Iowa State Recruiting

2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — TOP PERFORMERS

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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Now that the National Prep School Invitational has come to close and I’ve had a few days to process all the basketball I watched it’s time to rank the performances from the weekend. Below are player rankings by class based on this past weekend’s performance only. These are not an overall opinion on these players but rather a snapshot based on how they played at Rhode Island College over the weekend. The top spot in 2012 came down to the nation’s two best big men and is a decision I agonized over before finalizing it.

Be sure to check out our daily coverage from a great weekend of hoops at the 2012 National Prep School Invitational:
’12 NPSI – Day Four Report
’12 NPSI – Day Three Report
’12 NPSI – Day Two Report
’12 NPSI – Day One Report

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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY FOUR

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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

The first three days of the National Prep School Invitational were dominated by Steven Adams and his Notre Dame Prep squad. The 2012 big man from New Zealand erased any concerns after his foul-plagued showing at the Hoop Hall Classic and cemented his status as one of 2012’s top players. On Sunday it was time for another 2012 big man to steal the show and make his case for the #1 overall ranking in the senior class. With the gym buzzing and filled to a capacity that it saw at no other time all weekend the Tilton School and REDA (Ontario) took the floor at 1:30 PM. Nerlens Noel jumped center for the Tilton School sporting his trademark bright pink Nikes and his high top fade and put on the best show of the weekend.

Top Performance of the Day:

Nerlens Noel (Tilton 2012) – This was Noel’s first national appearance since announcing his intentions to graduate this year as a member of the 2012 class early Thursday morning. Providence fans packed the gym to see him as they made the cut of his seven final schools along with Kentucky, Syracuse, Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina. Dominance doesn’t even begin to describe the defensive effort put forth by Noel as he tallied 10 blocks to go along with countless more altered shots. It reached a point where REDA coaches could be heard screaming at their players who even attempted to challenge the big man as a shot in the lane against Noel was basically a turnover. Perhaps the most telling statistic of his dominance was on the scoreboard. Noel played the majority of the game’s first 29 minutes at which point REDA had only scored 19 points. At that time Nerlens went to the bench in a blowout victory and in the remaining 11 minutes REDA was able to put up 29 points. His defensive prowess is certainly nothing new but Sunday’s was a particularly stunning performance even by his high standards. Offensively Noel looked better than ever and as crazy as it sounds was literally playing point guard for his Tilton team during the 2nd half. He brought the ball up the floor every time and got his team into their offense sometimes breaking his man down off the dribble and other times running a play for someone else. I’m not suggesting that Noel is making a drastic position change but it was an indicator of how far along his ball handling and passing skills have come in the last year. Once only a defensive standout, Noel’s offense is catching up seemingly by the day.
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NEW INTEREST HIGHLIGHTS SEASON FOR TERRENCE SAMUEL

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South Shore (NYC) High School guard Terrence Samuel is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Class of 2013 nationally. The powerfully built 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard began to make a name for himself nationally helping New Heights AAU to five impressive tournament titles on the spring and summer AAU circuit.

The attention in his talents has continued into his junior season with South Shore and his recruitment has expanded. Some of the new schools that have become involved has been the highlight of his season so far.

“Highlight [of the season is] picking up [recruiting interest from] Kansas and Memphis,” Samuel told NBE Basketball Report over the weekend.
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CLASS OF 2013 INTRO: BO ZEIGLER

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While already well known in the Midwest, Detroit (MI) Community High’s Byron ‘Bo’ Zeigler is poised to make a big name for himself nationally this spring and summer on the recruiting trail. The 6-foot-6, 191-pound small forward, according to our friends at Hoops Window, is a rubberband man on the floor, offensively and defensively and utilizes a speed burst dribble and glide towards the hoop with ease, it doesn’t matter from which side of the court, Zeigler is effective with both hands. On defense, Hoops Window compares Zeigler to a smaller Hakim Warrick when he throws up his long arms to block a shot.

Zeigler told NBE this weekend that he is continuing to work on his ball-handling as well as his on-ball defense this season. With the spring AAU season approaching quickly, he is also looking forward to hitting the circuit with his Michigan Hurricane teammates.
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CRC CLASSIC GAME RECAP: ST. RAY’S – PAUL VI

By Ray Mernagh

St. Raymond 68 Paul VI 61

Daniel Dingle (Temple)
Brought it early and often and it was needed with his teammate Kkereuwem Okoro suffering with an intestinal ailment. Dingle finished at the rim and stretched the defense out in spots (he was 1-2 from deep). Dingle played with a high motor that allowed him to grab 4 offensive rebounds and go to the line 13 times (he made 8). In 25 minutes the future A-10 product finished with a workmen-like 21 points and 15 rebounds. Dingle handles the ball well for his size of 6’7″ and had several and 1 opportunities throughout the game while always coming up with a basket when St. Rays needed one. Passed out of post on one possession, followed the play and got position for offensive rebound, then snatched rebound and got to line and hit both tries.

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2011 CITY OF PALMS REPORT — TOP PLAYER PERFORMANCES

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Now that the 2011 City of Palms Classic has come to a close it’s time to put some measure on what I saw this week. Below are player rankings by class based on performances from this week alone. While they do impact my overall perception of these players, they are rankings strictly of what I saw in Florida this week.

Top 2012 Players:

1. Isaiah Austin (Grace Prep) – signed with Baylor – Austin was more committed to play inside on offense than he has been in the past and still rebounded and blocked shots at the highest level. He looked poised to challenge Shabazz Muhammad for top player in the class throughout the rest of the reason.

2. Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) – It speaks to Muhammad’s talent that after a subpar week by his standards he still slots in at # 2. He was the most persistent scorer at the tournament, getting his points every way imaginable.

As for his recruitment, Muhammad told NBE on the opening day of the event that he has no timetable for a decision and sounds as though he’ll wait right up until the spring signing period to make his call. He listed an up-tempo style and a program that gets its players to the next level as the two most important factors in his decision making process. When the time comes Muhammad will be choosing from his final 6 of UCLA, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, UNLV, and USC.
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CITY OF PALMS – DAY FIVE

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

The 2011 City of Palms Classic came to a close on Wednesday night with a wild day of hoops culminating in an all Texas title game between Prestonwood Christian and Grace Prep. Local fans, scouts, and college coaches packed the gym to the rafters and created a high intensity atmosphere for these young players. Even legendary ESPN analyst Dick Vitale stopped by to enjoy the action offering a few words to the crowd before the championship game. Prestonwood Christian turned the final into a laugher prevailing 62-42 with stud junior forward Julius Randle taking home MVP honors. While Randle led the team throughout the week, it was a freshman who carried Prestonwood on his back tonight while the big man sat for much of the game in foul trouble.

Top Performance of the Day:

Mickey Mitchell (Prestonwood Christian 2015) – After viewing Mitchell for 4 games this week I feel very comfortable saying that he is in the running for top player nationally in the 2015 class. Offensively, Mitchell does a bit of everything as a 6’7” guard including making jumpers, exploding to the rim, making high level passes, and crashing the glass. While all this is very impressive, it was Mitchell’s defensive ability that left the biggest mark. Over the course of 3 days he defended 5 star wing Shabazz Muhammad, 4 star big man Ricardo Gathers, and 5 star point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. It speaks volumes that Prestonwood’s coaching staff chose to use their freshman as the defensive stopper against this wide array of players. As long as Mitchell continues to work hard (which is basically all he talked about in a post game interview) the sky is the limit.
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RECRUITING UPDATE: ISAIAH WATKINS OF ST. BENEDICT’S PREP

Isaiah Watkins has seen his game grow tremendously in the past year and his recruitment has followed the same growth curve. The Class of 2013, 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward should be expected to see a continued increase in attention as he gets ready to hit the season with St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark (NJ), one of the most high-profile prep programs in the country. Watkins was drawn to the Gray Bees program, where he will play for coach Mark Taylor, for the opportunity to improve every day and play against the toughest competition possible at the prep level. Even with a daunting schedule ahead for the Newark school, Watkins has set his sights very high for the season.

“I’m really looking forward to playing in big games against the top teams in the nation,” Watkins told NBE over the weekend of what he is most looking forward to this season. “I want to help St. Benedict’s achieve something great, collectively I [want] us to become the top ranked team in [the] nation this year.”

Watkins is certainly willing to put his individual accomplishments to the side and do what it takes to help the Gray Bees win. The native Canadian seems to understand that winning will take care of everything when it comes to exposure and the importance of playing for a winning program in the eyes of college recruiters.
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EARLY SIGNING PERIOD CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS – BIG 12

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Next up in our look at NCAA basketball early signing period classes is the Big 12. Rick Barnes has built quite a recruiting juggernaut in the Lonestar State. However, one in-state rival has become a surprising recruiting rival and challenges for the title of the conference’s best class. Here is a look at the top Big 12 classes and recruits so far for the Class of 2012…

Top 5 Big 12 Recruiting Classes for 2012:

1) Texas
Commits – Cameron Ridley (C), Prince Ibeh (C), Javan Felix (PG), Connor Lammert (PF), Ioannis Papapetrou (SF)
–While most programs have a tough time finding one true center Rick Barnes locked down two in one recruiting class with Ridley and Ibeh.

2) Baylor
Commits – Isaiah Austin (C), LJ Rose (PG), Chad Rykhoek (C)
–Scott Drew continues to attract long, skilled big men to Waco with Isaiah Austin following Perry Jones and Quincy Miller from the past two classes.

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: 2013 GUARDS THORPE, LEWIS & SAMUEL CHECK IN ON RECRUITMENTS

NBE caught up with a trip of guards in the Class of 2013 as college coaches hit the road in September to get a look at prospects across the country. Geno Thorpe of Shaler Area High School near Pittsburgh and New York City guards Terrence Samuel of South Shore High School and Isaiah Lewis of Christ the King touched base late last week to give us the latest on their recruitment as the busy month of September unfolds.

THORPE SET TO VISIT KANSAS STATE; SCHOOLS COMING BY SHALER

Geno Thorpe had an impressive summer playing with the NJ Playaz 16U squad on the AAU circuit. The athletic 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard had toyed with the idea of transferring from Shaler Area High School to a few different programs in New Jersey, but he is staying put this season and looking forward to a big season in front of friends and family.
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RECRUITMENT OF ISAIAH WATKINS CONTINUES TO GAIN STEAM

There are a lot of new faces within the St. Benedict’s Prep basketball program in Newark (NJ) this season. From new head coach Mark Taylor to Class of 2015 must-see point guard Isaiah Briscoe and more new talent on the Gray Bees’ roster it is an exciting new era for the program in Newark. One player that still seems to be under the radar nationally is Isaiah Watkins, another member of the Canadian AAU program CIA Bounce that will look to excel this year for Taylor’s squad.

“What drew me to St. Benedict’s was the goal of becoming better,” Watkins told NBE earlier this evening. “Improving every day and hopefully being able to win at the highest level possible.”

The improvement of Watkins has been ongoing through the spring and summer according to Nolan Shulman, National Recruiting Analyst of Flagrant Fouls and Editor-in-Chief of the Ultimate Recruiting Handbook which is the authority on Canadian basketball prospects. Shulman also noted that Watkins will come to work every single day at St. Benedict’s, which should only enhance his goal of improving.
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ELIJAH MACON HEADING FOR PITT VISIT; MORE HUNTINGTON PREP UPDATES

By Ray Mernagh

Elijah Macon is a talented basketball player. Macon, now at Rob Fulford’s powerhouse Huntington Prep program, has decided to take a trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to check out the campus and Jamie Dixon’s program. Fulford says that Macon is much more diverse in his talents than he was allowed to show on the AAU scene (where Macon was primarily an inside presence for All-Ohio Red).

“He’s got a chance Ray,” Fulford told me, “especially if he gets stronger” (which he will in Huntington’s strength program).

Let me translate that for all you college basketball fans out there: When Rob Fulford says a kid has a chance, he means one thing — that the kid can be a pro someday (not a European pro, but an NBA pro).

Fulford thinks that Pitt‘s interest is fairly new but it’s not surprising at all if you think about it — new Pitt assistant Bill Barton and Fulford have had a relationship for years. It started with both in the Prep School ranks and continued when Barton left Notre Dame Prep for Duquesne and then when Barton was right down the road from Fulford last year at Marshall. It’s a good development for Pitt that Barton can be in on kids like Macon (a high-major kid without a doubt) because it shows that he might be able to keep up with the recent recruiting successes in the Pitt program –Khem Birch and Steven Adams, both top-10 kids in the ’11 and ’12 class –that were facilitated by the current staff and the departed Pat Skerry (now the head coach at Towson).

Macon, who’s always presented himself extremely well in NBE’s encounters with him, has impressed Fulford since he showed up on Huntington’s court.

“We love him, he’s a funny, gregarious kid,” says Fulford. “And he’s skilled, great passer, great rebounder and he shoots it well too.” I asked how his handle was? “It needs some work but he’s a worker and it’s pretty good for his size, I’ve already told him if he gets a rebound and has an open floor that I want him to go with it.” Huntington Prep is short a point guard right now after Ray Lee was dismissed from the program after getting into a legal scrape inside the dorms at Marshall.

Fulford always gives his team clear instructions regarding the dorms at the nearby school — “I tell them if they go into them they’re gone,” says Fulford. The charges against Lee are serious but it sounds as if the situation has a lot more to it than the local press has reported. Either way, Fulford says he had no choice, once Lee walked into that dorm he was history.

A point guard will be important for Huntington because of the sheer talent they will have taking the court this season. Besides Macon — who is also considering knocking out visits to Maryland and West Virginia after he takes his trip to Pitt — the Express also have a guy many consider the best player in the 2014 class in Andrew Wiggins, along with a trio of his Canadian brothers in Stefan Jankovic (’12), Tanveer Bhullar (’13) and Negus Webster-Chan. Jankovic is planning visits to Missouri, Florida State, Syracuse and Purdue, with Wake Forest very much involved, while Webster-Chan will trip to Iowa State next weekend. Webster-Chan is hungry to improve his stock after he fell off a bit last Spring and Summer due to some poor play and injuries. We’ve seen Webster-Chan at his best and when he has it clicking he’s a special talent.

Also on the squad is Xavier Rathan-Myers. Fulford calls him a stud while he says Bhullar needs a lot of work but also works very hard and probably moves laterally and end-to-end better than his older brother Sim.

Huntington Prep always plays in a number of places nation-wide and if you get the chance to see them you should take advantage of it — always fun to watch the Express go up and down.

SUMMER SHOOTOUT NOTEBOOK

By Alex Schwartz

ALLENTOWN, N.J. — Although the Summer Shootout is not necessarily well-known outside of New Jersey, the event is filled with quality teams and talented players on a yearly basis. The 2011 edition was no different, as NBE Basketball Report took in some of the action on Saturday and got to catch up with a handful of Big East recruits.

Isaiah Watkins, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound power forward, really saw his stock increase this summer. A class of 2013 prospect who hails from Toronto and is in his first year at St. Benedict’s (NJ), Watkins already lists a number of high-major offers.

Watkins said that Santa Clara, Missouri, Arkansas, Cincinnati and Virginia have all extended scholarship offers to him. In addition, he is hearing from Harvard, Ohio State, Georgetown, Michigan, Elon, Lafayette, Niagara, Villanova, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, West Virginia, Kansas and more.
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ELITE ’14 PROSPECT CHRIS MCCULLOUGH ENJOYS UCONN VISIT

Chris McCullough burst onto the national recruiting radar this summer with a series of strong performances during the month of July, first at the Hoop Group Elite Session 1 Camp and the Hoop Group team camp playing with the Salisbury (CT) School. McCullough built up a strong following and next thing you knew college coaches were making sure they knew where his team SCAN AAU squad would be playing throughout the remaining of the month.

McCullough, who credits the work off the court with Team SCAN for helping him achieve honor roll status in school, visited Connecticut earlier this week with AAU teammate Conrad Chambers, another highly regarded player in the 2014 recruiting class. McCullough told NBE earlier today he enjoyed the trip.

“The trip was good, good experience,” said McCullough of the visit to UConn. ‘[The highlight was] chilling with Coach Kevin Ollie.”
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TERRENCE SAMUEL RECRUITING UPDATE: NEW HEIGHTS GUARD IN DEMAND AFTER SUCCESSFUL SUMMER

One of the more impressive team performances throughout July was put on by the New Heights 16U AAU club. Including their Adidas Invitational championship to kick off the early July evaluation period and a Summer Classic East title that included a thrashing of highly touted Team Final 16U, New Heights claimed five impressive tournament titles on the AAU circuit this spring and summer. One player very instrumental in their success was South Shore (NYC) High School guard Terrence Samuel who loved every minute of his time with New Heights.

“The best part of being with New Heights is the expierence [of] being able to travel the world for free,” Samuel told NBE this week. “And to play in front of college coaches.”

And college coaches have liked what they have seen out of the 6-foot-3, 198-pound (rising) junior (Class of 2013) guard who is very happy with how his recruitment is going at the moment.
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INTRODUCING LAMONTA STONE II — YOUNG POINT GUARD ENTERING HIGH SCHOOL ALREADY HAS D-1 OFFERS

By Ray Mernagh

LaMonta Stone II is the son of a coach — his father LaMonta is a long-time assistant coach at Bowling Green.

The younger Stone has shown this summer that he probably isn’t going to get overlooked the way some coaching offspring tend to.

Stone, who will enter Bowling Green High School this fall, is a traditional point guard according to those that have seen him this summer.

Stone did work at the Jr. Phenom Camp in San Diego at the start of the summer where he was ranked the #1 point guard in the camp, and continued to impress throughout the July period. So much so that he’s already garnered his first two D-1 scholarship offers from Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Stone is also getting interest from Michigan State, Iowa State, Michigan, Cincinnati and Duquesne.

Young Stone is definitely a player NBE will track over the next few years as he matures physically and will no doubt receive intense looks from even more programs nation-wide as he steps right into the Varsity level as a 9th grader.

For now here’s a little taste of his skills in the open court.

Let me be the first to dub the move the “Stone Cold” crossover.

2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 10): ELIJAH MACON, KALE ABRAHAMSON & MARTAVIOUS NEWBY UPDATES

By Alex Schwartz

MARYLAND OFFICIAL VISIT THE PLAN FOR ELIJAH MACON

If you are looking for a big man to rebound and defend in your Class of 2012 recruiting efforts, 6-foot-9 power forward Elijah Macon could be your man. Yes, he can also finish around the cup and is by no means a major weakness offensively, but his offensive skill set down low is still developing. However, what Macon does do quite well is rebound and defend, two things that are very important. A well built post player with a strong frame, Macon, for the most part, understands his strengths and weaknesses and does not force things. He plays solid interior defense and is an overall sound player who does a lot of the little things.

Miami, West Virginia, Iowa, South Florida, Cincinnati, Xavier, USC and Dayton were the offers listed by Macon this past weekend while playing in the AAU National Championships for the All-Ohio Red program in Orlando. He also mentioned Memphis, Maryland, Georgetown, Kansas and Florida, noting that he has more offers and interest.
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HOOP GROUP END OF SUMMER CLASSIC RUNDOWN – 16U EDITION

By Brian Bosworth

The July live period came to a close on Sunday with Hoop Group’s End of Summer Classic at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. The tournament featured 24 teams in 3 separate 17U brackets and 16 teams in 2 separate 16U brackets. The 16U portion had many standout players including one who was a cut above the rest.

Top Performer:

Rysheed Jordan (Players Teaching Players/2013) – Although his team lost in the semifinals, Jordan left little doubt that he was the top prospect in the 16U division. A 6’3” 175 pound point guard, Jordan has immense physical talents. In his team’s first game, an easy win, he played the role of facilitator and got into the paint time and again to create easy scoring opportunities for teammates. He used his long arms to disrupt passing lanes on defense and start transition offense and showed the ability to finish high above the rim. In his second game of the day, Players Teaching Players were trailing by 27 points when Jordan took matters into his own hands. He must have had at least 5-6 steals all leading to easy buckets at the other end. Offensively, he attacked the rim relentlessly finishing through contact over and over and bringing his team back within 7 points. The deficit was eventually too much to overcome but in the process of trying Rysheed Jordan proved that he is an elite point guard prospect in the 2013 class.

Other Standouts:
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BIG SHOTS – DCA RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

By Matt Whitfield

On the last two days of the July live evaluation period some of the top AAU programs on the East Coast converged near the nation’s capitol for the Big Shots – DC Assault event. Many college coaches used the chance to get one last look at their top recruiting targets as well. Below are some of the recruiting updates NBE gathered during their time Sunday at the event…

Long Island Lightning forward Daniel Dingle continues to be a player many programs are keeping a close eye on. The 6-foot-6 combo forward out of St. Raymond’s in NYC also added a new scholarship offer recently.

“Right now my recruitment is going good,” Dingle said Sunday. “I just got a scholarship offer from Maryland. [As well as interest and offers from] Arizona, Temple, Dayton, Miami, Florida and Texas.

Dingle is starting to think about where he will visit in the coming month.
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2011 ORLANDO AAU UPDATE (PART 6): HOUSTON DEFENDERS TAKE 17U SHOWCASE TITLE

By Alex Schwartz

It was a busy day in Orlando on Wednesday as the 17U AAU Super Showcase came to a close. The Houston Defenders earned the crown with an impressive 55-45 victory over BABC. Class of 2013 twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison led the Defenders as Aaron scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Andrew finished with eight points and 10 assists. Earlier in the afternoon the Defenders got past Team Takeover, rallying from a halftime deficit to advance to the championship game. For their part, BABC survived a stiff challenge in the semis from Hoop Heavan Elite out of NJ to advance to the televised championship game.

Now the full focus will shift to the AAU National Championships. The 16U is in full swing and the 17U championships are also getting going in pool play as well. Still plenty of basketball left these next four days as the second July live evaluation period closes out.

Below we have some additional player evaluations and recruiting information from yesterday’s action with a heavy concentration on the Houston Defenders (Derrick Griffin), Team Takeover (Jerami Grant), BABC (Jaylen Brantley, Jake Layman, Goodluck Okonoboh) and more (Bobby Portis)…

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