UNC-Charlotte Recruiting

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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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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MERNAGH: ARRIVAL DAY AT NBAPA TOP 100 CAMP

by RAY MERNAGH

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever used a GPS system while traveling and it scared the living hell out of me. I drove trucks for a short time oh so long ago and I’ve always mapped out trips and had directions written down in the passenger seat (or my passenger’s hands). I just couldn’t get used to hearing a voice telling me what to do — I felt completely powerless.

This doesn’t seem right.

I don’t think I should get off 81 right now.

What if this thing turns a five and a half hour trip into a eight hour one and I miss the practice at 4.

All three italicized thoughts raced through my mind as I made the trip here to Charlottesville, Virginia. My brother Jim called me halfway through and when I mentioned that I was in the process of losing my GPS virginity and how I was feeling a bit unpure about it he just laughed — “It’ll get you there bro, don’t worry.”

And I’ll be damned if it didn’t.

Pulled into the John Paul Jones Arena lot on UVA’s campus at 3:57.

WHEW!

Looking down at the floor I noticed Jerry Stackhouse and Chris Duhon right away putting kids through their paces (think I saw potential future UConn assistant Kevin Ollie as well, working with guards/forwards on side pick and rolls). Former Pitt great Charles Smith showed up with (I assume) his son in tow. Anyway, I was able to catch up with a few interesting kids, plus a current NBA free agent, before setting out — completely confident in technology — to find my hotel.

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2012 TEAM TAKEVOER-CANADA DUO HEARING FROM COLLEGES

Bennett, Webster-Chan readying for U17 World Championships with Team Canada

The migration south of talented basketball players from Canada into the United States is continuing, and actually picking up speed. The class of 2011 is highlighted by Texas commitments Tristan Thompson and Myck Kabongo while Cory Joseph was one of the most highly recruited players in the class of 2010. Now a couple more prospects in the class of 2012 have been getting a lot of attention from college coaches and will be highly sought after players in the near future.

Anthony Bennett, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward and Negus Webster-Chan, a 6-foot-7, 175-pound guard, both have had their phone ring often the last two days with college coaches on the other end.

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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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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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GIBBONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS DAY ONE RECAP

BY JEFF BORZELLO

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions is annually one of the premier tournaments of the spring. This year, the third session of the NIKE Elite Youth Basketball League in Los Angeles watered-down the competition somewhat, but there was still plenty of prime-time talent in attendance in the gyms at Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State and various local high schools. Things kicked off on Friday with three sessions of games at each of the 17 gyms and six locales.

In our TOC Day One Recruiting Notes we updated the recruitments of J.P. Tokoto, Jeremiah Davis, Cody Zeller, Marshall Plumlee, B.J. Young and more.

Here is a look at some player evals of the top players from the first day and some more recruiting notes…

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 full coverage from the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, 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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