The recruiting circuit was on fire this weekend. High-major coaches were spread across the country trying to see prospects at Nike, Adidas and Under Armour events. There’s a lot to keep up with especially as hoops heads were absorbing an awesome weekend of NBA postseason, too.
Because we’re a helpful group over at 247Sports, we decided to consolidate these noteworthy takeaways into five key things you need to know from this weekend.
Kiyan Anthony, Melo’s son, plays a leading role
Kiyan Anthony’s ascension has been one of the storylines of this spring and it was plain to see this weekend, writes Adam Finkelstein. After opening the weekend with 25 points against the PSA Cardinals and 18 against ProSkills, Anthony exploded for 28 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals on Saturday afternoon against Team Final. He scored 25 of those points in the first three quarters of the game, accounting for more than half his team’s points at that point. Most impressive, was that he did so while playing in the flow and not dominating the ball, yet still being aggressive.
His pull-up game was especially potent. He was able to get to it in a number of ways, whether he was punishing defenders for not having their hands up, finding the open space in transition, or putting defenders in jail when operating in ball-screens. He also mixed in some impressive footwork off the catch, lay-up making ability around the paint, and even the ability to take smaller guards into the post.
From a recruiting perspective, Syracuse head coach Red Autry was there along with two assistants. While his father, Carmelo Anthony, continued to be a fixture on the baseline, and even LeBron James made his way over to take-in most of the game.” — Adam Finkelstien, 247Sports National Director of Scouting
No. 3 junior prospect Darryn Peterson draws lot of attention
Ranked the No. 3 overall recruit in the junior class, Darryn Peterson reopened his recruitment at the tail end of April. He was originally down to a final eight of Arkansas, Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio State but he saw half of the programs experience head coaching changes during the spring.
“Four coaches out of my eight left where they were so I decided to open it up for my senior year,” Peterson told 247Sports. “I want to give everybody a shot again. I have not set any official visits yet but I am looking to because it is time to start thinking about where I am about to go.”
Peterson says each of the schools remain aggressively involved in his recruitment; however, John Calipari and Bill Self are two head coaches we spotted watching him from the sidelines during different parts of the weekend.
When discussing Calipari, Peterson completed his first official visit to Kentucky back in the beginning of March. With Calipari taking the job at Arkansas, Peterson says his message remains the same.
“He has been the same and he still talks about having his players go one-and-done at Arkansas now,” Peterson said about Calipari. “Nothing has changed. He is still recruiting me and still wants me there.”
