By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — Four-star forward Amare Bynum made several winning plays for Mokan Elite during Nike EYBL Session 4. Most notably, with the game on the line vs. Expressions Elite, Bynum sealed the deal with a clutch block on Expressions last look at the basket.
Mokan ended up defeating Expressions, 51-49, with Bynum contributing a game-high 17-points and the game-winning play. Lately, Bynum has been stacking up impressive performances, finishing the Kansas City session with averages of 14.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. That included a 21-point outing vs. Team CP3 and an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double vs. The Family.
“I bring it all,” Bynum said of his game. “If you need me to play defense, I’ll play defense on every position. I’ll talk. I’ll just bring it all for the team.”
While at Session 4, Bynum took the time to update his recruitment with ZAGSBLOG.com. The 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward from Bryan High School (NE), said he’s mostly been hearing from seven schools lately: Nebraska, Iowa State, Louisville, Ohio State, Iowa, Colorado and Creighton. Here’s his breakdown of each program:
Nebraska: “They get out and run. [Fred] Hoiberg been doing a great job over there. They started winning. They got to March Madness this year and I think they’ll continue to do real good.”
On relationship with Hoiberg: “It’s real good. He calls me, FaceTime’s me. I talk to him all the time. I talk to him and Nate [Loenser] all the time.”
Iowa State: “I talk to TJ [Otzelberger] sometimes. But like in the fall they’ll talk to me a lot. Him and Kyle Green, they’re good. They make it far. Big 12. They are like the best in the Big 12. So I’d say they are definitely good. They play aggressive, play defense for sure and just get out and run.”
Louisville: “I haven’t seen much of them play. They just started talking to me before the last EYBL [session]. I talk to coach [Ronnie] Hamilton.“
Ohio State: “I just started talking to them too. I started talking to coach [Jamall] Walker.“
Iowa: “They can shoot it. They run and gun. They can shoot it, play defense. Coach [Fran McCaffery], he’s a cool dude. I talk to him a couple times when I went to campus. He’s pretty cool. He wants me to come, get on some visits and stuff.”
Colorado: “I talk to coach [Mike] Rohn. They love me. I just talked to them before the day I came down here. They love move my versatility. They showed up to the live period and I’ve been to some of their camps and stuff. They are very versatile, they let bigs play. Let just play really free.”
Creighton: “Creighton, you know, March Madness, they just shoot it. They also play defense and do it all for real. [Greg] McDermott is a great coach. He’s going to tell you what you did wrong and help you do it.”
So far, Bynum hasn’t taken any official visits, but he has taken unofficials to schools in his area like Nebraska, Iowa State, Iowa and Creighton. Bynum is looking to possibly take some officials this month or in the fall.
As for other timetables, Bynum plans to set a list sometime in the fall and will commit before or during the high school basketball season.
Bynum says Nebraska has been recruiting him the longest and they were his first offer. The two coaches he said he is closest with is Hoiberg and Otzelberger.
Bynum is ranked the No. 100 overall prospect by 247Sports and the No. 1 player in the state of Nebraska. Bynum’s father, Omar Bynum, played at Iowa State. Bynum’s older brother, Jadin Johnson, played at Blinn College (JUCO) this past season and is still looking for a new home.
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