Maryland Recruiting

2013 NBPA TOP 100 HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CAMP — FINAL RECRUITING NOTES

By Matt Whitfield, Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)’s 20th Anniversary of the NBPA Top 100 High School Basketball Camp kicked off Wednesday at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville and concluded over the weekend. Media was allowed to begin attending sessions on Thursday and NBE was back on the road and in attendence.

The NBPA Top 100 High School Basketball Camp was created by the NBPA in 1994 to assist elite high school student-athletes in the development of their basketball and life skills. Throughout the last 20 years, the Camp has grown into one of the most highly touted and renowned camps of its kind and has seen hundreds of its participants go on to successful NBA careers. You can follow the camp on Twitter @Top100Camp and be sure to follow @NBESports for all of our updates as well.

To close our recruiting updates, NBE caught up with Craig Victor, Satchel Pierce, Khadeem Lattin, Abdul-Malik Abu, Brandone Francis, Skal Labissiere, Chinanu Onuaku, Kevon Looney, Trevon Blueitt and Trayvon Reed, which you can see below…

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2013 NBPA TOP 100 HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CAMP — RECRUITING NOTES (PART II)

By Matt Whitfield, Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA)’s 20th Anniversary of the NBPA Top 100 High School Basketball Camp kicked off Wednesday at the University of Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Media was allowed to begin attending sessions on Thursday and NBE was back on the road and in attendence.

The NBPA Top 100 High School Basketball Camp was created by the NBPA in 1994 to assist elite high school student-athletes in the development of their basketball and life skills. Throughout the last 20 years, the Camp has grown into one of the most highly touted and renowned camps of its kind and has seen hundreds of its participants go on to successful NBA careers. You can follow the camp on Twitter @Top100Camp and be sure to follow @NBESports for all of our updates as well.

In our first Top 100 Camp report yesterday we had recruiting updates on Stephen Zimmerman, Malachi Richardson, Leron Black, Myles Turner, Reid Travis and Devin Robinson. In our second edition, read on below for updates on Thon Maker, Jaquan Lyle, Ja’Quan Newton and MARYLAND-commit Romelo Trimble impressed in his effort…

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (2/5/2013): CINCINNATI PICKS UP BIG COMMITMENT

by Alex Schwartz

Several high-major programs landed commitments in the past week, including a couple from the Big East. That includes a program from the Midwest coming into the New York metro area to land a top 25 recruit.

Jermaine Lawrence, a New York native who attends Pope John XXIII (NJ), popped to Cincinnati, per his Tumblr account. Lawrence, a 6-foot-9 power forward, is ranked No. 24 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

Lawrence selected the Bearcats over St. John’s and UNLV. He is the fifth member of Cincinnati’s 2013 recruiting class and is a significant addition.

RJ Curington of Oak Hill Academy (VA) pledged to DePaul, according to Brian Snow of Scout.com. A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Curington was among the better available players in the nation in the class of 2013 and is a nice late pickup for the Blue Demons.

Scout.com’s Josh Gershon had the news that Dion Wade of Findlay Prep (NV) came off the board to Auburn. A 6-foot-7 small forward, Wade is the second player from Findlay Prep in the class of 2013 to pick the Tigers. The other is Benas Griciunas, a 6-foot-10 power forward.

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NEW YEAR’S JUMP-OFF EVENT RECAP

by Alex Schwartz

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Eight teams made their way to Hackensack (NJ) High School on Sunday for the New Year’s Jump-Off. The quartet of games featured only teams from the Garden State, but there was a great deal of talent on display, including a few players headed to high-major programs.

TOP PERFORMER

Reggie Cameron of Hudson Catholic is the easy choice of who turned in the day’s best performance. The 6-foot-8 small forward dropped 30 points and may well have had more if he shot more the fourth quarter had the game been close. Cameron, ranked No. 62 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125, also grabbed 12 rebounds, distributed the ball well and made his presence felt on defense. A big-time shooter from long range, the future Georgetown Hoya really had his shot going in this game. He has such a smooth stroke and possesses the size to get it off over most defenders. Cameron also scored from midrange and at the rim. The senior even displayed the ability to play the point, which is something he has not really done before. He blocked shots, found open teammates for buckets and was the best low post player in the game, despite being a three man. Cameron led his team to a 70-53 victory over Pope John XXIII and put on in absolute show in his home city of Hackensack.

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (12/20/2012): JABARI PARKER DECISION NEARING; DAKARI JOHNSON CUTS LIST TO THREE

by Alex Schwartz

There have not been many high-major commitments of late, but there has still been a fair amount of news in the high school hoops world lately. In addition, one of the nation’s top prospects is set to announce his choice today.

First off, Jabari Parker is set to announce his college choice today on ESPNU, as originally reported by Joe Henrickson of the Chicago Sun-Times. Parker is a 6-foot-8 small forward out of Simeon (IL) who is ranked No. 3 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125. KSL.com’s Greg Wrubell quoted Jabari’s father, Sonny Parker, as saying, “I think it will probably be between Duke and Michigan State.”

Samford landed a commitment from Jordan Capps, per Scout.com’s Evan Daniels. Capps is a class of 2013 small forward prospect from Peachtree Ridge (GA) who has some solid size at 6-foot-6.

St. Peter’s dipped into the JuCo ranks for a 2013 commitment, according to Brad Winton of JuCoRecruiting.com. He reported that the Peacocks landed Tyler Gaskins, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Lawson State Community College (AL).

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RASHAD RICHARDSON & KISKI PREP TURN HEADS AT NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE (VIDEO)

By Sherwyn Cooper

Rashad Richardson led his Kiski Cougars to a huge upset win over one of the nations premier basketball prep programs, Brewster Academy (Game High 29 points) on Saturday night. It was evident in the 6’5 swingman’s demeanor there was something he was out to prove. According to his coaches, Richardson informed them that a local recruiting report in Indiana had him as there #1 prospect until former Indiana signee Ron Patterson (Syracuse-Commit ) decided to take a prep year at Brewster Academy, pushing him to the #2 spot. While they insist there is no personal hard feelings between Patterson and Richardson, Rashad took the match up as chance to prove his worth.

After the biggest surprise performance at the National Prep Showcase, Richardson called his high school coaches Tuesday night and informed them both he and his father would like to reopen his recruitment. Richardson, a virtual unknown outside the state of Indiana, had verbally committed to IUPUI and had plan to sign his Letter of Intent on Monday after the prep showcase. Since decommitting Duquesne, Pittsburgh, Utah, Manhattan and Rutgers have expressed interest in Richardson with IUPUI still in the mix.

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’14 BIG MAN ANDRE WALKER HAS PLENTY OF COLLEGE INTEREST

Now that the Class of 2013 is able to sign their Letters of Intents to officialy close their recruitment, the Class of 2014 will move more toward the focus of coaches, fans and scouts. The recruitment of the big men in any class is usually the slowest to come into focus, however one talented big man in the Class of 2014 has already gathered a strong following of interested college programs.

6-foot-10, 210-pound Andre Walker caught the eye of NBE reporters a few times last summer on the AAU trail as the Bullis School (MD) prospect was on the circuit with the always talented DC Assault program. Now back in the home environment of his high school, plenty of schools have made contact to let him know they will be following his development.
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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (11/9/2012): ORANGE CONTINUE TO SIZZLE ON RECRUITING TRAIL AHEAD OF ACC MOVE

by Alex Schwartz

The two biggest high school hoops stories to come since our last Recruiting Notebook are both out of the class of 2014.

First off, Chris McCullough became just the second player in the top 25 of the NBE Sports Class of 2014 Post-July Top 75 to make a college decision. The 6-foot-9 power forward from Brewster Academy (NH) pledged to Syracuse, in news that looks to have been first reported by CuseNation.com.

McCullough is a native New Yorker and a high school teammate of recent 2013 Syracuse pledge Ron Patterson. McCullough is ranked No. 22 in the NBE Sports 2014 Top 75.

The Orange may not be done in 2014 as NBE’s 19th best player in the class, Isaiah Whitehead, has narrowed his list to 10, per ESPN, and the Orange remain one of the leaders. The final 10 for the NYC guard are: Syracuse, St. John’s, Rutgers, Kentucky, Louisville, Arizona, Maryland, Florida, Kansas and UCLA.

Dakari Johnson was the other 2014 stud to make news this week, except, well, Johnson is no longer a member of that class. Johnson has made the decision to reclassify to 2013, per Garrett Tucker of Future150.com.

The 6-foot-10 center from Montverde Academy (FL) was ranked No. 3 in the NBE Sports 2014 Top 75. He is the third top-20 player to reclassify from 2014 to 2013 in the past few months, following Andrew Wiggins, Noah Vonleh and Wayne Selden.

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DION WILEY: RISING STAR IN DMV’S CLASS OF 2014

By Ron Bailey

Dion Wiley has established himself as a hot commodity on the national recruiting scene. This was basically done during the summer past, as previously only schools in the District-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) area, or coaches with very strong connections there, like DePaul and then UMass, really knew he existed.

A summer with Team Takeover’s top 16u squad has changed things for the now 6-foot-4, 210-pound, Class of 2014 swingman.

“You want offers?” asked Wiley, after classes one day at his school, Potomac HS (MD), when asked to supply a college list.
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RECRUITMENT COMING INTO FOCUS FOR ROMELO TRIMBLE

By Ron Bailey

As a Class of 2014 guard, Romelo Trimble is starting to seriously scrutinize possible future college homes, as they are he. Trimble, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound performer with DC Assault on the circuit and Bishop O’Connell in high school, is positioning himself to indeed by highly recruited.

Per Trimble, during a recent DC Assault workout, he established the list of colleges having offered a scholarship as “Maryland, Rutgers, Villanova, Miami, UNLV, George Mason, Cincinnati and Notre Dame.” He later added a number of schools, like Georgetown have expressed interest, but to date have not offered.

In terms of being recruited, Trimble values straight forwardness, saying “All schools have to be honest with me.” Also important are “going somewhere I’m going to get my chance to play,” as well as “Hopefully developing and get into the NBA.”
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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (10/18/2012): POST MADNESS COMMITMENT CRAZE

by Alex Schwartz

Last Friday was Midnight Madness, which is the first day that college basketball programs can hold official practices. Many schools, at all levels, use the weekend of Midnight Madness as a chance to host and impress either their top target(s) or a large number of prospects.

As always, there have been numerous high-major commitments rolling in since players began their Midnight Madness visits. Below is a rundown of many of the top players to pledge over the past week.

I was out of the country over the weekend, which is why there was no Recruiting Notebook on Monday. Additionally, due to my trip—it’s crazy how disconnected to the world I am without my phone or constant internet access—the news on these pledges can be attributed to the Scout.com Commitment Tracker.

The biggest news coming from the weekend involved—who else?—the University of Kentucky. For the third straight week, John Calipari has landed at least one top-15 prospect in the class of 2013. This time it was 6-foot-9 center Marcus Lee of Deer Valley (CA), who selected UK over Cal. He is ranked No. 13 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

Also nabbing a pledge from a top-20 recruit this week was Kansas. The Jayhawks added to their backcourt haul by picking up Wayne Selden, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard out of the Tilton School (NH). He is ranked No. 18 in the NBE Sports Class of 2013 Post-July Top 125.

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FRESH OFF MARYLAND VISIT, DECISION NEARS FOR RODDY PETERS

By Ron Bailey

October 15, 2012 - Fresh off a Friday visit to University of Maryland, where he took in the Terp’s Midnight Madness celebration, on Sunday Roddy Peters shined some light on his recruitment status. His suitors need to take note, as then he noted a decision would likely be reached, “Probably in another two weeks”. A web rumor today, suggests Peters is planning on announcing his future college choice tonight. Anyway you cut it; things are coming to an end.

What about his visit to College Park for Midnight Madness, a celebration of everything Terp Hoops, one that is replicated all over the country by schools? (That day is the first a team can actually come together in a coaches supervised fashion).

“It went real good. The players were nice. The celebration was nice. The coaches were nice,” replied Peters, a Class of 2013 guard, one that attends Suitland HS (MD) and hit the circuit with DC Assault this year.
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PHIL BOOTH PLANNING TWO OCTOBER VISITS & HOPES TO SEE INDIANA AS WELL

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Phil Booth has been a name on the Mid-Atlantic recruiting radar for some time. He did little to diminish his reputation on the spring and summer AAU trail with Team Takeover DC.

The 6-foot-3+ guard who attends Baltimore’s Mount St. Joseph High School has been known as a shot maker and while he certainly lived up to that when NBE saw him at the Peach Jam on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball Circuit, NBE’s National Recruiting Analyst Brian Bosworth noted that Booth also showed a more complete game than what he has witnessed from him before. He played at the point for long stretches and did a great job of running offense and finding shots for others. If Booth can fully transition to the point his ceiling becomes quite a bit higher as his size and shot-making ability can seperate himself from other floor generals in the Class of 2014.

Speaking of size…college coaches should take note, Booth is still growing.
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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (10/4/2012) — HARRISON TWINS DECISION DUE TODAY

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by Alex Schwartz

Quite possibly the best package deal in high school basketball history will have a destination today. Top-four ranked twin brothers Andrew and Aaron Harrison are set to announce their college intentions and will be choosing between Kentucky, Maryland and SMU.

The 6-foot-5 guards from Travis (TX) had long been working with a top five that also included Baylor and Villanova, but they have narrowed it down to a final trio. The general belief though, is that it is truly a two-horse race between Kentucky and Maryland.

UK is on a roll under John Calipari, as he is four for four in Lexington, Ky. in signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. He has led Kentucky to two Final Fours and the Wildcats are the reigning national champion. UK has also churned out a plethora of first round picks under Cal and it is the winningest program in NCAA basketball history.
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‘LIVE IN AC’ - FINAL REPORT

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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

The inaugural “Live in AC” event came to close by crowning champions at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels last Friday afternoon. The youngster division was taken by Team Final (PA) after a championship game victory over the NJ Playaz. Team Takeover DC swept the two older divisions defeating Expressions Elite (MA) for the 16U crown and Sports U (NJ) for the 17U. Stars from all these programs and others stood out on the road to the title and here is our final report from the Nl Playaz hosted event in Atlantic City.

Top Performance of the Day:

Josh Hart (Team Takeover 2013) – Hart’s physicality and aggression from the wing fuel everything that Takeover wants to do. His constant motor and “whatever it takes to win” attitude are a perfect fit for the hardnosed program. Offensively Hart puts pressure on the opposition with straight line drives at the rim. He finishes with both hands and welcomes contact once in the paint. On the defensive side of the ball he often takes the challenge of the other team’s top scorer and has the ability to be a shut down type guy. Hart also rebounds extremely well for his position often starting the break after a defensive board.
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ORLANDO AAU REPORT - SATURDAY

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By Alex Schwartz

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Saturday was the final full day of the last Live period this month. Coaches will be back in the gym on Sunday, but must leave at 5:00 p.m. There were quite a few players who excelled on Saturday and it looked like one player had the Top Performer spot wrapped up-until one 2013 wing went bonkers from long range in the nightcap. Also, a trio of big men originally from Africa were quite impressive, two top-five players shined again and a top-100 prospect in 2013 listed a favorite.

TOP PERFORMER

Omar Prewitt needs to be in the discussion of the best shooter in the United States at the high school level. A 6’5 shooting guard out of Montgomery (KY) put on an absolute SHOW for The Ville in the final game of the night. In the first half alone, Prewitt had 22 points and knocked in six 3-pointers. The final stats sheet was swooped away before we could take a look at it, but one of The Ville coaches said Prewitt had 33 points and a D1 assistant told us he hd 34. He finished with eight or nine 3-pointers and was simply unstoppable off the catch. Prewitt is not just a one-dimensional shooter, though. He has a smooth game and is more than capable of knifing through a defense and getting to the rim. Prewitt handles the ball pretty well and he can block shots at the defensive end. His Saturday night performance was one of the best that this writer has seen all month.
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‘LIVE IN AC’ REPORT — DAY II

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Thursday at “Live in AC” featured a few big names playing up to their reputations but was mostly about under the radar guys getting a chance to shine. Here’s who caught NBE’s eye on the day.

Top Performance of the Day:

Abdul-Malik Abu (Expressions Elite 2014) – Abu is a big name in New England who deserves to be a big name on the national level. He was a physical force on the 16U level dominating the paint in both games I watched on Thursday. A strongly built 6’8” and 225 pounds, Abu can both post up and blow by defenders off the dribble. He loves contact once around the rim and finished while drawing fouls on multiple plays throughout the day. While Abu is a wide bodied post player, that doesn’t take away from his elite athleticism as both his first step off the dribble and explosion at the rim are of the highest level. He had some of the fiercest and most powerful dunks of the day both rising over defenders and finishing through them. Abu can play anywhere in the country at the college level and his recruitment is starting to show that.
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ORLANDO AAU REPORT - WEDNESDAY

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by Alex Schwartz

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The third and final Live Evaluation Period of July got underway on Wednesday and NBE Sports was present at the ESPN Wide World of Sports for the 11th Grade AAU Nationals. Although due to the new July format there are not quite as many talented teams in action, there are still numerous quality squads in the event. There were several players who stood out on the first day of the tournament.

TOP PERFORMERS

Derrick Griffin is an absolutely elite level athlete with truly incredible leaping ability. A 6’6 power forward from Terry (TX), Griffin is a 2013 prospect who has committed to Texas A&M as a football player. A member of the Houston Defenders, Griffin put on an absolute show in the squad’s nationally televised game on Wednesday night. He as a great body, pretty good length and is both strong and powerful. He threw down a number of very impressive, crowd pleasing dunks and also swatted shots at the other end of the floor. Griffin rebounds the ball well and is an effective interior presence despite his relative lack of height. He is an exciting player to watch and he will have a nice career on the hardwood in the SEC if he plays both sports.
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PHIL BOOTH HAS SCHOOLS IN HOT PURSUIT AS ’14 G IMPRESSES IN JULY

Phil Booth entered July already with a pretty big reputation and his game has been living up to that rep. As a member of the NBE Class of 2014 Pre-July Live Period Top 40 at #34, Booth solidified his position as one of the elite players nationally in the rising junior high school class with his play on the AAU circuit with Team Takeover DC.

The 6-foot-2 guard who attends Baltimore’s Mount St. Joseph High School has a reputation as a shot maker and while he certainly lived up to that at the recent Peach Jam on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball Circuit, NBE’s National Recruiting Analyst Brian Bosworth noted that Booth also showed a more complete game than what he has witnessed from him before. He played at the point for long stretches and did a great job of running offense and finding shots for others. If Booth can fully transition to the point his ceiling becomes quite a bit higher as his size and shot-making ability can seperate himself from other floor generals in the class.

His strong play has led to plenty of college attention and Booth was kind enough to participate in a Question and Answer session on his recruitment and how he feels about the new rule where college coaches, beginning back on June 15th, where allowed to be able to have unlimited contact with recruits via phone, text messaging or social media messaging. Read on below for the details…

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2012 PEACH JAM REPORT - DAY III (PART B)

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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Friday afternoon in North Augusta brought 16U pool play at the Peach Jam along with a quick stop at the Nike Invitational. Here’s who managed to standout while NBE was watching.

Top Performer of the Afternoon:

Obi Enechionyia (Team Takeover 2014) – At 6’8”, the athletic forward showed off both an inside and outside scoring package. He flashed major bounce around the rim with a few ferocious dunks along with swatting away countless attempts at his own basket. While his work in the paint alone would have made Enechionyia a very intriguing prospect, he was also able to step out and make jump shots past the college 3-point line. The combination of owning the paint and being able to draw big men away from the rim by spacing the floor make it easy to project Enechionyia at the high major level for his college future. He needs to continue refining his ball handling and overall skill package and frankly could end up playing on the wing if his skills improve quickly enough.
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