By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — During the break before Nike EYBL Peach Jam, class of 2025 top-30 prospect Davion Hannah took a moment to learn some valuable lessons from NBA stars. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard from Milwaukee (WI) — attended Donovan Mitchell basketball camp in late June and ended up having quite the experience.
“It was good and it was the first camp that they had,” Hannah told ZAGSBLOG. “We started off with learning how to watch film on ourselves. We were watching Donovan Mitchell watch film. He was analyzing film and stuff. And then we split off into stations. It was cool, competitive. If I get invited I’d definitely do it again.”
During the camp, Hannah not only was able to learn from Mitchell, but a few other NBA players including Evan Mobley and Trae Young. The main thing Hannah took away was how to attack and guard ball screens.
“It’s different from what they teach us in high school and stuff,” Hannah said. “So just being in the right spots so I can have space to deny the ball, deny the screens. And learn how to set an actual screen, real screen to get open. Usually people will tell you in high school, they’ll say to walk them down, get low. But when you get that low, you probably aren’t going to have any room to deny it. So basically starting the ball screen up higher and a little bit further away from the sideline.”
Hannah will be playing with Team Herro at Nike EYBL Peach Jam from July 12-21. While in North Augusta, he was able to catch up with ZAGSBLOG to update his recruitment. Last time Hannah was interviewed, he named Wisconsin, Michigan State, Arkansas, Kentucky, Xavier, Cincinnati, DePaul and USC as the schools recruiting him hardest. Now, Alabama, Creighton, Pitt and Louisville have jumped into the mix.
Here is Hannah’s thoughts on each program:
Alabama: “So I’ve been talking to coach Preston [Murphy] a lot. We just basically have been talking every single day, been trying to build a relationship more off the court. Just being able to talk with him about whatever. I like what Bama does. I like how they play, how they move. The history of Bama is crazy, so I definitely like that for sure.”
Louisville: “They’re great. They are on the rebuild. I actually talked to Donovan Mitchell about them and about just being in Louisville. He told me they don’t really have a pro team, so all the attention is on Louisville. Even though they didn’t do to well last year, they’re were still fans and stuff in attendance.”
Pitt: “I actually have to learn more about Pitt.”
Creighton: “Creighton is a good school. I like the way they play. I like all the things they do. I actually know somebody from Minnesota who just committed there [Jackson McAndrew] and I’m going to catch up with him to see how he likes it so far, see someone else’s experience. I’m just looking to visit them.”
Hannah added that he has not heard from John Calipari at Arkansas yet, and even though he’s heard from Eric Musselman at USC, it was “a while ago.”
The guard is currently in the process of setting up official visits, but doesn’t have any exact dates yet.
“All the schools I said I’m trying to go down and see first hand, first person and talk with the coaches in person, get to know them,” Hannah said.
After Hannah takes his official visits, he will drop a top eight or five schools and then commit from there. As for a commitment timeline?
“I want to go into next season [high school season] knowing where I’m going,” Hannah said.
Overall, the standout guard has had a busy summer. Hannah has dominated the EYBL so far this summer averaging 16.1 points per contest. And recently, Hannah made another big-time decision: transferring high schools to Link Academy.
“Just me watching Link and following them around, seeing all the stuff that they were doing and all the people they produce, when they reached out it was definitely a decision I should think about,” Hannah said. “And I thought about it, me and my dad. We made the decision that it was the best decision for me.”
Hannah will be teaming up with several talented players at Link Academy including top-30 guard Jerry Easter and five-star center Chris Cenac.
Thoughts on Easter: “He’s a long guard just like me. He can score the ball, but he can also defend. So me and him and the one and two, it’s going to be nasty.”
Thoughts on Cenac: “He’s a dog. Yeah, he’s a dog. It’s going to be fun playing with him. I never really played with an actual big guy. Just me seeing him, how mobile he is, how active he is and all he can do. It’s definitely going to be a fun year.”
Team Herro will take on City Rocks for Hannah’s first game at Peach Jam on Saturday, July 13. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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