What to Watch for at the Top College Basketball Recruiting Events This Summer

With Memorial Day events concluding after this weekend, it's time to take a look at the summer events that will shape college basketball recruiting.

While the month of June is usually reserved for national camps, there are also a couple of USA Basketball tryouts to keep an eye on for future international events like the FIBA U17 World Championships and the U18 FIBA Americas.

Then the month of July is when things really get rolling as the three weeks for the July live evaluation periods begin. Those three weeks in July will dictate many of the scholarship offers that come in college basketball recruiting and the month always brings plenty of drama.

Here is a look at some important events for college basketball recruiting over the next few months.

Recruiting ratings via 247Sports.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information were obtained firsthand.

Pangos All-American Camp

Dates: June 3-5

Location: Norwalk, California

Players Involved: The camp annually draws many of the top players on the West Coast along with a lot of high-end national prospects. Usually around 80-100 players attend from multiple high school classes.

Why It's So Important: Coming the weekend after Memorial Day, the Pangos All-American Camp has become a great event to start the summer because of the huge draw of talent from all over the country from multiple classes. The event usually pulls in multiple future NBA players and a bevy of high-level college players.

NBPA Top 100 Camp

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Mohamed Bamba

Dates: June 15-18

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia

Players Involved: The NBA Players Association runs the camp at the University of Virginia and invites 100 of the nation's best high school players. 

Why It's So Important: The involvement of the NBA looms large here as the event is littered with former players who serve as coaches, counselors and camp directors. This gives the camp a unique experience, and besides the great action on the court, there are off-the-court seminars that players learn from every year. 

FIBA U17 World Championships

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Gary Trent Jr.

Dates: June 23-July 3

Location: Zaragoza, Spain

Players Involved: The training camp for this prestigious international tournament will be held June 11-17 with 39 players trying out for the American roster. Prominent American players trying out include 5-star prospects like Wendell Carter, Troy Brown, Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Knox.

Why It's So Important: This is an important international world championship for younger players and is often seen as a stepping-stone event for bigger things to come. In other words, this is the kind of event that sees a lot of players who end up as Olympians for their respective countries when they eventually turn pro.

Stephen Curry Select Camp

Dates: June 28-July 1

Location: Bay Area, California

Players Involved: Back-to-back NBA MVP Stephen Curry personally works with many of the nation's elite perimeter players as this has become a prestigious event to attend during the end of June.

Why It's So Important: Curry is very involved in the camp and goes through drills and film study with the players. Getting to work with a back-to-back MVP and the best shooter in the NBA is a great source of knowledge for young players who are trying to improve. It also lets them gauge their skills compared to one of the world's best.

First Week of July Live Evaluation Period

Dates: July 6-10

Locations: Most of the action revolves around Nike's Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina but Adidas has an event in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Under Armour has an All-American camp in Charlotte, North Carolina. Other events are also going on all over the country.

Players Involved: Since this is the first live period for college coaches to watch players since April, nearly every high school basketball player trying to get a scholarship will be out playing.

Why It's So Important: College coaches being out makes this week important and the first week is where a lot of scholarship offers are earned. It also shows which players have put in work since the April live periods as some players get more acclimated to playing against elite competition after the last few months. 

Second Week of July Live Evaluation Period

Dates: July 13-17

Locations: The Under Armour Association Finals in Atlanta are a big deal during the second period and there are also plenty of other events to keep an eye on across the country.

Players Involved: Once again, nearly every high school basketball player trying to move on to the next level will be out playing during the live evaluation period.

Why It's So Important: The second week is always good for sustaining reputations and making sure a player didn't just have one big week. If a player can have a strong second week of July, it's a sign of consistent play at that level. 

FIBA Americas U18 Championships

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Markelle Fultz

Dates: July 19-23

Location: Valdivia, Chile

Player Involved: The event will be loaded with future college stars and the American team has invited 26 players to try out in June for the event. American players trying out include Arizona's Terrance Ferguson, Washington's Markelle Fultz and uncommitted 5-star 2016 center Jarrett Allen, along with Class of 2017 5-stars like Michael Porter Jr. and Hamidou Diallo.

Why It's So Important: The gold medal in this event is certainly important, but it's also a qualifying event for the U19 World Championships next summer. The competition to make this team—coached by Texas coach Shaka Smart—is also intense and a great training event to prepare for college.

Third Week of July Live Evaluation Period

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Billy Preston

Dates: July 20-24

Location: Most major events during the third period go to Las Vegas but other events go on across the country. The Adidas Summer Championships, Fab 48 and Las Vegas Classic all run at the same time along with some other showcases and tournaments. 

Players Involved: Last summer saw most of the top 100 travel to Las Vegas for the last week of the live evaluation period as it made for a lot of huge showcase matchups. Since it's the final grassroots team event ever for many incoming seniors, many of them want to have big outings.

Why It's So Important: As a final send-off event, a lot of players want to win a Las Vegas tournament to finish off their career. With all of the big matchups, it's also a great way to earn national respect and a final push for scholarship offers in front of coaches.

Adidas Nations

Dates: July 28-August 1

Location: Los Angeles, California

Players Involved: As an end-of-summer event, Adidas Nations brings together elite high school players from multiple classes, college players from all over the country and a couple of NBA counselors to offer guidance and play with the college guys.

Why It's So Important: This event is huge for high school players as well as the college counselors. The college games are played in front of NBA scouts and offer some looks at incoming freshmen that haven't played a game yet. It offers unique matchups like when Stanley Johnson played against Tracy McGrady before Johnson started at Arizona.