Las Vegas AAU Tournaments Packed with Gonzaga Recruits

Starting today, Las Vegas will be the home for every prominent college basketball coach in the country. Las Vegas will be the host city for four tournaments that will be going on simultaneously over the next five days. Nearly all the top recruits from the 2010, 2011, and 2012 class will be playing in one of these tournaments, and the competition should be absolutely top notch. This week will serve as a chance for the Gonzaga staff to begin to narrow down the focus for the 2010 class, while also being a fixture at the games of many of the prominent 2011 recruits we have already discussed.  

All three tournaments have interesting storylines for the Gonzaga coaching staff and they will certainly be fixtures at each of them.  The Center Stage Tournament will be the site of some good local Pacific Northwest basketball, the Adidas Super 64 holds probably the most loaded field as far as numbers are concerned, and the Reebok Summer Championships holds a couple of players that are national players to watch. As Coach Rice mentioned in the interview we will be putting up shortly, this week should provide Gonzaga with the names they are ready to focus on for the next year or so.

continue reading after the jump for info on all Gonzaga recruits in Las Vegas...

This tournament is loaded with potential Gonzaga prospects, and has a great amount of talent from top to bottom. The tournament includes a Super 16, which is Pools A-D, and this happens to include Seattle Rotary Select, FOH, and I-5 Elite. Also potentially appearing in this tournament are Brett Kingma and Corbin Miller.

Pool A: Seattle Rotary Select, Mac Irvin Fire, Team Takeover, SYF Players

This pool is obviously intriguing because of the presence of Gary Bell Jr. It takes a lot to earn an offer this early from Coach Few, so it's clear how high the staff is on Bell, and I wouldn't be afraid to consider one of the most important and coveted recruits for Gonzaga in the past couple of years. As we have mentioned in detail, Bell can play both the PG and SG position at a high level, but with his ability to push the break and play great defense, he seems like a future PG at the next level. I certainly expect reports of at least one Gonzaga coach being in attendance for all of his games, similar to the staff with Sam Dower last year, as they did not miss one of his games in Vegas. Lets hope that Rotary will have a better performance in Vegas then they did at Peach Jam, where they went 0-5.

Seattle Rotary Schedule: Thursday 7/23; 12:20 PM- vs. Team Takeover

                                               Friday 7/24; 12:20 PM- vs. SYF Players

                                               Friday 7/24; 6:50 PM- vs. Team Takeover

Pool B: Team Odom, Channing Frye, I-5 Elite; Sam Rines

From what we understand, I-5 Elite will be even more intriguing this tournament, as Kyle Wiltjer will likely be part of the roster. Wiltjer normally plays for the Drew Gooden Soldiers, but they will not be participating in any tournaments in Las Vegas. It's not a lock at this point, but we do believe that everything will be done to try and ensure that Wiltjer is playing for I-5 Elite. With Jordan Railey clearly an intriguing big that may be on the Gonzaga radar, and the potential that Wiltjer will be part of the I-5 team, Gonzaga coaches will have an excellent opportunity to scout two potential prospects on one team.

I-5 Elite Schedule: Thursday 7/23; 2:30 PM- vs. Team Odom

                                  Friday 7/24; 1:25 PM- vs. Channing Frye

                                  Friday 7/24; 6:50 PM- vs. Sam Rines

Pool D: FOH Seattle, Moore Management, Mater Dei, Dallas Heroes 2010

For all the Joe Harris supporters out there, consider this tournament to be the last chance for Harris to prove that he is capable of playing at Gonzaga. Joe has proven a capable performer with FOH, but by playing in this Super 16 bracket, Joe will have a chance to prove himself against the best in the country. I'm not entirely sold on Harris and how he would fit in the offense at Gonzaga, and I tend to believe that Ben Vozzola is the top option at the wing position. However, if Harris can put together a great performance here over the four days, he has a chance to get himself back in consideration for an offer. Stanford commit, and one time Gonzaga recruit Aaron Bright, will also be playing for FOH.

FOH schedule: Thursday 7/23; 5:45 PM- vs. Mater Dei

                           Friday 7/24; 10:10 AM- vs. Dallas Heroes 2010

                           Friday 7/24; 5:45 PM- vs. Moore Management

Pool E: AVAC Hoyas, AZ Warriors, San Diego Magic, Emerald City Pioneers

In a situation that is very similar to that of Joe Harris, this week might give Brett Kingma a chance to get back on the Gonzaga radar. From all indications, Kingma performed well below par at the Gonzaga Elite camp, and it's to the point, where he needs to impress to get back on the radar. I'm not totally sure what the Gonzaga level of interest is for Kingma, but I would certainly guess that there will still be some eyes on Kingma throughout the week. But it is very fair to assume that Gary Bell, Joe Hanstad, Nick Johnson, and Corbin Miller are well ahead of Kingma on the priority list for 2011.

Emerald City Pioneers schedule: Thursday 7/23; 6:50 PM- vs. AZ Warriors

                                                             Friday 7/24; 8:00 AM- vs. AVAC Hoyas

                                                             Friday 7/24; 2:30 PM- vs. San Diego Magic

Adidas Super 64:

This is another great tournament for Gonzaga fans, as it features a couple of guys who might be vying for a 2010 scholarship, one of the top 2011 prospects, as well as one of the finest prospects in 2012, who happens to be mentioning Gonzaga already. This tournament features eight "super pools" in which every team advances to the championship bracket.

Pool F: New England Playaz, Nashville Celtics, Memphis Magic Elite, Double Pump 2011 Elite

One guy who has continually popped up on the Gonzaga radar over the past couple of months is Austin Hollins. Hollins is often described as an intelligent and long wing prospect, which seems to be the type of guy that the staff has been focusing on as of late. However, I don't think that Hollins is quite the shooter that the staff seems to desire, but with an explosive showing in Las Vegas, he could prove worthy of serious consideration for the 2010 class.

Nashville Celtics schedule: Wednesday 7/22; 3:40 PM- vs. New England Playaz

                                                  Thursday 7/23; 1:00 PM-vs. Double Pump 2011 Elite

                                                  Thursday 7/23; 7:40 PM- vs. Memphis Magic Elite

Pool FF: Team Oregon, Bay Area Wildcats, Sam Rines, Virginia Assault

If you want to look way into the future, then you eyes should be on Team Oregon and elite 2012 prospect Jordan Tebbutt. Tebbutt is already receiving interest from some of the top schools on the West Coast, including Gonzaga. One advantage that Gonzaga has in this recruitment is that Tebbutt goes to a smaller private school in Oregon. Gonzaga tends to translate better to kids who come from religious private schools, and I would expect that is something that the coaching staff understands. Expect to hear all about Jordan Tebbutt over the next two or three years.

Team Oregon schedule: Wednesday 7/22; 10:10 AM- vs. Bay Area Wildcats

                                             Wednesday 7/22; 7:40 PM- vs. Sam Rines

                                             Thursday 7/23; 3:40 PM- vs. Virginia Assault

Pool NN: 2D1 Basketball Academy, Net Gain Sports, Minnesota Comets, TMP

While we think that the Gonzaga staff might stop by just to say hello to Coach Marquise Watts and thank him for Sam Dower, they might also have their eyes on 2011 CG Joe Hanstad. Hanstad was present for Kraziness in the Kennel back in October, and went on to be North Dakota state POY as a sophomore. He is definitely the type of guard that has succeeded at Gonzaga, and it would not surprise me at all to see the staff try and pair him in the backcourt with Gary Bell.

Net Gain schedule: Wednesday 7/22; 1:00 PM- vs. 2D1 Basketball Academy

                                   Thursday 7/23; 10:20 AM- vs. TMP

                                   Thursday 7/23; 7:40 PM- vs. Minnesota Comets

Pool OO: LA Stars, Belmont Shore, Full Package Elite, KC Cowboys

The more I think about what the staff seems to be looking for in 2010, the more I believe that Alex Dragicevich of Full Package Elite could become a big time guy for this class. Dragicevich was supposed to attend the Elite camp, but I don't believe that he was able to make it due to an injury. However, at 6'6, Dragicevich is an excellent shooter, and also has a history of playing both PG and SG. He reminds me a lot of Ben Vozzola, and I think one of these two guys could very well end up in the class. Keep an eye on Dragicevich throughout this tournament, as I think the Gonzaga staff will.

With Belmont Shore, will LaBradford Franklin continue to push for a possible spot in the 2010 class. Despite reports, we can 100% confirm that LaBradford does not have an offer, but his play during Las Vegas could change that. Also, we have seen some speculation that the staff has their eyes on Cezar Guerrero. If he can produce a great performance in Las Vegas, Guerrero might join Bell and Hanstad as a top level priority for 2011.

Belmont Shore schedule: Thursday 7/23; 1:00 PM- vs. LA Stars

                                               Friday 7/24; 10:20 AM-vs. KC Cowboys

                                               Friday 7/24; 7:40 PM-vs. Full Package Elite

Full Package Elite schedule: Thursday 7/23; 1:00 PM- vs. KC Cowboys

                                                   Friday 7/24; 10:20 AM- vs. LA Stars

                                                   Friday 7/24; 7:40 PM- vs. Belmont Shore

Reebok Summer Championship:

The RSC has a couple guys that could wind up being two of the most talented players in their respective recruiting cycles.  The tournament features about 140 teams from virtually every state in the union and is definitely one of the best stops on the AAU circuit.  Their are 35 pools with four teams in it but from what we can see, only two pools are important to Gonzaga fans.

Pool U:  Total Package Red, Colorado Chaos 17's Red, Branch West Prep, Houston Hoopstars Elite

One guy that has consistently came up as one of the most talented players in the class of 2010 is Branch West wing Ben Vozzola.  Vozzola has been turning in great performance after great performance for Branch West this summer.  He would be a great fit for the Mark Few type offense as he can do a little bit of everything.  He has a knack for hitting the big three but can really get to the rack and fill it up.  There is no doubt he is an elite recruit and he has the entire WCC after him and I feel like he is very close to picking up some high-major offers.

Branch West Prep Schedule:  Thursday, 7/23; 11:15 AM vs. Houston Hoopstars Elite

Thursday, 7/23; 6:45 PM vs. Colorado Chaos 17's Red

Friday, 7/24; 1:45 PM vs. Total Package Red

Pool N: Camp Darryl White, Dallas Mustangs, Arkansas Hawks Winston, East Coast Fusion Tisa

The Dallas Mustangs feature a player that isn't the typical Gonzaga recruit.  He's not low profile, he will not fly under the radar, and he is a guy that will be ready right when he gets to college...even though he just finished his sophomore year of high school.  LeBryan Nash is that player and, as a 2011 recruit, he is a five star as rated by Rivals.com and holds a scholarship offer from Oklahoma State with teams like Florida, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, and Baylor all hot on his tail.  Gonzaga has had some success in Texas with Demetri Goodson and GJ Vilarino but it is safe to say that Nash would be an enormous get.  

Dallas Mustangs Schedule:  Thursday, 7/23; 10:00 AM vs. Camp Darryl White

     Thursday, 7/23; 6:45 PM vs. East Coast Fusion Tisa

     Friday, 7/24; 3:00 PM vs. Arkansas Hawks Winston

Enjoy the tournaments and check back here for updates as basically every Gonzaga recruit competes this week in Las Vegas!