City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
--

The July live periods -- a string of three five-day periods where Division I coaches can watch high school prospects in action -- get underway on Wednesday at 5 PM, with five days of insanity to follow.

Here’s a look at several events we’ll be covering this week (and a few we can’t make) featuring area programs and players:

~~~

Adidas Gauntlet Finale
When: July 12-15
Where: Upward Star Center; Spartanburg, S.C.
Who: Adidas-sponsored teams
Breakdown: The first of two July adidas events--the Adidas Summer Championship will take place later in the month in Las Vegas--the Gauntlet Finale represents the playoffs of the two-session Gauntlet series that was played during the April evaluation periods. While the adidas circuit features fewer Mid-Atlantic teams than its Nike and Under Armour counterparts, K-Low Elite will be representing Philadelphia looking to improve on a 2-6 Gauntlet record. K-Low, formerly known as Team Philly before being rebranded in honor of its most prominent alumnus, will be led by high-major prospect Matt Cotton and the Archbishop Wood triumvirate of Seth Pinkney, Tyree Pickron, and Karrington Wallace.

The Gauntlet Finale will also mark the return to action of the nation’s most well-known recruit, YouTube sensation and second-ranked prospect Zion Williamson. What’s more, the event is being held in Williamson’s home town of Spartanburg, ensuring that the Upward Star Center will be packed to the absolute brim with spectators hoping to catch a glimpse of perhaps the most famous high school basketball player since LeBron James.

~~~

Elevate Hoops Summer Icebreaker I & II
When: July 12-13 & 14-16
Where: Sportika Sports, Manalapan, N.J.
Who: “Non-shoe” AAU teams from 15U-17U
Breakdown: Other than the various sneaker circuits, your best bet to see some local high-level AAU action in July is at Elevate Hoops and/or Hoop Group events. For the first live period, Elevate will be hosting its tournament at the brand new Sportika facility in central Jersey, bringing in the majority of the top teams in the area who aren’t heading out of town for a sneaker event. From a local perspective, both the Jersey Shore Warriors and East Coast Power will be sending their 15U-17U teams, and K-Low Elite’s 15U and 16U teams will also be competing. Some other top 17U teams to look out for will be the Yellowjackets, SJ Hoops Elite, Jersey Force, and Team Final Black. Except to see a lot of low-to-mid-major Division I coaches as well as plenty of D-IIs and D-IIIs at these tournaments all week.

~~~

Hoop Group Elite Session 1
When: July 11-14
Where: Albright College; Reading, Pa.
Who: Individual high school prospects

Breakdown: The Hoop Group’s two Elite Camps (this week and next week) are a sight to behold, and have been for decades. Hundreds upon hundreds of high schoolers will descend on Albright’s campus for four days of drills and games, most of which are playing in front of the eyes of hundreds of college coaches. The overall talent level of the camps isn’t quite what it was in its heyday a couple decades ago, due to the rise of the sneaker circuits and the fact that the Adidas, Nike and Under Armour championships are all this week, but there’s still plenty of Division I players and some young diamonds in the rough to be discovered. The best time to go might be Friday, for the final sets of games as well as the always-enjoyable All-Star Game.

~~~

Hoop Group Elite Team Camp
When: July 15-16
Where: Albright College; Reading, Pa.
Who: Regional high school teams & AAU teams

Breakdown: It’s 64 teams total, 46 high school and the rest AAU, in a two-day, bracket-style affair where everybody’s guaranteed at least three games. The only ultra-local representation comes in the form of Bishop Shanahan, though the Hill School, Reading, Hempfield and more come from in-state; there’s also teams from New York, New Jersey, D.C., Virginia and Maryland, including Christ the King (N.J.), Poly Tech (Md.), Bishop Kearney (N.Y.), Hun School (N.J.), Gill St. Bernard (N.J.) and more; AAU teams include the NJ Shoreshots, York Ballers, PSA Cardinals 16Us, Bridge City and the NJ Roadrunners. Also involved are the always-intriguing Global Squad teams, which bring players from all around the world to the States; the teams from Denmark, Sweden and China always have prospects. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship are sure to be high-level affairs.

~~~

Nike EYBL Peach Jam
When: July 12-16
Where: Riverview Park Activities Center; North Augusta, S.C.
Who: Top 24 programs from the Nike EYBL

Breakdown: Actually, at the moment, there are 25 teams “in” the Peach Jam, as Philly rep Team Final and Nike Team Florida will meet at noon on Wednesday for the final spot in the Nike circuit championships; the loser will play at the nearby Peach Invitational, which features the other 16 Nike-sponsored squads. Team Final will be led by a duo of five-star 2018 wings, Cameron Reddish (Westtown) and Louis King (Hudson Catholic), both of whom represented the USA in the U19 World Championships in Cairo earlier this month. The Peach Jam is now over 20 years old, and has grown to become the biggest single draw of any July live period event; the likes of John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Wright and every other big-name coach will be seen at Riverview for at least some of the five-day affair. The championship game, which takes place Sunday afternoon, will be aired on ESPNU.

~~~

Under Armour Association Championships
When: July 12-15
Where: Lake Point Sports; Cartersville, Ga.
Who: The best 24 teams in the Under Armour Association

Breakdown: The best 24 teams in the Under Armour Association will descend upon Atlanta this week, hoping to bring home a championship and be seen by college coaches. Philly Pride and WeR1 will represent the Philadelphia region in the 17u age group. Philly Pride includes 2018 Cheltenham G Jack Clark, who hopes to continue to boost his stock after a breakout spring. Led by 2019 Notre Dame (N.J.) G Isaiah Wong, who is averaging 14.2 points per game, WeR1 hopes to defend their UAA title from last year. Sports U (N.J.) features two high major prospects, 2018 Roselle Catholic F Nazreon Reid and 2018 Hudson Catholic G Jahvon Quinerly. Another team with local ties is Team Rio (N.J.), who features high flying 2019 prospects Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine, both of whom attend the Ranney School (N.J.).

Finishing the regular season with an 11-1 record in the 16U division, WeR1 is led by 2019 Abington F Eric Dixon, who is averaging 17.1 points and over 10 rebounds per game. Philly Pride features a pair of Roman Catholic 2019 prospects, Seth Lundy and Hakim Hart, both of whom are averaging more than 13 points per contest, along with the Imhotep duo of Donta Scott and Jamil Riggins. Team Rio hopes to make a deep run in Atlanta after finishing the regular season at 6-6. Three 2020 prospects to keep an eye on for Team Rio are Jyare Davis (Sanford), Noah Farrakhan (St. Benedict’s), and Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Seton Hall Prep), all of whom are potential five-star prospects.