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NCAA Basketball: Preview of the Top 2019 Prospects in the Nike EYBL AAU Circuit

By Bryan Mauro

BEAVERTON, OR - MARCH 22: The Nike EYBL kicks off in Dallas this weekend. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
BEAVERTON, OR - MARCH 22: The Nike EYBL kicks off in Dallas this weekend. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images) /
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BEAVERTON, OR – MARCH 22: A basketball court is seen at the Nike headquarters on March 22, 2018 in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike, the world’s largest sports brand, reported better than anticipated earnings on Thursday, with revenues increasing to nearly $90 billion. This follows a spate of senior executives stepping down amid reports of sexist behavior including the president on Nike Brand, Trevor Edwards. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
BEAVERTON, OR – MARCH 22: A basketball court is seen at the Nike headquarters on March 22, 2018 in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike, the world’s largest sports brand, reported better than anticipated earnings on Thursday, with revenues increasing to nearly $90 billion. This follows a spate of senior executives stepping down amid reports of sexist behavior including the president on Nike Brand, Trevor Edwards. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images) /

Top teams involved

Team Takeover:

Team Takeover comes into the first live period looking to return to the championship of the EYBL league. They have never had a losing season for as long as they have been the EYBL. Even though they had 7 kids off of last years team move on to Division 1 basketball, they still have a loaded roster. Team Takeover should be able to return to form and at least advance to the end of the year Peach Jam tournament.

Team Takeover out of the Washington, DC area is led by their guards. The team doesn’t have just one star, but what they do have is numerous weapons, who when all are clicking are impossible to beat. Team Takeover comes into the first live period as the team to beat in the entire EYBL, so they will always get every teams best shot. The player who has a potential for a breakout on this team is Center Hunter Dickinson. Dickinson has shown a potential to score in high volumes, and he can rebound.  He will help take pressure off of the guards for Team Takeover and get some easy points.

Drive Nation:

Drive Nation may be making their first appearance in the EYBL, but they are an early sleeper for the championship.  This team is loaded with talent, and they have so much talent that they only have a roster of 9 players.  Former NBA stars Jermaine O’Neal and Mo Williams started this program, and they know how to assemble a roster.

Drive Nation out of Texas has a roster comprised of 5 of the top 105 players in the top 247 rankings.  Drive Nation has the number 13 player in the country in Tyrese Maxey on their roster.  Along with Maxey Drive Nation is loaded with guards, and if you could pinpoint to a flaw on their roster it could be the lack of size.   One of the sleeper players on this roster is Avery Anderson.  If not for Maxey, Anderson would be the star of this show.  They are going to make high powered duo in the EYBL all year.

Oakland Soldiers:

The Soldiers are the reigning champions of the EYBL.  It is going to be hard to replace the talent they had on this team last year, with James Akinjo and Kihei Clark, but the Soldiers have some budding seniors on their roster.  The Soldiers are one of the teams like Team Takeover who does not have a star but they have many good pieces who will help the Soldiers continue to win.

The Soldiers build their team the same way every year.  They always seem to have a ton of unheralded seniors who make a huge jump, and start to pile up offers as the summer wears on.  Two of the bigger names for the Soldiers are Boogie Ellis and Scotty Pippen Jr.  Those two players should be the go to guys for the Soldiers and wont leave the floor much.  The Soldiers do also have Kenyon Martin Jr.  With the children of former NBA stars and Boogie Ellis the Soldiers should at least make it back to the Peach Jam weekend.

PSA Cardinals:

The Cardinals were the best overall team by record last year in the EYBL.  They did bow out last year in the Peach Jam tournament in July. The Cardinals are going to be competing at the top led by the best guard in the league in Cole Anthony.  Anthony is going to lead a group of players who will have to figure out their roles, but Anthony is going to make them better.

One of the things to watch with the Cardinals is their lack of height.  They do not have a player over 6’8” tall and that could be a huge difference in winning and losing in this tournament, especially if their guards are not picking up the load.  The Cardinals will still be a tough out just based on the individual performances of Anthony.

NY Rens:

The New York Renaissance is entering the EYBL season with a chip on their shoulder from their snub of the Peach Jam tournament last year.  They snubbed last year by the team that had Marvin Bagley last year.  The Rens do have the best potential guard and center combination in the league with Jalen Lecque and Kofi Cockburn.

Next: College Teams with the best NBA players

The Rens are a team full of younger kids as well especially sleeper Moussa Cisse.  Cisse goes to the same high school as Cockburn and is just as big.  Cockburn has been mentoring Cisse into a great player.  The length of the Rens is going to cause many teams problems.  If the Rens want to make the Peach Jam in July they are going to have to hope Lecque and Cockburn can beat some teams themselves because it going to take that kind of effort for this younger team.

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