skip navigation

Under Armour All-American: Day Two AM Notebook (July 20)

07/20/2017, 2:00pm EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
--

PHILADELPHIA -- The Under Armour All-American Camp rolled on Thursday morning at Jefferson University’s Gallagher Center.

The eighty players present divided among eight teams each played one game during the morning session in front of the hundred-or-so mid-major and high-major coaches who came to the former Philadelphia University for the second day of the second July live recruiting period.

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

~~~

Villanova still a leader for five-star Jersey guard
Slowly but surely, Jahvon Quinerly’s recruitment is coming into focus.

The 6-foot-3 point guard out of North Jersey parochial power Hudson Catholic has already taken an official visit to Arizona, and is planning officials to Kansas and UCLA. Virginia, Stanford and Seton Hall remain in the mix, as does Villanova.

Put Quinerly and the Wildcats side-by-side, and the Big East power appears to make at least some sense. Jay Wright generally does not chase one-and-done or two-and-through talents, which is good since Quinerly does not project as one.

Quinerly has had a lot of success at Hudson Catholic, quarterbacking it to last season’s NJSIAA Non-Public B final, but also on the Under Armour circuit with Sports U. Villanova, meanwhile, is 129-17 over the last four seasons, including 63-9 vs. the Big East, and won the national championship in 2016.

Ultimately, Wright simply has a history of identifying and developing smart, heady point guards, from Speedy Claxton, to Ryan Arcidiacono, and now junior Jalen Brunson.

“It’s just a winning program,” Quinerly said. “I come from a winning AAU program, a winning high school program, so at the next level, I definitely want to win, so that will be a main factor for me.

“Villanova’s Villanova. It’s got Jalen Brunson, who could be entering the draft next year. They would put the ball in my hands, and they have a good 2018 class already.”

There is no guarantee Brunson is leaving Villanova for the NBA after his junior season, quite the contrary. His leaving would open up a spot for Quinerly on the ball, but it would go against Wildcats history under Wright, who rarely loses a player to NBA defection.

Villanova currently has two 2018 commits, neither of whom is a point guard. Cole Swider, a 6-foot-7 wing from Rhode Island, and Brandon Slater, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Virginia. -- Josh Newman

~~~


Eric Dixon (above) is coming off a terrific run at the Under Armour championships with WeR1's 16s. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Abington’s Dixon putting together dominant summer

Eric Dixon spent the early part of June trying out for the 16-and-under national team, which ultimately won gold at the FIBA Americas Championship.

The 2019 power forward out of Abington HS and WeR1 was among USA Basketball’s final cuts, but at least he managed to learn something during the process.

“Not staying up all night, eating healthier, and stretching,” Dixon said. “I never stretched before that. You stretch for a couple of days in a row, you’ll keep doing it, believe me.

“I got a lot better there. Not even on the court, but from a mental standpoint, I learned a lot about the game. I need to keep myself loose, stretch and take care of myself. Those things are important.”

With the USA Basketball experience behind him, Dixon is here for UA All-American off of a dominant performance at UAA Finals, in which WER1 lost in the 16U final.

Dixon’s list of suitors is beginning to grow. He has nine offers, including Georgetown, Rutgers, Penn State. Schools showing interest of late include Iowa, Maryland, Wake Forest, Miami and Villanova.

“I’m from outside of the city, but they’re all the rage, all over the place,” said Dixon, who goes to school 30 minutes from Villanova at Abington. “Everybody in my county, they’re all Villanova fans.”

~~~

Quick Hits
-- Known for his long, curly red hair, Nico Mannion currently holds offers from UCLA, Arizona, USC, and Marquette. A 6-2 point guard from Pinnacle High School (AZ), Mannion has a very quick first step, and isn’t afraid to throw down a dunk on a defender in transition. Mannion even showcased his deep shooting ability on Thursday morning, going 2-4 from beyond the arc enroute to an 11 point outing. Nico’s father, Pace Mannion, spent six years in the NBA before playing overseas in Italy for 13 years, where he met Nico’s mother. After being living in Italy for a year after he was born, Mannion relocated to Utah for his childhood. After 11 years in Salt Lake City, The Mannion family decided to move again, this time to Arizona where they currently reside. After the July Live Period ends, Mannion will travel to Montenegro to play on the 16u Italian national team.

-- Another player with NBA bloodlines is Jabri Abdur-Rahim, a 6-6 rising sophomore at Seton Hall Prep (N.J.). His father, Shareef, was the third overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, and was the Assistant GM of the Sacramento Kings in 2010. Once Shareef accepted the position of Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, the Abdur-Rahim’s moved from Sacramento to New Jersey. Even though he might not like the weather on the East Coast, Abdur-Rahim certainly enjoys the competition. Playing for Team Rio’s 16u team this sumer, Abdur-Rahim has received offers from Florida, Ohio State, Seton Hall, and Texas A&M, and Kentucky and Duke have expressed interest. The seventh ranked player in the ESPN 25, Abdur-Rahim is a slashing wing with the ability to create a shot for himself and others. His jump shot is still developing, but once he puts it all together, Abdur-Rahim has a chance t be one of the most sought after prospects in the class of 2020.

-- Atiba Taylor is still undecided whether he will stay in the class of 2018 or reclassify to the class of 2019. After spending his first two years at Hackensack (N.J.), Taylor will transfer to The Patrick School (NJ). Taylor mentioned St. Joe’s, La Salle, and Tulsa as three schools coming after him the hardest. He’s visited La Salle unofficially, and he hopes to see the three aforementioned schools in the near future. A 6-3 lefty pass first point guard with a great ability to facilitate the defense, Taylor loves to get teammates involved.

-- Fresh off of an impressive season with Cheltenham High School and his AAU team, Philly Pride, 2018 wing Jack Clark has been rising up on recruiting boards this season. The six-foot-seven Clark currently has offers from schools such as St. Joe’s, Penn State, Drexel and La Salle and plans on committing to a school around the first couple weeks of September. The 2017 Under Armour All-American camp is Clark’s first and he can’t help but to look around and see what coaches are watching him play. “Sometimes when I’m in the layup lines I just happen to look over and glance,” Clark said. “But during the games I’m just focused on the game itself.” While some of the people he is playing with are familiar, the All-American camp is a lot different than playing on the circuit. “A lot of stars are on the same team and you got to compete each and every time we go on the court.” Clark said.

-- One of Wyking Jones’ first commits as University of California’s head coach was Jacobi Gordon, a six-foot-seven, 205 lb wing from Houston, Texas. “It’s a great situation,” Gordon said. “I’ve known Wyking [Jones] since I was a kid and he grew up with my father so everything just fell into place.” Gordon said he visited the campus when he was out in California for the Pangos All-American camp last June and fell in love ever since. Oregon, TCU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were some of the other schools who were interested in Gordon before he decided to commit to Cal. This is Gordon’s first All-American camp and says that “There’s a lot more playing as a team and playing with coaches who’ve coached at a high level.” Gordon scored ten points and grabbed two rebounds to go alone with one assist in twelve minutes of play.

-- Coming off an appearance at the USA Basketball 2017 U16 training camp, 2019 guard Zach Harvey has shown why he was selected to participate in the camp this year. The six-foot-five combo guard from Topeka, Kansas has been a hot topic amongst recruiters, especially in the midwest as seven of his nine offers are located in the midwest. Kansas, Nebraska, Creighton, Iowa, Iowa State, Northwestern, Kansas State, Wake Forest and UCLA are the schools that have offered Harvey although he would not say which one’s have shown the most interest. “I feel like all the schools that offered me a scholarship have made me a priority,” Harvey said “So I don’t really have a preference or anything.” Harvey is trying to show the coaches his versatility as a combo guard at the All-American camp along with working on his mid-range and his leadership abilities. In his game on thursday morning, Harvey scored nine points to go along with three rebounds and one assist and one steal.


HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Recruiting  Austin Petolillo  Tyler Sandora