AVALON, N.J. — The July live period is about to kick off with three five-day periods across the next three weeks and ZAGSBLOG will have coverage from numerous events, including Peach Jam, the adidas Gauntlet Finale, the adidas All-American Camp, the Nike Global Challenge and more.
Here are five key storylines entering July:
1. What will Georgios Papagiannis do?
This question was answered very quickly after I posted it. The 7-foot-1 Greek big man will stay in Greece with his club Panathinaikos instead of attending an American college, a source told SNY.tv Wednesday morning. He had been considering St. John’s, N.C. State and Oregon.
“He is staying in Greece,” Kanellos Papagiannis, the player’s father, told SI.com.
Papagiannis at one point was a projected first-round pick in 2016.
“He’s really good,” one D-1 assistant told SNY.tv. “If he can adjust to college, he can be a first-round draft pick after one year. He’s got to adjust.”
2. Can anyone challenge DeAndre Ayton for the No. 1 spot in 2017?
The 7-foot Ayton from Balboa City (CA) and the Supreme Court AAU team has all the makings of a future NBA big man and is the consensus No. 1 player in 2017. He’s already been offered by Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State and all the big boys, even as he comes back off a broken patella in his right leg. Can anyone challenge him in July? Mohamed Bamba, Michael Porter and Wendell Carter Jr. are three big guys who might, but for now Ayton is the man to beat.
“His upside is tremendous, especially if he learns how to dominate the game on the defensive side of the floor as well as the offensive side of the floor,” says his coach, Zack Jones.
3. How soon before Jayson Tatum pulls the trigger?
Fresh off winning a gold medal with the USA U19 team on Sunday in Greece, where he posterized and bloodied a Greek defender with a dunk, Jayson Tatum will be at Peach Jam this week with the St. Louis Eagles.
The 6-8 Tatum is down to Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and hometown St. Louis, and you can bet coaches from all four schools will be all over his games at Peach Jam. Tatum will announce his decision within the next two weeks.
Harry Giles, the 6-10 post man who also won gold with the U19 team, will also be at Peach Jam with CP3. He is down to eight schools: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Kansas, Syracuse, Ohio State and UNLV. Giles recently told me four were recruiting him hardest.
4. Will Rawle Alkins continue to dominate in July?
Even though those of us in New York have known about the 6-5 Alkins for several years now, he has just exploded onto the national scene in recent months. Alkins holds offers now from virtually every major program in the nation, including Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Villanova, Indiana, Louisville, Cincinnati, N.C. State, St. John’s and more. Duke and North Carolina have also expressed interest.
St. John’s, Kentucky, Indiana and North Carolina are expected to prioritize him beginning this week at the adidas Gauntlet Finale, while schools like Villanova and N.C. State have been on him for some time.
Adding to the intrigue surrounding Alkins is the news that he will leave Christ the King for the 2015-16 season and attend prep school, although he has yet to announce where. (For more, listen to The 4 Quarters Podcast.)
Before then, he plans on having a huge summer. His cousin Rodney Labossiere told me, “My boy is planning on leaving it all out there before the summer is over.”
5. What’s next for Tyus Battle?
The 6-6 Battle recently decommitted from Michigan and opened up his recruitment.
“My whole family just wanted to look at other schools and other options,” Battle told Scout.com. “I still really like Michigan a lot. I’m just looking at other schools and other options.”
Battle took an official visit to Syracuse, which had been in on him early in his recruitment.
“It was good,” Battle told Scout. “I like Syracuse a lot. They have a great staff and coaches. I like Syracuse.”
Battle has now taken official visits to Syracuse, Louisville, Duke and Michigan, and unofficial to Duke and Kentucky. Ohio State was also in on him earlier.
It remains unclear if Battle, who is coming off a foot injury this spring, will be with his Team Final teammates at Peach Jam this week, but if he is expect a ton of coaches to be watching him play.
Meantime, Battle, like Alkins, is also looking for a new high school after leaving Gill St. Bernard’s. St. Joe’s-Metuchen, which produced No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns, and Roselle Catholic, which graduated Kentucky freshman point guard Isaiah Briscoe, are two options for Battle.
