Nike EYBL: Dylan Harper, Cooper Flagg, Tre Johnson, Cameron Boozer highlight this weekend's session

Emerson, Georgia – This weekend, elite high school basketball prospects from across the country will gather at Lake Point Sports Park in Emerson, Georgia. The Nike EYBL Circuit is coming to town for its first session of the summer.

It will also be a live evaluation period for college coaches. This means D1 and D2 coaches are able to sit courtside while the players compete. Expect to see a who’s-who of players and college coaches.

On3 will be on-site at the Nike EYBL session one as well. Here are some of the storylines we will be looking at.

Who will Jon Scheyer be watching?

By this same time last year, Duke already had five players in the rising senior class committed, Sean Stewart, Caleb Foster, Mackenzie Mgbako, Jared McCain, and (prior to his reclass) Tyrese Proctor. Currently, Duke has four-star shooting guard Darren Harris in the fold for the 2024 class.

Naturally, Jon Scheyer and his staff will be courtside for Harris and his Team Takeover games. Three other players we expect Scheyer and staff to be front-and-center for are five-star guard Dylan Harper (No. 2/NY Rens), four-star wing Isaiah Evans (No. 16/TSF), and four-star forward Tyler Betsey (No. 21/NY Rens). Evans took his official visit to Duke last weekend.

Duke has also been tied to No. 1 ranked 2025 prospect Cameron Boozer (Nightrydas 16u) and his twin brother, four-star point guard Cayden Boozer. As well as the No. 2 ranked 2025 prospect Cooper Flagg (Maine Elite 16u).

It is always newsworthy when the blue-blood coaches pop in to watch.

And with that…

Who will John Calipari be watching?

John Calipari is still a feared man on the recruiting trail. He has typically been known to close out his recruiting classes later in the process; even so, Kentucky has no players committed in the 2024 class.

One player Calipari and his staff will be watching on the Nike EYBL Circuit is consensus No. 1 player Tre Johnson (Houston Hoops). Johnson took an official visit to Kentucky in January. He has also visited Baylor and Texas and will make his way to Kansas in May.

Four-star small forward Billy Richmond (No. 79/NJ Scholars) and five-star point guard Boogie Fland (No. 8/PSA Cardinals) carry Wildcat offers in hand.

Two players to keep an eye on will be five-star forward Karter Knox (No.6/Florida Rebels) is the younger brother of former Wildcat and lottery pick Kevin Knox. Also, five-star shooting guard Isaiah Elohim (No. 13/WhyNot).

A major Kentucky target is also five-star center Flory Bidunga (No. 3/Indiana Elite). Bidunga plays on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit, which will be in Iowa this week. How will he split his time?

Has Virginia caught up to UNC for Jarin Stevenson?

North Carolina currently has the No. 1 class in the 2024 On3 Team Rankings. Their four-man class has five-star shooting guard Ian Jackson (No. 4), five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau (No. 9), four-star small forward Drake Powell (No. 32), and four-star center James Brown (No. 48).

Jarin Stevenson is a 6-foot-8 power forward from Carborro (NC) Seaforth High. He is the No. 19 player in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking and has long-time been talked about as a North Carolina recruit. Stevenson’s mother, Nicole (Walker) Stevenson, played for the Tar Heels women’s team, winning three ACC Championships from 1995-98.

Stevenson took an official visit to Virginia last week. That was his, at least, third trip to the campus through his process. He has also visited Georgetown and Missouri. Stevenson plays with the Team United program.

Have the Wahoos made things interesting here?

Will coaches be out?

We are in the middle of the transfer portal open period. Programs are able to host college transfers on campus this weekend. With over 1,500 players already in the portal, and more than two weeks left of it being open, many schools are trying to fill their roster for this upcoming season.

In speaking with college coaches leading up to this live period, some programs are not planning to send out all four coaches. Each college program is able to have four coaches on the road. Many are talking about keeping one or two back, so they can host visitors or go visit players in-home. Some are even talking about keeping everyone back for visits.

This is an odd time in recruiting, and college coaches are needing to juggle their time between recruiting high school players and the transfer portal. Who will be on the road watching the Nike EYBL Circuit?

Cameron Boozer vs. Cooper Flagg

If you have read these pages, this is a question you have seen written before. Cameron Boozer (Nightrydas 16u) is the No. 1 player, across all services, in the 2025 class. Cooper Flagg (Maine Elite 16u) is the No. 2 player across all services.

The two players will not face off this weekend; however, both will play three games in the event over the weekend. The conversation for the No. 1 player in the 2025 class will be an ongoing one. Right when one of the two players makes a move, the other follows suit with another impressive performance.

The 2025 class is very deep. Could a player like No. 3 Meleek Thomas (New Heights Lightning) or No. 4 Joson Sanon (Expressions) make a move?

While we do not expect answers, we do expect this story to continue to be written.