EYBL Louisville Preview
For the first time in three years, PowerMizzou is traveling the AAU circuit this spring and summer. The COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season before it began, and last year, media weren't allowed to attend most AAU events. We caught up with a few Mizzou targets at the Under Armour Association event in Kansas City last month. This weekend, we'll be in Louisville, Kentucky to watch the third stop of the talent-rich Nike EYBL.
The return to normal comes at the perfect time, as Dennis Gates is trying to revamp Missouri's recruiting. Since being hired, Gates and his staff have extended a slew of offers to prospects in the classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. While coaches will not be allowed to attend the event in person as it falls during a quiet period on the NCAA recruiting calendar, we should be able to catch up with quite a few of those prospects in Louisville this weekend.
The following is a list of players we expect to see. Games will be played Saturday through Monday. Stay tuned for comprehensive coverage throughout the weekend.
Class of 2023
Page just took a visit to Missouri last week, and he talked with us about it afterward. The forward has boosted his stock quite a bit already this spring. He has also visited USC and plans to visit Cincinnati next week.
Page's teammate both at Wheeler high and with The Skill Factory on the EYBL, Collier could wind up being the top point guard prospect in the 2022 class. He's currently leading the EYBL in assists at 6.5 per game. Mizzou assistant C.Y. Young was recruiting him for Florida State and has continued to do so since being hired by the Tigers. Assuming we're able to talk to Collier this weekend, we should get a better idea of how realistic the Tigers' chances of landing him are. It is worth noting that Page told us that he and Collier would like to play together at the college level.
Gapare is an intriguing prospect. He grew up in New Zealand and was initially a member of the 2022 class. He was once committed to George Washington but has since backed away from that pledge and reclassified to 2023. Now, he's got a litany of high-major schools pursuing him, including Missouri. He plays for Team Melo on the EYBL circuit.
Robinson is another prospect who Young became familiar with while he was at Florida State. The point guard prospect plays for the Georgia Stars and has picked up new offers from Georgia, SMU and Missouri since the start of the EYBL season.
Royal is an athletic wing who had a big month of April, when he landed new offers from Michigan State, Wisconsin and Rutgers, in addition to Missouri. The Columbus area native also has an offer from Ohio State. He plays for All Ohio Red on the EYBL circuit.
Another Florida native and another athletic wing, Burks is off to a strong start to the AAU season. He has landed new offers from the likes of Texas Tech, Marquette, DePaul, Xavier, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, in addition to Missouri. He plays for the Florida Rebels.
Full disclosure: We are not sure at this point whether Gates and his staff are actively recruiting McBride, who picked up a Missouri offer and took an official visit to campus while Cuonzo Martin was the head coach. But we plan to watch him play for the Drive Nation squad and get the latest on his recruitment this weekend.
Class of 2024
Bol has shown why he's a top-50 prospect in the 2024 class, as he's played up on the 17U team for MoKan Elite so far this spring. Despite standing 7-foot-2, Bol has reportedly shown the ability to space the floor. We'll be excited to see his game firsthand.
Givens also plays for the Kansas City-based MoKan Elite, albeit for the 16U squad. The Memphis native will play his high school ball for national powerhouse Montverde Academy next fall, so it's probably a good thing that Missouri is in on him fairly early.
Givens' former teammate at the Memphis University School, King also plays for the MoKan Elite 16U squad.
Thomas is arguably the headliner for a loaded 16U squad for the Brad Beal Elite program, which is based out of St. Louis. His long offer list already includes the likes of Arkansas, Illinois, Memphis, Texas Tech and Auburn.
McCullum and Miller play alongside Thomas on the Brad Beal Elite 16U team, giving the squad a formidable collection of long, athletic forwards.
Class of 2025
While he just finished his freshman season of high school, Davis-Ray already has an impressive offer list that includes Illinois, LSU, Texas and Texas Tech. Missouri jumped into the mix on April 30. We should get our first glimpse of Davis-Ray as he plays for the Team Griffin 16U squad.
McKenney has been receiving high-major offers since before he even started playing high school basketball. The Michigan native plays on the 16U team for Bates Fundamentals.
Rowe doesn't yet have a Missouri offer, but we've been told the Tiger staff has been out to Tolton Catholic to watch the Columbia native since being hired. Rowe, who does alredy have offers from Tennessee, Kansas State and Saint Louis, among others. He will play alongside Givens and King for the 16U MoKan Elite squad.
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