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MORE:Jacksonrankswith2016'stopprospects
LASVEGAS--Asthe2013summercircuitnearsafinaldayonSunday,Rivals.comcoveredasmuchgroundaspossibleonSaturday,startingattheAdidasSuper64beforemovingontotheFab48andfinishingattheLasVegasClassic.StanleyJohnsoncontinuedhisdominantJulyrun,whileRawleAlkinscontinuedtoemergefromtheclassof2016andT.J.MastonsavedthedayforTeamTexas.
Johnsonisatopfiveplayerin2014
OnSaturday,theprioritywastofindsomeunder-the-radarprospects.Unfortunately,afewoff-the-beaten-pathtripstofindplayersdidn'tworkoutaswellasexpected.Oncebackonthepathtraveledbymost,though,areliablefigurecamethroughinabigway.That'sright,five-starwingJohnsonwasatitagain.
Johnsonhasalwaysbeenastud,buttheleapshe'stakenwithhisgameoverthelastmontharenoticeable.PlayingwiththeOaklandRebels,hehasbeengoingatbreakneckpaceandhe'snotletuponanybody.Johnsonkeepscomingatopponentswithhisgamebasedonskill,physicalityandoutworkingtheotherguy,andthere'snotanythingthatcanbedonetostophim.
WehavewrittenthisweekthatJohnsonismakingacaseforthenationaltopfive,andatthispointheisalocktomakeitwhenrankingsareadjustedattheendofthesummer.
DecisionloomsforAytes
Therearen'tmanyplayersleftontheboardintheclassof2013.However,JamalAytes,athree-starcomboforwardfromCalifornia,isstillthere,andhecontinuedaproductivesummerrunwithDreamVisiononSaturday.
Checkinginataround6-foot-5oreven6-foot-6,Aytesisn'tthetallestfront-lineguy,buthecompensateswithstrength,longarmsandamotorthatneverstops.Hepoundstheglass,runsthefloorandpowersthroughcontactaroundtherimtofinish.
AccordingtoAytes,FloridaState,OldDominion,BYU,UNLV,BostonCollegeandMiamihavebeenchasinghim,buthe'ssettingupvisitstoapairofprogramsandcouldbemakingadecisionsoon.
"I'mprobablygoingtovisitGonzagaandWestVirginianextweek,"AytestoldRivals.com."I'mfullyeligibleandstuff,andIcanjustplayandhavefun.Adecisioncouldhappenquick."
Lightlyrecruitedduringhishighschoolcareer,Ayteshasseenthingstakeoff.Hefeelsitisbecauseoftheworkhe'sputinandthepartsofhisgamethattranslatetothenextlevel.
"I'vejustbeenworkinghardandtryingmybesttohavefun,"Aytessaid."I'mbeingrecruitedasathree-fourcombo.Ireboundandplaydefense,andthatalwaystranslates."
FinalSaturdaynotes
Hedoesn'talwaysputuphugescoringnumbers,butthenation'stopplayer,JahlilOkaforClickHeretoviewthisLink.,isalwayssolidaroundtherimandhe'salwaysabeastontheglass.MakinghislastrunwiththeMacIrvinFire,the6-foot-11centerfromChicago(Ill.)WhitneyYoungtookoverforstretchesonSaturdayafternoon.Despitebeingdouble-andtriple-teamedandclubbedwithoutgettinganycalls,hekeptpluggingawayandconvertingattherimandouttoabout10feet.Forsuchabigandstrongkid,he'snimbleandhehaslearnedtousespinsandchangesofdirectionalongthebaseline.Addhowcomfortableheisfinishingwitheitherhandandhealmostalwaysfindsawaytoconvert.
MaxHeideggerClickHeretoviewthisLink.doesn'tlookdangerous.Helookslikehe's12yearsold.Butthe5-foot-9pointguardforBTISelectisactuallyquitedangerousandhe'soneofthebestshootersfromdeepwe'veseeninVegas.TheEncino(Calif.)Crespiscorerkeepscomingatopponentsandisalwaysreadytoletitflyfromdeep.Itwillbeinterestingtoseehowtherisingsophomore'sbodyandgamematureoverhisnextthreeyearsofhighschool.
Formostofthelastmonthorso,ColoradoClickHeretoviewthisLink.-boundpointguardDominiqueCollierClickHeretoviewthisLink.hasbeenstrugglingwithoneinjuryoranother.OnSaturday,theKCRunGMCguardlookedashealthyashe'sbeeninawhileandwasshowingabitofwhathecando.Collierisshootingtheballbetterfromdeep,buthistruebreadandbutterisaquickfirststepandanabilitytobeslipperyandshiftyoffthedribblewhilegettingintothelane.Heneedstoaddstrength,butthefour-starshouldendupavaluablecontributorinBoulder.
TeamTexasElitetookabigleadandthenletCalSupremecomeallthewaybacktogoinfrontinthewaningmomentsofthegame.With1.1secondstogo,powerforwardT.J.MastonClickHeretoviewthisLink.gatheredinaninboundspassandcalmlydroppedinabucketfromsixfeettosecureaone-pointwinatthebuzzer.ForMaston,Julyhasbeenahugemonth.Upper-endmid-majorsaredoingtheirbesttokeephim,whilehighmajorsmakeadecisiononwhethertogoonhim.
AlsobigontheinteriorforTeamTexaswasclassof2015five-starElijahThomas.ThebigmanfromDallas(Texas)PrimePreplookedgassedattimes,butifhisteamgothimtheballontheblockhewasscoringorgoingtothefreethrowline.WhatisremarkableaboutThomasishowgoodheiswithhisoff(left)handinthelane.He'ssocomfortablegrabbingrebounds,whippingpassesandscoringwithhisleftthathealmostseemslikeanaturalleftyoratrulyambidextrouspostplayer.
Wetouchedonhimtheotherday,butclassof2016wingRawleAlkinsClickHeretoviewthisLink.isgoingtogetahardlookwhenwedropourinitialrankingsfromthatclass.The6-foot-4shootingguardisapunishingwingwhogetstotherim,knocksdownopenshotsandseemsverycomfortableplayingagainstoldercompetition.
CalSupremewasdowntojustfiveplayersforalargepartofthesecondhalf,butfour-starjuniors-to-beBennieBoatwrightClickHeretoviewthisLink.andAaronHolidayClickHeretoviewthisLink.dideverythingtheycouldtokeeptheteaminthegame.Ahigh-endshooterwithgreatsizeatnearly6-foot-8,BoatwrighthassomeKlayThompsontohisgame.Hewasmixinginmoredrivesthanhehasinthepasttogowithhisdeepbombs.WithhisNBAAll-Starbrother,Jrue,lookingon,the6-footHolidaywasrelentlessonbothends.Heisasphysicaloffthedribbleasanyplayerinthecountry,andthereisalotofexplosioninhislegs.Hecanbestreakywiththejumper,butHolidaykeepsshowingthepotentialtobeabig-timeguard.
EvensinceearlyJune,ArizonaStateClickHeretoviewthisLink.-boundbigmanConnorMacdougallClickHeretoviewthisLink.lookstohaveaddedstrength.The6-foot-9powerforwardisjustthat,apowerforward.It'shardnottolikehowruggedthefour-starplaysaroundtherim,andhe'sgoingtoseeanotherbumpinthe2014rankingswhentheyareadjusted.
At the mid to upper mid-major level, Compton Magic shooting guard Deontae NorthClick Here to view this Link. from Corona (Calif.) Centennial is a terrific option. The 6-foot-4 wing plays with endless energy, he is a terrific defender, and he does all of the little things. He's been one of our favorite players to watch in Vegas, and college coaches have caught on. North mentioned offers from UC-Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, Northern Colorado and Portland State. UC Riverside, Pacific, Denver and more have been looking, and he's getting feelers from the Pac-12.
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