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USA Basketball: Five-stars dominate Sunday play

Collin Sexton (Garrett Elwood/USA Basketball)

COLORADO SPRINGS -- A good portion of Sunday's action at the USA Basketball minicamp involved scrimmaging and five-star seniors Michael Porter, Trevon Duval and Collin Sexton finished just as strong as they started.

Porter, Duval, Sexton cap strong weekend

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Trevon Duval (Garrett Ellwood/USA Basketball)

Five-stars Michael Porter, Trevon Duval and Collin Sexton finished the USA minicamp just the way the started it, with some electricity. For the weekend, they were our top performers and made statements with their play.

Ranked No. 2 overall, Washington bound small forward Michael Porter was Rivals.com's top overall player in attendance and he more than backed it up. His ability to bury shots, his rebounding and his smooth athleticism combined with 6-foot-9 size allowed him to do pretty much whatever he wanted all weekend long. He may have the tools to be a No. 1 Draft pick down the road.

Sitting just behind Porter at No. 3, Duval backed up his status as the best point guard in the country. There wasn't anybody who could keep him out of the lane and he was punishing the rim with dunks whenever possible. Duval also used his quickness and ability to anticipate plays to have an outstanding defensive weekend.

Ranked No. 7 overall, Sexton makes things happen in a hurry. He's the guy who buries a contested three-pointer and then steals the inbounds pass to score again -- like did on Sunday. A scorer who can play on or off the ball, Sexton isn't the biggest guard around but he plays with tremendous heart and was one of the most competitive players in camp.

Hurt taking visits

Matthew Hurt (Garrett Ellwood/USA Basketball)

Combo forward Matthew Hurt backed up his five-star status in the class of 2019. He showed off deft shooting touch, nose for scoring in the paint and never looked intimidated when matched up against the older players.

Hurt recently had North Carolina's Roy Williams in to see him and Kansas, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Louisville and Minnesota have all been in as well. All but Kentucky and Notre Dame have offered.

A week ago, Hurt checked out Kansas for Late Night and he's got more trips coming. This weekend, he will head to Wisconsin. The next week, he is planning to visit both Louisville and Kentucky.

Final Sunday notes and observations

Jaden Springer (Garrett Elwood/USA Basketball)

One of the youngest players in camp, 14 year old freshman Jaden Springer had some really impressive stretches on Sunday. He was very clever off the dribble and created several scores for himself and others with his driving. Springer also looks to be a pretty competent jump shooter with good range. At 6-foot-2 or so, he has good size to and will attract early high major attention.

All weekend long, five-star forward P.J. Washington did his job. He played with physicality, he rebounded and he scored at the rim and with mid range jump shots. He's built to make an instant impact at a place Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina or Texas.

Ranked similarly in the class of 2019, five-star big men Vernon Carey and James Wiseman backed up their rankings. No. 8 overall, Carey showed off a well-developed power game as well as polished shooting. At No. 10 overall, Wiseman looks like he could climb even higher before his class graduates. He has an ideal power forward frame, good skill and plus athleticism.

Two class of 2019 shooting guards with strong Sunday outings were four-stars Isaac Okoro and Zach Harvey. Though they have totally opposite styles, they were both effective. Okoro is more of a power guard and he had a nice afternoon filled with tough conversions at the hoop. Harvey is more of a smooth, skill guy. He was hitting deep jumpers, scoring from mid range and showed good polish. Harvey said that Kansas and Creighton have been through recently and that Iowa and Stanford are planning to come in and see him. He was at Kansas for Late Night and will check out Nebraska on October 22nd.

Auburn and Colorado look like they have found impactful players in five-star center Austin Wiley and four-star wing D'Shawn Schwartz. Wiley has a body that is already big and strong enough to play in the post in the SEC and his offense has really come along. A strong southpaw, Schwartz has excellent instincts and plays with terrific pace. He mixes smart drives with just enough jump shooting to keep defenders on their heels.

The No. 8 ranked player in the class of 2017, Kevin Knox had a good weekend attacking in transition and playing as a hybrid forward. He said that he is hoping to be a one and done player and that he has had discussions about it with all of four of his finalists, Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina.

We want to see where freshman Jalen Green is a year from now. He's all arms and legs, loves to attack the rim and looks to have a real feel for getting to the rim. Green lacks strength and is still growing but looks to be an outstanding long term prospect.

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