GARDEN GROVE, Calif. -- The second day of the finals of the Adidas Nations program means the summer is that much closer to the end. While that will give many of the top players a much-deserved break from the court, it also means they will go home and focus more on recruiting. Five-star
Kevon Looney will sort through his final six, while the upwardly mobile
Chinanu Onuaku said he will go slowly as he examines his many options.
The summer has been a big one for Looney, a forward from Milwaukee (Wis.) Hamilton. Whether it was hitting events with his Milwaukee Rebels summer team or playing in camps such as NBPA, the LeBron James Skills Academy and this weekend's Adidas Nations, Looney has been on the move.
Now the skilled forward is going to get a break, and he's looking forward to charging his batteries. However, the fact that he's been on the road for most of the last three months hasn't impacted his play at Nations. Looney has rebounded, made jumpers and made plays at the rim. Looney also has done a good job of causing problems on defense by getting into passing lanes, and he generally has been good.
On the recruiting front, Looney is down to a final six of
Duke,
Florida,
Michigan State,
Tennessee,
UCLA and
Wisconsin.
Looney said he will visit all but Wisconsin officially (it will get an unofficial) and that while he's likely to decide before his high school season, he plans to take all five visits and he doesn't see himself pulling the trigger on a decision before completing his visits. Dates should be set within the next few weeks.
Looney hasn't been immune to speculation about his recruitment. He has heard talk that the Blue Devils are considered the team to beat, and he did his best to downplay it.
"I've heard everybody saying that," Looney told Rivals.com. "I'm still open, though, so we'll have to see."
Earlier this summer,
Rivals150 player Onuaku said he felt he was underrated. The product of Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist was 100 percent right.
Ranked No. 120 in the class of 2014, Onuaku is due for a healthy bump into four-star territory when the rankings are updated.
At Nations, he's been showing more of what has worked for him all summer. Onuaku plays like a big man and doesn't venture far from the rim. He is relatively slender, but at almost 6-foot-10 he has good overall size and he doesn't mind being a physical guy who does the dirty work.
While Onuaku is going to be rushing up the rankings, he's not in a rush to figure out his recruitment.
"I haven't set any visits yet," he told Rivals.com. "I'm not sure when I'll cut my list down, either. I just need to get home and think about it some."
According to Onuaku, he has offers from
Miami,
Maryland,
Seton Hall,
DePaul,
Xavier,
Pittsburgh and more. He said
USC is the latest program to offer and that
UCLA,
Texas and
Louisville have reached out of late.
The nation's top player in the class of 2015,
Malik NewmanClick More Saturday notes and lists from Adidas Nations Here to view this Link., has been very good at Nations. Of course, that isn't a surprise given that he is always a top performer. What has been most impressive, though, is Newman's efficiency. Surrounded by other top-end players, Newman has been taking good shots and because of that he has locked in and has found his groove. During the first two rounds, he was locked in before struggling a little with his shot in Saturday night's game. Despite his struggles Saturday night, he didn't force things and when it mattered most he came up big. His 2015 USA Red team had been fighting back from a deficit most of the night, and Newman hit a deep 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to give the team the lead as it squeezed out a win.