Three-Point Play: Kyree Walker, Pierre Brooks, Samson Johnson

Four-star Kyree Walker is the latest prospect to skip out on college to chase his NBA dreams. What’s next for him? That and more in today’s edition of the Three-Point-Play.

Starting Five: Key weekend decisions and who's next?

2020 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Position

2022 Rankings: Top 75

The latest well-known high school prospect to announce he’s skipping college as he chases his dreams of playing professionally is Kyree Walker.

A 6-foot-5 wing from California who last played in high school for Phoenix (Ariz.) Hilcrest during the 2018-19 season, Walker announced Monday that he’ll spend the next year training with trainer Frank Mastrisciono in California as part of his BX Chameleon program. It’s the same path that another four-star 2020 wing, Marjon Beauchamp is taking.

Let’s talk about Walker because he’s certainly been a lightning rod that sparks lively debate of all types. He’s certainly been a hot topic on social medias for years now. Formerly ranked in the top 20, we’ve currently got Walker as a non-ranked four-star prospect because he did not play during the 2019-20 season. He has good size, he is strong, he is pretty athletic and he’s got a track record for showing up to compete in any event he’s invited to, so he’s proven that he’s got love for the game and that he plays hard.

On the other hand, an argument can be made that his development had hit a plateau and flattened a bit over the last year or year and a half. As others caught up to him physically, he didn’t seem to enjoy the same dominance that he had in his early years.

We spent much of the winter debating which college opportunities were legitimate and which weren’t, but now that’s immaterial. The bigger discussion here is that there are more and more opportunities and routes for prospects who don’t feel that the college route is best for them and Walker is the latest to make run of it.

This next year is certainly going to be an interesting one for the BX Chameleon program. If Walker, Beauchamp or both work their way into the 2021 Draft then it’s reasonable to expect more to go that route. If not, then there will be no shortage of people lining up to point fingers and place blame.

Four-star junior Pierre Brooks is ready to end his recruitment.

The 6-foot-6 wing at Detroit (Mich.) Frederick Douglass confirmed to me on Monday night that he's ready to make a college decision on Wednesday although he hadn't yet set an exact time. The finalists are Michigan, Michigan State and Xavier.

Physically, Brooks looks like he has already spent a couple of years in a college weight room. I've been really impressed by what he's done as a junior and he's got a good level of skill that he balances with his ability to give most high schoolers the big brother treatment. He's one that we've already discussed as deserving of a move up the rankings when we update the 2021 Rivals150.

With a day to go before his decision, Michigan State has been considered the favorite.

During the winter, I was intrigued by Elizabeth (N.J.) Patrick School big man Samson Johnson and thought the 2021 prospect would take off during the spring. My colleague Corey Evans felt the same and we put him into the Rivals150. If anything, there’s a good chance that we were conservative but figured that would take care of itself when he ran with the NY Jayhawks this spring and summer on the Adidas Circuit.

Here we are with the summer basketball up in the air and Johnson’s opportunities to show what he can do being limited. The long and short of it is that he’s got good size at nearly 6-foot-10, he can really run, he’s got a great frame to build on and he’s dripping with potential as a mobile shot-blocker who can be a defensive disruptor with potential as a scorer. A native of Togo, he’s got big upside as a prospect.

Schools are picking up though. Johnson has now scored offers from Connecticut, St. John’s, Syracuse and Xavier while Cincinnati, Georgia, Miami and Western Kentucky have been showing interest. Johnson recently conducted virtual visit with UConn and Xavier.

Jay David, the executive director the NY Jayhawks, is certainly a believer and has good reason.

“I know it sounds like rhetoric but he’s a high character hard working kid,” David told Rivals.com. “At 6’10, he has a 40-plus vertical with 7’5/7’6 wingspan with the ability to step out and hit the high school three-pointer consistently. He is one of the best forwards in the country.”