, Nerlens Noel, Goodluck Okonoboh and Wayne Selden (who mostly played 15U where they reached the championship game).

The Playaz also went undefeated with its backcourt shared by Myles Davis (Notre Dame Prep) and Darrick Wood (NIA Prep).

Albany City Rocks featured New Hampton (N.H.) teammates Zach Auguste and Olivier Hanlan along with Ricardo Ledo (Notre Dame Prep, MA), who averaged just under 24 points per game for the weekend.

Other prep school players included Mike Tobey (Hotchkiss/NY Gauchos/Virginia commit) and Sam Cassell Jr. (Notre Dame Prep/Baltimore Elite).

We managed to catch a pair of games in between session of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament while in town last weekend…

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NEWARK (NJ) GUARD TARIQ CAREY POISED FOR BREAKOUT AAU SEASON

by MATT WHITFIELD

Still under the radar, but things could all change this summer for Tariq Carey, a junior (Class of 2012) guard from Newark Eastside.

“Tariq has a few things going on now that High School season is over,” said his Newark Eastside High School Coach Troy Long. “He’s playing with the NY Panthers and Gary Charles that should prepare him for college because he will be coached by Rafer Alston.”

While playing for a Newark Eastside team that went 18-9 this season, which included tough games against Findlay Prep and Seton Hall Prep, among others, Carey picked up some new interest on the recruiting front.

“This season he has picked up interest from UVA (Virginia), Richmond and Rhode Island. That goes along with Notre Dame, Creighton, Clemson and Duquesne. His recruitment should start to pick up once AAU season rolls around because now he will be on a high profile team and he will finally get seen like he should.”

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NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM: DAY THREE

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – If Tuesday was the day when the stars came out, with big-time performances from Mike Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Marquis Teague and Brad Beal, Wednesday was the time to showcase some lesser-known talents from the class of 2012. There were only four sessions of U-17 games, with four sessions of U-16 contests. The playoffs also kicked off during the night session for each age group, with Team Takeover, BABC, St. Louis Eagles and Spiece – the group winners – advancing to play Metro Hawks, Team Final, Oakland Soldiers and Boo Williams, the runners-up in each group. In U-16, group winners Team Takeover, Georgia Stars, BABC and Memphis YOMCA squared off. With the night session featuring all playoff games, the semifinals in U-17 and finals in U-16 are set for tomorrow. Thursday will see Team Takeover take on Team Final and the St. Louis Eagles face Spiece in U-17 action, while BABC and Georgia Stars battle for the U-16 title.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from North Augusta (SC) and the Nike EYBL Peach Jam’s third day of action as 18 more players update NBE on their recruitment and additional player evals are posted. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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FINAL KING CITY CLASSIC PLAYER EVALS & UPDATES

BY JEFF BORZELLO

CLEVELAND – After a fairly lackluster experience at the LeBron James Skills Academy – aside from the hype of having James there, of course – the 75 or so players from that camp traveled about 40 minutes north to Cleveland State University for two days of tournament-style games. The players, broken into eight teams, competed in two games each before entering the playoffs. It was far easier to evaluate the prospects in the game-setting than it was in the drills and the controlled scrimmages.

While our attention is now squarely on the finals of the Nike Elite Yough Basketball League being played at the Peach Jam in North Augusta (SC), we take our final look back at last week’s King City Classic. Previously, in our King City Classic Update (Part A) we took a look at Big East commits such as Wayne Blackshear, Tyrone Johnson, Michael Carter-Williams and James Price and their performances when we were watching. In King Citty Classic Update (Part B) NBE updated notes on mega-prospect Anthony Davis as he discussed his three finalists, talked with LaQuinton Ross about offers and visits and spent time with Myles Davis as he discusses the new offer from ‘Nova and the impact of friend Tyrone Johnson committing to the Wildcats recently. Desmond Hubert, Myles Mack and Ben McLemore also chat about their recruiting. Earlier today in Part C of our King City Classic Recap we touched base with players such as Rodney Hood, Kedren Johnson, Bernard Silluvan, Cedric McAfee, Jahii Carson, LJ Rose, J-Mychal Reese, Trey McDonald and more.

In this last edition we take a look at Rodney Purvis, DaJuan Coleman, JaKarr Sampson, Nick Faust, Jabarie Hinds, Nick Johnson, jabari Brown, Anrio Adams, Kyle Wiltjer, Deng Leek and recruiting updates from Sam Thompson, Mike Shaw, Josiah Turner, Julian Royal, Alex Poythress, Victor Nickerson, Jelon Hornbeck and many, many more…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from Cleveland and the King City Classic. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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VAUGHN GRAY’S PLAY IMPRESSIVE, RECRUITING ON AN UPTICK

New interest, especially from West Virginia, catches Gray’s attention

by MATT WHITFIELD

Playing on an AAU where Myles Mack, Myles Davis, Kyle Anderson and Desmond Hubert get most of the attention and Derrick Randall and Jarrod Davis also are receiving plenty of high-major attention, it might be easy for Vaughn Gray to get lost in the shuffle.

Afterall, Gray is a ‘glue-guy’ for the powerful NJ Playaz, willing to do the little things that help teams like the Playaz win. That type of game might not bring all the accolades that some of his teamates receive, but college coaches are certainly taking notice as his recruiting has been taken up a notch and NBE has certainly noticed right out of the gates this spring on the AAU trail.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on Gray, his recruitment that is heating up like the recent weather and his detailed thoughts on WVU. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NBPA TOP 100 EVALUATIONS (POINT/COMBO GUARDS)

by RAY MERNAGH

First of all, props to Dave Telep — and the players association — for doing an excellent job with this camp. Telep’s rapport/honesty with players is refreshing and in turn he gets a level of respect back that’s pretty hard to match.

One of the things that’s awesome about camps like this is the way kids respond to being in a situation with other players of similar ability and athleticism. It shows you exactly where a kid is competitively. Some really, really hyped kids looked absolutely lost in the headlights through three games, others took a game or two to get acclimated and then responded positively. On the flip side of that some guys who’ve been under the radar a bit have responded in a big way to this chance to continue earning respect and building on their resumes as ballers.

Here’s eleven point guards or combo guards that stood out to me.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read NBE’s evaluations and recruiting notes on 11 guards we got a good look at this week, including Tyrone Johnson, Tyler Lewis, Myles Mack, Jahii Carson, Josiah Turner and more. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers and detailed below is our coverage schedule for the next month.

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RUMBLE IN THE BRONX: THE FINAL RUNDOWN

BY JEFF BORZELLO

BRONX, N.Y. – As the weekend wound down at Fordham University in the 2010 Rumble in the Bronx, several surprises occurred across the bracket in the playoffs. The top AAU team in the country, the NJ Playaz, suffered an upset at the hands of New Heights in the quarterfinals, while East Coast Elite, a team from Delaware, was rolling through the bracket. The New England Playaz and New York Gauchos also dropped surprising match-ups in the quarterfinals. In the U-16 division, no New York teams ended up reaching the championship game, as a loaded BABC team would take on the PA Playaz and its one-man show of Ryan Arcidiacono in the finals. Despite most of the top talent not appearing in the semifinals and finals, the Rumble in the Bronx did not lack for excitement.

Domonique Bull, 2012, BABC: Bull, one of the top New England guard prospects in the class of 2012, is built like his last name would indicate. He is very strong with the ball and has improved his athleticism and quickness since last summer. Bull can get into the lane with the bounce and distribute it to open teammates for easy baskets. He rarely plays out of control, and remains calm under pressure. He did not turn the ball over much, and was highly effective.

Bull, who passed up the NIKE Hoop Jamboree to attend the Rumble in the Bronx, is receiving interest from Western Kentucky, Miami (Fl.), Providence, Florida and more. He likes Miami (Fl.) a lot, and will attend the Elite Camps of both Florida and Wisconsin.
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You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on NBE’s Rumble in the Bronx coverage from Saturday, and any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

The Final Rundown content below includes Jeff Borzello’s ranking of the top 15 Rumble performers from the class of 2011 and the top eight from the class of 2012. Also, like the Bull update, there are player evals and/or recruiting updates on Nerlens Noel, Malcolm Gilbert, Ryan Arcidiacono, Jermaine Sander, Travon Allen, Jaylen Bond, A.J. Mathews, Maurice Harkless and MORE…

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RUMBLE IN THE BRONX: FRIDAY RUNDOWN

BY JEFF BORZELLO

BRONX, N.Y. — With the proliferation of AAU events in the past couple of years, some of the bigger tournaments have fallen into obscurity. However, one that has stood the test of time is the Rumble in the Bronx, held at Fordham University. Although it always has a heavy New York metro-area flavor, it also brings in some of the top AAU programs from around the country. This year was no different, as the Southern Kings (GA), Dallas Mustangs (TX), Franchise All-Stars (TX) and others flew into New York for the tournament. Despite Adidas Nations taking place in Oregon and the NIKE Hoop Jamboree in St. Louis, there is still plenty of talent on-hand in the Bronx this weekend. Here’s a look at some of the top players:

Andre Drummond, 2012, Connecticut Basketball Club: Although Drummond didn’t show up until halftime of his team’s first game, he made an impact in the few minutes he played. He can finish with contact and runs the floor extremely well. On one play, he got a rebound over three players and then took two players off the dribble before driving to the basket. Drummond is also an adept shot-blocker and defender. Additionally, he showed good vision and passed the ball effectively. However, he did struggle with his footwork and back-to-the-basket game at times, resulting in difficult and awkward shots. Drummond also spends too much time on the perimeter as opposed to utilizing his size (6’10, 250) and skill down low.
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ALL-OHIO RED BACKCOURT GETTING HIGH MAJOR ATTENTION

Trey Burke and Stevie Taylor are seeing plenty of college recruiting attention

by RAY MERNAGH

Stevie Taylor is a pure point guard out of Lincoln High School in Gahanna (OH) who has played AAU for All-Ohio Red this spring. He will run a team with precision and share the ball while hitting deep three’s and runners off the bounce. Taylor can play at any level because his instinct for the game combined with his craftiness and speed is a rare mix for a point guard so young in the class of 2011.

Entering the spring AAU circuit it looked like local MAC schools such as Ohio and Akron had the inside edge of his recruitment, but as word of his strong spring on the court has spread and another 2011 PG has backed out of a commitment with one of his early suitors, Taylor has been seeing more attention of late.

All-Ohio Red is the defending champs of just about everything on the AAU circuit and Trey Burke told NBE they were playing with a chip on their shoulder this season. With a fraction of the expectations of last year, All-Ohio Red came to the wire in many close games during the Nike EYBL’s three legs this spring. Crunch time could have been known as ‘Burke time’ in Los Angeles as the 6-foot-1 guard out of Columbus (OH) Northland came through on multiple occasions down the stretch taking his team from middle of the pack to a Peach Jam berth. Burke told NBE in April he was open to new suitors and has since backed off his commitment from Penn State and new schools are calling and interested…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on Taylor and Burke as the interest in both is heating up with a variety of schools, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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GIBBONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS FINAL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

The Bob Gibbons’ Tournament of Champions wrapped up on Sunday evening and the event lived up to it’s well-earned reputation as one of the elite travel team events annually. Jeff Borzello was on hand for NBE and kept our readers up to date on the latest news and notes and provided evaluations on many of the top players throughout the weekend. How busy was Jeff this weekend? Well, evaluations of 41 players and recruiting updates on 35 of them can be found in the articles posted over the weekend, and linked below for your convenience. The latest recruiting scoops on Adonis Thomas, Shabazz Muhammad, Marshall Plumlee, Cody Zeller, JP Tokoto, Kaleb Tarczewski, Damien Leonard, Nick Jacobs, Adjehi Baru, Winston Shepard, Angelo Chol, Andre Drummond, Chane Behanon, Tavon Sledge, Norvel Pelle, Chasson Randle, Frank Kaminsky, Peter Jurkin, Obi Aget and many, many more that the high-major schools across the country are chasing…

Previous Gibbons Tournament of Champions Coverage:
- Gibbons TOC Day One Recruiting Notes
- Gibbons TOC Day One Recap
- Gibbons TOC Day Two Recap
- Gibbons TOC Day Three Recap
- Alex Murphy Talks Recruiting with NBE

Now we clean out the notebook with several more recruiting updates, including a Team Philly pair (Savon Goodman and Amile Jefferson) that impressed greatly this weekend, an update on Chris Hill who was with OBC this weekend and is still working to qualify for 2010, but also discussed other options for next season with NBE, as well as Daniel Dingle, Devin Brooks, Trashon Burrell, Kamari Murphy, Ge-Lawn Guyn, Jeremy Hollowell, Amir Garrett and Madison Jones in this update…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read our final recruiting notebook fromt he TOC or any of the other TOC articles from the weekend, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK FOR MID-MAY

Over the course of the last few weeks the staff and contributors to NBE have been out on the road checking on some of the biggest events of the spring AAU season. Through the travels and in between we have accumulated quite a notebook in recent weeks of recruiting updates and it is time to clear out that notebook with a recruiting list frenzy of some of the players we have seen and talked to on the AAU trail.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership and read the latest on Trashon Burrell, Tavon Sledge, Derrick Randall, Cecil Kirk trio of Antoine Meyers, Durand Johnson and Antoine Allen who is transerring from Miami, Eugene McCrory and Justin Miller, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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SPRING JAM FEST PROFILE: LUKE PIOTROWSKI

7-footer from New Jersey’s 2011 class has many top schools offering scholarships

by ALEX SCHWARTZ

Despite featuring just 48 teams, 24 in each the 17U and 16U age groups, the Hoop Group Jam Fest Spring had a number of quality prospects in attendance. A number of the players are receiving interest from high-major schools across the country, including the Big East.

Luke Piotrowski, a 6-foot-11 power forward/center from Atlantic Christian (NJ), is a versatile big man who can not only play in the post, but also step outside and shoot the ball. Piotrowski performed with Matt Pauls Team NJABC squad over the weekend and was kind enough to spend time talking with NBE about his current recruiting situation and more.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on Luke Piotrowski and his recruitment, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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SOUTHERN JAM FEST PLAYER REVIEW & RECRUITING NOTES (PART III)

BY JEFF BORZELLO

HAMPTON, Va. – The Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. is quickly becoming the place to be for AAU events in the spring. It hosted the first leg of the Nike EYBL a few weeks ago, and then hosted the Southern Jam Fest, run by the Hoop Group, this past weekend. While not as loaded as the EYBL, the Jam Fest featured several of the top AAU teams in the mid-Atlantic region, with teams also coming from various states throughout the country (and Canada). In Part I of our Review (found HERE), we took a look at some of the key players with Team Loaded, Boo Williams, Grassroots Canada and more, while in Part II of our coverage (found HERE), we broke down the always talented DC Assault program. Here is the third installment of our look at some of the top players, and their college recruitment, from the weekend with the CP3 All-Stars program as well as Westchester Hawks, Team NJABC and more.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from the 2010 Souther Jam Fest, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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SOUTHERN JAM FEST PLAYER REVIEW & RECRUITING NOTES (PART I)

BY JEFF BORZELLO

HAMPTON, Va. – The Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. is quickly becoming the place to be for AAU events in the spring. It hosted the first leg of the Nike EYBL a few weeks ago, and then hosted the Southern Jam Fest, run by the Hoop Group, this past weekend. While not as loaded as the EYBL, the Jam Fest featured several of the top AAU teams in the mid-Atlantic region, with teams also coming from various states throughout the country (and Canada).

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on the top players from the event as well as evaluations and recruiting notes on players like Tyler Lewis, Dorian Finney-Smith, Justin Anderson, Adjehi Baru and others, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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