Super Bowl and NCAA tournament fans are famous for filling up Las Vegas every year. But a more under-the-radar sporting event keeps making a bigger impact each July.
You can see it from all the basketball gear being worn all over town, in the Las Vegas airport, hotels and, most of all, in the city’s high school gyms.
It’s the biggest weekend of the July recruiting season, with four major tournaments scheduled to run along with the final open evaluation period this weekend. Each event features hundreds of teams from the United States and several other countries.
A new event, the NY2LA Summer Showdown, joins three established major events: the Fab 48, Las Vegas Classic and Adidas Summer Championships.
“It’s a lot,” UA assistant coach Book Richardson said. “A whole lot.”
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For coach Sean Miller and the Arizona staff, that makes the weekend both convenient and pressure-filled. The Wildcats, aiming yet again to fill up a 2017 recruiting class with players at every position, have no commitments after completing their 2016 class in May.
But UA coaches will only need a short flight and a rental car to get to check out everyone of interest. They’ll see top targets and evaluate whether others warrant scholarship offers.
Although UA targets such as forward P.J. Washington and guard Quade Green are in Chile with USA Basketball’s U18 team, nearly all other UA targets will be in Las Vegas.
Along with everyone else.
“For the most part, players are coming to Vegas more and more,” Scout.com analyst Josh Gershon said. “The other (cities’ events) are lessening. If anything, there’s more tournaments this year in Vegas than other years. That makes it easier for the Arizona staff to get out.”
Here’s a look at some of the top prospects Arizona will be chasing this weekend in Las Vegas (with information from Scout.com, Rivals.com and ESPN):
Class of 2017
Brandon McCoy
Position: Center
Size: 6 feet 11 inches, 220 pounds
Hometown (club team): San Diego (Cal Supreme)
Rankings: Rivals ranks McCoy ninth nationally, while Scout ranks him seventh and ESPN sixth.
Also considering: Multiple Pac-12 schools
Scouting report: Strong, aggressive interior defender.
Troy Brown
Position: Forward
Size: 6-6, 210
Hometown (club team): Las Vegas (Las Vegas Prospects)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Brown 10th, while Scout ranks him 11th and ESPN 28th.
Also considering: Kansas, Duke, Texas
Scouting report: Big combo guard is gifted passer.
Kris Wilkes
Position: Forward
Size: 6-8, 190
Hometown (club team): Indianapolis (Indy Hoosiers)
Rankings: Rivals and Scout rank Wilkes 17th, while ESPN ranks him 11th.
Also considering: Multiple schools
Scouting report: Long, versatile wing forward.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Position: Forward
Size: 6-7, 206
Hometown (club team): Houston (Houston Hoops)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Vanderbilt 13th, while Scout ranks him 15th and ESPN 20th.
Also considering: Kentucky, Kansas, Texas
Scouting report: High-motor rebounder.
Trevon Duval
Position: Point guard
Size: 6-2, 190
Hometown (club team): Dallas (We R1)
Rankings: Scout ranks Duval fourth, while Rivals and ESPN rank him fifth.
Also considering: Duke, Kansas, Villanova
Scouting report: Top point guard in 2017 attended school with former UA commit Terrance Ferguson.
DeAndre Ayton
Position: Center
Size: 7-0, 235
Hometown (club team): San Diego (Cal Supreme)
Rankings: Rivals, Scout and ESPN all rank him first in his class.
Also considering: Kansas, Kentucky
Scouting report: Phenomenally skilled and athletic big man.
Daejon Davis
Position: Shooting guard
Size: 6-3, 175
Hometown (club team): Seattle (Seattle Rotary)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Davis 45th, while Scout ranks him 42nd and ESPN 39th.
Also considering: Cal, Gonzaga
Scouting report: Gifted scorer and passer decommited from Washington.
Ira Lee
Position: Forward
Size: 6-7, 220
Hometown (club team): Los Angeles (Earl Watson Elite)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Lee 50th, while Scout ranks him 61st and ESPN 77th.
Also considering: Cal, USC, UConn
Scouting report: High-motor defender and rebounder.
Alex Barcello
Position: Guard
Size: 6-2, 170
Hometown (club team): Tempe (Oakland Soldiers)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Barcello 123rd, and ESPN ranks him 98th. He is not part of Scout’s rankings.
Also considering: Stanford, Virginia
Scouting report: Intense playmaker with strong handle, passing and 3-pointer.
Chuck O’Bannon
Position: Guard
Size: 6-5, 195
Hometown (club team): Las Vegas (Las Vegas Prospects)
Rankings: Rivals ranks O’Bannon 30th, while Scout ranks him 57th and ESPN 23rd.
Also considering: Washington, Texas
Scouting report: Athletic wing scorer is the son of former UCLA standout Charles O’Bannon.
Class of 2018
Miles Norris
Position: Forward
Size: 6-9, 190
Hometown (club team): San Diego (Earl Watson Elite)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Norris 14th, while Scout has him 15th.
Also considering: SDSU, many Pac-12 schools
Scouting report: Athletic, instinctive rebounder.
Taeshon Cherry
Position: Forward
Size: 6-8, 205
Hometown (club team): San Diego (Oakland Soldiers)
Rankings: Rivals ranks him 65th, while Scout has him 35th.
Also considering: ASU, Cal, Colorado State
Scouting report: Versatile combo forward.
Brandon Williams
Position: Point guard
Size: 6-1,165
Hometown (club team): Los Angeles (Cal Supreme)
Rankings: Rivals ranks Williams 34th, while Scout has him 25th.
Also considering: Kansas, UConn, several Pac-12 schools
Scouting report: Quick point guard can create for himself or teammates.
Tevion Jones
Position: Forward
Size: 6-5, 185
Hometown (club team): Chandler (Cal Supreme)
Rankings: Jones did not make Rivals’ rankings, but is ranked 66th by Scout.
Also considering: SDSU, Grand Canyon, UCLA
Scouting report: Athletic forward’s rating is rising.
Marvin Bagley
Position: Forward
Size: 6-10, 210
Hometown (club team): Tempe (Phoenix Phamily)
Rankings: Rivals, Scout and ESPN all rank Bagley first in his class.
Also considering: Kentucky, Duke, Oregon, UCLA, ASU
Scouting report: Long, active and dangerous inside and out.
Shareef O’Neal
Position: Power forward
Size: 6-8, 195
Hometown (club team): Santa Monica, California (Cal Supreme)
Rankings: Rivals and Scout both rank O’Neal 22nd.
Also considering: USC, Cal, LSU
Scouting report: Son of Shaq is mobile and athletic.
KAMAKA Hepa
Position: Forward
Size: 6-9, 200
Hometown (club team): Barrow, Alaska (Portland Basketball Club)
Rankings: Rivals ranks him 30th, while Scout has him 26th and ESPN 36th.
Also considering: Texas, Miami (Fla.), others
Scouting report: Long, athletic forward recently moved to Oregon.
