UNC-Charlotte Recruiting

BOSWORTH: SUNDAY’S NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE BREAKDOWN

By Brian Bosworth, National Scouting Analyst

The National Prep Showcase was back in full swing on Sunday with top teams like Brewster Academy, New Hampton Prep, and the Tilton School all in action. While the rosters of most prep schools in this event are dominated by seniors and post-graduate players it was a pair of underclassmen that stole the show on Sunday.

Co-Headliners of the Day:

Nerlens Noel (Tilton School 2013) – With college coaches such as John Calipari (Kentucky), Steve Lavin (St. John’s), and Ed Cooley (Providence) on hand to watch him play Noel put on quite a show Sunday night. Having already established himself as the premier defensive big man in America during the summer with BABC, Nerlens showcased an expanding offensive game that brings his upside to a new level. He played on the wing for much of the first half and repeatedly used a deadly right to left crossover to attack the rim and finish with his left hand. Despite being right handed he seems to prefer using his left to finish around the basket and did so with startling efficiency in this game. If Noel can continue to develop his offensive skills to complement his defensive brilliance he will give Jabari Parker a serious challenge for the spot of #1 overall player in the class of 2013.
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 4 NOTEBOOK: WILD, WILD WEST IN VEGAS

By Raphielle Johnson

By the end of the last college basketball season it was best to simply expect the unexpected. The same could be said for this weekend in Las Vegas, which has produced an unexpected champion in the Kansas City 76ers. The 76ers won the Las Vegas Fab 48 by beating Team Breakdown (Florida) in Monday night’s title game.

While the stands weren’t filled to brim as they were last summer (Oakland Soldiers tend to bring out the crowds), there were a few college programs represented in the coaches area with 2013 wing Ishmail Wainright the primary focus.

Ben Howland (UCLA) and Steve Lavin (St. John’s) were both there to watch Wainwright, who considers Earl Watson (who has connections to both as he played at UCLA under Lavin) to be an older brother and mentor. Other programs represented include Western Illinois, George Mason, Kansas, Missouri, UC Irvine, South Florida, Cal Poly, Nebraska, UM-KC and Creighton.

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REEBOK BREAKOUT CHALLENGE: THURSDAY RECRUITING ROUNDUP

By Matt Whitfield

The return to the summer basketball camp scene by Reebok has been well received. The competition and talent level is certainly solid at the Gallagher Athletic Center on the campus of Philadelphia University. NBE took in the action for the most part of the day Thursday and was able to touch base with many of the players to learn the latest on their recruitments. While the camp had a strong group of Mid-Major+ prospects, there was more than a fair share of players who will land at higher levels in college. Below is a rundown of who we caught up with yesterday.

Rysheed Jordan (Robert Vaux HS/Players Teaching Players)

There was a lot of hype centering Jordan entering the camp and many scouts, reporters and college coaches were anxious to get a look at him. He did not disappoint as the 6-foot-3, Class of 2013 point guard has all the look of a sure fire high major recruit. He has definitely noticed the increased attention of late.

“I think I’m blowing up,” said Jordan of the recent influx of recruiting attention. “I’m easing my way up.”
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JASON BOSWELL, TARIQ CAREY ON THE MOVE; RECRUITING UPDATES

The summer time brings news daily on recruiting and also of high school players looking for new homes for the fall. Two players NBE plans to see quite a bit this summer have decided on new schools for the 2011-2012 school year.

Jason Boswell, a Class of 2013 forward out of New York City who will be on the AAU circuit this July with the Long Island Lightning program, has decided to leave St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth (NJ) and attend Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford (CT). At Trinity, Boswell will play for head coach Mike Walsh.

“Trinity Catholic has a strong academic program which offers great basketball opportunities,” Boswell said by text this morning. “My commute will be significantly reduced to approximately 30 minutes as oppsed to the two hours traveled each day to Elizabeth.”

The 6-foot-7, 182-pound rising junior told NBE just over a week ago that he has heard from Cincinnati, La Salle, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Miami, Xavier, Houston and Dayton shortly after the June 15th timeframe when college coaches were allowed to contact players in the Class of 2013. Boswell is looking forward to continuing his career on the basketball court at Trinity.
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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.

NERR SPRING INVITATIONAL – SATURDAY RUNDOWN

Could Andre Drummond be on a college campus next fall? Possibility was not ruled out on Saturday

By Brian Bosworth

After the Bob Gibbons’ Tournament of Champions field was trimmed at the last minute, many teams were left scrambling for a new home for Memorial Day Weekend. Thankfully, the NERR Invitational sprung together quickly and some of the nations’ top amateur players had a venue to display their talents. Saturday’s action was chock full of future college stars as high profile programs Connecticut Basketball Club (CBC), NE Playaz, Mass Rivals, New Heights, Team Philly, and a host of others were in action. A few players proved themselves to be a cut above the rest and they are outlined below.

Andre Drummond (CBC 2012) – Drummond stands at 6’10” 275 pounds and he is the best high school basketball prospect in the country regardless of class. While often criticized for inconsistent play and a lack of dominance neither issue showed itself on this day. In an afternoon contest with Drive 4 Stardum Drummond had 20 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 7 rim shattering dunks. He showcased his full arsenal of skills and truly punished the opponent with his incredible force. Three of his monster dunks came on offensive rebound tip-ins but to simply call them tip-ins doesn’t do them justice. Drummond rises above everyone else on the floor in traffic with his hand easily above the box, grabs offensive boards, and hammers them down all in one fluid motion. It’s the kind of play that maybe 20 people on the planet could pull off and Drummond is an 18 year-old kid who just finished his Junior year of high school.
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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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GEORGES NIANG CONTINUES TO PRODUCE AGAINST ALL COMPETITION; RECRUITMENT HEATING UP

Tilton (NH) School forward Georges Niang is a flat-out producer on the court. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward has a knack for putting up numbers against any type of competition he faces. The Class of 2012 prospect was the leader in Tilton’s NEPSAC Class AA championship run, averaging over 26 points a game as the Rams captured their fourth straight final. Against a St. Mark’s team that featured elite Class of 2012 prospects frontline prospects Alex Murphy and Kaleb Tarczewski in the championship game, Niang shredded their defense for 23 points, shooting a perfect 11 of 11 from the field. In typical Niang fashion, he added 10 rebounds and 7 assists for good measure in the 72-57 victory at Endicott College last month.

The Tilton season came to an end in their next game, a thrilling 87-85 loss to Notre Dame Prep in the National Prep Championships. Niang continued his postseason dominance in that game, scoring 31 points. At one stretch, Niang scored 13 straight points for the Rams helping them erase a 10-point deficit and nearly steal the victory. His versatility was on display, knocking down a pair of three-pointers down the stretch helping the comeback.

This spring and summer Niang is playing with another high-profile program as he embarks on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League with the Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC) on the AAU circuit, an experience he is greatly looking forward to.
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JARMAL REID LIST FOUR LEADERS IN RECRUITMENT

Decatur (GA) F in the Class of 2012 will be running with Southern Kings this AAU season

Jarmal Reid has been on the radar screen of NBE since January of 2010 when Ray Mernagh introduced the 6-foot-6, 221-pound forward to our readers: Class of 2012 Intro: Jarmal Reid.

Now, following a state championship with Columbia High School out of Decatur (GA), Reid is ready to hit the spring and summer AAU scene with the Southern Kings program. This past weekend he got off to a solid start with a 17-point, 10-rebound performance against City Rocks in a tight loss to open the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League regular season at the Boo Williams event. Reid showed flashes of his potential that has college coaches looking forward to evaluating him this summer, scoring 15 points in another contest during the three-day event.

Reid told NBE over the weekend that Alabama, West Virginia, South Florida, Marquette, Georgia, Florida, Nebraska, UNC-Charlotte and VCU are schools he is hearing from that he is considering. At this stage, four schools stand out to him as leaders.

“Alabama, WVU, USF and Marquette,” replied Reid to a message asking if there were any leaders or favorites among the list of schools he was considering.

Reid feels the strength of his game is centered around his versatility.

“I would say my versatility [is the strength of my game] because I can play inside and out,” said Reid.

Reid is not looking to make a college decision in the near future, hoping to decide by the end of his senior season. In the meantime he will look forward to playing against the elite competition of the Nike EYBL and with the national schedule the Southern Kings will be up against on the AAU circuit.

Jarmal Reid continues to be a player to watch in the Class of 2012 and NBE will be certain to keep our eyes on him throughout the spring and summer ahead.

INTEREST RISING IN 2011 UNCOMMITTED GUARD CHRIS MARTIN

Now at St. Pat’s in NJ, Martin sees more schools involved; points to three leaders

New Jersey power St. Patrick of Elizabeth New Jersey picked up an important piece to their puzzle this season when senior guard Chris Martin decided to transfer to Kevin Boyle’s program. Already joining a powerful team led by Kentucky-commit Michael Gilchrist, Western Kentucky-commit Derrick Gordon and a host of talented youngsters, Martin adds a mix of scoring and playmaking to the Celtics’ backcourt and a veteran presence after playing a key role previously at St. John’s College HS in DC.

Martin played a key role in St. Pat’s winning the highly competitive City of Palms Classic in Florida just prior to the holidays. He scored seven points in the nationally televised championship contest and assisted on the game-winning three-pointer by Jarrel Lane.

“It was an exciting tournament with great players and great competition,” Martin told NBE of the highlight of his time so far at St. Patrick. “The amount of exposure and publicity we received was amazing. I am thankful and grateful to have played on such a big stage.”

The big stage at St. Pat’s has also allowed for his recruitment to increase with teams looking to add backcourt help in the late signing period this spring for the Class of 2011.

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 membership to read more on the developing recruitment of Martin and his thoughts his recruitment and experience in moving to St. Pat’s. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE – DAY TWO

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – After a first day that got better as the event progressed, everyone was ready for a jam-packed second day that featured eight games. Plenty of coaches were in attendance, keeping an eye on some of the top players in the country. The day started off with a great game between Bridgton Academy (Maine) and Fork Union Military Academy (Va.), with Bridgton overcoming a 20-point halftime deficit to win in the final minutes. In the second game, Andre Drummond led a comeback by St. Thomas More (Conn.) to beat Princeton Day Academy (Md.). After that, Hargrave Military Academy (Va.) opened up a big second half lead on New Hampton (N.H.), with an easy Brewster Academy (N.H.) victory over Fishburne Military Academy (Va.) following. South Kent (Conn.) proceeded to blow out La Lumiere (Ind.), but Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) and Westwind Prep (Ariz.) had a dynamite back-and-forth contest that ended with Notre Dame winning. St. Mark’s (Mass.) handled Lee Academy (Maine) easily, before Kiski School (Penn.) staged a big second-half comeback to beat Winchendon (Mass.).

Here is a look at some of the top players, and recruiting notes, from day two:

Zach Auguste, 2012, New Hampton Prep: Auguste is a long and lanky lefty who is improving every game. He uses his length and athleticism to get blocks and rebounds at both ends of the floor and he also has fairly good vision and passing ability for a player his size. Auguste was in foul trouble for most of the game, but in limited minutes, he demonstrated his immense potential. He had a big-time baseline dunk and can finish with either hand. Once he learns how to stay on the floor for an entire game, he is going to be tough to stop.

Despite being limited because of foul trouble on Saturday, colleges were still intrigued by his potential. According to New Hampton Prep coach Pete Hutchins, Auguste has offers from DePaul, Notre Dame, Boston College and Oregon State, with interest from Kansas and Syracuse.

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 membership to read more detailed scouting reports and more of the latest recruiting notes gathered on Day Two of the National Prep Showcase. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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ORLANDO AAU UPDATE: PART V

On Tuesday champions were crowned in the 17-U AAU Super Showcase as bracket play began in the 16-U AAU nationals and pool play started in the 17-U AAU nationals. The big trophy went to the local Each 1 Teach 1 squad as Austin Rivers, Trevor Lacey and company defeated the St. Louis Eagles by the score of 78-60 in game shown by ESPNU. In the Silver Bracket, it was East Coast Elite/Delaware Panthers taking the crown. A couple of the big names for ECE included Pittsburgh-commit Jaylen Bond and uncommitted 2011 big man Malcolm Gilbert.

Alex Schwartz again checks in from Orlando and 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 Orlando as he details the performance of Bond, Andre Drummond, Mike Tobey, Jevon Thomas and Daiquan Walker, with detailed recruiting updates on Derrick Wilson, Jacob Lawson and Bishop Daniels are all detailed below. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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ORLANDO AAU UPDATE: PART I

Most of the college basketball world has their eyes sent on Las Vegas and Orlando this weekend as the live recruiting period to close July is underway. The Division I college coaches are back on the road from July 22 – July 31 and these are the two top destinations for college coaches this time around.

In Orlando at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a series of events, including the AAU National Champions and Super Showcases of various age groups. While the 17-U Super Showcase and National Championship gets going a little later in the stay, some other champions were crowned today, including the CP3 All-Stars capturing the 15-U Gold Championship in that age group’s Super Showcase behind the dominating play of Rodney Purvis.

Here are some additional news and notes from the event as Alex Schwartz has kept NBE up to date on the action throughout the day…

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 Orlando as we take a look at Julius Randle (2013), Quinten Payne (2013), Anthony Bennett (2012), Dominique Bull (2012) and Neville Fincher (2012) and detailed recruiting updates from Payne, Braxton Obgueze and Evan Nolte. All of which is covered below in detail. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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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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ELI CARTER & DURAND JOHNSON PICKING UP OFFERS

Former Jersey City St. Anthony’s guard Eli Carter is now officially back on the market. After originally signing a letter of intent with St. Bonaventure, Carter is taking an extra prep season and re-opening his recruitment. His release from the LOI is now official and Carter is allowed to be recruited once again.

“These are the schools recruiting me, in no order, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Rutgers, St. Joseph’s, Oregon State, Iowa, Iowa State, Penn State, Virginia, Charlotte [and] Creighton,” Carter told NBE’s Matt Whitfield earlier this evening by text. “Rutgers and St. Joseph’s have offered, not sure about the other schools yet.”

Carter played for the legendary Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s in high school and will be with another powerful program in his prep season as he will attend Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro (NH) next season.

“I want to work on pretty much every aspect of my game (be)cause all of it needs work,” said Carter when asked what he hopes to improve in his game in the extra season.
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Durand Johnson has been asking for more exposure and is looking forward to playing in front of some of the national talent evaluators this month. While Cecil Kirk has not been as prominent on the AAU scene as some of the other power programs, Johnson is hoping to finish off July with a strong showing. There will likely be plenty of interested eyes on him as he closes the first July live period at the Hoop Group’s West Virginia Jam Fest in Morgantown (WV) and then travels to Orlando in the second July live period.

NBE got a chance to see him at the Hoop Group Elite Camp in Reading (PA) and the Hoop Group Summer Classic in Neptune (NJ) last week and it was quite noticeable that college coaches were coming by to get a look at him and it looks like the liked what they saw.

“Yeah, I got an offer from Cincinnati and Providence and St. John’s,” Johnson told Matt Whitfield by text last night.

Johnson’s 9 AM game last Sunday in Neptune (NJ) brought out an impressive group of coaches as Mike Rice (Rutgers), Seton Hall assistant Dan McHale, later joined by Kevin Willard, Pat Skerry of Pitt, Ron Sanchez of Virginia and the duo of Steve Lavin and Tony Chiles of St. John’s were there to see him play.

Johnson also lists offers from Pittsburgh, Marquette, Seton Hall, DePaul, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Maryland and Rutgers with interest from schools such as Connecticut and West Virginia
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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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KING CITY CLASSIC EVALS & UPDATES (PART C)

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.

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. Now we move into part C below and touch base with players such as Rodney Hood, Kedren Johnson, Bernard Silluvan, Cedric McAfee, Jahii Carson, LJ Rose, J-Mychal Reese, Trey McDonald 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 Cleveland and the King City Classic. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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ADIDAS INVITATIONAL PLAYER EVALUATIONS & RECRUITING UPDATES (PART B)

by RAY MERNAGH

The Adidas Invitational threatened to turn into the New Heights Invitational — that will happen when a team full of tough, NYC-area ballers takes out a juggernaut full of “high-major” prospects like New Heights did to Indiana Elite/Team Indiana in the quarterfinals early Thursday morning. New Heights then repeated the performance in the semifinals, where it fought back from a double digit deficit to defeat the New England Playaz. Alas, the run ended in the final when New Heights lost to the LeBryan Nash-led Dallas Mustangs 69-58. It was an impressive run by a New Heights squad not expected to challenge for the title this week and plenty of college coaches were here to witness it.

Earlier in our Adidas Invitational Day One Standouts article we went into (long) detail on the impressive performance of Shabazz Muhammad, who was the talk of the event Tuesday and plenty of top coaches were watching his EVERY move, as well as our thoughts and updates on Wannah Bail, Cody Zeller, Gabe York, recent UC-verbal Ge-Lawn Guyn and more that stood out on Tuesday and in Part A of the Final Adidas Invitational Player Evals & Recruiting Notes the past two days (wed/Thurs) of action we looked at Winston Shepard, Lebryan Nash, Jermaine Sanders, Jeremiah Davis, Kenny Kaminsky and more…

To wrap up our coverage we spend time this afternoon taking a look at some new faces to NBE, like Dylan Ennis, BJ Van Loo and some familiar ones like Naadir Tharpe, Alex Murphy and some additional looks of the players of the Dallas Mustangs and New Heights as those teams went all the way to the ‘chip. Also a note or two on favorites like Quincy Miller and Yogi Ferrell can be found as well.

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 Indianapolis and the Adidas Invitational. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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LEBRON JAMES SKILLS ACADEMY RECRUITING NOTES: PART II

On to Cleveland for the King City Classic, but one last recruiting update from LJSA first

AKRON, Ohio – While most of the top college coaches and AAU teams were in Indianapolis to start the July live period, 75 of the best high school players in the classes of 2011 and 2012 – and one from the class of 2013 – convened at the University of Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy starting Monday night and running into Wednesday afternoon. It was the culmination of four separate skills academies over the past weeks: those of Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Amar’e Stoudemire. It was a true camp setting, with dozens of drills, but there was one noticeable difference: the King himself, LeBron James, showed up to play pick-up with the players with his one-hour ESPN special to announce his free agent destination looming Thursday night. While there was not too much to analyze from the campers based on various passing and dribbling drills, there was plenty of recruiting notes and updates to pass along as Alex Schwartz caught up with players such as Amir Williams, Khem Birch, Deng Leek and Angelo Chol for detailed discussions about their current recruiting situations.

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 recruiting updates below from the Lebron James Skills Academy and all of our July ‘live’ period news and notes. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (6/25/2010)

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Eleven former Big East players (12 if you count Derrick Caracter) were selected last night in the 2010 NBA Draft. Four conference alums went in the 1st round with Wesley Johnson and Greg Monroe being selected in the lottery. The full rundown of the draft and reaction from around the league can be found below.

Yesterday was also a busy day as the Big East released the 2010-2011 season home and away match-ups. With each tam playing an 18-game schedule, each team plays 12 teams once and then a home and home series with three other league teams to comprise their 18-game league slate. The home and away match-ups for all 16 teams, which revealed the home and home pairings, were released by the conference yesterday.

In other news around the league, there is an opening on the Cincinnati staff as Mick Cronin loses an assistant, UConn should be announcing their new staff members any moment, a Louisville recruiting update, a look at Bernard Sullivan and Pitt’s Dante Taylor is hoping for a big year and thwo of Pitt’s three incoming frosh are enrolled in school and the third should be eligible come August.

Read on below for all of the latest News & Notes around the Big East basketball conference. Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

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