skip navigation

Under Armour All-American: Night One Notebook (July 19)

07/20/2017, 12:00am EDT
By CoBL Staff

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin),
Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) &
Austin Petolillo (@AustinPSports)
--

PHILADELPHIA -- The Under Armour All-American Camp made its City of Brotherly Love debut on Wednesday night, with the 80 players participating taking to the two courts at Jefferson University to show off their skills in front of the hundred-or-so mid-major and high-major coaches who came to the former Philadelphia University for the first night of the second July live recruiting period.

Here’s a notebook from the evening’s two sets of games:

~~~

Ayala still deciding on when to start college career

Eric Ayala has a decision to make, maybe two.

A 6-foot-5 Wilmington, Del. native playing for New England prep school power Putnam Science Academy, Ayala is a consensus four-star recruit in the class of 2018. The thing is, as Ayala goes through the recruiting process, the possibility to reclassify to the class of 2017 is on the table.

It was reported in April that Ayala would not reclassify after flirting with the possibility, but as is sometimes the case in basketball recruiting, individual situations change without much warning.

"It's still out there, I’m still open to it,” Ayala said after scoring 8 points on 3-for-4 shooting Wednesday. “I know if I go 2017, it's going to go a little bit faster. I'm going to have to take my visits. I don't want to commit having not taken visits. I want to get to know the school, the coaching staff on a personal level.”

Syracuse was a main piece of the recruiting puzzle months back when it appeared Ayala may reclassify. Speed ahead to now, and Ayala doesn’t have his list trimmed down, but did list the Orange, Arizona, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Miami and Indiana among his suitors.

There has been a buzz lately regarding Ayala and the Buckeyes since Chris Holtmann took over last month. Ohio State is one school specifically looking to get Ayala on campus this fall, not a year from now.

“They were recruiting me at Butler, and it wasn’t really working out at the time, but when they got the job at Ohio State, things kind of clicked,” Ayala said. “They need a guard to come in right away and make things happen.

“Ohio State is pursuing ’17 more than ’18. All this really depends on who has a scholarship for ’17. Not all of them do.”

One way or another, Ayala is going to be busy. Fresh off helping WE R1 to a second consecutive 17U title at UAA Finals last weekend, he will finish UA All-America Camp, participate in a WE R1 event this weekend, and travel to Las Vegas for Fab 48 to close the month. All that comes before his inclusion in the SC30 Select Camp early next month in the Bay Area.  

With time being spent on the west coast this summer, Ayala says he would like to visit schools out there, naming Oregon and Arizona, specifically, before noting he does not have any official visits lined up yet.

As for his busy summer, that UAA Finals win may be the topper.

"I'm still numb to it right now,” Ayala said. “We made history. Nobody's ever won two finals, back-to-back at the 17U level on any circuit, so I'm still numb to it. Right now, it's still new.” -- Josh Newman

~~~


Jalen Gaffney (above) will attend the Westtown School in West Chester (Pa.) for his junior season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Gaffney looking forward to Keystone State move

To help make up for the graduation of the most talented group this area has seen in some time, the Westtown School has added another lethal weapon to its arsenal of future college basketball players for the 2017-18 season.

Jalen Gaffney, a rising junior guard, decided to transfer from Lawrenceville to Westtown this summer and the 6-foot-3 guard said it could not have been a better fit.

“First of all it’s a great academic school,” Gaffney said. “It’s a great place to be, and on the basketball side of things, we play everywhere, we play where all the college coaches are so they can watch me, so it’s a great move for me I think.”

Westtown will already be loaded with talented players such as national No. 3 rising senior Cameron Reddish and 4* senior forward Jake Forrester, plus stud 6-7 rising sophomore Noah Collier; adding Gaffney will only help the Moose stay on top of the Friends’ Schools League as they look for their fifth consecutive league championship.

That comes after Westtown saw Mohamed Bamba (Texas), Brandon Randolph (Arizona) and Anthony Ochefu (Stony Brook) all finish up their Moose careers this spring.

Gaffney is no stranger to playing with elite-level talent as Gaffney plays for Team Rio National on the Under Armour 17U circuit, alongside the likes of Ranney School wings Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis.

The combo guard has been offered by St. John’s, Seton Hall, Minnesota, St. Joe’s, Tulane, Rutgers, Richmond and La Salle but schools such as Pitt and Florida have shown Gaffney interest as well.

In his first All-American camp, Gaffney can’t help but notice coaches such as Villanova’s Jay Wright, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Kansas’ Bill Self watching him play, even if they weren’t there for him specifically.

“I always look around to see what coaches are watching me play,” Gaffney said. “That gives me motivation because a lot of coaches are watching me and I want to get those scholarship offers so I can go to college.” -- Austin Petolillo

~~~


Sanford School's Jyare Davis (above) is one of a dozen 2020 prospects taking part at the camp. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Slimmed-down Delaware standout Davis hoping to impress

One of the more talented young prospects to come out of the First State in some time, Jyare Davis’ most noticeable issue during his freshman season at the Sanford School was his conditioning.

The wing guard certainly carried a few extra pounds on his frame, though he still was able to show plenty during a freshman year where he averaged more than 20 ppg and led Sanford to 15 wins and a berth in the DIAA quarterfinals.

Now, however, Davis stands much closer to 6-foot-6 after growing a couple inches since the end of the season, and combined with shedding a few pounds, he looks like a whole new player.

“I’d say maybe 5-10 pounds, just from the end of high school season,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to eat right, drink a lot of water, eat salads, keep my body right...and you can feel the difference when you’re in better shape, move up the floor easier, stuff like that.”

Davis played well in his All-American debut, scoring nine points and grabbing five rebounds (three offensive), though his team gave away a 37-18 halftime lead to lose by five points. Davis missed both of his 3-point attempts but his improved frame clearly helped him out on the defensive end.

As one of about a dozen Class of 2020 prospects at the camp, Davis is well ahead of the curve in getting himself out there against four-star and five-star prospects who are a year or two older than he.

He’s already used to playing against high-level talent as part of the Team Rio AAU program, whose 17U squad consists of mostly 2019 graduates while its 16U squad is mostly 2020s, all of them playing up a year. The 17U group is led by current Under Armour All-Americans Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis (Ranney School, N.J.), both of whom will have their pick of colleges by the time they’re ready to make decisions next year.

“It’s really cool, at practice we get a lot of different, tough players to compete with,” Davis said. “They also set a winning example. We always come out to play.”

Davis already has a pair of high-major offers of his own: St. John’s and Florida, two programs that generally have been involved with a number of Team Rio prospects.

He’s still a year away from even being able to be contacted directly from college coaches -- right now, they have to go through his coaches or parents if they want to speak to Davis -- so where he ends up is still very far from the young prospect’s mind. But being around a number of prospects who were in the same boat as him just a summer or two before is a clear reminder that the time will come soon enough.

“It’s kind of crazy to think about me going to college already, a long way down the line,” he said. “But it’s cool that colleges are looking at me and want me in their program.” -- Josh Verlin

~~~

Quick Hits

-- A 6-4 combo guard out of Oldsmar Christian Academy (Fl.), Elijah Weaver is being chased by several high-major programs who have honed in on a wing ranked No. 46 in the latest ESPN 100. Florida, Georgia Tech, Arizona, Villanova, Ohio State (and) Dayton were the programs Weaver said had been recruiting him the hardest, though there wasn’t a favorite at the moment.

“I’m going to finish my summer and I’m probably going to decide towards the end of the summer, I just want to focus on playing at a high level,” he said.

Weaver said that he wants to take all five of his available official visits, and has two set so far: to Ohio State on Sep. 9, and Florida on Sep. 16. His decision is going to come down entirely to fit: “I think they all offer me the same thing, they want me to come in and run their program, but for me it’ll be where I feel most at home,” he added.

-- Saddiq Bey’s recruitment is wide open, but he has no plans to have things drag out. A versatile 6-foot-7 wing out of Washington D.C. contender Sidwell Friends and D.C. Premier on the Under Armour circuit, Bey is here this week with a bevy of offers, a willingness to take on more, and a vision of when he wants his recruitment to end.

“I want to commit before the high school season starts, and yes, I want to take all visits,” said Bey, who listed Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Northwestern, Georgetown, Stanford, Xavier and Arizona State among the schools chasing him. “I really think everybody is showing me an equal amount of love. All of these schools are trying to make me a priority.”

Bey, who scored 7 points and pulled down 3 boards in a Team 6 win Wednesday, said he plans to narrow down his list once July ends and will schedule official visits from there.

-- Another member of the WeR1 17U championship squad two years running, Tyrese Martin is bordering on high-major territory in his own right, and is hoping to use the All-American camp to boost his stock there. St. Joe’s and Rhode Island are the two most recent offers for the 6-5 wing, who graduated this spring from William Allen (Pa.) and will do a prep year at Massanutten Military Academy (Va.).

“I think it’s a good opportunity for me, to come out here and show them what I do, the coaches and players who don’t really know how I am,” he said after scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds as his Team 6 picked up a 13-point win. “I feel like the first game, it went (well) as a team...I feel like I was good out there tonight.”

Martin said in addition to the two recent Atlantic 10 offers, he’s also heard from Maryland, North Carolina State, LSU and others who wanted to see him over the remainder of July. He didn’t seem locked into a commitment timeline, saying he’ll “probably” make his decision before the season after “probably” starting his official visits in September; a lot of that will depend on where he lies with some of those high-major programs at the end of the summer.

-- One of the more looked-at prospects on the Under Armour circuit is five-star recruit and 2019 forward Joey Baker. The 6-foot-8, 196-lb forward who attends Trinity Christian in Fayetteville, N.C. and plays for Team Felton on the UAA circuit, has received a bevy of offers from schools: 21, to be exact, including Louisville, N.C. State, Florida and UCLA being the four schools that show the most interest. Baker’s shot wasn’t falling on this particular night (he went 3-of-14 from the floor) but he showed off his athleticism, range and versatility up front with a solid handle and ability to create plays off the bounce.

-- Four-star center prospect Emmanuel Dowuona is spending his second Under Armour All-American camp as one of the more highly-desired big men in the camp. Some of the teams that have offered are Purdue, Kansas, Miami and USF with Purdue and their head coach Matt Painter showing the most interest. “It’s a great relationship,” Dowuona said. “He calls me every day to check up on me and everything has been going well since the first day he offered me.” In regards to a commitment date, Dowuona said that he will probably commit to a school in the fall.


HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Recruiting  Josh Verlin  Austin Petolillo