- Slug: Sports-Summer 5-Star Recruits, 2,000 words.
- Photos available.
By Dylan Ackermann
Cronkite News
CHANDLER – Grand Canyon men’s basketball coach Bryce Drew knows a thing or two about the role summer plays for a top recruit.
Named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball and the 1994 Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year during his senior season at Valparaiso High School, Drew credits productive summers as the key to having success during the high school season and in future careers.
However, the 16th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft doesn’t recall his high school summers being this intense.
“Totally different,” Drew said. “There’s a lot of mileage that goes on their legs.”
For most high schoolers, summer is usually a time for parties, relaxation and a chance to reset.
Now, with the rise of the AAU circuit and high school tournaments like Section 7 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale – featuring 12 courts and 400 of the top boys’ teams in the country – summer has become nothing short of hectic.
“High school summers were way worse,” Sammie Yeanay, a former four-star forward from AZ Compass Prep and now Grand Canyon University’s highest-ranked signee, said after completing his first full summer at GCU. “Going to play in different states every weekend, sometimes NBA players were there. It was hectic to say the least. But it’s all about managing your time.
“If you really love hooping, you have no other option but to do it.”
Yeanay believes that as a top recruit, the grind is simply part of the journey, and in many ways, helped him prepare for the collegiate level, secure scholarship offers and establish his reputation.
And while social media has offered a glimpse of what summers as a top recruit truly look like through tournament and workout highlight mixtapes and scholarship offers, the posts only tell part of the story.
Just ask AZ Compass Prep’s five-star juniors Miikka Muurinen and Kaden House about their summer experiences.
Muurinen’s breakout summer on the global stage
Before ascending to the fifth-ranked prospect on the 2026 ESPN 60, Muurinen was on the periphery. In fact, as of April 24, his name was nowhere to be found in national prospect rankings.
In addition to playing hard and with passion, the secret was the on-the-go summer from April to August, which helped Muurinen become a better player and person.
“A guy that came out of nowhere this summer,” AZ Compass coach Pete Kaffey said about Muurinen, who is originally from Finland. “His ability, being 6-foot-10, to step out, shoot threes, rebound, athleticism and make plays around the rim. I just think it was intriguing for a lot of colleges. Obviously, he’s a winner. To be a kid that young and from a different country, he had a great summer.”
Muurinen added, “It’s just work. Just got to be in the gym and work on my game. It was an amazing summer and a blessing.”
Just two days after being left off ESPN’s rankings, Session One of the 2024 Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) began April 26, giving Muurinen his first taste of EYBL basketball – thanks to his agent – with 16U Brad Beal Elite.
Not knowing what to expect, Muurinen made it a point to make sure “everybody knew who I am.”
With Sessions Two and Three held in May in Atlanta, Ga. and Indianapolis, Ind., Session Four saw Muurinen do exactly that.
In Kansas City, Missouri, on the last weekend of May, he was labeled a “problem” by Slam High School and even drew comparisons to Utah Jazz All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen and forward Cooper Flagg, the highly regarded Duke freshman considered the top prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft, from League Ready, a social media account that provides updates on EYBL events.
A week later, on June 3, a quick turnaround found Muurinen at an open gym for Finland men’s national basketball team at Urhea Metropolitan Sports Academy in Helsinki, Finland in preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“I went to this rising star camp before it was official,” he said about learning he’d been invited to the Finland national team open gym. “It was kind of a go-with-the-flow type of thing before they invited me to play with them. It was great news, getting the call and talking with the head coach, he wanted to invite me to play.”
Although 17 men entered camp, Muurinen, at just 17 years old, was selected for the senior team and debuted on June 25 in an international friendly against New Zealand.
“Great opportunity,” Muurinen said. “To get to play for the senior national team in Finland and make my debut with them. I love playing for my country.”
Three days later, in another international friendly in front of his home crowd, Muurinen had his poster moment.
A two-on-one fast break saw Muurinen positioned in the restricted area, with the ball in the hands of Latvia guard Kristers Zoriks and former Charlotte Hornets forward Davis Bertans running down the lane on the left side.
Unwilling to go over the outstretched arms of Muurinen, who stands 6-foot-10, Zoriks opted to throw a lob to Bertans.
Muurinen, eyes lit up, met Bertans at the rim, blocking his shot into the stands.
For those wondering why he would dare challenge a nine-year NBA veteran at the rim, Muurinen doesn’t have an answer.
“I don’t think about that stuff,” he said. “I go on to do my thing no matter who’s playing against me. Davis is a great player, but I wouldn’t suggest jumping with me. Just don’t do it. The adrenaline that went through my body was crazy. Like 6,000 Finnish fans, just yelling and shouting at the top of their lungs. It was great.”
Next came the Olympic qualifying tournament in Valencia, Spain.
Despite Finland losing its first game to the Bahamas – a team featuring Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton, Philadelphia 76ers guard Eric Gordon, Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield, and five-star Baylor guard V.J. Edgecombe Jr. – Muurinen showed flashes of his potential in less than nine minutes of action.
He blocked Hield on a drive and kick, helping from the corner and somehow managing to recover in time.
Two minutes later, in the left corner, Muurinen was in a triple-threat position against Ayton in an isolation scenario. Throwing two jab steps, he squared up to Ayton. Sweeping through with a hand in his face, Muurinen took one dribble to his right and nailed the contested mid-range jumper.
That same day, he cracked the 2026 ESPN 60 for the first time, becoming the 23rd-ranked prospect.
“Summer is where you get better,” said GCU guard Tyon Grant-Foster, who went from unranked in high school to leading the Western Athletic Conference in scoring last season. “While you play in games and practice with a team, summer is just for you. It’s where you work on your game, work on stuff that you didn’t do as well last year, and just try to perfect the stuff that you did last year.
“It’s probably one of the most important things in basketball.”
After defeating Poland, which featured San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, to qualify for the semifinals, Finland fell to host country Spain, 81-74.
Falling short without Markkanen – who couldn’t play in the loss due to an upper limb injury – stung. Yet, the game against Spain wasn’t just Muurinen’s favorite part of the summer; it was also a valuable learning experience.
“Playing against the Spanish national team in Spain, against 7,000 Spanish fans and 2,000 Finnish fans, that was the best experience,” Muurinen said. “Not many people actually know what it’s like to play in that type of environment.
“But I learned that I got to get better at things. I got to be more physical, hit the weight room hard. There’s a lot I can grow from that experience. It did give me confidence.”
Returning to Augusta, South Carolina, for Peach Jam – the final EYBL session and one of the most prestigious high school tournaments – Muurinen brought extra energy and passion.
With a 4-0 run through pool play and a win in the quarterfinals against Team Durant – Kevin Durant’s AAU program – Muurinen’s semifinal game was cut short after falling hard in the opening minutes.
After a quick trip to the hospital, Muurinen returned for the championship game just a day later as if nothing happened, finishing with a team-high 21 points and two blocks, averaging 17.8 points and shooting 50% from 3-point range.
Not only did these performances earn Muurinen a Peach Jam title – they also helped him secure offers from Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Arkansas.
“He’s a fun guy to be around,” said Marcus Jackson, a four-star Maryland commit and AZ Compass Prep teammate. “His energy, how he carries himself, the work he puts in, it all connects. It’s why he made a name for himself this summer.”
It couldn’t have been done without his teammates and, most importantly, coach and Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal.
“He gave me advice mid-game,” Muurinen said. “He would tell me a move, I tried to do it and it would work perfectly. I have a lot of respect for him. He’s family.”
To wrap up the summer, Muurinen finally settled down and explored, enjoying New York pizza and visiting Edge NYC, the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere. Even then, it was still a business trip.
Selected to compete in the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 6, Muurinen’s team, coached by 20-year NBA veteran Jamal Crawford, faced off against Orlando Magic’s guard Cole Anthony’s team, led by 2025 ESPN 100’s top-ranked prospect A.J. Dybantsa and future NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan Anthony, at the historic Rucker Park in upper Manhattan.
“Playing there is probably a dream for many,” Muurinen said. “It felt special. It was an honor to be on that court. It was a great way to end summer and capture how much of a blessing this summer has been for me.”
House’s action-packed summer
Kaden House, son of 11-year NBA veteran Eddie House and the 14th-ranked prospect on the 2026 ESPN 60, may not have traveled the world or climbed from being unranked like his AZ Compass Prep teammate, but his summer was just as eventful – and it began much earlier.
The conclusion of his sophomore season at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale gave House a little over a month off from games.
While the work behind the scenes continued, House found his name among the 65 athletes selected for the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Minicamp, held from April 4-7 in the Valley.
Playing with and against other sons of NBA players, including Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James’ son Bryce, 11-year NBA veteran Gilbert Arenas’ son Alijah, and 18-year NBA veteran Trevor Ariza’s son Tajh, was the perfect way to kick off the summer.
“There were a lot of great coaches and players there,” House said. “It was a lot of competition because everybody there is at the same level in terms of skill. It really shows you where you’re at and what you need to work on.”
From there, as his EYBL Arizona Unity 17U coach B.J. Letcher noted, House’s summer was “jam-packed and full of action.”
“These top-ranked guys don’t get a lot of rest,” Letcher said. “It’s a very important time but very tedious. At the end of the day it’s a business.”
Missing two EYBL sessions due to a minor injury, House opted to keep pushing forward rather than taking a typical summer break.
“I was just in the gym with my trainer, Nicholas Edmond,” House said. “We just keep working. We were just doing workouts, full body, but also a lot of lifting. That ultimately got me more ready to play this summer.”
House’s summer continued with the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas, then representing AZ Compass Prep at Section 7 in State Farm Stadium, and wrapped up at Peach Jam – where he averaged 18.7 points per game. During this time, he received scholarship offers from Kansas, LSU, Creighton and Washington.
“I think there’s never a moment he shies away from,” Letcher said. “I don’t think that there’s a moment that is too big for him. There’s never a weekend, session or game where he’s not facing someone very talented and highly recruited.
“But what has helped him get through the summer at such a young age is whether he has a great game or a game where he could have done better in, he still thinks about how he can get better. I just think that’s a testament of who he is as a person.”
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
