College basketball recruiting: Coaches weigh in on NCAA Tournament size, intel on top prospects and more

ROCK HILL and NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Sneakers squeaking, kids hooping, parents hollering and the game's most famous faces fraternizing on the sidelines. It's the time of year when coaches burn the candle at both ends: 8 a.m. games and 10 p.m. dinners.

The midsummer recruiting trail is most interesting window on the hoops calendar that most fans don't get to see or really experience. The biggest names in college basketball rub shoulders, literally, sitting next to each other while watching the college stars of tomorrow.

College basketball's July live period allows for two four-day sprints for coaches to hit the road and watch prospects play in a variety of tournaments across the country. Last week, I traveled to South Carolina to take in Adidas-sponsored teams in Rock Hill and Nike-backed programs in North Augusta (with a manageable two-hour drive separating the sites).

Which 68 teams make our first 2026 Bracketology, and which teams may be hoping for NCAA Tournament expansion

Adidas' summer tournament culminated Sunday, while the Nike EYBL season segues into Peach Jam bracket play all this week and weekend in North Augusta. There was plenty to see and much more to talk about. After conversations with nearly three dozen coaches, I've cobbled an assorted notebook. We start with the biggest topic that prompted conversation in the gym.

We were expecting an update on the NCAA Tournament last Thursday, only to see the decision shelved again.

That seems for the best.

When it comes to tourney expansion, three groups are often lumped together in the Bigger Bracket Brigade: conference commissioners, athletic directors and coaches. Turns out, coaches should be given more credit for seeing the bigger picture. Because in talking to nearly two dozen about the topic last Thursday, Friday and Saturday, I was surprised to discover just how many of them are content to see March Madness stay at 68 teams. Some think 72 is a good alteration and would endorse minor expansion. Most I spoke with believe jumping to 76 would be overkill.

But for the most part? Based on who I spoke to, they're fine with keeping the NCAA Tournament special at 68. Some have stronger opinions on it than others.

"I think it's f------ stupid," one prominent high-major coach told me.

Coaches who expressed contentment with 68 include, but aren't limited to, UConn's Dan Hurley, Alabama's Nate Oats, Duke's Jon Scheyer, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Virginia Tech's Mike Young, Wake Forest's Steve Forbes and Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg. Houston's Kelvin Sampson said expansion would give coaches more opportunities to experience the tournament, then acknowledged that it would probably lead to an undesired consequence: more bids and an easier tournament to get into would likely lead to quicker firings.

Michigan coach Dusty May and I went back and forth on a lot of the particulars, then he followed up over text: "If our objective is to possess the best tournament, 64 is the option. If we want to generate more revenue, then I'll leave that to the TV execs and the commissioners and let them decide the number. Either way, we will do our best to be in it!"

Texas' Sean Miller told me he'd opt for 72. His opinion was influenced by the fact that four months ago, while at Xavier, he found himself coaching a team truly on the bubble for the first time in his career.

"I think the format as it stands today is the greatest sporting event that we have," Miller said. "Never before has the tournament felt more even, with few exceptions. On any given night in a 40-minute game, it's just amazing what can happen. I think adding depth to that will only make what's already good even better."

The ever-curious Kim English, Providence's coach, wanted to know why most in the media are hellbent on not expanding the tournament. He also pointed out that college basketball has the lowest percentage of representation (19% of its teams) in its national championship format, whereas many Division I sports have approximately 25% participation (or more) in their brackets. (It should be noted: no other D-I sports can match college basketball's 364 participating teams, which is an important discrepancy.)

Bottom line: Coaches are aware of just how unpopular tournament expansion is. And now we're seeing some big names siding with the majority of sports fans who don't see any need to change March Madness. The selection committee should consider this angle as well before they reconvene virtually at the end of July or in early August to determine what to do with 2026 and beyond.

Coaches and NBA scouts I spoke to agree across the board: When compared to the five-star depth from 2024, 2025 and what's percolating in 2027, the 2026 class is glaringly weak. We'll get some college stars from it, of course, but in terms of projected NBA star-level potential, 2026 is not considered in the upper half of all classes in the past 15 years — and in fact might be in the bottom three or four in that span.

Regardless, there are a lot of intriguing talents. I watched all or parts of 25ish games over the course of four days in Rock Hill and North Augusta. Here's a pithy rundown on some of the more notable players and/or performances that happened on the Adidas and Nike circuits. All rankings are per 247 Sports.

1. Tyran Stokes (No. 1 in 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings). He's been a fixture and highly ranked talent for well over two years. To these eyes, there is no one competing with Stokes for the top spot in '26. The best way I'd describe his skillset right now is a "point 3." He's big enough to play the 4 in college, but also has to have the ball in his hands. There are times where his size, skill and physical prowess make gameplay unfair vs. his opponents. I've still never seen him play in fifth gear. The star of the Oakland Soldiers on the Nike EYBL circuit, Stokes is thriving while playing alongside another top-five prospect in '26, Jason Crowe Jr. This is a paraphrase, but while watching Stokes' team win on Friday, one coach standing next to me said, "It's like the big kid came to the playground and is just wrecking all the little ones."

As for his recruitment, the teams involved say Stokes values his privacy and is keeping his courtships close to the vest. The expectation is he'll wind up playing for one of Kentucky, Louisville or Kansas (three places he's already visited), but Arkansas and USC are also looming, it seems. No timeline on a commitment decision. He'll be a preseason All-American about 15 months from now.

2. Caleb Holt (No. 6 in 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings). The highest-rated prospect on the Adidas circuit, Holt plays for Game Elite, which won the 3SSB title Sunday in Rock Hill. Even with a quality ranking, he's ascending as of late after shining for Team USA's team that won gold in the FIBA U19 World Cup a couple of weeks ago. Love watching guys who consistently give effort, even after the rugged travel and heavy game load at this time of the calendar. Holt checks a lot of boxes.

3. Taylen Kinney (No. 11 in 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings). Saw him in Rock Hill. One of the quickest first steps I've seen from a high school player in the past five years. Kinney's crossover would rank among the best in D-I right now. Kinney looked good (at points) despite playing hurt and losing a game with a late turnover Wednesday vs. New Heights. Few prospects have Kinney's combination of handles, blitzes, vision and shooting, which explains why more than a dozen programs are enthusiastically chasing him.

4. Arafan Diane (No. 15 in in 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings). A big man with a vocal streak, Diane is a 7-footer who is the emotional center of his Iowa United team on the Adidas circuit. Diane was constantly barking on the court — both encouraging his teammates and with some smack talk for opponents. His conditioning needs to improve, but as one high-major assistant who just made the Final Four told me: "He's a beast."

5. Deron Rippey Jr. (No. 17 in 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings). If you told me he wound up moving up 5-7 slots by the time the 2026 class finalizes, I'd believe you. Rippey, who plays on the Adidas side, is a well-rounded point guard with a nose for timely defense and knack for big plays in big moments. I didn't know anything about him a week ago and am now convinced he'll eventually be an All-American if he's in college by his junior season. Apparently the entire world is now recruiting him.

6. Landon Veal (unranked in 2026). And he won't be unranked for much longer. Almost every year I try to highlight a player who's undervalued but manages to put on reputation-changing performance in July. Veal meets the criteria. He's a 6-9 pogo stick defender who keyed JL3's 16U EYBL team to a win Saturday over a Drive Nation team thanks to a bevy of impressive blocks, timely put-backs and heads-up plays. A lot of high-majors were on hand to watch other guys, but my bet is Veal goes from zero-star player to power-conference commit over the next year-plus.

7. Baba Oladotun (No. 1 in 247Sports Class of 2027 rankings). The top-ranked prospect of 2027's class didn't look the part in multiple games last week in North Augusta. Which isn't to suggest he's overrated — sometimes guys have bad spurts, and it's completely justifiable. Additionally, I credit Oladotun for playing up; he's with the 17s even though he's only 16. His body type — and body type only, I'll stress — recalls a young Kevin Durant, which is fitting considering he plays for Team Durant on the Nike side. With 2027 being a loaded class, Oladotun holds the top ranking for now, but there are probably five players in the mix fighting for that top spot, including ...

8. Marcus Spears Jr. (No. 3 in 247Sports Class of 2027 rankings). Yes, his father is the former NFL player/current ESPN commentator. I talked with Marcus Spears Sr. on Saturday; he was enjoying himself in the main gym (not even watching his son's game) and told me he's settled in for the 11-day marathon down in North Augusta. Spears Jr. quite clearly has the potential to become the top player in 2027. Terrific length, great defensive instincts and an offensive game that is still finding its form. Watching him work into the midrange to get a shot against a quality defender was a bit like watching a latter unfold, but his overall package is obvious.

9. Obinna Ezekie (No. 5 in 247Sports Class of 2027 rankings). One Big 12 coach I was sitting next to called him "Baby Dwight Howard." His physical profile is outrageous for someone playing on the 16U Nike circuit. Borderline unstoppable physical presence at his level right now. He stands near-7 feet and is going to be even bigger by the time he steps on a college court in November of 2027. F-R-E-A-K.

10. Nasir Anderson (No. 12 in 247Sports Class of 2027 rankings). Watched him at Adidas. He does everything at an above-average level except the most important skill: shoot. Still, I caught Anderson while standing next to Kelvin Sampson and Mark Pope; he looks like a future fixture on a really good high-major team. If he was a knockdown shooter he'd be a top-six player in his class right now.

Other prospects who caught my eye: Brandon McCoy (No. 3 in '26), Jason Crowe Jr. (No. 5 in '26), Qayden Samuels (No. 18 in '26), Maximo Adams (No. 41 in '26), Bruce Branch III (No. 2 in '27) and Ryan Hampton (No. 8 in '27).

How much time and effort is it worth to recruit a high schooler right now? That depends on the coach. The past few years have seen a significant reduction in high school recruiting because of the portal and the high priority put on older players. That's still going to be a major part of the roster-building calculus moving forward, but with the COVID bonus years now gone, there will be a shift back toward putting more stock into filling out rosters with incoming freshmen.

These players have to play college somewhere, after all.

How much they factor into their college teams in Year 1 is a different story.

Some high-major coaches I talked to maintained that a lot of July recruiting isn't what it was 15 years ago. Some coaches told me they were bailing early on some of these events. Some high-major assistants aren't even going on the road this month, period, opting to head to Summer League in Las Vegas or focus on other aspects of the job.

Here's one anecdote: I caught Baba Oladotun's game Friday morning in North Augusta. I sat next to Scheyer for the first half of that game, but what stood out was just how thinly attended it was. Here was the No. 1 prospect in 2027 playing a late-morning game against Team Takeover. Two teams from the greater D.C. area.

And maybe 25 coaches total — assistants included — were in the main gym? It felt oddly empty. There were seats to accommodate 100-plus, and to be fair, those seats will be much more filled at Peach Jam this week. But it was hard not to notice a lack of buzz around a lot of games with highly rated prospects last week.

"It doesn't feel as big as it used to," one ACC coach (not Scheyer, to be clear) told me.

One major reason for that: Coaches don't feel like they should, or need to, spend two or three years recruiting a player any more. Relationships with agents and money deals are going to get it done. Some relationship-building is important, but the game has changed and the idea that a coaching staff has to attend every single game possible for a recruit they're desperate to land? That's not the way of the world anymore.

I get the sense a lot of coaches are all too relieved that's the case.

But you still have to show up some of the time. And the most important time is this coming Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Peach Jam probably won't ever feel as big as to what it grew into in the late 2010s and early 2020s, but the hallways of the Riverview Park Activities Center will be packed again this week, with plenty of coaches putting on their last evaluation pushes before they flee for their vacation desitionations in August.

For the majority of this century, Nike's Peach Jam has been heralded as the best event with the best talent in the high school recruiting space. It's earned that honor. For the past two-plus decades Nike has nurtured the most high-end talent and reliably has the deepest pool of players. That's not changing any time soon.

But it doesn't have the best venue on the circuit anymore.

Adidas has become the envy of the recruiting space with its home for its summer tournament.

A few years ago, Adidas signed a deal that ensured its 3 Stripes Select Basketball (3SSB) championship would be held at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center. The 170,000-square-foot facility opened in 2020 and is practically a 3-iron away from Winthrop's campus. It's the best setup I've been to in 15 years of covering summer recruiting.

There is a 1,200-seat primary arena in addition to seven more courts adjacent to that main arena. It's never cramped, the chairs are comfortable and the temperature in the building is perfect. In the center is a spacious hospitality suite (with catered food) for coaches and scouts that has an elevated platform to enable coaches, media and NBA folks to chat, chew and view multiple games at once. The complex is the ideal environment and layout for a summer basketball event. Rock Hill is poised to be a fixture for July recruiting for the next decade-plus.