ROCK HILL, S.C. - Qayden Samuels has been one of the highest-scoring players at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp this week at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Samuels is also the leading rebounder at the camp.
It's been a good week for Samuels, who attends Bishop McNamara High School in District Heights, Md., and came into the camp with 20 scholarship offers. Samuels said he's picked up interest from a few new schools and that his recruitment is "wide open right now."
But he has his eyes set on one visit - Louisville.
Samuels said he is expecting to visit Louisville in August with his Team Takeover teammate and close friend Jordan Smith, who is no at the camp this week but is the No. 6 player in the Class of 2026 rankings by 247Sports. Samuels checks in the ranking at No. 22.
"That's the only thing I have scheduled right now," said Samuels, who was not sure of the exact date in August. "I love (Louisville) and I love their coach (Pat Kelsey). He came to one of my workouts before, amazing. I love his energy, I love how he talks to me, I love him. He shows love."
Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Alabama, Washington, Rutgers, and Texas are among some of the top schools in the mix for Samuels. He said he has picked up recent interest from North Carolina and Kentucky.
"It's a lot of schools," he said. "Once I am finished with AAU and all these camps and get ready for high school, then I will get down to the schools I have interest in."
The lefty is averaging 21.2 points a game for Team Takeover, which is good for fifth in the EYBL league.
At the NBPA Top 100 Camp, Samuels has scored 104 points and grabbed 39 rebounds in four games over two days. He has hit 41 of 76 from the field, including 10 of 27 three-point field goals. His biggest game was a 33-point, 10-rebound effort in the first game on Wednesday.
Samuels has played well all spring but said this week his biggest thing has been to "stay consistent."
"I got my mindset right and just stayed consistent," he said. "I'm used to this, and I am used to being around and playing against great players."
The 247Sports evaluation of Samuels by Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein says:
"Samuels is a long lefty wing with an aggressive scoring mentality. While he plays with extreme high volume and can really hunt his shots at times, there are few players in the national class more equipped to create their own offense on demand. He has a high release point, both in the mid-range area and behind the arc, that requires minimal separation, but is going to need to learn to pick his spots and become a more willing passer. He came up the ranks as a young player who would handle to create space for his pull-ups, more so than to get paint touches, but is now starting to put more pressure on the rim. He has floaters in his arsenal and goes right into contact at the rim, but could add a little more finishing craft when going chest-to-chest with opposing shot-blockers isn't most effective. Physically, he's not a naturally dynamic athlete or mover, but has made strides in those areas and also has a 6-foot-11 to help him compensate on the defensive end of the floor."