The nation's top recruits took to Orlando, Fla. and Las Vegas for the final weekend of the July live evaluation period. ESPN's Wide World of Sports in Florida played host to the AAU Super Showcase, but the talent in the desert was divided between the Las Vegas Fab 48, Adidas Super 64 and the Las Vegas Classic.
After watching Duke commit Grayson Allen win the Nike Peach Jam and then falling to Allen's USA South team in the semifinals of the Nike Global Challenge, Apple Valley, Minn. point guard Tyus Jones got the last laugh. Jones' Howard Pulley squad defeated Allen and E1T1 79-72 in the championship game at the AAU Super Showcase. Jones scored 20 points and dished out 11 assists in the championship game. Allen scored 12 points for his team.
Jones, who is reportedly involved in a package deal with Jahlil Okafor, the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2014, indicated he plans on taking all five of his official visits this fall. He only has one schedule as of now and will head to Baylor in late August. Speculation is that Jones and Okafor will announce their decisions sometime in November.
With four of the duo's top suitors—Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Michigan State—all heading to Okafor's hometown of Chicago for the Champions Classic Nov. 12, it would make sense for Jones and Okafor to announce their decision around that date. Not only does the fall signing period begin the day after the games, but ESPN also holds the broadcasting rights to the Champions Classic and could push to package the announcement with the telecast. This is all mere speculation at this point, but don't be surprised if this is what we're talking about later this fall.
Duke assistant coach Nate James was on hand in Orlando for the AAU Super Showcase. He was also able to watch Justise Winslow, who lost to Allen's E1T1 squad in pool play and eventually fell in the quarterfinals. Winslow scored 18 points in a 58-57 loss to Boo Williams, knocking his Houston Hoops squad out of the tournament. Winslow cut his list of schools to eight last week, keeping Duke and cutting Baylor, North Carolina and Houston.
As for Okafor, he and his Mac Irvin Fire squad lost in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Classic, but won Chris Paul's tournament, The 8, which featured NBA players roaming the sidelines as guest coaches.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski were both in Las Vegas for a different reason last week—to watch the NBA's top young players at USA Basketball's first mini-camp. But the pair were able to get out during the week and take in some of the nation's top prospects as well.
Krzyzewski and Wojciechowski were on hand to watch Kevon Looney and the Milwaukee Rebels take on Class of 2015 center Stephen Zimmerman and Dream Vision. Looney dominated the matchup, outscoring Zimmerman 18-1 in the first half. According to ESPN Senior Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep, it appears that Zimmerman may have finally hit the wall at the end of a long summer of basketball.
"ESPN 60 center Stephen Zimmerman (Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman) has probably had enough. He should already be in the clubhouse having posted a very good summer. He's out here giving an “A” effort, but the fatigue seems to be setting in. Arizona's Miller was the lone head coach for his early game on Saturday."
Now that the July live period has finally drawn to a close, a number of recruits will return home and ponder their lists of suitors in the coming weeks. Myles Turner is expected to cut his list from 26 to eight schools sometime in the coming week. It is also anticipated that Looney will cut his list to five schools soon as well. As the month of August kicks off, the contenders for the nation's top recruits will be separated from the contenders, and prospects will begin to plan their official visits.
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