Nike EYBL: Who the coaches were watching on Saturday
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
MORE: McDonald's Friday takeaways from the Nike EYBL
MARIETTA, Ga. - The Nike EYBL features several of the top prospects in the country. During the live period, that means college coaches flock to the games to show their face to their top targets and also hope to find new targets.
TOM IZZO WATCHING A 2022 STANDOUT
To start the morning at 8 a.m., Michigan State's Tom Izzo flanked by two assistants showed up to see class of 2022 stud Emoni Bates, who didn’t disappoint as the potential No. 1 prospect in the class out of Michigan. Michigan and Ohio State had assistants in attendance as well.
JOSH PASTNER STRIKES OUT ON HIS OWN
Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner was the lone head coach to take in the Georgia Stars 15-under. Dillon Hunter was impressive for the Stars and already holds offers from Clemson, where his brother Chase signed, and Florida State. Pastner was also the only high-major head coach watching 2020 big man Jordan Meka for the Georgia Stars 17-under.
PHENOM UNIVERSITY-DRIVE NATION DRAWS A HIGH-MAJOR CROWD
The Phenom University vs Drive Nation game brought out a long list of high-major head coaches. We spotted Mike Krzyzewski, Tony Bennett, Bruce Pearl, Bill Self, Ben Howland, Kermit Davis, Shaka Smart, Scott Drew, Kelvin Sampson and Buzz Williams courtside for this one. The headliners for Phenom U were Jalen Johnson, Pat Baldwin Jr., Jaemyn Brakefield and Reece Beekman. R.J. Hampton was the star for Drive Nation, but Caleb Lohner, Jamal Shead and Malik Henry were also impressive.
SEVERAL IN ATTENDANCE FOR ALABAMA FUSION'S WIN
Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, Tom Crean, Bruce Pearl, Kermit Davis, Ben Howland and Mike White were all watching Alabama Fusion’s big win over AOT. Five-star point guard Sharife Cooper’s recruitment is seen as a battle between Auburn and Kentucky, while B.J. Boston is considering Auburn, Duke, Florida and Kentucky among others. Eugene Brown is a popular target as well for AOT.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS IN THE CROWD FOR TEXAS TITANS-WOODZ ELITE
In the match-up between the Texas Titans and Woodz Elite out of Arkansas, it was all the schools you would expect in attendance. Buzz Williams, Shaka Smart, Kelvin Sampson and Scott Drew were all supporting their in-state schools along with Eric Musselman supporting his in-state team. Bruce Pearl and Frank Haith were also courtside. Cade Cunningham, Greg Brown and Mike Miles were all impressive for Texas Titans. Jaylin Williams was the standout performer for Woodz Elite along with Oklahoma State commit Devonte Davis.
MORE NOTES
... Nate Oats, Jim Larranaga, Mike Hopkins and TJ Otzelberger made the trip to see five-star point guard Daishen Nix at the Terrific 24.
... California had an assistant in attendance to see four-star forward Marcus Bagley, and Bagley mentioned that Arizona State has been at his games this weekend as well.