Event Preview: Premier Summer Championships
The Premier Summer Championships take place this Friday through Sunday, July 20-22, 2018 in Salem, Oregon. The tournament takes place during the second weekend of the July live evaluation period and once again, college coaches from around the country will be lining the walls taking in the action at The Hoop facility. The teams in town competing for a championship include some of the very best in the Pacific Northwest, and many of the top ranked players in the region will be on the basketball floor looking to earn college scholarship offers.
The top teams from Oregon and Washington that will be in action include:
Seattle Rotary 17U EYBL – Rotary is coming off a historic Peach Jam performance where they just missed making the bracket after losing their last game in pool play. Jaden McDaniels (2019 Federal Way) is one of the top five players in the country for his class and will undoubtedly be the main attraction as college coaches will likely be lining up behind the basket for his games, which will be a show in itself. One of the country’s top rising sophomores, Paolo Banchero (2021 O’Dea), will also be in the house but Rotary has depth with Washington-commit RaeQuan Battle (2019 Marysville-Pilchuck), Noah Williams (2019 O’Dea), and PrepHoops Oregon’s #1 ranked player in the Class of 2019, Marcus Tsohonis (2019 Jefferson).
Rose City Rebels – The Rebels took their lumps in the EYBL but was very competitive and also captured the Rose City Showcase this summer. PrepHoops Oregon’s #2 ranked player in the Class of 2019, Aaron Deloney (2019 Grant), leads the way and should get followed by a number of college coaches in the gym. Other members of the team are looking to impress to get their first scholarship offers, including Jorell Saterfield (2019 Garfield), Alex Schumacher (2019 Skyview), Josh Angle (2019 Lake Oswego), and Ty Rankin (2019 Grant), and two rising sophomore studs in Ben Gregg (2021 Columbia Christian) and Nate Rawlings-Kibonge (2021 Jefferson) will be getting big-time experience as well.
Griffins – Of all the coaches in the house at The Hoop, none of them will have the cachet of the head coach of the Griffins, who is none other than Hall of Famer John Stockton. But the Spokane-based team will have more than just a legendary point guard as their coach, they have some talent on the team headed by Gonzaga commit big man Anton Watson (2019 Gonzaga Prep). Liam Lloyd (2020 Gonzaga Prep) and Ben Merritt (2019 Lewis & Clark) are two others who will contribute as well.
Hoop Salem – The host team will undoubtedly want to make an impression and they have the depth to do so. Portland State commit Jaden Nielsen-Skinner (2019 South Salem) is back from a stint with Rotary on the EYBL and back on his home turf the young man known best as “Skinny” will get the freedom to be the man. He’s backed up by a talented squad hungry to make an impression, with RJ Veliz (2019 Blanchet Catholic) from the backcourt and Brian Warinner (2019 Bend) and Jonathon Nchekwube (2019 Jefferson) up front. A new wrinkle to the team is the addition of Jalen Brown (2019 Jefferson) who will look to explode from the wing with his athleticism and long range shooting.
Team Fly – The Team Fly program will have three teams in the 17U division. The White/North squad will feature shooters such as Stevie Schlabach (2019 Tigard) and Zack Galvin (2019 Southridge), as well as rising big man Fred Harding (2019 Lake Oswego). The Williams/South squad will have a bit of a different look with ultra-athletic Isaac Lange (2019 Thurston), the rising Chase McClain (2019 Mountain View), the all-around Dylan Sullivan (2019 Walla Walla) and the versatile big Matthew Kroner (2019 Chiawana). The Anderson squad is less heralded but has some small college prospects in Carter Lawrence (2019 Lakeridge) and Diego Lopez (2019 Tigard).
NW Coastal Elite – The Seattle-area based team is fresh off a title at the Premier Summer Showcase in Bellevue last weekend and could very well do similar damage in Salem. Jett Briceno (2019 Kentridge) was named MVP of that tournament after putting together some great performances including two game-winning jumpers. Kyle Luttinen (2019 Roosevelt) adds firepower in the backcourt and Maar Rambang (2019 Bishop Blanchet) adds strength down low. NW Coastal Elite plays effective team basketball which always translates to wins in events such as these.
Other individual players to watch this weekend on the 17U level include (listed by team):
509 Elite: Cameron Bayer (2019 Eastside Prep)
Clutch Basketball: Jaeden Ingram (2019 Puyallup)
Deep III: Robert Ford (2018 Jefferson)
Hoop High Academic: Drayton Caolie (2019 West Linn), Caden Dickson (2019 Tualatin)
Oregon Basketball Club Blue/Gold: Bo Quinlan (2019 Hillscrest Prep), Trevon Richmond (2019 Jefferson), Alex Boyd (2019 La Salle)
Team Jones Hedgecock: Zach Baugher (2019 Santiam Christian)
Washington Supreme Cagle: Kiwanis Thomas (2019 Wilson), Daniel Santana (2019 Wilson)
PrepHoops Oregon and Washington will be on site the entire tournament so be sure to check for full coverage, including game recaps and player interviews.