ORLANDO, Fla. – After two years in Louisville, Ky., the AAU Super Showcase returned to Walt Disney World and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. This is the final evaluation week of July so hundreds of college coaches, and of course Rivals.com, arrived at the "happiest place on earth" to take in the action.
Here's what we saw on Thursday:
Ryan Rising
Middlesex Magic/Crotty 2018 shooting guard Cormac Ryan popped up on the national radar after averaging 21 points per game at Milton (Mass) Academy and he has continued his solid play on the travel circuit.
Using almost textbook jump-shooting form, Ryan knocked down perimeter shots off the bounce and the catch – splashing three beyond the arc – and finished at the rim, along with proving to be a solid defender. Ryan has a great feel for the game and advanced basketball IQ. The shooting guard/wing, was first offered by Boston College while Rice, Davidson, Pennsylvania, Tulane, St. John's, DePaul have also extended invites for Ryan to join their program.
"I like those guys," Ryan said of Boston College. "They have a great staff over there; it's right down the street. Those guys have been real good to me and shown a lot of interest."
Speaking of interest, Boston College, Michigan, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Clemson, Indiana and Florida were among the coaches watching Ryan Thursday morning.
Challenge accepted
Fresh off of winning the 17U AAU National Championship last week, four-star Alabama Challenge combo guard Herb Jones got off to a quick start against the Jackson Tigers, knocking down the first two three-point attempts en route to 25 points. When you watch Jones, you can see his on-court leadership. Not so much vocally but in his poise and how he controls the pace of play when the ball is in his hands.
The 6-foot-7, 183-pound Jones, sports a 6-foot-11 inch wingspan that allows him to be quite disruptive on defense. On the rare occasion that his man got by him, Jones' length made it difficult for his man to get off a clean shot. A versatile player, Jones plays with great confidence.
Alabama Challenge uses Jones off the ball but he plays point guard, which he feels is his natural position, for his high school.
Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky were all top-of-mind when we spoke to Jones following the game. The No. 90 prospect in the 2017 class does not appear to be too focused on recruiting but did acknowledge that he is considering cutting his list in August.
More notes
Four-star shooting guard Chaundee Brown continues to be a top performer this travel season. Since joining Nike South Beach in the spring, Brown has been its most consistent player and Thursday was no exception. With a strong college-ready body, Brown attacked in transition and was nearly unstoppable when he went downhill in halfcourt sets. He only connected on one three-point attempt but his midrange game was solid and Brown got to the line where he connected on 9-of-11 free throw attempts. Brown, who was recently offered by Kansas and Indiana, has picked up interest from North Carolina and Louisville. The No. 64 rising senior told us that he will begin thinking of trimming his list after attending the Nike Skills Academy on Sunday.
Four-star forward Rayshaun Hammonds almost quietly goes about his business when he is on the court for Alabama Challenge, but the skilled lefty definitely makes his presence known. At 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, Hammonds is a lanky forward with elite athleticism who will knock down open perimeter shots. When the defense attempted to take that away, Hammonds put it on the floor and got to where he wanted to go – usually the cup to finish above the rim. The No. 67 prospect said that he is wide open but mentioned that he is hearing regularly from Florida, Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech and that Alabama has been turning up the heat.
Three-star forward Hunter Tyson is a long, lean, agile forward who is already beginning to draw comparisons to a young Chandler Parsons. The 180-pound Tyson stands a hair shy of 6-foot-7 and does have some bounce. In the game we watched he was unable to connect on his perimeter jumper, but his mechanics are solid and led us to believe that he is capable of being a high level shooter. Second half foul trouble sidelined Hunter for quite a while but he did finish with 10 points for the game. Following the game Tyson listed offers from Clemson, Tennessee, Davidson, Appalachian State, Charlotte and Elon with interest coming from North Carolina State and Virginia. Clemson head coach Brad Brownell and Tennessee assistant Desmond Oliver both kept a watchful eye on Tyson.
Rising sophomore Romeo Weems plays with the kind of determination and focus you would expect from a rising senior. Playing for The Family 15U team Weems, who turned 15 in June, did everything but hit a three-pointer on Thursday. Weems attacked the rim, was a good passer on the move and showed good court awareness for a young player. On defense he used footwork and covered lots of ground in the lane. Weems listed early interest from Xavier, Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State.
We spent some time watching Baltimore Elite 17U, as did at least 50 college coaches, that featured 2018 five-star point guard Immanuel Quickley, 2017 three-star guard Jamir Moultrie and 2017 guard Travis Ingram. Ingram was best in transition. He showed active hands on defense, made winning plays and really competes. Moultrie is a very good athlete with some toughness. He can also shoot it. Quickley is a pure point guard who scored either at the basket or in the midrange. The No. 19 prospect in the 2018 class, Quickley has a great feel for the game and a high IQ. He quickly reads the defense and is really good running pick and roll. There is lots of Maryland chatter in regards to Quickley, who will take an unofficial visit to UCLA following adidas Nations. He is also getting interest from Kentucky, North Carolina and Duke.
