Takeaways and top players after summer recruiting's wild finish in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- The 2016 live summer recruiting period is finally over. It wrapped up on Sunday night, when Mass Rivals took the Adidas Summer Championships title at the spacious Cashman Center, a mere few blocks away from Old Vegas. That Mass Rivals group was a lot of fun to watch in person; I caught them twice. The event in general is very well run, and has basically become the Peach Jam of Vegas. A lot of high-level teams, multiple games being play under the same roof at once, big-time programs consistently in the gym, and now there's a televised aspect to it as well.

Though, to be fair to other events (like the Fab48, Bigfoot Hoops and The 8), Las Vegas has become a behemoth in general -- and there are a number of really well-run tournaments. If anything, there are too many. Vegas has become so big, such a destination, that it's logistically impossible to see enough teams and prospects, given there are so many games and tourneys in so many spots. And it takes anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes to traverse, given location or time of day.

It's become so crowded that, when I landed on Wednesday and tried to get a rental car, nearly every company at the Rent-A-Car center was dealing with long lines and hour-long waits. The reason? Dozens of teams were trying to secure vans or SUVs to accommodate travel for all their guys, and the rental car companies were running low.

When you consider how big NBA Summer League has become, plus the fact that Team USA practices in Vegas every other year, it's clear that Sin City's become the capital of basketball in the summer. It's a city well-equipped for it, even if the nights go long and the mornings come way too early.

I've got a few more thoughts on Vegas below, but first, in order to make it easier on those who follow recruiting only in a casual sense, I wanted to list off the top 10 recruits -- according to the 247 Sports composite -- and inform you to what those guys did in July, what schools are favored to land them, and any other interesting details.

Before we get to the list, there are three players not on it who stood out to me, two of which could be top-10 prospects by the time we get to the fall or winter. A huge winner from Vegas was Wabissa Bede, who starred for Mass Rivals and, though he started the summer as a three-star prospect, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets bumped up a star by the time this piece goes to publishing. That kid is a lot of fun to watch and made tremendous on-court decisions in the two games I watched him play. Schools like Bryant, Boston College, St. Bonaventure, Butler and East Carolina were in on him before, but Vegas changed everything. Now Oklahoma, A&M, Nebraska and Dayton are chasing.

A guy not currently on the 247 composite top 10 but could be soon? Collin Sexton. Was a standout in every game I watched him play in Vegas. Sexton (currently No. 18) played with CP3 and was as good as any prospect I saw in the desert. Another player with a big final, third week this summer was Lonnie Walker (currently No. 21). You could sense he was motivated by the fact he didn't make the cut for the U18 team that went to Chile and won gold. Sexton is projected to be a Bama guy, while Walker is forecast to pick Jay Wright and Villanova.

Now, to the top 10.

10. Mitchell Robinson | 7'0 | C
Verbally committed to Western Kentucky on June 29.

July recap: Robinson is a freaking force. I saw him play unafraid -- but still lose -- against Ayton down at the Peach Jam. He went on to play in Vegas, with New Orleans Elite, at the Adidas Summer Championships. His team went 2-3 at the event, but Robinson averaged 17 and 7 in the process. Western Kentucky, huh? Yep. Texas A&M was the previous presumptive stop, but then Rick Stansbury -- who recruited Robinson as an A&M assistant -- got the WKU gig. Now Robinson's headed to play for the Hilltoppers, making him perhaps the biggest recruit since Conference USA was re-branded a decade ago.

9. Billy Preston | 6-10 | PF
247 Crystal Ball says: USC

July recap: Preston was the best player I saw play in Las Vegas. He was injured early at Peach Jam after getting his finger jammed on the rim contesting a dunk. But at the Fab48 Preston was ferocious. If he winds up at USC, it could be an absolute coup for Andy Enfield, who's in need of a big-time recruit to revitalize that program, which is seemingly on the upswing nonetheless. Preston seems an unbreakable player. Well-defined, plays with aggressiveness but is never unbalanced. He's also plenty unselfish, considering his skill set. Arizona, Kansas and Maryland are also still going after Preston. I'd be shocked if he's not a one-and-done guy.

8. Hamidou Diallo | 6-5 | SG
247 Crystal Ball says: Kentucky

July recap: Diallo went to Chile with Team USA. He's an athletic freak, a fantastic scorer -- two coaches I spoke with think he's the best overall scorer in this class -- and in general the most fun player to watch I saw this summer. But he's also got a passionate streak on the floor that both helps him and can hinder him. Getting his emotions under control might be the biggest task for Diallo by the time he gets to college. Kentucky or Connecticut? Many believe Diallo will wind up picking one of the two. I could write plenty more on him. In fact, I did. Here's a feature.

7. Brandon McCoy | 6-10 | PF
247 Crystal Ball says: Cal

July recap: I admittedly didn't know a thing about McCoy heading into July. Had never seen him play. He's really impressive, by most accounts. Playing alongside DeAndre Ayton with Cal Supreme, McCoy is a big with maturity to his game already. Unfortunately he didn't play in Vegas due to a thigh bruise. McCoy is one of the West Coast's best prospects. He's from San Diego, so pretty much every program of significance out west is chasing him.

The Mass Rivals team went undefeated en route to the Adidas Summer Championships title. Kelly Kline/Adidas

6. Kevin Knox | 6-8 | SF
247 Crystal Ball says: Duke

July recap: Knox, who's still got a list of 10 schools, basically saw every one of his games packed with big-time programs going two or three coaches deep. He's polished, fun to watch, occasionally super aggressive and already looks college-ready. Knox was fairly consistent when I saw him at Peach Jam and then at the Fab48 in Las Vegas. He's a 3 who can play the 4 right now. Versatile forward who was good for two or three "wow" plays per game. Just waiting to see if he can develop a jump shot from beyond 15 feet. If that can happen, he'll be a top-five player in his class.

5. Trevon Duval | 6-3 | PG
247 Crystal Ball says: UCLA

July recap: The best point guard in the class of 2017 won the Under Armour Association summer league title in Atlanta with his Delaware-based WE-R1 squad. He's a tremendous player and easily the best floor general -- and all-around athlete, among point guards -- in his class. He was a standout in Vegas, showcasing yet again why he's so coveted in the 2017 class, which is good but not deep on point guards. Duval said last week that he'll be trimming his school list to five before the summer ends. Arizona, Kansas, Maryland and Baylor are strong suitors, in addition to UCLA, which is the predicted landing spot for Duval.

4. Wendell Carter | 6-10 | PF
247 Crystal Ball says: Duke

July recap: Carter had a fantastic month, capped off by his CP3 team's win in The 8, a Nike-run event every year in Vegas. Carter is a very smart kid who's believed to be down to Duke and Harvard. I spoke with a few ACC coaches who believe it's gotta be Duke, but two of them told me, in so many words, "I'm hearing Harvard is truly a legitimate option and possibility for Wendell." Wouldn't that be something? It would shake up college basketball, no question, and Harvard/the Ivy League would see a watershed moment in recruiting. But I'll believe when I see it. Carter recently cut his list to a top eight. On it: Duke, Harvard, Kentucky, UNC, Arizona, California, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

3. Mohamed Bamba | 6-11 | PF
247 Crystal Ball says: Duke

July recap: Bamba is one of three players in this top 10 who made the USA Basketball U18 national team and competed in Chile. (Diallo and Michael Porter, Jr. being the other two.) He's crazy-long, and he made his mark at Peach Jam with an appearance in the semifinals of that prestigious event. Bamba's defensive ability is outrageously good. I think he's got plenty of room to grow on offense, but you can't question him as a top-five recruit right now. Vegas would've been fun with him there, but ultimately he was helped by the Team USA invite, wherein he was second on the team in rebounds. The question with Bama is: Who will make his final list? Similar to Carter, will Harvard truly be in the final mix? Kentucky, Villanova and Duke are also in there.

2. Michael Porter Jr. | 6-9 | SF
Verbally committed to Washington on July 15.

July recap: Porter Jr. won the biggest event of the summer, the Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., during the month's first five-day evaluation period. His team, MoKan Elite, was boosted in a big way by shooting point guard Trae Young, who could become a top-15 prospect when this crop of 2017 is finally figured out. But Porter Jr. is atop the current 247 list, and No. 2 on the nationwide composite. He had a tremendous run, finishing up with USA Basketball in Chile, which won gold at the FIBA U18 championships. Porter led the team in scoring (15.8) and was the best player on the team over the course of five games. Certainly possible he's the No. 1 pick come the 2018 NBA Draft.

1. DeAndre Ayton | 7-0 | PF
247 Crystal Ball says: Kansas

July recap: Ayton had a solid Peach Jam, earning wins over Marvin Bagley -- the clear-cut top player in the class of 2017 -- in addition to beating Mitchell Robinson and Wendell Carter's teams. (He looked much better than Bagley in their matchup, for what that's worth.) He decided to skip Vegas play altogether, and it's unlikely his top-spot perch will change because of that. There remains some uncertainty over Ayton's college eligibility, but if he goes, most believe Kansas is the landing spot. A number of high-profile programs weren't eagerly recruiting him at the start of the month, either. Ayton's a well-defined big (doesn't feel like a true center) who's still got plenty of room to grow. To me, absolutely the best prospect in the class right now.

General Vegas takeaways:

The 2017 crop of top-30 players isn't as good as 2016's, but it's definitely a lot better than what's coming in 2018, I think. If anything, I think this 2017 group offers a lot of guys who could become very good three- and four-year college players.
I spoke with a number of coaches who get so worn down and tired of the recruiting gauntlet by the time the final two or three days of Vegas hits. A lot of them don't like the current three five-day cycle in July because they are barely with the players on their team, and then summer school sessions wrap up in early August, and everyone goes home. There's never going to be a perfect system, and I think this current model will be place for a few years to come, but a number of coaches said the two 10-day period was preferred.
It's unreal how big Vegas has become for so-called AAU hoops. Hal Pastner's Bigfoot Hoops event alone featured more than 1,100 teams! Nothing is a secret in recruiting anymore, at least when it comes to finding players at any level. When you see the size of Vegas, the number of events, games, recruits, all of it, you can easily understand how coaching staffs can become overwhelmed by the process. It is not easy, and the rat race is fatiguing for all, no matter the size of the program.
A few more names of players who stood out to me in Vegas: Jemarl Baker (sleek Cal-bound combo guard), Scottie Lewis (crazy-good 2019 kid), Sean Fernandez (among leaders in points and steals at Adidas), Nick Richards (five-star big man who is developing a terrific post game), Bryan Antoine (teammate of Lewis' on Team Rio, another 2019 kid who will be top 10 in his class, probably) and Michael McDougal (possible terrific player at the mid-major level).
Jermaine Samuels, who plays with Expressions Elite, was another guy who stood out to me. So much so that I'll have a quickie story on him later this week.
One last note: Mike Rice coaches Team Rio, a squad out of New Jersey. Yes, former Rutgers coach Mike Rice. He's, in an under-the-radar way, trying to work his way back to a Division I sideline. Being a head coach at the college level might not ever happen again, but he'll probably get his chance as an assistant, it's just going to take a few more years. Coaching the likes of Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine would seemingly only help facilitate his return, though.

Lastly, the current top 10 recruiting classes for 2017. Check this list.

Pretty interesting, right? But this is how it normally goes when we get to July. The cycle of commitments will bleed into the early spring, so this top 10 is sure to change in a big way over the next four months. Kentucky and Duke -- the two programs who've owned the top two spots in the past half decade -- are nowhere to be found inside the top 100, let alone the top 10, because they've not landed any big fish yet. My guess on current top 10 schools who will remain there at the end of the 2016-17 recruiting cycle: Auburn, Washington, UCLA and Cal. I think all others will fall out of the top 10 to make way for bigger programs.