NY2LA Sports Summer Jam: Carters charge
MEQUON, Wis. - Day 3 of the NY2LA Sports Summer Jam is in the books, with one prospect in particular looking like the star of the show to this point.
'This summer's been my breakout'
No one has made a bigger name for himself in Milwaukee than MBA Select Elite's Tyson Carter.
In the span of about 24 hours, the two-guard from Starkville, Miss., and MBA Hoops Elite posted 31, 20 and 32-point games, leading MBA to wins in each contest.
"I'm just having a really good summer," Carter said. "This summer's been my breakout. I haven't really been scoring like this before this summer."
So what changed?
"My mentality most of all," Carter said. "I'm knowing, 'This shot is going in.' And I've been working on my game and getting stronger."
Carter's a dead-eye shooter but a well-balanced scorer, too. He's smooth, athletic and crafty enough off the bounce to finish in traffic and play effectively off close-outs.
His size - he's grown to 6-foot-4, about five inches since he started high school - and length give him physical advantages over defenders and his basketball mind stands out, those around him say.
That might be a family thing.
His father, Greg Carter, is a former college player who's now his son's coach at Starkville High School.
Greg Carter played for Mississippi State.
Tyson Carter has that same option on the table, along with many others and more to come.
When asked about recruiting, Carter reeled off a litany of interested parties big and small: Mississippi State, Murray State, Memphis, Iowa State, Ole Miss, Louisiana Tech, South Alabama, Murray State, Miami, Florida Gulf Coast, Vanderbilt, UNLV, N.C. State and others.
Mississippi State, Memphis, Miami, Iowa State, Florida Gulf Coast, South Alabama and Louisiana Tech have offered. UNLV joined them on Friday.
Among those who watched Carter drop 32 on Full Package Friday were Ole Miss and Ohio State.
"They like the way I shoot the ball and that I can put the ball on the floor and make smart decisions," Carter said of college coaches. "I have a high basketball IQ and I can defend the ball."
Road to recovery
Nojel Eastern sat on the bench with his Meanstreets team Friday, rarely allowing a basketball to leave his hands while he watched, remaining engaged in his teammates' play despite being just a spectator/cheerleader himself.
During timeouts, the injured Chicago native took the court for light and brief shoot-around time.
Such moments underscored the difficulties he's encountered having to sit out, his reality ever since he suffered a severe compound fracture in his left leg and ankle in the spring.
"You never appreciate the game as much (when you're playing) than when you're sitting on the sideline," Eastern said. "I just have to take into consideration that everything happens for a reason and I have to just continue to develop myself in any way that I can."
It was the Lexington EYBL event at the end of April where Eastern jumped and came down wrong on another player's foot, dislocating his ankle and breaking both his tibia and fibula in one gruesome swoop.
"Of course any time there's an injury like that, you might think about never playing basketball again or not being the same if you do," Eastern says now. "But once I had surgery (May 4), I kind of cleared my head and thought positive and did everything I could to stay in the gym."
Today, Rivals.com's No. 41 player in 2017 sees the light at the end of the tunnel, he just can't run to it quite yet.
He has to remain patient.
He's due for re-evaluation Aug. 21, at which time he hopes to be cleared to run and jump again, which would be an important step toward his goal of being back on the court, playing again, by October.
"I'll be back as good as ever," he said.
Eastern said he's used his recovery time to watch film of himself from his sophomore season at Evanston High School and learn to "watch the game from a different perspective."
"It makes you really think about the game and become better mentally," Eastern said. "It makes you want to work harder and make everything about yourself better."
The 6-5 projected point guard holds offers already from Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Marquette, DePaul, LSU and several others.
Eastern has been idled; recruiting has not. In fact, several of his offers have come post-injury.
"Coaches are still calling me and texting me, communicating with coaches and my mom," he said. "It's been a good ride even though I got hurt. I appreciate everything. I'm glad it is all still coming in and I'm going to keep preparing myself so I can come out of this better."
Decision forthcoming for Ohio wing
Ibi Watson says he's open in recruiting.
But, he's this close, he says, to shutting it all down.
Watson said he may make his college decision as early as late July - there's only two more weeks of July, by the way - and if not then, then perhaps early August.
"I just want it out of the way," Watson said. "I just wanted to set a date to commit. But if I'm not ready then I won't do it."
The 6-6 wing from Pickerington Central in the Columbus, Ohio, area seems ready, which might be good news for a Big Ten school.
Watson's decision to commit around the end of the summer coincided with him landing an offer from Indiana.
IU coach Tom Crean watched him Friday afternoon in Milwaukee.
"It was huge," Watson said of his Hoosier offer. "I was really excited."
Watson visited Bloomington in June.
"It's a great place, so rich with tradition and there's so much of a winning mentality there," Watson said. "I just think it would be a great place to play."
Watson also holds offers from Dayton, Massachusetts, Western Kentucky and a slew of Mid-American Conference teams and other mid-majors.
Michigan has also kept on Watson, the Wolverines being a potential complication on his fast track to a commitment elsewhere.
"I'm hearing the same things from them, that I'd be a great fit for them and they want to see me in attack mode always," Watson said. "They say they love my game and they love my versatility."
Michigan watched Watson closely at last week's Best of the South in Suwanee, Ga. Head coach John Beilein is supposed to watch him again Saturday, Watson said.
Beilein has spent a good amount of time in Milwaukee this week, but Watson didn't join All-Ohio Red until Friday due to a family matter.
Coaches from Michigan StateClick Mac Irvin Fire 15-and-under point guard Kezo BrownClick More notesHere to view this Link. has offers from NebraskaClick More notesHere to view this Link. and DePaul and early interest from KentuckyClick More notesHere to view this Link., DukeClick More notesHere to view this Link. and IllinoisClick More notesHere to view this Link., among others, he said.Here to view this Link., IllinoisClick Mac Irvin Fire 15-and-under point guard Kezo BrownClick More notesHere to view this Link. has offers from NebraskaClick More notesHere to view this Link. and DePaul and early interest from KentuckyClick More notesHere to view this Link., DukeClick More notesHere to view this Link. and IllinoisClick More notesHere to view this Link., among others, he said.Here to view this Link., MinnesotaClick Mac Irvin Fire 15-and-under point guard Kezo BrownClick More notesHere to view this Link. has offers from NebraskaClick More notesHere to view this Link. and DePaul and early interest from KentuckyClick More notesHere to view this Link., DukeClick More notesHere to view this Link. and IllinoisClick More notesHere to view this Link., among others, he said.Here to view this Link., IowaClick Mac Irvin Fire 15-and-under point guard Kezo BrownClick More notesHere to view this Link. has offers from NebraskaClick More notesHere to view this Link. and DePaul and early interest from KentuckyClick More notesHere to view this Link., DukeClick More notesHere to view this Link. and IllinoisClick More notesHere to view this Link., among others, he said.Here to view this Link. and several others took in Howard Pulley's win over Impact Elite, many of them undoubtedly there to see Minneapolis area forward Theo JohnClick Mac Irvin Fire 15-and-under point guard Kezo BrownClick More notesHere to view this Link. has offers from NebraskaClick More notesHere to view this Link. and DePaul and early interest from KentuckyClick More notesHere to view this Link., DukeClick More notesHere to view this Link. and IllinoisClick More notesHere to view this Link., among others, he said.Here to view this Link..
John, a 6-9 2017 forward from Champlin Park, Minn., who can play all over the floor, listed offers from Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Marquette, Texas Tech and Minnesota.
"Coaches like my defense," John said. "They think I can guard 1 through 5 and they like my energy, that I rebound, that I have a motor, that I give 100 percent on the floor and am always talking.
Mac Irvin swingman K.J. SantosClick "I'm working on my offense now. It's there, but everything can be improved." Here to view this Link. tabbed OklahomaClick "I'm working on my offense now. It's there, but everything can be improved." Here to view this Link. and Wichita State as a couple of schools recruiting him most aggressively right now and thus two leaders.
"Those are my top (choices) probably," Santos said, "and I'm probably going to take visits to them after the July period."
Beilein and a PurdueClick Santos lists additional offers from Iowa, Xavier, DePaul, West Virginia and Wake Forest, among others.Here to view this Link. assistant coach showed up in the morning to see 2016 Te'Jon LucasClick Santos lists additional offers from Iowa, Xavier, DePaul, West Virginia and Wake Forest, among others.Here to view this Link., but there wasn't much to see as the Milwaukee Spartans' point guard spent most of his team's only game of the day loosening up on the sideline, working through an apparent injury.
To the casual observer, Dream Vision big man Brandon HuffmanClick Lucas has a nice collection of mid-major offers, but has a bunch of Big Ten schools with their fingers on the trigger.Here to view this Link. looks under-recruited.
The 6-9 front-liner from Findlay Prep in Las Vegas is a bit narrow, but he possesses nice height and length and was very active around the basket in a win over Who's Next Friday afternoon.
Coaches from Virginia, Ohio State, Saint Louis, Purdue and NorthwesternClick Huffman listed offers from Rhode Island, Utah State and Portland State, along with West Virginia interest. Here to view this Link. were among those taking a look in the morning at the Ramey-Jets United Team 15s team that features several potential high-major prospects.
Its biggest piece, though, arrived for only the game's final minutes, when big man Carteare Gordon showed up. He'd been out East at the adidas Uprising event.
Dream Vision's Vance JacksonClick Gordon looks the part of an elite 2018 prospect. It'll be interesting to see how many coaches show up at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at Brown Deer High School for Gordon's first full game of this event. Here to view this Link. has "pretty much the whole Pac-12" on him, along with MarylandClick Gordon looks the part of an elite 2018 prospect. It'll be interesting to see how many coaches show up at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at Brown Deer High School for Gordon's first full game of this event. Here to view this Link., Memphis, ConnecticutClick Gordon looks the part of an elite 2018 prospect. It'll be interesting to see how many coaches show up at 8 a.m. Saturday morning at Brown Deer High School for Gordon's first full game of this event. Here to view this Link. and many others.
No. 47 in the 2016 Rivals150, Jackson said he'd like to narrow down his list in October.
"I'm open to all," he said, "East Coast to West Coast."
Teammate Brendan Bailey has added Michigan interest to his long list of suitors.
The four-star, 61st-ranked small forward from Utah says that Gonzaga and San Diego State are among those most interested, while Arizona, Utah, Connecticut and Marquette are keeping involved, too. They've all offered, he said.
"I'm going to start cutting my list down here pretty soon," Bailey said.
Meanstreets' 16U point guard Evan GilyardClick Bailey, the son of former NBA player Thurl Bailey, said he plans to schedule an official visit to Gonzaga and has already taken officials to San Diego State and Connecticut. He's a former Arizona State commitment. Here to view this Link. is undersized, but he's an energetic playmaker and capable scorer with the ball in his hands. He said KansasClick Bailey, the son of former NBA player Thurl Bailey, said he plans to schedule an official visit to Gonzaga and has already taken officials to San Diego State and Connecticut. He's a former Arizona State commitment. Here to view this Link., TexasClick Bailey, the son of former NBA player Thurl Bailey, said he plans to schedule an official visit to Gonzaga and has already taken officials to San Diego State and Connecticut. He's a former Arizona State commitment. Here to view this Link. and Georgetown have expressed interest lately, on top of the offers he already holds from Illinois-Chicago and Chicago State. Bradley and Wisconsin-Green Bay are interested, too.
Teammate Manuel Patterson, a 6-8 forward, said he's hearing from Saint Louis, Green Bay, Stanford, Virginia Tech and others.
Green Bay, Bradley and Loyola have offered, Patterson said.
The Kenwood Academy forward said he plans to take an unofficial visit to Illinois in August.