Although AAU basketball is finally finished for the summer, the nation's top high school and college guards gathered in Winston-Salem, N.C., for the CP3 Elite Guard Camp to keep the high-level basketball going into the month of August. The showcase, which was hosted by Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul, featured Duke junior Quinn Cook as well as Tyus Jones, the No. 3 ranked player in the Class of 2014.
Jones shared a bit of his experience on Twitter shortly following the camp's conclusion and also tweeted a photo of himself with the Clippers' superstar.
https://twitter.com/Tyusjones06/status/366672010643906560
Many of the recruits who did not attend Paul's camp last weekend were busy at home planning their official visits for the opening months of the school year. Jones and Jahlil Okafor, the No. 1 player in their class and Jones' presumed partner in a high-profile package deal, announced last week that they will take a visit to Duke together Oct. 25. Duke will be Jones and Okafor's last official visit.
Jones and Okafor's visit will not coincide with Duke's annual Countdown to Craziness, which is slated to take place the week before they arrive in Durham. The pair attended that event together on an unofficial visit last season.
After opening their slate of visits Aug. 30 at Baylor, Jones and Okafor will also visit Kansas together Oct. 18. Okafor will also make official visits to Kentucky Sept. 9 and Arizona Oct. 11 by himself and will take unofficial visits to Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Okafor also took to Twitter last week to combat rumors that Duke was the clear leader to land college basketball's prized package after comments made by his AAU coach sparked a media frenzy.
https://twitter.com/BigJah22/status/365581347592486913
Chuck Okafor, Jahlil's father, also voiced his frustration regarding the rumors in an interview with ESPNChicago.com last week.
"It's disappointing. It's taking the fun out of the process for the two boys," Okafor's father, Chukwudi Okafor, said by phone on Friday. "That's a shame. Let the kids go through the process. I just want them to enjoy it, not the media, not Twitter, not the coaches, not the AAU coaches. Those kids are highly intelligent. They know what to do. Let it play out, and I think the world is in for something special."
After spending his summer shooting up recruiting boards, Myles Turner has cut his list of schools to eight, and although his only scheduled official visit as of now is Kansas this October, Turner said in an interview with SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria last week that he will host Duke coaches for an in-home visit in mid-September. Turner also said that he plans to make a verbal commitment sometime in January or February and sign his National Letter of Intent during the late signing period.
This year's recruiting class could see a large number of recruits signing during the early signing period in November. Jones and Okafor have announced their intention to get their commitments out of the way before their high school seasons, and Kevon Looney could make a decision as early as October.
The summer's final high-profile high school showcase is now just 12 days away, as the top prospects in the nation will come together in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the Under Armor Elite 24 game. Under Armor released the game's roster last week, and a number of Duke targets from multiple classes will be taking part in the festivities under the Brooklyn Bridge. Jones, Turner, Justise Winslow, Devin Booker and Goodluck Okonoboh will all suit up in the contest alongside Class of 2015 targets Malik Newman, Ivan Rabb and Stephen Zimmerman. The top-ranked player in the Class of 2016, Harry Giles was also selected for the game, but will not play as he continues to recover from major reconstructive knee surgery earlier this summer. Giles will be in attendance at the game.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.