Wichita State Recruiting

CLASS OF 2013 STOCK RISER: DAYSHON SMITH

Dayshon Smith has opened many eyes this summer. Eyes of fans, scouts and college coaches alike.

Right out of the gates this spring as one of the NJ Playaz Spring Fling Top Performers with the NY Lightning AAU program and through three sessions of play in the Nike EYBL, Smith has performed at a high level. His biggest strengths right now are his perimeter shot, tight handle, and the calm with which he plays. The best point guards know how to control pace and make opponents play their speed and that is something that Smith understands very well.

This is what NBE’s Brian Bosworth wrote about Smith on the final day of the Spring Fling:

Smith capped an outstanding weekend by making his best plays in the second half of the championship game. His Lightning came up short in overtime against the New Rens but Smith did everything he could to get the game into overtime. Two plays in particular stand out and deserve mention. Late in the second half Smith came down the lane after turning the corner from a high ball screen and dunked in the face of 6’8” jumping jack Kenton Facy. Then with 30 seconds remaining and his team trailing by three, Smith brought the ball up court and pulled up from behind the line tying the game and sending it to overtime. He had the guts to both take and make the biggest shots in the championship game and increased his stock in the process.

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HOOP GROUP’S SOUTHERN JAM FEST: DAY THREE

by Alex Schwartz

HAMPTON, Va. – Sunday was the final day of the 2012 Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest and champions were crowned in the afternoon. Team Takeover beat BWSL Woods, 77-53, to win the U15 Gold championship and Team Takeover also won the U16 Gold championship with an 82-75 victory over the SC Raptors Elite. The U17 Gold title went to Garner Road, who beat UA Baltimore’s Fines, 49-44, in the championship.

TOP PERFORMER

Therence Mayimba: While the Team Takeover U16 team has several players who are more well-known, Mayimba was terrific in both the semifinals and championship. A 6’7 combo forward who attends Montrose Christian (MD), Mayimba is a bouncy player with a great frame. The 2014 prospect repeatedly sliced right down the lane past defends and to the rim, where he showed nice body control in air. He handles the ball pretty well and also does a nice job of getting rebounds. Mayimba has room to continue to improve as a player and will be someone whose stock will rise as time goes on.

TOP SLEEPER PERFORMER

Scott Spencer: BWSL Kelly made a surprise run to the championship game of the U15 Gold bracket and Spencer used that contest to show what he can do. He was the game’s top scorer, with 15 points, which accounted for nearly 30% of his team’s total in the lopsided defeat. Spencer is a 6’4 shooting guard who has great length and nice athletic ability. He is a bouncy wing who can really jump, but he is by no means only about his physical tools. Spencer has a nice midrange jumper from the baseline that he utilizes as well.

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SPIECE BILL HENLSEY MEMORIAL RUN-N-SLAM PLAYER EVALUATIONS

By N.D. Kendrick, special to NBE Basketball Report

Midwest star power was on display this past weekend in Fort Wayne, Indiana where some of the top clubs from the middle of the country and a few from other locations took part in the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-n-Slam.

Quite possibly the attraction that brought in the most basketball junkies was a battle between Spiece Indy Heat, featuring Indiana-commit Trey Lyles, Purdue-bound Bryson Scott and JaQuan Lyle, facing Mac Irvin Fire, which was tabbed as the favorite to win the event.

Mac Irvin Fire got a quiet 20 point effort out of the Gatorade National Player of the Year Jabari Parker, and won by the score of 80-70. Both the Mac Irvin Fire and Spiece Indy Heat – arguably the two most star-studded rosters – failed to reach the championship games of their respective brackets.

The Derrick Walton (Michigan-commit) and Monte Morris led Michigan Mustangs emerged as the champions of the 17u tournament when the coaches of The Family decided to forfeit due to several players cramping up.

Run-n-Slam allows you to evaluate several prospects due to the format and way the massive gym is set up. The focus of the weekend was incoming juniors and seniors. Provided are several prospects (not in any particular order) that impressed over the weekend…
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LAS VEGAS AAU WEEKEND UPDATE: FLORIDA RAMS FLEX MUSCLES; RECRUITING UPDATES GALORE

By Raphielle Johnson

The first open weekend of the spring/summer meant action throughout the country, including Las Vegas with Sin City hosting three events. The biggest of the three was the adidas VIP Exclusive Run, which featured most of the nation’s best programs under the three stripes banner.

The program that stole the show this weekend at adidas was the Florida Rams, whose 16u and 17u teams both won championships. The 17 and under team is well-known by this point, as they’re led by one of the country’s top prospects in the 2013 class in Chris Walker.

A slender forward who can run the floor and finish with the best of them, Walker played well on both ends of the floor for much of the weekend and likely had one of the early frontrunners for dunk of the AAU season. But he had plenty of help as well, especially from Florida commit Kasey Hill.

The 2013 point guard ran the show for the Rams, displaying the ability to get to the basket off the bounce at will. Hill also did a good job of distributing the basketball, setting up Walker and Kansas commit Brannen Greene frequently.
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WITH THREE YEARS OF ELIGIBILITY LEFT, JUCO TRENCY JACKSON DRAWING PLENTY OF INTEREST

After spending the 2010-2011 school year at Southern Miss, battling NCAA eligibility and clearinghouse hurdles, Trency Jackson left the program to play for coach Steve Forbes and attend Northwest Florida State Junior College. The move has paid off as Jackson has played a key role helping the Raiders to a 29-1 record and state championship. Next up in the Nationals and Jackson could not say enough about his time at the school.

“The best part have been playing against top competition because the Panhandle [Conference] is like the top JUCO conference in the country,” Jackson told NBE on Sunday. “I’ve also loved playing with my teammates and coaching staff this year, one of the best.”

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Jackson has been a complete team player for the Raiders. Despite modest statistics with around 11 points and 5 rebounds a game, Jackson made 1st Team All-Panhandle Conference this season. His strengths on the floor will likely be welcomed by any number of college teams recruiting him.
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Mernagh: Valley Recap Plus Some A-10 Stuff

Creighton and McDermott Get Tested by Drake

Doug McDermott hit two big three pointers in the middle of the second half and it looked like the Valley’s Player of the Year and his teammates were ready to pull away from Drake. The young Bulldogs had other plans though, cutting a 13-point lead with a little over 4 minutes remaining to 3 –63-60 – on a Rayvonte Rice bucket with 1:24 left on the clock. Creighton was able to salt things away by hitting 5-6 from the stripe in the final minute and winning 68-61.

McDermott was brilliant in the second half and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds for the game. Greg Echenique contested multiple shots in the last 3 minutes, blocking one by Drake’s Ben Simons that was huge down inside a minute left. Drake looks to have a bright future heading into next season while Creighton rolls into this afternoon’s semifinals in St. Louis where they will play Evansville. The Missouri Valley Tournament is a great event and anyone with a sports package on their TV can find it up in the Fox Sports Missouri/Midwest channels. Today’s games are usually the best. Tomorrow’s final will be on CBS I’m sure where it’s expected Creighton and Wichita State will slug it out (the greatest thing about this event is the expected rarely happens).

Evansville beat Missouri State 72-64 in the late game as Kenny Harris had 20 and Colt Ryan 19 to lead Marty Simmons’ crew. Evansville now plays #25 Creighton in what, judging by their two earlier games, should be a battle. The Purple Aces beat the Bluejays in Evansville and lost the game in Omaha in overtime.

Shockers Roll
The other semifinal features Wichita State going against Illinois State. The Shockers pounded a tired Indiana State club 72-48 in the Quarters while the Redbirds outlasted Northern Iowa. #14 Wichita State is 27-4 and led by a bevy of veteran players. The Shocks have had three different winning streaks of 8 or more this year and have an NCAA best record of 19-3 on the road since last season. The defending NIT champs are looking to make a deep run here in a few weeks (and with players like 7-footer Garret Stutz, Toure Murry and Joe Ragland, that’s a distinct probability).

Lowery Fired
Southern Illinois did the inevitable when, facing multiple consecutive losing seasons (including this year’s school record 23 loss campaign) they fired head coach and former Saluki player Chris Lowery. Lowery was the hottest name in the coaching business just four short years ago. He turned down more than one big six league job as SIU stepped up and rewarded him with a fat contract. That contract still had 2 years left on it – the buyout is $1.5 million – and in all likelihood was the only thing that kept SIU from pulling the trigger on Lowery last year. Lowery enjoyed great success, but is the latest example of how quickly things can turn on a coach when they lose players to transfer and miss on recruits. Hindsight is 20/20, but I’m guessing that Michigan job Lowery once turned down is looking pretty good right now.

A-10 Action at Noon
Rick – “I’m not a big Gay guy” – Majerus and his Billikens are coming to town to play Duquesne at noon. St. Louis is having a great year at 23-6 (11-4 in the league). I look forward to watching them play the always game at home Dukes at noon today.

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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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 3): GARY HARRIS IMPRESSES; JERAMI GRANT UPDATE & AQUILLE CAR TALKS RECRUITING & MORE UPDATES

By Alex Schwartz

As things begin to head towards the climax in Las Vegas the action in Orlando continues to heat up. More and more of the nation’s attention will turn to the sunshine state in the recruiting world. NBE continues to be ahead of the game with continued coverage from the land of Mickey. On Sunday the 17U pool play got going with an impressive slate of games while the 16U Super Showcase playoff action got underway.

Here are some player evals and recruiting updates from Aquille Carr, Gary Harris, Kennedy Meeks, Jerami Grant, Marcus Hunt, Robert Carter and Sindarius Thornwell to highlight the action occurring in Orlando…

Aquille Carr listed offers from Syracuse, Memphis, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, and Connecticut. His favorites at this point are Wake Forest, Syracuse and UConn.
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UA SUMMER JAM PRESENTED BY NY2LA SPORTS RECRUITING NOTES

By Alex Jesswein

While many across the country have turned their attention to the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Championship at the Peach Jam in North Augusta (SC), Antonio Curro and his crew at NY2LASports.com have assembled another strong field for the 2011 UA Summer Jam. Some of the biggest names in the 2012 Class are in Wisconsin for the event, including Shabazz Muhammad, Isaiah Austin, Mitch McGary, Perry Ellis and more. Top AAU programs like Dream Vision, Texas Pro, SYF Players, DC Assault, Playground Elite, Team Loaded, and more are competing in the event.

NBE will have much more on the event as it moves to completion on the 15th. For now here are some recruiting notes that NBE has been able to compile in the first two days of action:

Duane Wilson, Class of 2013 point guard with the Playground Elite AAU program, listed Marquette (offer), Minnesota, Memphis, Washington, Virginia, Missouri, DePaul, Wisconsin, Illinois, Miami (FL), Florida State, and Florida. He has visited Kentucky, DePaul and Missouri unofficially recently.

As he heads into his next season, Wilson said he wants to work on getting stronger, playing better defense and hitting shots off of the dribble.
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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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HOOP HALL CLASSIC – DAY I

BY JEFF BORZELLO

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Year in and year out, the Hoop Hall Classic at Springfield College is the most loaded event of the high school season. This year, though, the organizers took it to a new level. According to ESPN Rise’s Top 50, seven of the top 14 teams will be in attendance, with several more rounding out the rankings. In terms of individuals, nine of Scout.com’s top 21 players in 2011 and seven of their top 21 guys in 2012 will participate. Simply put, the event is stacked.

While Friday featured a few games, Saturday is when the Classic really got rolling. There were four nationally-relevant games, starting with Mount Vernon (N.Y.) and Taft (Calif). St. Anthony (N.J.) and DeMatha (Md.) followed, along with Morgan Park (Ill.) and Garfield (Wash.), as well as Oak Hill (Va.) and Milton (Ga.).

Note: Top committed players that were featured on Saturday included Spencer Dinwiddie (six points and 11 assists, Colorado), Tony Wroten (23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Washington), Jerome Brown (13 points, Illinois-Chicago), Quinn Cook (16 points and eight assists, Duke), Sidiki Johnson (0 points and two rebounds, Arizona), Dai-Jon Parker (19 points, four rebounds and four assists, Vanderbilt), Shannon Scott (22 points, four rebounds and three assists, Ohio State), Julian Royal (15 points and seven rebounds, Georgia Tech), Kyle Hornsby (13 points and six rebounds, UNC-Asheville), Jordan Loyd (10 points and nine rebounds, Furman) and Daniel Gomis (0 points and four rebounds, Oregon State).

Class of 2011:

Myles Mack, PG, St. Anthony: Mack was arguably the best player on Saturday at the Hoop Hall Classic. The Rutgers-signee got his shot going early and was the primary factor in St. Anthony’s 50-point win over DeMatha. He eliminated most questions about his ability to play the point guard position in the Big East, getting to the rim and creating for his teammates. Mack is absolutely fearless when going to the basket and has also improved his ball-handling and vision. He plays with a quiet confidence and is impossible to contain when he’s hot from deep.

Wayne Blackshear, SF, Morgan Park: Blackshear had the day’s scariest moment when the Louisville-signee went down clutching his knee after a breakaway dunk in which he landed awkwardly. However, he ended up being fine and finished with an impressive 26 points and eight rebounds. Blackshear is such a difficult match-up for opponents due to his skill set, as he can overpower a guard like Tony Wroten in the post, but also step out and knock down perimeter shots if a bigger player is on him.

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 of the coverage from the Hoop Hall Classic with top player evals and recruiting updates from the standouts in the Class fo 2011, 2012 and 2013. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NY2LA SPORTS SUMMER JAM WRAP-UP: NAMES TO KNOW

by RAY MERNAGH

In NBE’s article last night, NY2LA Sports Summer Jam Wrap-up we took a look at the top performers from the event you probably already know of. With head coaches like Bill Self, Ben Howland, Tom Izzo, Matt Painter, Tom Crean, Buzz Williams, Lorenzo Romar, Josh Pastner, Rick Pitino, Tony Bennet, Doc Sadler and Frank Martin, among others, being in Milwaukee for a great deal of this tournament, you know there were big names at this event and not everyone was down in Georgia.

So the first part of our wrap-up (HERE) concentrated on those big names, like Branden Dawson, Marcus Paige, De’Angelo Harrison, Perry Ellis, Angelo Chol, Nick Jacobs and Paul Jesperson and their updated recruiting situations (which have changed of late in several cases).

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 NY2LASports.com Summer Jam as we take a look at new names on the scene that caught the attention of the coaches in the stands, those mentioned above and others. Guys like Adam Woodbury, Tanner Williams, Bruce Barron, Austin Richie, Darnell Harris, Tyrell Robinson (and brother Tyree), RJ Hunter and more are names you should know and are covered below. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NY2LA SPORTS SUMMER JAM WRAP-UP – PART I

by RAY MERNAGH

Everybody’s talking about the Peach Jam and their 24 team tournament that got a lot of national run because of the marketing wizardry that is Nike/ESPN — the LeBron debacle exluded of course –but just like Em said 11 years ago when he talked about people doubting Dre, it seems like folks forgot about the NY2LA Summer Jam.

Here’s all I know — Bill Self, Ben Howland, Tom Izzo, Matt Painter, Tom Crean, Buzz Williams, Lorenzo Romar, Josh Pastner, Rick Pitino, Tony Bennet, Doc Sadler and Frank Martin were in Milwaukee for a great deal of this tournament. And just like Dre came hard with “The Chronic 2001″ the kids in Milwaukee showed why this tourney is now officially a must-stop in July’s opening Live Period for any true hoop junky. The talent matched up with any other tournament out there and might have surpassed them all top to bottom.

Enough with the accolades — here’s what you’all might have missed if you were elsewhere July 12-15th. Here’s what I saw and in part I of my final wrap-up I take a look at the games and recruiting of names you probably already know, like Branden Dawson, Perry Ellis, Paul Jesperson, Marcus Paige, De’Angelo Harrison, Nick Jacobs and Angelo Chol.

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 NY2LASports.com Summer Jam as Brendan Dawson talks about new schools in the mix, Paul Jesperson talks new offers and more from the players mentioned above. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM: DAY TWO

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – The finals of the inaugural NIKE Elite Youth Basketball League at the NIKE Peach Jam continued on Tuesday, as the 24 teams battled to finish in the top two spots in each group, which are the only places to advance. By the end of the day, only two teams – Team Takeover DC and the Oakland Soldiers – were undefeated, but plenty of clubs were still in contention for a playoff berth. Surprisingly, the regular-season champs, the NJ Playaz, were only 2-2 through two days and are unlikely to advance. Howard Pulley and Each One Teach One, also pool winners, are both 1-3. The heated competition to finish in the top two led to a great day two of action.

There are evals of players such as Mikael Hopkins, Amir Williams, Kyle Anderson, Anthony Davis, George Fant, AJ Hammons, Jevon Thomas and more along with recruiting updates from Trey Burke, who lists a top three, Jarnell Stokes, James Robinson, Justin Anderson, Jerami Grant, Kevin Johnson, who has two leaders, and many, many more from Day Two of the Nike EYBL championship pool play.

Related article: Nike EYBL Peach Jam: Day One

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. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM: DAY ONE

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – Annually, the best event of the summer is the NIKE Peach Jam – a collection of 24 of the best NIKE-sponsored AAU teams in one spot. This year, it took on added importance, as it was the culmination of a four-event tournament that spanned three months and four cities. The top 20 teams from the Elite Youth Basketball League in Hampton, Va., Houston and Los Angeles joined four wildcard teams and headed to the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, S.C. In other words, the best event got even better. Throw in a U-16 division with 16 of the best teams in the country, and the Peach Jam continued to stand above the rest. You can visit the Nike EYBL website for schedules, scores and boxscores from all the games Here.

Below is our look at some of the opening day standouts and some detailed recruiting lists and updates from many top players of note, which included a pair of future Big East players (Michael Carter-Williams and Tyrone Johnson) going for at least 40 points in one of their two contests and Joe Coleman of Howard Pulley racking up the points and gives NBE his latest recruiting update. As usual, nobody covers an event like Jeff Borzello and your favorite school is likely covered in a recruiting update below…worth the price of admission (3.95 a month or 24.95 a year).

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. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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ADIDAS INVITATIONAL: DAY ONE STANDOUTS

Stars came to play, but Shabazz Muhammad shined the brightest

by RAY MERNAGH

If I’m freezing from air conditioning and it’s 95 degrees outside then it must be July — and I must be in a gym watching basketball.

This morning I hit I-70 W and took it all the way to Indianapolis for the Adidas Invitational. Rolled through West Virginia, Columbus and Dayton on the way, before hitting the Circle City and making my way to North Central High School for a full day of hoops.

Day One MOP

Saw a lot of teams and some really good ballers but if I had to pick out a day one standout IMHO it would be without question Shabazz Muhammad, a 6’5 shooting guard/wing is in the 2012 class and attends Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman HS.

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 our first day coverage from Indianapolis of the day’s top performers and upcoming July ‘live’ period news and notes. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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JUNE 23 RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (FREE PREVIEW)

As the pages in our June calendar continue to disappear, we get closer and closer to the busy month of July. NBE continues to fine-tune our coverage schedule and here is a look at where we will be during the first 10-day open evaluation period:

July 5 – 7: Lebron James Skilly Academy, Akron (OH)
July 6 – 7: Hoop Group Elite camp, Reading (PA)
July 6 – 8: Adidas Invitational (Formerly It Takes 5ive, Indianapolis (IN)
July 8 – 9: King City Classic, Cleveland (OH)
July 9 – 11: King James Summer Showcase, Chicago (IL)
July 10: BasketBull First Eight, Springfield (MA)
July 11 – 12: Hall of Fame National Invitational, Springfield (MA)
July 12 – 15: Nike EYBL Peach Jam, North Augusta (SC)
July 12 – 15: NY2LA Summer Jam, Milwaukee (WI)

So, do not miss your chance to sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

We have been running a series of Recruiting Notebooks over the past week and here is another as we catch up with Jervon Pressley, Eric Katenda and Elijah Macon to hear the latest on their recruiting before the crazy month of July begins.

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JUNE 15 RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (UPDATED)

BY JEFF BORZELLO/NBE STAFF

With June 15 as the first day that college coaching staffs could officially offer players in the class of 2012, or reach out to them directly, there was plenty of buzz surrounding many of the top prospects in the country.

Coaches hit the phones early and often, beginning at 12:01 a.m. last night in some cases, and kept the contact going throughout the day. As a result, here at the NBE Basketball Report, we spoke to various players and sources to get a handle on which schools are working at them the hardest.

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 news and notes on the contact received by Perry Ellis yesterday as well as Jordan Tebutt, Xavier Johnson, Tariq Carey, Nkereuwem Okoro and more. Also notes on a few West Virginia targets that emerged on the 15th. 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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PERRY ELLIS UPDATE: KANSAS FORWARD SHINES ON AND OFF THE COURT

Elite 2012 prospect is in high demand and has the total package of athletic ability and academics

by JEFF BORZELLO

Whenever Bill Self, John Calipari and Rick Pitino show up to watch one player perform in an open gym, you know you are dealing with someone special.

Special is just one word to describe Perry Ellis, a 6-foot-8 forward from Wichita Heights (Kan.). One of the top players in the class of 2012, Ellis is one of the most highly-recruited prospects in the country. He was named the ESPN Rise National Sophomore of the Year, and has been the Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas for the past two seasons. Moreover, Ellis averaged 22.2 points and 10.4 rebounds en route to leading Wichita Heights to its second consecutive state championship – the first back-to-back 6A state champ in 16 years.

The aforementioned open gym workout that Ellis had in mid-April drew Kansas State’s Frank Martin, Stanford’s Johnny Dawkins, Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall and assistants from Missouri, Texas A&M and Memphis, in addition to Self, Calipari and Pitino.

“It was really impressive to have that many coaches there at one time,” said Perry’s mother, Fonda Ellis.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Ellis has offers or interest from nearly every big-time school in the nation.

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 Ellis and his rectruitment, 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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