We have had a lot of activity on the basketball front this summer. He is a little recap of what is going on.
National talent evaluator Jerry Mullen will be bringing his big summer showcase event to Lindenwood University on July 11-13. The event will feature a junior college showcase as well as a high school tournament for top summer basketball programs.
The Junior College Showcase and Juco Top 100 will bring many of the nation’s top junior college players to town to play in front of hundreds of college coaches and recruiters. The Mullen’s High Profile Tournament features top AAU teams from around the country in the 15U, 16U and 17U age divisions.
To see a schedule of all of the action as well as a list of junior college players who are participating in the showcase, you can visit the website, www.mullensports.net. I will see you there.
Collier goes national
Incarnate Word Academy girls basketball star Napheesa Collier was recently selected to the USA Women’s U18 National Team at its camp in Colorado Springs. The USA Team will compete in the FIBA U18 Americas Championships in Colorado Springs from Aug. 6-10. The 6’2” Collier gave a verbal commitment to Connecticut during the spring after leading IWA to its second consecutive Missouri Class 4 state championship.
Tatum ranked nationally
Chaminade College Prep junior standout Jayson Tatum recently participated in the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Washington D.C. The 6’9” Tatum is ranked among the top three players nationally in the Class of 2016. His national profile continues to blossom after a strong performance in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). Playing for the St. Louis Eagles 17U team, Tatum averaged 18.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Tatum has been offered scholarships by virtually all of the top programs in the nation, as well as local programs SLU, Mizzou and Illinois.
Suggs in summer league
Former Washington High basketball standout Scott Suggs will be active in the upcoming NBA Summer League season. Suggs will be playing for the Orlando Magic in the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League from July 5-11. He will also play for the Miami Heat’s entry in the Samsung NBA Summer League from July 11-21. The 6’6” Suggs enjoyed an excellent rookie season in pro ball with the Erie Bay Hawks of the National Basketball Developmental League (D-League). He averaged 18.5 points a game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and 84 percent from the free throw line. Former Saint Louis University standout Rob Loe will be playing with the Golden State Warriors entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Nike Elite at SLU
The Nike Elite 100 was recently held at Saint Louis University. The annual three-day came brings 100 of the nation’s top high school underclassmen to St. Louis. Area players Tyler Cook (Chaminade), Xavier Sneed (Hazelwood Central) and Jeremiah Tillman (East St. Louis) participated in the Nike Elite 100 this year.
Recruiting heating up
The activity is heating up on the recruiting front for many of the area’s top young players. Chaminade’s 6’7” Tyler Cook recently received an offer from NCAA powerhouse program Kansas. The junior power forward put in some serious work at a recent team camp at KU, thus earning the offer. Cook had already received an offer from Iowa. The 6’5” Sneed from Hazelwood Central received an offer from Saint Louis University after a great performance at SLU’s Elite Camp. Standout junior point guard Jordan Barnes of CBC received an offer from Missouri State University. Barnes’ CBC teammate, Christian Willis, received an offer from Eastern Illinois. Power forward Emondre Rickman of Collinsville got an offer from Bradley. On the girls’ front, 6’1” sophomore standout Lauryn Miller of Kirkwood received an offer from Louisville.
Winning Surge
The St. Louis Surge continued their winning ways with a 62-54 victory over the Kansas City Nuggets last Saturday night at the Mark Twain Building on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The Surge are now 7-1 on the season. The Surge will return to action on Saturday, July 12 when they host the Illinois Shooting Stars at 7:05 p.m.
