Recruiting rundown: What’s on tap for grassroots summer circuit

As school ends in many regions of the country, grassroots basketball, namely traveling team events and individual all-star showcases, will begin to permeate the landscape. There are three “live” periods which allow D-1 coach attendance in July this year, but that hasn’t stopped event operators from filling out nearly every weekend into August with events. The occasions which will draw the top high school basketball talent and most media attention this year are as follows:

Various events: Memorial Day Weekend
Nike and Under Armour are hosting flagship events for their sponsored teams in the Bay Area and Dallas, respectively, while many adidas teams are set for a tournament in Chicago.

Pangos All-American Camp (June 1-3, Long Beach, Calif.)
The early June event has established its credibility for attracting most of the top talent in the west, with ringers from across the country thrown in for good measure. Last year, the top two prep posts at the time, Isaiah Austin and Andre Drummond went head to head here.

NBPA Top 100 Camp (June 5-12, Charlottesville, Va.)
No shoe allegiances that are typical of summer basketball are at this event, as the organizers attempt to invite the literal top 100 players in the country to the NBA influenced camp. This year’s event could be missing a few big names due to USA U18 try-outs at the same time in Colorado Springs, but should be otherwise loaded.

FIBA U17 World Championships (June 29-July 8, Lithuania)
The core of the USA Basketball squad that won the FIBA Americas 16U tournament in Cancun last summer should be together for this event, which translates to top 2013 prospects Jabari Parker, Aaron Gordon, star 2014 center Jahlil Okafor and more.

LeBron James Skills Academy (July 6-9, Las Vegas)
Moved from his former stomping grounds of Akron to Sin City to accommodate James’ obligations to the Olympic team, this camp features the top prospects from the Nike circuit and some of the best coaches and trainers in the business. This year’s event falls outside of the live period for coaches to attend, but should still provide valuable information to player evaluators.

Reebok Breakout Challenge (July 10-13, Philadelphia)
NBA player John Wall puts his stamp on this event, which is rare on the elite stage in that spots are selected from try-outs and tournament performances designated by Reebok. This all-star camp aims to expose underrated national talent but holding all-comers selection events.

Adidas Invitational (July 11-15, Indianapolis)
A large scale event that takes over the basketball rich metro region of Indianapolis, this tournament features the top teams sponsored by adidas.

Nike Global Challenge (July 12-15, Washington)
Formerly in Portland, Oregon, Nike typically has three teams of players from the United States playing against five teams from various other countries.

EYBL Finals at Nike Peach Jam (July 18-21, North Augusta, S.C)
Among summer basketball tournaments, the Peach Jam is one of a few events where you can guarantee seeing virtually every head coach from BCS conferences. The Peach Jam now functions as the “season-ending” tournament for teams sponsored by Nike.

UA Summer Jam (July 18-22, Mequon, Wis.)
The summer showcase event for Under Armour teams is being put on by Midwest tournament organizer NY2LASports. It will be in direct competition against the Peach Jam, but for certain will receive hundreds of D-1 coaches during the course of the event.

Adidas Super 64/Las Vegas Fab 48 (July 25-29, Las Vegas)
Competing tournaments ensure hundreds of miles are driven to far flung gyms in Sin City to see talent, as approaching a thousand teams with high school basketball players participate in the several age groups these tournaments boast.

AAU National Championship (July 26-29, Orlando)
While using “AAU” as shorthand for every team event in the summer has been common, there still is an actual organization that sponsors a national championship, and this event typically has some of the best teams in the country in attendance.

Adidas Nations (Aug. 2-6, Los Angeles)
The elite prospects in the adidas stable are put on to several teams, and face off against talented players selected from several countries and regions of the world in a usually very good event. This event functions as adidas’ counterpunch to Nike’s Global Challenge.

Kellon Hassenstab runs Hoopniks.com. Follow him on Twitter @hoopniks.