Live period Dallas: Carton and Beverly have drawing power
MANSFIELD, Texas - One of Friday night's biggest coaching crowds wasn't found at an Adidas, Nike or Under Armour event. It was found at the NY2LA Lonestar Invitational as four-star guards D.J. Carton of Quad City Elite and Harlond Beverly of the REACH Legends tangled. They proved that if you can play coaches will find you, no matter who you play for.
Included in the crowd were head coaches from Baylor, Iowa, Michigan State, Iowa State, Ohio State, VCU and Buffalo to go along with assistants from Indiana, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, Texas and Xavier, among others.
A slender scorer from deep who can make some plays off the dribble, Beverly scored a win and appreciated the chance to play a high-level contest in front of a high-level crowd.
"It was great. It was our first time playing against each other, even though we know each other well," Beverly said of the matchup with Carton. "It was great to have all those coaches and playing this NY2LA has helped me a lot and really given me a chance to get better. To play in front of all those coaches is awesome."
Beverly has conducted in home visits with Texas, Ohio State, Michigan State and Xavier, and he's been on the campuses of Michigan State, Ohio State, Xavier, Missouri, Baylor and Michigan. Each of those schools, except for Michigan, has offered. In no rush to cut things down, Beverly said he wanted to play out the summer and see what happens.
On the other end of the floor, Carton showed that he is one of the most physically tough and athletically explosive floor generals in the country. The southpaw delivers crisp passes, plays tremendous on-the-ball defense and is a high-level decision maker.
When it comes to visits, few have done more in home or unofficials than Carton. He's hosted Iowa State, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Marquette. Unofficially, he's seen Creighton, Wisconsin, Marquette, Illinois, Nebraska, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State, Missouri, Iowa State, Iowa and Minnesota.
Carton would like to trim things down to 10 or so in the relatively near future and says that the in-home and unofficial visits will play a large role in his initial cut.
"What me and my family prioritize is the playing style, the academics and the relationship with the coaches and the team. All of these in-home visits I've done - and unofficial visits I've been on - I'm really focusing on the staff and team and the kind of vibes that I get from the people around the program."