Cassidy's Takeaways: Will Barton Elite Camp

BALTIMORE – The 2023 Will Barton Elite Camp took place on Saturday and attracted some of the top prospects in the region to Baltimore’s Seed School, where they showcased their talents in drill and games alike. Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy was on hand and kicks off our coverage of the annual showcase with some recruiting news and notes that surfaced during the event.

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Four-star forward Khani Rooths was scheduled to take a second official visit to Georgia on Oct. 5 but will now be forced to move that date because of a conflict with USA Basketball mini-camp. The rest of his fall visit plans, however, will move forward as planned and include trips to Virginia Tech (Sept. 2), Michigan (Sept. 8) Maryland (Sept. 15), Florida State ( Sept. 22) and Miami (Sept. 28).

But while every school receiving a fall official is alive in the race to land his pledge, it’s easy to deduce that the IMG Academy star’s official to in-state Maryland is among the most important dates on his fall itinerary.

“It’s the home school,” Rooths said of the Terrapins on Saturday. “There’s pros and cons to that, but they’re building something new there. They have a lot of DMV guys ready to start a new tradition there and want me to be one of them. I’ve been there a lot, of course, but going back on the official is big for me. Now we’re really just talking about how they can look out for me and protect me if I decide to stay in the area and go there.”

According to Rooths he intends to commit no sooner than the end of his final official visit, but has set no exact date for an announcement.

No official visit dates have been set in stone, but it seems five-star guard Tyler Jackson has started the process of picking travel destinations. On Saturday, Jackson immediately named both LSU and Kansas when asked which programs he’s hoping to tour in the coming months.

“I talk with [Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts] every day,” Jackson said. “He sends me videos every day. Then, of course, Josh Shelby went there. I know him. We’re from the same place in East Baltimore. Coach Roberts has been really on me ever since the day they offered.”

As for other possible destinations, Jackson is still only casually kicking around ideas. He hopes to have some firm dates set before the start of September, but says he’s in no hurry to trim his list as things stand.

“I just actually talked to Kansas and LSU called me yesterday,” he said. “We talked about visits a little. I actually talked to Kentucky recently, too. Chuck Martin hit me up. Indiana recently hit me up, too. All those schools are the ones I think I’d definitely want to visit but I haven’t set any visits up.”

Class of 2025 wing Nate Ament is yet to begin his junior season at Virginia’s Colgan High School, but has plenty of college options already in place. His long offer list has brought a bust September with it, as the four-star prospect is set to take an unofficial visit to Virginia on Sept. 8 followed by one to Duke on Sept. 16. He’ll tour Iowa later in the month as well.

“With Virginia, I know the guys are closely bonded over there, and I like that,” Ament said on Saturday. “That’s important to me in the process. I’m excited to get back down there. “With Duke, I want to see those same things on my trip. How the players are bonded and how well the players respond to the coaches.”

Ament added that Indiana and LSU, along with the Blue Devils and Cavaliers, are in contact with him the most and that both could come under visit consideration down the road.