City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Tyler Sandora (@tyler_sandora)
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PHILADELPHIA -- The Under Armour All-American Camp wrapped up its play on Friday with each of the eight teams getting a fourth and final game in front of several dozen Division I coaches, most of whom came from high-major programs down to Jefferson U to watch the talented field.

Here’s a notebook from the final morning of the event, featuring 2018 prospects:

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California big man’s recruitment truly national

A native of Southern California, Riley Battin will almost certainly have to travel a couple of hours by car to go wherever he decides to attend college.

Based on who’s recruiting him, that trip could be quite a bit further.

The Oak Park (Cali.) rising senior, who played on the Under Armour circuit with Earl Watson Elite, has 25 scholarship offers spanning schools in 10 states, from his home state (UCSB, Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount) to those in Utah (Utah), Illinois (Northwestern), Tennessee (Vanderbilt) North Carolina (Davidson), Pennsylvania (Lehigh, Bucknell), Connecticut (Yale) and more.

He said he’s been pursued most heavily by four programs: Vanderbilt, Utah, Colorado and Davidson, but said “there’s a few others” who are also staying in touch frequently.

It’s easy to see why.

At 6-foot-10 and a solid 235 pounds, Battin is a skilled big man who can put the ball on the floor with ease, has great touch around the rim and has a developing jumper, which he’s not afraid to unleash if he gets some room. At the next level, he wants a place where he can put it all to use.

“[I’m looking for] the perfect fit for me as a player, offensively and defensively,” he said. “Somewhere where I get along with the guys and somewhere where there’s player development to help me get to the NBA.”

He had a strong Thursday at camp, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the evening, following up on a 21-point outburst in the morning game; both were wins.

Battin’s already traveled quite a bit to see schools: Vanderbilt, Utah, Colorado, Notre Dame, Northwestern, and “a couple others” have already gotten unofficial visits, and now he’s starting to think about using his five officials.

Vanderbilt will definitely get one, in late August; Battin said he plans on visiting Utah and Davidson as well but is “wide open” on who gets the last two. That leaves him room for schools like Wichita State, Stanford, Xavier, Notre Dame and Virginia, who have all been keeping tabs as well without yet offering a scholarship.

“I’m going to play through July, make a top five after that, and then I’ll take my visits,” he said. “I want to decide before the next high school season.”

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D.C. guard Owens’ shooting touch on full display

The major sneaker circuit camps tend to be a mix of established rising seniors looking to make a final impression in front of a bevy of high-major coaches, impressive young talent hoping to make names for themselves and under-the-radar prospects who are trying to show they can hang with the top names on the circuit.

In that third category certainly falls L.J. Owens, a rising senior at the Severn School in Severna Park, Md.

The 6-3 combo guard’s list of suitors doesn’t include any Power 5 programs, but it’s more than a dozen schools long: Delaware, Eastern Kentucky, Charleston Southern and Youngstown State have been the latest additions to a list that also includes heavy pursuers Quinnipiac and William & Mary.

Owens got off to a slow camp, scoring just two points without attempting a 3-point shot on Wednesday night, but went 4-for-7 from deep over the two games on Thursday, helping him to a combined 21 points in those games. There was clearly some boost in his game on Friday morning, as he found his way to several more 3s; box scores were not yet available for his Friday game at the time of this writing.

“I was just trying to show my all-around game, trying to show the way I could score in a variety of ways,” he said. “Driving, 3-pointers, mid-range, getting my team involved, rebounding, just good all-around play.”

With seven days left in the July live periods, Owens’ recruitment is bordering on offers from another league: the Atlantic 10. St. Joe’s, George Washington and George Mason have all been keeping an eye on Owens, but right now most of his offers from schools in the CAA, Patriot League and MAAC.

No official visits are planned yet for the fall; Owens wants to take unofficial trips to see Delaware and Quinnipiac, and knows he’ll see a few more along the way.

For the rest of the summer, he said, he’ll be working on his handle and point guard abilities, to be able to run an offense in college if needed, though he knows his best fit is as a ‘2’ guard. He wants to go “somewhere where I’m wanted, where I can play right away and make an impact.”

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Quick Hits
-- In his quest to get DePaul out of the basement of the Big East, Dave Leitao is already making waves on the recruiting trail, getting point guard Tyger Campbell to lead a talented 2018 class that also includes off-guard John Diener. The Blue Devils are also chasing a local guard, offering Orr Academy (Ill.)’s Tyronn Mosley in May after the 6-5 guard had a strong UAA season with the Illinois Wolves. Prior to that, his only offer had been Chicago State; since then, Bradley, UIC and Duquesne have offered.

While DePaul is his highest-level offer thus far, several other schools have been intrigued by the big lead guard who can score from all three levels. Ole Miss, Nebraska, TCU, Oklahoma State, Michigan, Northwestern, Memphis and Illinois have all reached out. To get a few more high-major offers before the exposure periods run out, Mosley knows he has to play at a high level: “They just want to see me score and facilitate at the same time, ike a 10-point, 10-assist guy,” he said.

-- One of the biggest bodies at the camp, Oldsmar Christian (Fl.) center Michael Durr stands 6-11 and is a solid 230 pounds, which he carries evenly throughout a powerful frame. More than just a body, Durr is a solid post-up option for programs that need their ‘5’s to contribute offensively, demonstrating a nice right-hand hook and drop-step on Friday afternoon. Texas A&M, Pitt, South Florida, Memphis and DePaul have all offered since late April; Durr said he’s also hearing from Purdue and Wichita State. “They’re pretty much [in contact] all the same [amount], but as of right now, today, Pitt has been coming pretty hard,” he said. “They’re all pretty much the same -- but they’ve been hard though, Pitt.” In regards to planning visits, Durr said he “hasn’t even thought about it,” and will figure it out after finishing out July with his Atlanta XPress squad.

-- In his second time around at Under Armour All-American, Wilson HS (Wash.) wing Emmitt Matthews Jr. was clearly enjoying his time. The 6-7 wing with bounce threw down several big-time fast-break slams to cap off his day on Friday, rocking the rims at the Gallagher Center all the way up to the rafters. That’s the name of the game for Matthews, who’s being pursued by the likes of Wichita State, Oregon State, LSU and Washington; all but LSU have offered so far. “They want me to come in and be a wing, that’s what I am,” he said. “Basketball’s a fast game, so I get out in transition with the ball and without the ball.”

-- After a long summer with D.C. Premier, Jermaine Harris has begun to schedule visits for this fall. The 6-9 forward will check out Xavier’s campus in September, then travel down to West Virginia shortly after that. He also plans on visiting Miami in September. In addition to the schools he will officially visit, Rhode Island, Maryland, and South Carolina have al been recruiting the Upper Marlboro, Maryland native. A rising senior at Rock Creek Christian Academy, Harris is looking for a school where he can come in and make an impact early, in addition to developing a great relationship with the coaches and teammates. At 6-9, Harris has a great feel for his game in the post. A patient big man down low, Harris has a soft touch around the rim, and can even expand his game out to 15 feet along the baseline.

-- Kansas, USC, Maryland, Ohio State, Florida, Arizona, Wake Forest, Miami, all make up 2018 point guard Devon Dotson’s top eight. A 6-2 rising senior at Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C., Dotson is a quick point guard with an ability to facilitate in the half-court offense. While he has no problem getting by defenders on offense, Dotson prides himself on his defensive abilities. Ranked by ESPN as the seventh-best point guard in his class, Dotson doesn’t care what the rankings say -- he doesn’t believe there are any floor generals better than him. “I compete all the time no matter who I’m playing against,” he said. “I believe I’m the best point guard in the country.”

-- The weekend of September 15, Miller Kopp will begin his first official visit, to Northwestern University. A 6-7 small forward from Houston, Texas, Kopp has also been hearing a lot from Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Butler, and SMU, among others. Although his older brother plays football for Vanderbilt, Kopp doesn’t believe that will influence his decision at all. Anderson Kopp, a rising junior at Wasatch Academy and one of Miller’s younger brothers, was recently just offered by Texas A&M. A rising senior at Houston Christian, Kopp is a solid small forward who can space the floor and knock down shots from all levels. This summer, Kopp played for Houston Defenders on the UAA circuit for the first year, and had nothing but good things to say about the program.  “It was my first year playing with them.,” he said. “I had a lot of freedom to do what I want offensively to score the ball in a bunch of different ways.”