Bruin Recruiting: Prep News Roundup (6/19)

By Bruin Basketball Report

Prep News Roundup published periodically during the offseason.

Recruits

The fourth Rose City Showcase takes place Friday through Sunday at Grant High School in Northeast Portland. Eight of the nation's top AAU basketball teams are scheduled to participate. Players expected to compete include Lake Oswego's Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo of North College Hill High School in Cincinnati, Michael Beasley of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and Bill Walker, also of North College Hill. The Oregonian 6/13

At one end of the court at the Bo Jackson Center at the Nike Inc. headquarters in Beaverton, raspy-voiced John Lucas pushed and pulled Medford’s Kyle Singler through a drill teaching how to blitz a pick-and-roll. At the other end, Kevin Eastman’s heavy-decibeled voice taught NBA defensive cover principles to players — including Lake Oswego’s Kevin Love — in a four-on-four drill. Many of the premier sophomores and juniors in the country were on hand for the third annual, three-day Nike Skills Academy, which ended Monday. Portland Tribune 6/13

“I missed one or two (shots),” says Kyle Singler, a 6-9, 210-pound small forward who will be a senior at South Medford in the fall. “I’m having a blast. This is right up there in terms of the best camps I’ve attended. It’s more of a skills workout than a camp — that’s what I really like about it. Coach Eastman does a great job with it. His coaches know their stuff. The competition from top to bottom is outstanding. There are no bad players out here. And the intensity level of the coaches is great.” Portland Tribune 6/13

Kevin Love has attended all the top-level shoe-company camps in recent years. “This is one of the best,” says the 6-10, 255-pounder, who led Lake Oswego to the state championship over Singler’s Panthers as a junior last winter. “This is really good for me, working out against the best players in the country, the best competition you can find. I like that it’s 100 percent all the time. Everybody is working hard, trying to get better. All these guys have aspirations of playing in the NBA. Me, too.” Portland Tribune 6/13

Kevin Love’s Southern California All-Stars won an AAU tournament in North Carolina over Memorial Day weekend. He toured the UNC campus afterward. “It was a great trip,” says Love, who has narrowed his college choices to North Carolina and UCLA. “(Coach) Roy Williams is a class guy. Love him to death. That opened my eyes going back there. It was real fun.” Are the Tar Heels ahead of the Bruins on his list? “I don’t know, but they are looking really good after that,” Love says. “They showed me a lot of stuff. (North Carolina) is a lot like here. It’s a lot more humid, there are a lot more bugs, but I can deal with that.” Portland Tribune 6/13

This past weekend, in the northwest corner of Oregon, 21 of them got one step closer to making that dream come true, when Nike hosted 21 of the top male high school basketball players in the country for a three-day clinic dubbed the Nike Skills Academy. "The premise is to get our best young kids, high school All-Americans, working out, and not just running up and down," camp director Kevin Eastman said. "We want to bring teaching and drilling into the equation." Camp roster including : Kevin Love and Kyle Singler. ESPN 6/16

Taft of Woodland Hills was one of the area's top boys' basketball teams during the winter, and the Toreadors have picked up right where they left off this summer. Larry Drew, Terran Carter, Eugene Phelps, Bryce Smith and Garrett Green return, seemingly better from the experience, and have played a majority of the minutes so far. L.A. Daily News 6/16

23 participants in the USA U18 National Team Trials hit the hardwood for a second session Saturday evening. Gator Bait 6/17

Kyle Singler hit for 10 points on 4 of 12 shooting, including 1 of 5 from three. He also had 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and 4 assists to 0 turnovers. Singler continues to standout as the most complete player on the court. Two possessions standout-on one he crossed over Nolan Smith right to left in the open court and got to the rim. On the other he cut Jerryd Bayless off on a baseline drive and then blocked his hop back jumper. Gator Bait 6/17

Drew Gordon scored 8 points on 3 of 5 shooting while matching his points with 8 rebounds. As active as ever, he also had 2 steals, 1 block, 3 assists and 2 turnovers. Gordon is an exceptional rebounder and is a quality passer in the high post. He does need to improve his range and ability to create his shot. Most of his points come off put backs and in transition. Gator Bait 6/17

The USA U18 National Team Trials began Friday night to select the 16 finalists for the USA Basketball U18 squad that will compete in San Antonio at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men June 28-July 2. The buzz going into Saturday morning's action was the strong play of Kyle Singler. Drew Gordon recorded 8 points on 4 of 5 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover. An extraordinary offensive rebounder, Gordon picked up his points on the glass.Gator Bait 6/17

California 15-year-old pursuing Team USA spot : Drew Gordon is 6-foot-8, wears a size 17 shoe, and at a glance looks old enough to run for Congress. Gordon, who will begin his junior year at San Jose's Archbishop Mitty High School in the fall, is among the 23 players challenging to make the roster for Team USA. The team will compete in the Tournament of the Americas beginning June 28 at St. Mary's. San Antonio Express-News 6/18

The final training session before first round cuts for the USA U18 National Team took place Sunday morning with 16 out of 23 players making the first round cut. After another week of practice, the squad will be reduced to 12 players who will compete against Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Bahamas in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship beginning June 28. Cardinal Sports 6/18

Having another strong all around performance, Kyle Singler had the play of the morning when he blocked a dunk attempt by Spencer Hawes. Singler also scored 5 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists to 0 turnovers. Cardinal Sports 6/18

Kevin Love's So-Cal All-Stars edged out O.J. Mayo's D-One Greyhounds in the RCS championship thriller. Oregonian 6/19


(BruinBasketballReport.com)

(photo credit: AP)