Things are going to slow down here the next several days. Here’s why:

The Hoop Group’s seventh annual Jam Fest runs Wednesday through Friday. It’s the eighth straight summer the city has staged an AAU tournament.

This year 276 teams are scheduled to appear, more than ever before, and the field will be highlighted by a concentration of stars atop the 2012 class.

“Our main theme is youth this year,” said Rob Engemann, the first-year director of team events at the Hoop Group. “It’s maybe not the best (field) as far as the top tier players. Don’t get me wrong, don’t discount what it is – it’s very, very good. But what it is is the best field from top to bottom.”

The tournament will be split into three divisions – 17-and-under, 16-and-under and 15-and-under – with much of the 2012 class playing up in the 17-and-under division.

There’s a concentration of top players from the 2012 class and several have either interest in or scholarship offers from WVU. Makes sense to leave the basement and take a look for a story or two and who we might see at the Coliseum in a few years.

In all, Engemann said 13 of the top 75 players from the Scout.com 2012 rankings will participate.

From the top 10 are: Massachusetts forward Khem Birch (No. 6, 6 feet 8, 180 pounds, Expressions), Pennsylvania forward Amile Jefferson (No. 7, 6-7, 185 pounds, Team Philly 2012), Rhode Island shooting guard Ricardo Ledo (No. 8, 6-5, 170 pounds, Expressions) and Pennsylvania center Daniel Ochefu  (No. 9, 6-9, 225 pounds, Team Takeover Canada).

It is believed WVU has offered scholarships to Jefferson, Ledo and Ochefu while Birch lists WVU as a college in which he’s interested.

From the rest of the top 75 are:

Massachusetts center Kaleb Tarczewski (No. 16, 7-0, 220 pounds, New England Playaz), Tarczewski’s high school and AAU teammate forward Alex Murphy (No. 22, 6-8, 180 pounds), Pennsylvania point guard Ryan Arcidiacono (No. 29, 6-3, 190 pounds, 16-and-under PA Playaz), Pennsylvania forward Savon Goodman (No. 52, 6-6, 175 pounds, Team Philly 2012), Pennsylvania center Sim Bhullar (No. 58, 7-4, 320 pounds, 17-and-under and 16-and-under Team Takeover Canada), North Carolina forward Montrezl Harrell (No. 60, 6-6, 210 pounds, Carolina Elite), Mountain State Academy forward Anthony Bennett (No. 63, 6-6, 200 pounds, both Team Takeover Canada teams), Pennsylvania forward Mike Zangari (No. 72, 6-8, 215 pounds, York Ballers) and Huntington Prep forward Negus Webster-Chan (No. 75, 6-6, 175, both Team Takeover Canada teams).

It’s believed Tarzewski, Bhullar and Bennet have offers from WVU. Bhullar has named WVU as his favorite based on his relationship with Huggins and assistant coach Billy Hahn. He has a younger brother, Tanveer, who is 7-2 and also interested in WVU.

The tournament is a stage for WVU to discover players and for players to discover WVU. Engemann said Arcidiacono is “one of the hottest names from the spring” and Harrell is an “animal who really fits Huggins’ style play. He’s a lunch pail kind of guy.”

The 2011 class, for which WVU only one name (Aaron Brown) and at least four scholarships, the possibilitied in town include forwards Chase Behanan and Kadeem Jack and point guard Jabarie Hinds.