Live Period II Preview: Ramsey’s Notebook
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Live recruiting periods bring a little extra buzz to basketball gyms across the country. The Prep Hoops Chi-Town Tip-Off had a number of DII/DIII/NAIA coaches in attendance last weekend, but now Division I programs are allowed back out on the…
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Continue ReadingLive recruiting periods bring a little extra buzz to basketball gyms across the country. The Prep Hoops Chi-Town Tip-Off had a number of DII/DIII/NAIA coaches in attendance last weekend, but now Division I programs are allowed back out on the road from the evening of Friday April 22nd to the afternoon of Sunday April 24th. Let’s take a look at where the top Indiana-based AAU programs are headed for the second live recruiting period of the spring.
EYBL Session II – Indianapolis
The Nike EYBL circuit heads to Indianapolis this weekend with games primarily being played at the Pacers Athletic Center. Nobody puts on an event like the EYBL and hosting at a beautiful event like they have there at Grand Park in the basketball-crazed greater Indianapolis area will make for an awesome weekend.
Indy Heat 17u, 16u, and 15u will all be participating this weekend. The 17u squad saw the departure of Ashton Williamson Ashton Williamson 6'2" | PG Gary 21st Century | 2023 State #287 Nation IN (Gary 21st Century 2023) this week as he will instead be running with Mac Irvin Fire. Interestingly enough, the dynamic point guard will get a chance to face his former team this weekend at 5:00 on Saturday evening.
At the 16u level, while freshmen phenoms Jalen Haralson Jalen Haralson 6'7" | PG La Lumiere | 2025 #8 Nation IN (Fishers H.S. 2025) and Trent Sisley Trent Sisley 6'8" | PF Heritage Hills | 2025 State #47 Nation IN (Heritage Hills H.S. 2025) get a lot of the attention playing up a year, teammate Kanon Catchings Kanon Catchings 6'8" | PF Overtime Elite (GA) | 2024 #31 Nation GA (Brownsburg H.S. 2024) has started to garner more and more attention. The 6’4″ versatile wing has recently heard from the likes of Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois and should continue to see his stock rise with each live recruiting period.
Teams Participating: Indy Heat 15u, Indy Heat 16u, Indy Heat 17u
3SSB Live II/Adidas Gold – Spartanburg
Indiana Elite’s top teams run on the 3SSB Live Circuit which heads to South Carolina this weekend. The 17u squad featuring the likes of Penn State commit Logan Imes Logan Imes 6'4" | PG Zionsville | 2023 State #202 Nation IN (Zionsville H.S. 2023), JaQualon Roberts JaQualon Roberts 6'8" | PF Bloomington North | 2023 State IN (Bloomington H.S. North 2023), and Jake Davis Jake Davis 6'6" | SF Cathedral | 2023 State IN (Cathedral H.S. 2023) face a who’s who of premier AAU programs. They will take on the Atlanta Celtics, Team Rose, WACG, and Dream Vision while out in Spartanburg.
Arguably the biggest story of the second live period will be college coaches following around Indiana Elite 16u and their 6’10” center Flory Bidunga Flory Bidunga 6'9" | C Kokomo | 2024 State #7 Nation IN (Kokomo H.S. 2024). The rising star caught the attention of the national media during the first live period as well as high-major coaches across the country. I would be surprised if he didn’t leave South Carolina with multiple offers.
Indiana Central 2023, along with a full slate of 15u-17u teams for Team Indiana and Indiana Ice will also be out in Spartanburg for the Adidas Gold Circuit. We will do our best to continue to provide coverage of these teams competing out east while having our boots on the ground further west in Kansas City.
Teams Participating: Indiana Elite 15u, Indiana Elite 16u, Indiana Elite 17, Team Indiana 15u, Team Indiana 16u, Team Indiana 17u, Indiana Ice 15u, Indiana Ice 16u, Indiana Ice 17u, 5Star 16u, The Indiana Central 17u
UAA/UA Rise – Kansas City
While in Kansas City for Prep Hoops Live, I will also be able to run over to the HyVee Arena to watch some action from the Under Armour Circuit. Grand Park Premier competes on the UAA Circuit while D1 Indiana has their teams on UA Rise. Joey Hart Joey Hart 6'5" | SG Linton-Stockton | 2023 State #214 Nation IN (Linton-Stockton H.S. 2023) continues to pull in offers with a strong start to his spring and will have coaches following him around this weekend for Grand Park Premier 17u.
D1 Indiana 16u has some intriguing prospects to follow this live period in the backcourt with guys like Dhani Flannigan Dhani Flannigan 5'10" | PG Ben Davis | 2024 State IN (Franklin Central H.S. 2024) and Ron Rutland III Ron Rutland III 6'1" | SG Crispus Attucks | 2024 State IN (Crispus Attucks H.S. 2024). Both of these guys are dynamic offensive threats that have college programs interested. On the D1 Indiana 17u team, the prospect to watch this live period will be Kamari Jones Kamari Jones 6'4" | SG Lawrence Centra (IN) / Hilcrest Prep (AZ) | 2023 IN (Lawrence Central H.S. 2023). He is an excellent shooter with good size on the perimeter at 6’4″. Jones is a couple of big performances away from really blowing up.
Team Participating: Grand Park Premier 15u, Grand Park Premier 16u, Grand Park Premier 17, D1 Indiana 15u, D1 Indiana 16u, D1 Indiana 17u
NY2LA – Louisville
If your goal is to see as many Indiana-based AAU teams as possible, you should head down to the Louisville Expo Center for NY2LA’s Grassroots Showcase. Not only can you see the state’s top ranked Class of 2023 prospect in Xavier Booker Xavier Booker 6'11" | PF Cathedral | 2023 State #4 Nation IN (Cathedral H.S. 2023) for George Hill All Indy 2023, but there will be countless other guys worth following. We’ve already previewed 10 prospects worth watching down in Louisville so we won’t bore you with all the details here again.
Teams Participating: 94 Feet Elite 15u, 94 Feet Elite 16u, 94 Feet Elite 17u, George Hill All Indy 15u, George Hill All Indy 16u, George Hill All Indy 17, George Hill All Indy Unsigned, Kyle Guy Elite Black/White 15u, Kyle Guy Elite Black/White 16u, Kyle Guy Elite Black/White 17u, Southern Indiana Blaze 17u, JH1 IndyElite 17u, 5Star 17u, Indy EBC Blue/White 17u, 5Star 16u, Grand Park Premier 17u
Prep Hoops Live – Kansas City
I’ll have boots on the ground in Kansas City covering this event all weekend long. A couple of our top Prep Hoops Circuit teams from Indiana will be making the trip out in EG10 and Team GRIII. College coaches will be following A.J. Lux A.J. Lux 6'3" | SG Crown Point | 2023 State IN (Crown Point H.S. 2023) and Cooper Farrall Cooper Farrall 6'5" | SF Culver Academy | 2023 State IN (Culver Academy 2023) and their Team GRIII 2023 Elite team closely as one or both could earn their first Division I offer this weekend. Ahmere Carson Ahmere Carson 6'2" | PG Anderson | 2023 State IN (Anderson H.S. 2023) will be one the coaches watch for EG10 2023.
Along with those two programs, Team Teague 2025 will also make the trip out featuring some of the best Class of 2025 talent in the state. Guys like Mark Zackery Mark Zackery 6'0" | PG Ben Davis | 2025 State #398 Nation IN IV (Ben Davis H.S. 2025), Cedric Horton Cedric Horton 6'4" | SG Richmond | 2025 State #321 Nation IN (Richmond H.S. 2025), Shane Sims Shane Sims 6'3" | PG Evansville Harrison | 2025 State IN (Evansville Harrison H.S. 2025), and P.J. Douglas P.J. Douglas 6'4" | SF Jeffersonville | 2025 State IN (Jeffersonville) are all very good prospects to follow over the next few years.
Teams Participating: EG10 2025, EG10 2024, EG10 2024 Red, EG10 2023, Team GRIII 2025 Elite, Team GRIII 2024 Elite, Team GRIII 2023 Elite, Team Teague 2025
Hardwood Invitational – Indianapolis
A lot of eyes will be focused on the Nike EYBL Circuit in Indianapolis, but there are a couple of good programs taking part in the Harwood Invitational down the road at Westfield High School. Purdue signee Myles J. Colvin Myles J. Colvin 6'5" | SG Heritage Christian | 2023 State #51 Nation IN (Heritage Christian 2023) will be there with his INB 2023 squad. Also, Division I prospect Markus Burton Markus Burton 5'11" | PG Penn | 2023 State #190 Nation IN (Penn H.S. 2023) will be playing with Indy Heat Red 2023. An intriguing prospect to follow as well that has had a great start to the spring is Reis Butcher Reis Butcher 6'4" | SF Brebeuf Jesuit | 2024 State IN (Brebeuf Jesuit 2024) for INB 2024 Platinum.
Teams Participating: Indy Heat Red 15u, Indy Heat Red 16u, Indy Heat Red 17u, INB 2025 Elite, INB 2024 Platinum, INB 2023 Elite