NCAA Basketball: Preview of the Top 2019 Prospects in the Nike EYBL AAU Circuit
By Bryan Mauro
Top players invovled
The EYBL, as mentioned earlier possess some of the best talent in the 2019 class. Some of the players in this league are signed and most are not. The best teams in the EYBL posses the top talent once again this year. However, one of the top players in the league, belongs to the AOT Running Rebels who are making their first appearance in the EYBL. Overall the EYBL possesses 24 of the top 40 players in the 2019 class.
Cole Anthony
Anthony is playing with the PSA Cardinals this summer in the EYBL. He is a New York product who is the best point guard in the 2019 class. Anthony has already received some great offers, and his two favorites heading into the summer are Duke and Kansas. The Blue Devils and Jayhawks are hard schools to out recruit, so don’t expect Anthony to pick up many more offers.
Anthony is going to be a player who puts up gaudy stat lines, and will be one of the players that everyone comes to see. The PSA Cardinals are one of the budding powerhouses in the EYBL every year. They always have numerous high-profile players who sign to play for high major programs. The PSA Cardinals are the premier AAU team in the New York Area. Anthony is going to help keep them at the top this summer.
James Wiseman
Wiseman is playing his summer basketball with the Bluff City Legends. The Bluff City Legends have a new look this year, their former director and coach Penny Hardaway is now coaching at Memphis. This relationship with Penny should help the Tigers as Wiseman is the number 1 player in the 2019 class. Penny will have to compete with Kentucky for the services of Wiseman, who goes to school and plays basketball all year in Memphis.
Wiseman is a very skilled big man who just recently finished up a stint playing with the Team USA under 18 team. He should dominate the league like Marvin Bagley did last year. The only difference being that Wiseman will have a better team around him. Wiseman is not going to be without help in the frontcourt. The Bluff City team has an impressive front court which will lead to a bunch of wins for the program. Wiseman has not gotten all of the blue blood programs to offer him yet, but with a good summer those will come.
Jalen Lecque
Lecque is an explosive combo guard who is playing his summer basketball away from his home in North Carolina. He is playing with the New York Rens. Lecque could not have asked for a better situation to find himself in going into the first live period. While he is playing so far from home, he is also playing with a player who is going to blow up on the summer circuit this year. Lecque may be one of the more physically gifted players in the entire country. He is athletic and a lot of fun to watch.
Lecque starred on another EYBL team last summer. He is going to add a run with the New York Rens to his resume. Last year in the EYBL he averaged around 18 points, and was the go-to player for the Southern Stampede team he played with. Lecque because of his athleticism has been offered by just about every power 5 program in America, but it looks like the early favorites are North Carolina and Oregon.
Tyrese Maxey
Maxey is one of the top prospects in the state of Texas. He will be playing with the Drive Nation this summer. Maxey is another Point Guard prospect who can take over a game. He can drive and score, or he can shoot and score. This guard is a great passer and really good ball handler. He is going to make whoever he commits to very happy. Maxey will only be in College for one year and that is why the overwhelming favorite to land his services is Kentucky. The Wildcats is another one of those schools who are really hard to recruit against.
The Drive Nation team who Maxey plays with, are making their EYBL debut. They also have one of the most talented rosters in the entire league. By only running 9 players total it may take a while for this team to gel, but once they do the rest of this league should keep an eye out for the Drive Nation. This team is going to turn a lot of heads and they should receive many offers.
Kofi Cockburn
Cockburn is the player who was mentioned above with Jalen Lecque. He is also playing his summer basketball with the New York Rens. Cockburn is one of the more underrated prospects in this tournament even though he has 30 total schools interested in his services. He is underrated because a good summer could move totally up the 2019 rankings as well as land him an offer from virtually every blue blood program in the country.
Cockburns best offers heading into the summer are UConn, St. Johns and Syracuse. Those are great offers, especially to a kid from New York. Cockburn has yet to reach his full potential and when he can play next to a kid as talented as Lecque the sky is the limit for Cockburn. He is going to blow up, and Cockburn will have his pick of whichever school he chooses.