Every year, some of the best prospects in high school basketball gather to compete at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam Tournament in Georgia.
Coaches from nearly every division one school are in attendance, and players are looking to make statements with their performances to earn offers from those coaches.
Last summer, after one of the quarterfinal games at Peach Jam, guard Comeh Emuobor was approached by Pitt head coach Jeff Capel for the first time after one of his best performances of the summer.
“It was actually after one of my games at Peach Jam that he came to watch,” Emuobor said about his first time meeting Capel. “Right after the game, I talked to Coach [Jeff] Capel briefly. He just told me I played well, and that we’ll keep in contact.”
Since that moment, Capel, a North Carolina native, has indeed kept in touch with Emuobor, another North Carolina native.
“He has reached out from time to time, yes, but coach [Jason] Capel, his brother, reaches out to me quite often.”
Emuobor is a 6-foot-5, 197-pound combo guard out of Raleigh, North Carolina. With very similar roots and very similar size and position to Jeff when he was a player, it makes sense why Emuobor quickly caught the eye of the Capels.
“He just tells me that they really like my game,” he said about Jason. “The first thing he told me actually was that they see how hard I play, you know, how much effort I put in and all the little things I do to help win games.”
Emuobor, who is ranked as the No. 120 player in the nation according to the 247 Sports Composite, is currently being recruited by more than 20 division one schools. He holds offers from seven programs: Virginia Tech, South Carolina, USF, Elon, UNCG, Illinois, and NC A&T. In addition to those offers, he has received interest from Pitt, Vanderbilt, UCF, Eastern Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Oklahoma State, Furman, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Florida, Clemson, Loyola Chicago, Cincinnati, and more.
“I’d probably say my finishing and my shooting are my best strengths,” Emuobor told PSN. “I’m just a playmaker. I’m a combo guard. I’m that two-way guard that can produce offensively and defensively. I usually always guard the best player on the other end, and yeah, I know how to finish at the rim, get my teammates the ball, shoot the ball, I also rebound well, so, all of that.”
When hearing from that many schools at a time, it may be tough to find one that stands out, especially for a younger prospect. For Emuobor, he says that so far, Pitt has been putting in significant effort to stand out in the recruiting process.
“I’d say they’re up there,” he said when asked where Pitt stands among schools pursuing him the hardest. “I can’t really rank them, because it’s still really early, but they’re up there. They keep in contact quite often.”
For now, Emuobor is focused on the rest of his high school season with his teammates at Ravenscroft.
“It’s been good,” he said about his season so far. “We play a tough schedule, so we’ve been out there playing against the best players in North Carolina. We just play great competition, we’ve been battling every night, and our season’s been going well. Getting ready for our playoff run real soon, so, it’s starting to pick up.”
another teaser by Capel. I always look at the other teams that made offers, and if they are not Mid-American or below, like every other year, Capel offers top-caliber so Pitt is listed among top caliber players. pp Notice however over in the last two years fewer players in top 100, are offered to lower embarrassment. IMO the only option Pitt has is to hire a nationally recognized recruiter as H.C., not a name. The best is Pitt Alumni, who has recruited two National Championship teams for Calipari. Orlando Antiqua played at Pitt and is a top recruiter, that will… Read more »
If Antigua (note correct spelling) is the best candidate which he is not, he won’t “cost big money to get from Calipari.” (again, note correct spelling) He is in the first year of a 3 year contract paying him $850,000 per year with yearly raises of $25k per year & no buyout if he leaves to become a head coach. His only stint as a head coach ended 5 years ago at South Florida where he also made $900k per year & his record was a terrible 23-55, so It’s not like schools are beating down his door to hire… Read more »
Hey Wreckin’ Ball. Here’s a summary of you: smartest guy in the room = smallest dick. Pompous a-hole.
I have a few question for you Joe or Dennis or Katman or let’s just call you Crazy Old Pap, what proof do you have that smartest guy in the room = smallest penis? Did you conduct the research yourself? How many subjects did you “interview” while doing this research? Do you ask the subjects to get aroused for your research or do you measure them flaccid? Was this research funded by Justin Dietrich since he is a known penis expert?