Wednesday, July 23, 2014 | 2 a.m.
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This time of year, scheduling is key. The only way for college coaches — or fans of those teams — to see all of the games and players they’re trying to catch is to plan their days out, because it’s easy to get stuck between places like Bishop Gorman High and the Cashman Center if you’re not careful.
For the next five days, representatives from nearly every Division I program plus several lower levels will drive those zigzag paths across the valley for the final open recruiting weekend of the season. Three tournaments — Adidas Super 64, Fab 48 and the Las Vegas Classic — will command the most attention, with all three bringing in elite teams.
Although they technically have the home-court advantage, UNLV’s coaches must plot out their schedule just like every other staff. Here’s a look at many of the players and games of interest to the Rebels so you can follow along, too:
Class of 2015
• This is the big one for UNLV. It’s been an anticipated class locally for several years, with Bishop Gorman High’s Stephen Zimmerman and Chase Jeter leading a group that also included Ray Smith and Nate Grimes.
Smith, who recently committed to Arizona, won’t play until at least January after tearing his ACL. For Grimes this is the last chance to play in front of hometown fans before the former Desert Pines forward transfers to a school in North Carolina.
As far as UNLV’s local recruiting is concerned, the Gorman duo are the top targets with Findlay Prep’s Horace Spencer right up there as well. Spencer is a very physical forward with a reputation as a source of constant energy.
Similar to Spencer, Thomas is a bruising forward, and UNLV has been paying a lot of attention to him this summer. The Rebels and SMU might be considered the favorites, although teams like Baylor and Duke are still involved. If UNLV gets just one of those four big men, it will be in good shape.
Rounding out the group is a backcourt duo that will allow UNLV’s coaches to catch two players at the same time, plus an athletic guard playing in the same high school. Point guard Corey Sanders and shooting guard Dwayne Bacon both fit the mold for the run-and-gun style UNLV has been selling recruits for years. So does Admon Gilder, who might be moving up the Rebels' board.
Since the Rebels don’t know how many guys from this year’s roster they will have back, it’s important to maintain connections with potential replacements like these three guards.
Chase Jeter, 6-11, C
Team: Dream Vision
Tournament: Super 64
Location: Cashman Center
When: Wednesday — 7:40 p.m., Court 5 vs. NW Panthers; Thursday — 11:40 a.m., Court 3 vs. Milwaukee Rebels and 5 p.m., Court 3 vs. Indiana Elite
Stephen Zimmerman, 6-11, C
Team: Oakland Soldiers
Tournament: Las Vegas Classic
Location: Spring Valley High
When: Wednesday — 8:25 p.m., Court 1 vs. Earl Watson Elite Silver; Thursday — 12:20 p.m., Court 1 vs. M33M Let it Fly and 7:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. Team Bibby (at Impact Academy in The 8); Friday — 2:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. YIS Team Speed
Horace Spencer, 6-8, F
Team: Gym Rats
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Bishop Gorman High
When: Thursday — 8:30 a.m., Court 3 vs. Grand Rapids Storm and 5:50 p.m., Court 1 vs. Kenny Smith Aim High; Friday — 2:20 p.m., Court 2 vs. Utah Prospects
Elijah Thomas, 6-9, F
Team: Team Texas Elite
Tournament: Las Vegas Classic
Location: Spring Valley High
When: Wednesday — 5 p.m., Court 1 vs. DC Premier (at Bishop Gorman High) and 9:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. Blue Squad; Thursday — 2:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. Fastbreak Sports Blue; Friday — 5:45 p.m., Court 1 vs. Sam Rines
Dwayne Bacon, 6-6, G
Team: Showtime Ballers
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Bishop Gorman High
When: Thursday — 10:50 a.m., Court 2 vs. New England Playaz and 8:10 p.m., Court 3 vs. Big Red; Friday — 4:40 p.m., Court 1 vs. New Heights NYC
Corey Sanders, 6-1, G
Team: Showtime Ballers
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Bishop Gorman High
When: Thursday — 10:50 a.m., Court 2 vs. New England Playaz and 8:10 p.m., Court 3 vs. Big Red; Friday — 4:40 p.m., Court 1 vs. New Heights NYC
Admon Gilder, 6-3, G
Team: Dallas Mustangs
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Bishop Gorman High
When: Thursday — 1:10 p.m., Court 2 vs. Texas Pro; Friday — 9:40 a.m., Court 3 vs. DC Premier and 5:50 p.m. vs. Iowa Barnstormers
Class of 2016
• On Bishop Gorman's roster it's easy to miss a guy like Zach Collins, who's behind both Jeter and Zimmerman. But on Dream Vision's 16U team he'll get an opportunity to shine and all indications are he's ready for it.
Elsewhere in this class, Mitchell Lightfoot is a talented big man out of Arizona who picked up a scholarship offer from UNLV earlier this summer. And Vance Jackson is a long forward, the kind of player the Rebels have been stockpiling lately. He'll face stiff competition while playing up a year for Belmont Shore.
Zach Collins, 6-9, C
Team: Dream Vision 16U
Tournament: Super 64
Location: Cashman Center
When: Wednesday — 5 p.m., Court 3 vs. Indiana Elite; Thursday — 11:40 a.m., Court 4 vs. Team Loaded VA and 5 p.m., Court 2 vs. Compton Magic
Mitchell Lightfoot, 6-8, F
Team: Arizona Power Black 16U
Tournament: Las Vegas Classic
Location: Desert Pines High
When: Wednesday — 9:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. Team CP3; Thursday — 5:45 p.m., Court 1 vs. Team Texas 2016; Friday — 2:30 p.m., Court 1 vs. Seattle Rotary Select II
Vance Jackson, 6-8, F
Team: Belmont Shore
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Bishop Gorman High
When: Wednesday — 6:15 p.m., Court 1 vs. Mac Irvin Fire; Thursday — 3:30 p.m., Court 2 vs. Upward Stars 2015; Friday — 10:50 a.m., Court 3 vs. Houston Defenders and 9:20 p.m., Court 1 vs. NJ Playaz Gold
Class of 2017
• There will be other sophomores that UNLV reaches out to over the next week but only one worth putting on your schedule. The Rebels offered Brown, who plays at Centennial High, a scholarship when he was only 14. Since then he's taken an unofficial visit to Kansas, where his sister is on the women's basketball team, and Brown also has interest from Duke, North Carolina and UCLA.
Basically, Brown is the next big thing on the local basketball scene so get in before that bandwagon overflows.
Troy Brown, 6-6, G
Team: Las Vegas Prospects 15U
Tournament: Fab 48
Location: Palo Verde High
When: Wednesday — 5 p.m., Court 2 vs. Supreme Court Force (at Bishop Gorman High with Prospects 17U); Thursday — 1:10 p.m., Court 1 vs. Wisconsin United 15U; Friday — 8:30 a.m., Court 3 vs. Gamepoint Black 15U and 7 p.m., Court 1 vs. Derron Williams Elite 2017
Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.
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