Burlison on Basketball

Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

Michael Porter tops Class of 2017’s “Best of Summer”

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – It took me until Labor Day to wrap this up but here we go:

We’re about to delve into my national all-Summer/2016 Top 30 for the senior class of 2017.

But, first off, some explanations as to why some of the very good seniors didn’t make this list . . .

Players were only eligible if they played in any of the 20 national and regional events over the summer (for the sake of this list, that’s two months – June 3, for the start of the Pangos All-American Camp, thru August 1 and the final day of the adidas Global Nations) that I watched and scouted in person.

So that’s why two of the best “bigs” in the class, Mohamed Bamba (Westtown, PA) and Brandon McCoy (San Diego Cathedral Catholic), aren’t included.

McCoy (left quadriceps/knee injury) didn’t play anywhere in that stretch while Bamba played only briefly at the Nike Academy and adidas Global Nations (in games I didn’t see).

If this were a list made up strictly of what I believe to be the 30-best prospects in the class of 2017, Bamba and McCoy were certainly be major parts of that list (probably in the top 12 or so), as would point guard Matt Coleman (Mouth of Wilson, VA, Oak Hill Academy).

But, again, I didn’t see them play – in person – during that June 3-Aug. 1 stretch, although I saw each of the three on numerous occasions in the spring and in the past couple of years.

This 30-player group (listed alphabetically) is reflective of a deep group of point guard prospects, with eight-to-10 of the 30 players likely to spend considerable – if not the majority – of their on-court time in college at the position.

Ayton, who committed to the University of Arizona on Tuesday, is the best “post” prospect – be it as a power forward or “center-type”.

I give him the slighted edges over Wendell Carter in that category. Mitchell Robinson and Nick Richards are superior to either as shot blockers but aren’t nearly as offensively skilled as Ayton and Carter right now.

With that said, though, my choice as the “Player of the Summer” in the class of 2017 is none of the above:

It is 6-foot-9 Michael Porter Jr., who is scheduled to spend his senior season at Nathan Hale High in Seattle after moving from Columbia, MO, when his father joined Lorenzo Romar’s coaching staff at the University of Washington in the spring. He committed to the Huskies in July.

His combination of size, athletic gifts and basketball skill enabled him to dominate a strong group of players – including Ayton and 12 others on the following list – who attended the Pangos All-American Camp.

He was every bit as dominant and productive while helping MOKAN Elite roll to the Nike Peach Jam in July and then was a key cog as the USA 18-U squad to gold in Chile later in the month.

The top 30 follows, with numbers following each player indicating which of the 20 summer events I watched him at:

 

*Makai Ashton-Langford 6-1 PG (Wolfeboro, NH, Brewster Academy) 3-17-20

*DeAndre Ayton 6-11 PF/C (Phoenix Hillcrest Academy) 1-20

*Jemarl Baker 6-3 SG (Eastvale, CA, Roosevelt) 3-16-18

*Brian “Tugs” Bowen 6-7 SF/SG/PG (La Porte, IN, La Lumiere) 19

*Troy Brown 6-5 PG/SG/SF (Las Vegas Centennial) 19-20

*Wendell Carter 6-10 C/PF (Atlanta Pace Academy) 19-20

*Hamidou Diallo 6-5 SG (Putnam, CT, Science Academy) 1-19-20

*Trevon Duval 6-2 PG (Formerly Dallas API/TBD) 1-16-18-19-20

*Daniel Gafford 6-9 C/PF (El Dorado, AR, El Dorado) 3-19

*Quade Green 6-1 PG (Philadelphia Neumann Goretti) 1-19

*Rayshaun Hammonds 6-7 SF/PF (Norcross, GA, Norcross) 3-19

*Jaylen Hands 6-3 PG (El Cajon, CA, Foothills Christian) 1-3-16-18-20

*D.J. Harvey 6-5 SF/SG (Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha) 3-19-20

*Ira Lee 6-7 PF/SF (Santa Monica, CA, Crossroads School) 1-3-6-10-16-18

*Charles O’Bannon Jr. 6-5 SG/SF (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman) 1-19-20

*Michael Porter Jr. 6-9 PF/SF (Seattle Nathan Hale) 1

*Billy Preston 6-9 PF/SF (Mouth of Wilson, VA, Oak Hill Academy) 1-16-18-19

*Nick Richards 6-11 C (Elizabeth, NJ, Patrick School) 3-19

*Mitchell Robinson 6-11 C (Chalmette, LA, Chalmette) 17-19

*Paul Scruggs 6-3 PG (Napa, CA, Prolific Prep) 3-16-18

*Colin Sexton 6-3 PG/SG (Mableton, GA, Pebblebrook) 19

*Justin Smith 6-7 SF (Buffalo Grove, IL, Stevenson) 3

*Ethan Thompson 6-4 SG/PG (Torrance, CA, Bishop Montgomery) 1-3-19

*Gary Trent Jr. 6-5 SG (Napa, CA, Prolific Prep) 1-19-20

*Jarred Vanderbilt 6-8 SF/PG (Houston Victory Prep) 1

*Isaiah Washington 6-1 PG (Bronx St. Raymond) 1-3-16-18

*P.J. Washington 6-7 PF (Henderson, NV, Findlay Prep) 16-18-20

*Nick Weatherspoon 6-3 PG/SG (Camden, MS, Velma Jackson) 3-17-20

*Kris Wilkes 6-7 SF/PF (Indianapolis North Central) 16-18

*Trae Young 6-2 PG (Norman, OK, North) 1-19

 

Summer Events I attended

#1 June 3-5: Pangos All-American Camp/Norwalk, CA

#2 June 9-12: Nike Elite 100/St. Louis

#3 June 14-18: NBPA Top 100 Camp/Charlottesville, VA

#4 June 20-25: Maranatha Summer Block Party/Pasadena, CA

#5 June 27-July 2: 30th Nike/Fairfax Summer Classic/Los Angeles

#6 July 6-8: West Coast Elite Kickoff Classic/Claremont, CA

#7 July 6-10: Double Pump Summer Tip-Off/Anaheim, CA

#8 July 8-10: West Coast Elite Top 100/Claremont, CA

#9 July 8-10: Pangos Super Sweet 16/Garden Grove and Norwalk, CA

#10 July 13-14: Full-Court Press All West Camp/Lynwood, CA

#11 July 13-15: West Coast Elite Summer Classic/Irvine, CA

#12 July 13-17: Double Pump Best of Summer Tournament/Anaheim, CA

#13 July 15-16: Full-Court Press Crème of the Crop/Garden Grove, CA

#14 July 17: Compton Magic-Pangos Stars of the Future/Westminster, CA

#15 July 18-19: Ryan Silver High Academic Showcase/Las Vegas

#16 July 20: Fab 48 Tip-Off/Las Vegas

#17 July 20-24: adidas Summer Championships/Las Vegas

#18 July 21-24: Fab 48 Tournament/Las Vegas

#19 July 25-27: Nike Academy/Los Angeles

#20 July 29-Aug. 1: adidas Global Nations/Garden Grove and Norwalk, CA

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