Vegas Friday: Walker and Sexton steal the show

LAS VEGAS - The 8 wrapped up and the action at the Adidas Summer Championships heated up Friday in Las Vegas. Five-stars Lonnie Walker and Collin Sexton were among those that stole the show on Friday.

Lonnie Walker, already a five-star prospect and No. 26 in the Rivals150, has been on fire during July. Just a couple weeks ago, he went to the Peach Jam and took the event by storm. He came to Vegas with the same mindset and is establishing himself as one of the top perimeter players in the class.

In a third place game with Team Melo, Walker dominated the game from start to finish. The 6-foot-4 wing could not be stepped from getting to the basket all game and spent a lot of time at the charity stripe. He also possesses a pure stroke from deep that makes him a tough matchup and one of the top wings in the country.

“Syracuse, Villanova, Miami, Kentucky, Oregon and a few others are talking to me,” Walker said. “I’m going to try to take a visit to Syracuse next month and maybe Alabama too.”

Kentucky head coach John Calipari and two assistants showed up to see Walker as did Miami head coach Jim Larranaga and an assistant. Syracuse and Villanova had assistants courtside as well.

In the championship game of The 8, CP3 took down MoKan Elite without five-stars Michael Porter and Trae Young. In the win, five-star guard Collin Sexton and five-star post player Wendell Carter, both Georgia natives playing for CP3, led the way.

Sexton, who just joined CP3 for this weekend, fit right in coming off the bench with his new squad. As soon as he hits the court, the energy in the gym changes because everybody knows an acrobatic play could happen at any moment. With his play this travel season, Sexton has vaulted himself all the way into the conversation as being one of the top five to ten players in the country in the 2017 class.

Before coming to Vegas, Sexton decided to cut his list down to ten schools. Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma State and Villanova remain in contention for his signature in the 2017 class. Avery Johnson, Josh Pastner, Roy Williams and Mark Gottfried all watched him on Friday afternoon.

Team Takeover center Luka Garza became a popular man this spring with college coaches. The three-star prospect is a smooth operating post player with crafty moves on the block but also the ability to step out and hit three-pointers.

Garza rattled off a list of schools that included Iowa, Alabama, Louisville, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Northwestern, Nebraska, George Washington and St. Joe’s. He’s already visited Iowa and Alabama officially, and has one more official visit he knows he’s taking.

“I only know one for sure and that’s Georgia, but I haven’t set the date,” Garza said. “I have three more to take, but that’s the only one for sure I know I’m taking. The rest of them I’ll decide in August.”

Georgia, Pittsburgh and Iowa all had head coaches in attendance to see Garza on Friday morning. Mike Brey of Notre Dame was also on hand and extended an offer afterwards.

Jojo Toppins, a 6-foot-5 wing out of Georgia, will be one to watch in the 2019 class. He’s an elite athlete that is a great finisher at the basket. Georgia, Mississippi State and Tennessee have already offered. Josh Pastner and Bruce Pearl both watched him on Friday.

Darryl Morsell had an impressive game in a matchup with Lonnie Walker. He’s recently picked up a few high-major offers, and it’s easy to see why. He’s an athletic 6-foot-5 wing with a nice stroke from deep and an aggressive disposition.

Chris Lykes is definitely going to be must-see TV during his career at Miami. With two of his future coaches watching, Lykes showed off an impressive handle and the ability to hit tough, contested jump shots.

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber and an assistant watched Courtney Ramey on Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-4 guard in the 2018 class is an explosive athlete and a really crafty finisher in traffic.

Ben Howland and an assistant were on hand to see Team Carroll for Rivals150 big man Garrison Brooks, whose father is on staff at Mississippi State. Avery Johnson and Rob Ehsan were there to see four-star forward Alex Reese.

Lavar Batts had head coaches from Florida State, Georgia and VCU in attendance to check him out. The athletic 6-foot-2 guard came back from an ankle injury but didn’t look to be hobbled as he threw down some impressive dunks in transition.

Xavier commit Jared Ridder is going to make a lot of deep balls during his career in the Big East. He connected on at least five of them on Friday in the championship and they all look picture perfect.