College coaches begin reaching out to 2020 stars
By JACOB POLACHECK On Friday morning at midnight,
By ADAM ZAGORIA Scottie Lewis, the 6-foot-5 small
By ADAM ZAGORIA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO — From Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to Kentucky’s John Calipari to Texas’ Shaka Smart, the men who have coached with USA Basketball have often been said to have a huge recruiting advantage over their competitors.
By virtue of coaching either the U.S. National Team (Coach K) — or a youth team such as the U19 or U18 side (Calipari and Smart) — these coaches get unprecedented access to some of the top high school players in the nation during the summer. Often these coaches are recruiting several of the players they coach in USA Basketball.
As a result, USA Basketball changed the rules two years ago to allow college coaches to attend international events such as the FIBA Americas U18 Championship here this week and next month’s FIBA U17 World Championship in Argentina — as well as the recent tryouts in Colorado Springs, CO — even though they don’t coincide with NCAA live periods.
Kansas coach Bill Self is now coaching the USA U18 team and is once again in a position to both win a gold medal — and coach both one of his future players and two players he’s recruiting in the Class of 2019.
It’s not lost on many of the other coaches here that Self’s starting five for the first three pool play games includes Kansas signee Quentin Grimes plus Matthew Hurt and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, two elite players Kansas is heavily recruiting.
By ADAM ZAGORIA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO — Fresh off watching Justify win the Triple Crown at the Belmont Stakes in New York on Saturday, Kentucky coach John Calipari made an appearance here Monday night to watch several top prospects in a blowout of epic proportions.
Calipari and assistant Tony Barbee were among the coaches courtside for Tyrese Maxey, Matthew Hurt and Cole Anthony as the U.S. destroyed Panama, 118-26, in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship at the Meridian Centre.
“He just tries to help me get better always, tells me the things I need to work on,” Maxey, a Class of 2019 Kentucky commit, said of his future coach after going for 12 points and 3 assists in the lopsided loss. “He’s just checking in, saying hello all the time, asks me how I’m doing.”
By ADAM ZAGORIA ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO -- On
By JACOB POLACHECK
Nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton said Monday in a video interview with Sheena Marie of Black Sports Online that LeBron James will send his son Lebron James Jr. to Sierra Canyon (CA) School in Los Angeles next year.
“Anything could happen. People don’t look at everything. [LeBron James’] son just committed to Sierra Canyon which is in the valley of LA,” said Payton.
“That’s a move that they’re going to make,” Payton continued. “If everybody looks at it with a son at that age, you don’t want to be away from him during that period of time. During the time that we’re having, basketball is school time. I think that [Bronny] needs a father during that time and that’s it. I don’t think LeBron is that type of parent, I think he wants to be around his son a lot and see his son play a lot.”
