EDGE Notes: Day 2 Of The Nike EYBL In Hampton

Session no. 3 of the Nike EYBL is in Hampton, Virginia, at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. Games began Friday and run through Sunday. Missing from the scene are Division 1 college coaches, who are not allowed in attendance because this weekend is not a live Evaluation Period. That didn’t make the action any less intense on perhaps AAU’s most prestigious stage.

With only one scholarship available, the UVA men’s basketball program hasn’t extended many scholarship offers in the class of 2017. I watched four of those targets on Saturday – point guards Chris Lykes and Matt Coleman, guard/forward Michael Porter Jr., and combo guard Lonnie Walker IV. Here are some initial notes with full reports to come…

– Lykes, a 5’7” point guard out of Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), can really put the ball in the basket. He scored 15 points in Team Takeover’s win over Seattle Rotary in the morning game and followed up with a 24-point performance in a close loss to CIA Bounce in the evening. The reigning WCAC Player of the Year had a terrific junior season at Gonzaga and has kept his stellar play going on the AAU circuit.

In addition to significant scoring punch, I thought Lykes showed toughness and poise and the ability to play on or off the ball. He has emerged this spring as a top target of UVA’s, with Villanova and Miami among the other top contenders.

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