West Coast events: Okongwu could be elite

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Out on the West Coast, rising sophomore Onyeka Okongwu is looking like he could be an elite prospect in the class of 2019. He was just one of several West Coast prospects on display in the Orange County area at the Double Pump Best of the Summer and Pangos Cream of the Crop events.

When Rivals.com releases an initial ranking for the class of 2019 after the summer ends, it’s not a matter of whether 6-foot-8 power forward Onyeka Okongwu gets ranked. It’s only a matter of how lofty his rank will be.

Based on his play as a freshman, throughout the grassroots season and on Saturday with the Compton Magic, Okongwu is a strong candidate to start off as a five-star prospect.

A bouncy interior player who gained notoriety during the winter for his rebounding and shot blocking, Okongwu is proving that he will be just as big of a force on the offensive end. He has good hands, can make 12-foot jumpers, finishes with either hand and makes it all look easy.

Alabama, Utah, UNLV, UCLA, Arizona State and USC have all offered and Okongwu’s list only figures to grow from here on out.

Based out of the Inland Empire area of California, Team Eleate has developed into a program that has regularly produced very good, and many times under the radar, players without the benefit of a big shoe contract. 2018 wing Matt Bradley looks to be next in line.

A well-built 6-foot-4 perimeter player from San Bernardino (Calif.) High, Bradley is a former dual-sport (football) athlete who has begun to move his focus to basketball with impressive results. At the Best of the Summer, he enjoyed a big-time day on Saturday.

The southpaw plays with energy, power and a nice skill level. He attacked the rim, he hit mid-range jumpers and he was game to accept any challenge thrown at him on either side of the floor.

When asked about his recruitment and who had offered, Bradley produced a somewhat surprising answer.

“I don’t have any offers yet,” Bradley told Rivals.com. “I’ve heard from Nebraska, UC Irvine, UCSB, Texas Arlington and Hawaii, but nobody has offered.”

Now, we’ve not seen Bradley as much as some West Coast coaches may have, but it’s hard to believe that he’s not shown enough to start racking up offers. It will be interesting to see how his recruitment changes over the next few months, because he’s the type of player with ability and upside that most coaches should want on their team.

Class of 2018 small forward Tevian Jones didn’t play with Cal Supreme’s 17U team during Nike EYBL action. However, the 6-foot-6 wing was with their top team at the best of summer and he looked quite comfortable playing up an age group.

With his long arms, athleticism and ability to slash to the basket off the dribble or in transition, Jones stood out quickly as a potential high-major prospect who will factor in to the next set of 2018 rankings.

A product of Chandler (Ariz.) High, Jones picked up his first offer from Grand Canyon during his sophomore season. In the last week USC and San Diego State have joined them and he’s started to hear from UCLA, Arizona, Rice and Gonzaga among others.

“Coaches see me as a wing who get the ball to the rim,” said Jones. “I can also find the open player and make a good pass and I think I can be a big-time defensive player.”

Three-star shooting guard Maka Ellis put on some kind of shooting display for the H-Squad during a late Saturday afternoon game at the Cream of the Crop Challenge. A solidly built 6-foot-4 two guard who is adept at finding teammates in transition, Ellis hit seven deep three pointers and scored most of the rest of his 31 points off jumpers from just inside the three-point stripe. Ellis told Rivals that he was unsure of whether any school had made an actual scholarship offer, but he mentioned Nevada, Tulane, Butler, Stanford, UC Irvine and Utah (who had their head coach watching on Saturday) have been in touch with him over the last month.

The Compton Magic program has two other class of 2019 prospects that caught our eye Saturday night: power forward Isaiah Mobley and small forward Elijah Scranton. A potential four-star prospect, Mobley is an active and skilled 6-foot-7 four man who has a very nice feel for the game. Blessed with a big-time basketball body, Scranton is a bouncy and tough 6-foot-5 wing with a nose for the rim. Mobley already holds offers from USC, Utah State, UNLV, Alabama, San Diego State and others while Scranton looks to be more of a newcomer to the scene and at least athletically looks like a potential high-major prospect.

Four-star wing Corey Kispert looks to be right out of central casting for Gonzaga. Ranked No. 84 overall in 2017, the Shoreline (Wash.) Kings Christian product showed high skill and a versatile inside out game during his Friends of Hoop squad’s loss on Saturday at the Best of the Summer. What really stands out, and bodes well for his chances for early success, is Kispert’s college-ready body and toughness.

It’s the way things are going to go for the rest of his high school career, so 2018 power forward Shareef O’Neal might as well get used to drawing crowds because of his name (in case you didn’t know he’s Shaq’s son) and his ability (ranked No. 22 overall). On Saturday, he was relatively quiet in the game we watched him play with Cal Supreme’s 16U team. He runs the floor well and is filling out his 6-foot-9 frame naturally. Arizona had an assistant watching him on Saturday, and he listed them along with LSU, UCLA and USC as the most active in his recruitment. He’s seen USC and UCLA and says he will see LSU during the fall. The past few weeks he’s been working out with his father and said that the emphasis has been on post play.