St. John’s, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina to Prioritize Rawle Alkins; Heron Visits Alabama, Marquette (UPDATED)

College coaches will flock to see Rawle Alkins and his NY Rens teammate Mustapha Heron in July. (Photos by Kelly Kline/Adidas)

With the July live period set to begin next week around the nation, college coaches will soon be converging on the NY Rens AAU team featuring 2016 stars Rawle Alkins and Mustapha Heron.

Beginning next week and over the following three weeks, the Rens will attend the adidas Gauntlet Finale in Suwanee, Ga.; the adidas Uprising All-American Camp in Long Island; and then the adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas (formerly the Super 64).

“I think [college coaches] are there more to let know Rawle and Mustapha know that they’re there,” Rens director Andy Borman told The 4 Quarters Podcast on Wednesday.

“For Rawle, obviously St. John’s is going to make him a priority. I haven’t spoken to any of the guys form Kentucky but I’ve spoken to Rawle and his family and Kentucky has said that they’ll be out there. [North] Carolina will be out there. I know Tom Crean and Indiana will be out there….From what I’ve heard, essentially everyone on Rawle’s list will be out there.”

St. John’s coach Chris Mullin and his staff have prioritized Alkins and Heron as two critical pieces in their focus on the Class of 2016, but they have competition from virtually everybody.

7-Foot-1 Georgios Papagiannis Lists Four American Schools, Hopes to Decide on Future Soon

Georgios Papagiannis, a 7-foot-1, 260-pound center playing for Greek club Panathinaikos, is still weighing whether or not to play for an American college next season, but is focusing on four schools, according to a report from Luke Winn of SI.com.

Papagiannis told SI.com he’s committed to making a decision soon—possibly by the July 5 conclusion of the U19s—but he hasn’t fully committed to the NCAAs. “There’s a chance I’ll stay here, and there’s a chance I’ll go there,” he said. “I have made a list with four schools: N.C. State, Kentucky, St. John’s and Oregon.”

Those college fanbases, as you can expect, are salivating over the idea of adding a potential one-and-done center. St. John’s would make up for the loss of shot-blocker Chris Obekpa, and add to an intriguing international recruiting class that already includes Italian point guard Federico Mussini and Spanish power forward Yankuba Sima. Kentucky would get a low-post presence to pair with potential 2016 No. 1 draft pick Skal Labissiere. N.C. State would get a more reliable low-block scorer to pair with point guard Cat Barber. And guard-and-wing rich Oregon, which has a projected starting lineup with no one taller than 6’7″, is desperate for a true center.