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."
Self landed one of the best prospects on the 3SSB Circuit last year in Flory Bidunga and the Jayhawks are eager to repeat their success on the recruiting trail by landing Peterson. Peterson told 247Sports he likes how the Jayhawks' pitch matches what he wants out of a school. -- Brandon Jenkins, 247Sports National Recruiting Analyst
Top-five junior Koa Peat schedules first official visit of the summer
Top-five junior Koa Peat attracted one of the largest crowds on the first live period day of the year, writes Brandon Jenkins. A 6-foot-8 forward out of Gilbert (Ariz.) Perry High, Peat is "down" to a top 10 list of schools that includes Arizona, Arkansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Duke, Houston, North Carolina, Texas, and UCLA.
Kentucky and Michigan were originally included on the list but Peat says he has not heard from both schools after Mark Pope and Dusty May were hired as head coaches.
Heading into the summer, Peat has been to Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas for official visits so far and he tells 247Sports that he has another official visit scheduled with Houston for June 6.
"I like their track record," Peat said of the Cougars. "They have a great team and coaching staff. Going over there will be cool. KC Beard recruits me from there. I like how they play on both ends. They are a winning team."
In addition to Houston, Peat says he will also consider taking visits to Arkansas, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor,and Duke during the summer.
Next up among LeBron's brood: Bryce James brings his best
In the matchup against Nightyrdas, one of the best teams on the Nike EYBL Circuit and in front of some of the biggest coaches, Bryce James brought his very best in Indianapolis.
While his teammates struggled, James was the only one seemingly able to get the ball in the hole.
It was Bryce's most aggressive outing to date on the offensive end of the court, playing with confidence and wasn't shy at pulling the trigger. With his father on the sidelines, James poured in 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, drilling five 3-pointers in the process. He also added five rebounds.
Bryce is ranked as the No. 39 shooting guard in the Class of 2025.
Who Mark Pope, John Calipari watched this weekend
Newly minted Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was on hand at the Nike EYBL event in Indiana this weekend where he was scouting some of the circuit's biggest names. However, his now conference rival and former legendary UK coach, Arkansas' John Calipari, was also on hand trying to accomplish the same mission.
In the process, both Pope and Coach Cal had their eyes on players like Darius Acuff Jr., AJ Dybantsa, Tyran Stokes, Shelton Henderson and others.
There have been some whispers about Acuff leaning towards Arkansas. But as of now, it's too early to call it.
Could Pope and Calipari be inching towards an epic recruiting tug-of-war for one of these elite prospects?
