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Brandin Cummings, the EYBL, and future Roster building

Why don’t we want Royce Parham? He is higher on that list than Cummings.

Parham not being able to get his team even to the WPIAL final, losing to a Quinnipiac bound player with Penn Hills tells me all I need to know. Keep an eye on the Quinnipiac dude in the portal a few years from now though. He is very athletic and could develop into a very good player
 
Cummings is averaging 18.5 points per game, 3 rebounds per game, and 1 assist per game in session 3 of the EYBL which continues his excellent pace of consistent production game in and game out at a high scoring rate.

Defense has been good these 3rd session games and he has been much more active than in the past with active hands and keeping his man in front of him, he has made some strides here on this end of the floor. Its unfortunate he plays on a team that has so little talent and a 4 star ranked point guard next to him (Jerry Easter) that has completely collapsed in the 3rd session leaving Cummings to be most of the teams entire offense. He almost led his team to a comeback win this evening as his team was down 6 with 1 minute left, and Cummings had a steal which he then converted for a layup followed by a drawn charge which resulted in a turnover that he forced which led to a score.


After being a 3rd team all eybl and 2nd team all eybl selection in the prior two sessions, Cummings is on his way to making an all EYBL team once again in the 3rd session. Cummings is 9th in the entire EYBL in scoring regardless of class in the U17 division for all sessions combined. There is 1 day left of games in the 3rd session.
 
Cummings scored 22 points in the final eybl game of session 3 on 8-14 shooting. Cummings has moved up to #6 overall in the entire EYBL in scoring with 19 points per game on average through 3 complete sessions. Through the first 3 EYBL sessions, Cummings is shooting 51% from the floor, 38% from 3, and 81% from the line. Rebounding has fallen to 3.7 boards per game which is ok and is grabbing just under 1 steal per game. His numbers continue to be strong and just as importantly consistent from game to game.
 
Cummings scored 22 points in the final eybl game of session 3 on 8-14 shooting. Cummings has moved up to #6 overall in the entire EYBL in scoring with 19 points per game on average through 3 complete sessions. Through the first 3 EYBL sessions, Cummings is shooting 51% from the floor, 38% from 3, and 81% from the line. Rebounding has fallen to 3.7 boards per game which is ok and is grabbing just under 1 steal per game. His numbers continue to be strong and just as importantly consistent from game to game.

Again, these sound like Top 30-50 type numbers. He may be making a huge jump and start pulling in blue blood or near blue blood offers. I mean Kentucky signed the Quaker Valley kid, who stinks.
 
Again, these sound like Top 30-50 type numbers. He may be making a huge jump and start pulling in blue blood or near blue blood offers. I mean Kentucky signed the Quaker Valley kid, who stinks.


At this junction through 3 sessions, Cummings numbers in the EYBL are pretty similar to RJ Davis who was our top target in 2020. In some respects, you could say the 2 players have some similarities.

Davis never had serious NBA potential because of his lack of size so he ended the recruiting cycle ranked in the National top 50.


The recruiting services always are going to give an edge to players with more upside (athletic ability and height) even though Davis had very strong EYBL numbers. Regardless of Cummings national ranking, we have a significant offensive weapon coming in here with Cummings and our 2 guard position is in good hands in the future.


Im hoping Cummings grows another inch or two.
 
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To start off, Brandin Cummings is 7th in the entire EYBL in scoring. His numbers are as follows:

18.8 ppg
4.3 rpg
1.9 apg
1 steal per game
54% FG percentage
40% 3 point
2-1 assist to turnover ratio


These numbers are beyond impressive through 2 complete EYBL sessions. They are better than Dior Johnson, Judah Mintz, Ty-laur Johnson, Jaland Lowe, Carlton Carrington, or any other Pitt commit or target not named Justin Champagnie in the Capel era in AAU play thus far. Cummings can score. He is deceptively quick and can beat players off the bounce, he has legit 3 point firepower with a midrange game, and he has an arsenal of moves both 1 on 1 and in the PNR. His step back jumper has been terrific and he can score in a lot of ways. Cummings looks like a top 50 player right now. He is playing like a top 50 player right now. And he has been very efficient on top of the strong numbers, which makes it all the more impressive because he is one of the most efficient players in AAU thus far. The 6 players scoring more than Cummings in the EYBL are 5 star caliber players that schools like Kentucky are going after.

On top of all this, Cummings has only played 25 minutes per game and his coach failed to play him more in the early going. Most of the top players are pushing close to 30 minutes per game or more, so Cummings numbers would have been even better with the extra playing time. He has some Ashton Gibbs in his game and he has some Cam Thomas in his game. He is really good and is far better than even I expected just a month ago. He plays mainly at the SG position as an undersized 6'1 SG, but also has played the role as a scoring point guard. With all due respect to Nelly, Brandin is considerably better.

I've watched every Cummings EYBL game except 1. His rebound numbers are better than what he was doing in high school although he still is not a great rebounder. His defense is average and he has shown some ability to keep players in front of him although he still needs considerable work on defense and gaining strength.





The 2024 recruiting class as a whole is rather weak. There is a lack of real quality NBA talents and a number of the 5 star players wouldn't be close to 5 star players in other stronger recruiting classes. I would expect a wave of 2025 kids to reclass into this weak 2024 class. The top player in 2026 is 4th overall in the entire EYBL U17 division in scoring. He is playing up 2 divisions and eating these players up. If players like Boozer and Flagg played up a division , the same would be the case. It makes me think a player like Meleek Thomas or Alier Maluk may seriously want to class up to take advantage of a soft 2024. Thomas is barely top 5 nationally in 2025. And if the 2026 kid classes up, Thomas will move down even further because he is not better than Dybantsa.



From the looks of where we stand when I look at the future roster a year from now, we need a PG, a SG / Wing combo, and a 4 / 5 somewhere in there. We are only 2 sessions deep into the EYBL after todays games. With that said, I think we need to full court press Jalik Dunkley Distant who we have been consistently recruiting for a long time. 6'6 Guard / Wing with a near 7 foot wingspan. Here are his numbers

12.5 ppg
3.1 rpg
2.4 apg
53% FG
36% 3 point

Like Cummings, he is very efficiency and his team is also in first place in its division with only 1 loss. He has Vince Carter athletic ability and very high upside. Rebound numbers are a little low, but everything else looks good including the shooting percentages and he plays hard on defense. His offense has been better and more consistent than expected. He is high on Pitt and will be taking an official visit here in the future I was told, just not a date in place yet. He should be in my opinion one of our top remaining targets in 2024. Other high majors are starting to take a look at him but we have been recruiting him for a while. We will not take his twin brother.





We still need a point guard in 2024 and a PF / C. The PF / C could be resolved this recruiting cycle, a player like Papa Kante would be perfect.


I still like Kyle Greene as a point guard who is planning to visit here. Pitt recently offered Darius Acuff Jr, 2025 point guard that is a stud. Acuff is one of the 6 players currently scoring more than Cummings in the EYBL. If Cummings wants to try to be a scoring point guard in college, we could start going after guys like Austin Swartz from North Carolina who we might just offer and go after anyway.

It will be interesting how Capel plays this with regards to 2025 kids reclassifying up into a weak 2024 class. I would be very selective in 2024 with what Im seeing thus far. With Cummings being this good, we are in good hands at the SG position unless he wants to try to transition to being a scoring pg.



From my comments back in April, Austin Swartz has now been offered. Swartz is 3rd in the entire EYBL in scoring, Cummings is 6th.


Swartz is a big 6'5 guard / wing combo that can really score. He is a national top 50 four star talent. Under normal circumstances, we would be considered late to the party here for a kid like this. However, we have tracked him for some time and he is a Boo Williams kid which we have some pull with.

One to monitor if we get him here for an OV.
 
From my comments back in April, Austin Swartz has now been offered. Swartz is 3rd in the entire EYBL in scoring, Cummings is 6th.


Swartz is a big 6'5 guard / wing combo that can really score. He is a national top 50 four star talent. Under normal circumstances, we would be considered late to the party here for a kid like this. However, we have tracked him for some time and he is a Boo Williams kid which we have some pull with.

One to monitor if we get him here for an OV.
Vader, forgive me for saying this but....may the Swartz be with us!!! 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
The potential of our future roster is exciting. Keep the ball rolling with another good season and it will only enhance the recruiting.
 
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From my comments back in April, Austin Swartz has now been offered. Swartz is 3rd in the entire EYBL in scoring, Cummings is 6th.


Swartz is a big 6'5 guard / wing combo that can really score. He is a national top 50 four star talent. Under normal circumstances, we would be considered late to the party here for a kid like this. However, we have tracked him for some time and he is a Boo Williams kid which we have some pull with.

One to monitor if we get him here for an OV.
I was able to see Swartz last year in a game down in NC. He was a hell of a player and had a beautiful jumper but I certainly did not see him as a top 5 scorer in EYBL. I personally liked their 2025 guard Isaiah Henry. His brother is KJ Henry, DE from Clemson who just went to the Commanders in the draft. I sat next to his grandfather at the game by chance and he had said he had some ACC interest already as a soph and a offer from Clemson I believe. Henry was one of the best looking 3 point shooters I had ever seen at that age. Both are guys you would want.
Here is a link to the game I was at, Swartz hit the half court winner at the buzzer. First part of the video is talk about he and others. Then the highlights of the game.
Cannon School vs. Woodside (VA)
 
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