LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The national high school Class of 2017 has a hefty share of high-quality “post” players – or, if more “wing” than “post” – players who stand 6-foot-8 or taller.
Five of those landed spots on my 10-player first team all-Summer of 2015 for the Class of 2017.
And, after the last of the “national” summer events I watched – the adidas Global Nations in Southern California that ran July 31-August 3 – my choice as the “Most Outstanding Junior-To-Be” for the class was clear cut.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the honor belongs to . . . Wendell Carter.
The 6-10, 240-pound (give or take) Carter, who attends Pace Academy in Atlanta, was tremendous at every venue he attended, as was the Nike Elite Youth Basketball team he stared for during the spring and summer.
After a dominant performance at the Nike Basketball Academy in Southern California in late June, Carter helped lead the Georgia Stars to the championship of the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC, during the first July “NCAA evaluation five-day period”.
And he followed up that up ever-so-nicely by help his Georgia Stars compatriots cruise to the Big Foot Las Vegas Classic crown on the third and final NCAA evaluation period (July 22-26).
The rest of the First Team included two other terrific 6-10 plus players (De’Andre Ayton and Mohamed Bamba); three exceptional point guard prospects (Matt Coleman, Trevon Duval and Trae Young); the two best jump shooters in the class (Markus Howard and Gary Trent Jr.); and two multi-skilled big “wings” (Michael Porter and Billy Preston).
Please be aware that these selections – including Carter’s as the class Player of the Summer – are based upon how the athletes performed at the various events not strictly on “college (or NBA) potential”.
My First and Second Team selections, as well as five “honorable mentions” follow, as does a list of the national events I attended during the summer:
FIRST 10
Name Ht. Pos. City/School
De’Andre Ayton 6-11 PF San Diego/Balboa City Prep
Mohamed Bamba 6-10 C Westtown, PA/Westtown
Wendell Carter 6-10 C Atlanta/Pace Academy
Matt Coleman 6-1 PG Mouth of Wilson, VA/Oak Hill Academy
Trevon Duval 6-2 PG Newark, NJ/St. Benedict’s
Markus Howard 5-11 SG Henderson, NV/Findlay Prep
Michael Porter 6-8 SF Columbia, MO/Tolton Catholic
Billy Preston 6-9 SF Dallas/Prime Prep Academy
Gary Trent Jr. 6-5 SG Apple Valley, MN/Apple Valley
Trae Young 6-1 PG Norman, OK/North
SECOND 10
Name Ht. Pos. City/School
Troy Brown 6-6 SF Las Vegas/Centennial
Hamidou Diallo 6-5 SG Putnam, CT/Putnam
D.J. Harvey 6-5 SG Hyattsville, MD/DeMatha
Kevin Knox 6-8 PF Tampa, FL/Catholic
Ira Lee 6-8 PF Chatsworth, CA/Sierra Canyon
Charles O’Bannon 6-5 SG Las Vegas/Bishop Gorman
Ethan Thompson 6-4 SG Torrance, CA/Bishop Montgomery
Jarred Vanderbilt 6-7 SF Houston/Victory Prep
Isaiah Washington 6-0 PG Bronx, NY/St. Raymond’s
P.J. Washington 6-7 PF Henderson, NV/Findlay Prep
Honorable Mention: Daejon Davis 6-4 Seattle/Lakeside; Quade Green 6-0 Philadelphia/Neumann-Goretti; John Petty 6-5 Huntsville, AL/Johnson; Nick Richards 6-11 Elizabeth, NJ/The Patrick School; Xavier Tillman 6-7 Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills Central.
“National” Summer events I attended and evaluated:
*Pangos All-American Camp (May 29-31/Carson, CA)
*NBPA Top 100 Camp (June 17-21/Charlottesville, VA)
*Nike Basketball Academy (June 26-30/Santa Monica, CA)
*Asics Double Pump Summer Tip-Off (July 8-12/Anaheim, CA)
*West Coast Elite 100 All-Star Camp (July 8-12/Claremont, CA)
*Pangos Summer Sweet 16 (July 10-12/Norwalk, CA)
*Asics Double Pump Best of the Summer (July 15-19/Anaheim, CA)
*The Big One Tournament (July 15-19/Irvine, CA)
*Fullcourt Press Cream of the Crop Challenge (July 17-18/Garden Grove, CA)
*Pangos Stars of the Future (July 19/Norwalk, CA)
*adidas Uprising Summer Championships (July 22-26/Las Vegas)
*Big Foot Las Vegas Classic (July 22-26/Las Vegas)
*Fab 48 (July 22-26/Las Vegas)
*Nike’s The 8 Bracket (July 23-25/Las Vegas)
*adidas Global Nations (July 31-Aug. 3/Garden Grove and Norwalk, CA)
