Top players shoot for recognition
Basketball season seemingly never stops at the precollegiate level.
Once the high school season is over, players move over to their travel teams and hit the road to play in front of college coaches in April and May. Teams on high-profile shoe circuits sponsored by adidas, Nike and Under Armour went nationwide.
Soon, players will prepare for another round of “live” evaluation events in front of college coaches in July.
Team Breakdown finished as the top team in the Under Armour Association, compiling an 11-1 record and earning acclaim by IndyHoops.com as the nation’s No. 1-ranked 17U team.
The Wolves are led by a lethal backcourt that includes Orlando standouts Anfernee Simons of Edgewater and Paul Person of West Oaks Academy. They get help off the bench from Cordrayious Graham (Leesburg) and Shaquan Jules (Windermere Prep).
Simons, a 6-foot, 3-inch shooting guard who committed to Louisville last fall, ranked fourth on the UAA circuit in scoring at 18.3 points per game. He hit 43 percent of his 3-point shot attempts and led the tour with an average of 3.4 treys made per game.
Team Breakdown coach Kenny Gillion confirmed that Simons is still set on Louisville.
Simons completed his four-year high school career at Edgewater but has said he plans to play a prepschool season in 2017-18 at West Oaks, which is coached by Team Breakdown coach Kenny Gillion, before heading to Louisville as a class of 2018 signee.
R.J. Barrett, the go-to player as a sophomore for powerhouse Montverde Academy, is rated by ESPN and others as the No. 1 rising junior prospect. He led the EYBL in scoring with a 28-point average for Uplay of Canada — though he played only eight games.
Over in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League, Orlando-based Each 1 Teach 1 United earned a spot in the Peach Jam EYBL Championships in July with a lineup featuring the state’s toprated rising senior, explosive Emmitt Williams (6-foot-8) of IMG Academy.
Stellar seniors Nick Honor (Lake Highland Prep) and Antwann Jones (Oak Ridge) also contributed heavily for a squad that went 12-4 in Nike play. They both were invited to the recent Pangos All-American Camp, and Jones is also headed to next week’s NBA Players Association Top 100 camp.
IndyHoops ranked E1T1 No. 7 nationally.
Honor, a 5-10 point guard in his second season on the 17U circuit, averaged 12 points and 4.6 assists per game.
“Honor has been our catalyst,” E1T1 coach Steve Reece said. “He’s been a great leader for us. Jones is averaging in double figures as well and college coaches love his versatility.”
Honor’s offer list includes Florida Gulf Coast, UMass, Dayton and Georgia Southern.
Nike South Beach just missed qualifying for the Peach Jam, but they put together a nice run with help of Michael Devoe (Oak Ridge), Collin Castleton (Father Lopez) and standout defender K.J. Simon (West Orange).
Devoe’s stock has climbed to the point that he is getting looks from the likes of Pitt, Southern Cal, Florida and many other high majors.
Over on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit, players from 1 Family, Showtime Ballers and Team Parsons have made impressions on college coaches.
The team for 1 Family is led by Orlando Christian Prep standout Nassir Little, who earned invites to represent adidas in Italy and to attend the NBA Players camp.
Little’s Orlando Christian Prep teammate, Renaldo Segu, and DeLand’s Wyatt Hollman chipped in to help 1 Family advance to the Adidas Gauntlet finals in Spartanburg, S.C., in July.
While the Showtime Ballers struggled a bit in April, they put together a 9-1 record during May and look to be trending upward at just the right time. Deltona’s 6-7 rising junior, Blake Hinson, has returned to the team while Frank Foreman (Edgewater) and Eli Cadet (West Oaks) played important roles all spring.
Master’s Academy guard Jose Placer is surrounded by players from Alabama on Team Parsons, sponsored by NBA forward Chandler Parsons. But Placer made his name known on the adidas circuit. He was also invited back to the Puerto Rican national team.
Looking at the next age group down for rising juniors, several programs have made their mark.
The E1T1 16s, rated best in Florida by IndiHoops, qualified for Peach Jam with a lineup led by point guard Tre Mann of Villages Charter School.
Team Parsons 16U features three sophomores from state champ Kissimmee Osceola in Omar Payne, Isaiah Palermo and Josh Marte. Akol Matien of Montverde and 6-7 Dakota Rivers, who will go from West Orange to the new Windermere High School as a junior, were also mentioned by coach Anthony Ricks.
Game Speed Elite 16s won its bracket at the Atlanta Jam in April. Keenan Blackshear (Jones) got a lot of notice for his play as a do-it-all wing.
C.J. Walker of Orlando Christian Prep moved from the 16U portion of the EYBL to Game Elite out of Georgia on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit.
This is a big move as Game Elite went undefeated in April and adding Walker gives them an even better chance to win the Gauntlet Championship.