While all players dream of getting recruited by the best programs in the country, there is a lot of responsibility that comes along with it once you get to that level.
Stephen Zimmerman has been spending a lot of time on his recruitment lately, conducting in-home visits with
Arizona,
Indiana,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
North Carolina,
Notre Dame,
UCLA and
UNLV.
Next weekend, the No. 10 player in the class of 2015 will begin a stretch where he will visit Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and Arizona in the span of five weekends.
With that in mind, he was happy to have a weekend that was all about playing basketball. And play he did.
Every step of the way on Saturday and Sunday, Zimmerman was dominant in the post. He played above the rim, ran the floor, rebounded, blocked shots and played with a high level of energy. Over the course of four grueling workouts, Zimmerman never showed a sign of slowing down and looked like a kid who was on a mission.
As good as he was on the interior, Zimmerman got hot from the perimeter on Sunday, making him an even tougher matchup. A 6-foot-11 guy confidently burying jumpers from the international three-point line is a scary thought, and that's what he did to finish off his outstanding weekend.
There were other seniors in camp ranked higher, but based strictly on his play in Colorado Springs Zimmerman was Rivals.com's top performer from the senior class.
"I've been really focused and I just tried to have fun," Zimmerman told Rivals.com "These workouts are hard and they are long workouts, so I just try to stay focused and have fun.
"The [in-home] visits were fun, but you can only do them for so long. I did eight of them so it was kind of hard."
Whenever a player is ranked as highly as No. 4 nationally in his class, it is obviously difficult to consider him underrated. However, based on the way five-star small forward
Michael Porter played in Colorado Springs, he would be ranked at least No. 2 in the class of 2017 if rankings were to be redone today. And that is no disrespect to the current No. 2 and No. 3 players
Troy Brown and
Jarred Vanderbilt, because they both played to their ranking and were outstanding in their own right.
Porter, though, was arguably the single most impressive performer in camp regardless of class in school.
The thin and skilled wing continued to shoot the cover off the ball on Sunday, but it was his drives into the lane and above-the-rim finishing in transition that were the most eye-opening aspects of his game. There weren't many times over the two days where Porter switched over to cruise control, and he never seemed to tire.
Porter has always been considered a big-time prospect, but after his play in Colorado Springs, he has raised the bar on what he could be capable of down the road.
The aforementioned Troy Brown remains the top point guard prospect in the class of 2017 with
Jalek FeltonClick More Sunday notesHere to view this Link. right on his heels. Brown showed improved shot-making and really stepped up when matched against older players. While Brown and Felton were terrific, the sophomore trio of high-end four star point guards
Matt ColemanClick More Sunday notesHere to view this Link.,
Markus HowardClick More Sunday notesHere to view this Link. and
Jaylen HandsClick More Sunday notesHere to view this Link. were all impressive in their own right.
Currently ranked No. 25 in the class of 2017, Coleman is a speed guy who has surprising physicality given his build. His game is all about getting into the lane and making things happen for himself or others. His head is always up on his drives, and he has a tremendous feel for making a pass to whichever player is in the best scoring position. He moves his feet well defensively and doesn't lack for competitive fire.
Already committed to
Arizona State, Howard is a skilled scorer and distributor. He is a little bit on the small side at just 5-foot-10, but he can shoot with deep range and most of all he plays fast. The ability to play at full speed without getting out of control is tough to master at such a young age, and because Howard is already strong in that regard, his hesitation and change-of-pace moves have an even greater impact.