Today was a full day of basketball. I watched at least a half of 13 different games and had the opportunity to see a few of the top prospects that the nation has to offer. Here is a rundown of the games, teams, and players that I saw today.
My day started with ECE Mass vs. Michigan Mustangs. Both teams feature highly ranked prospects, however the Mustangs dominated the game from the opening tip. I failed to write down the score, and due to a nationwide Twitter outage I cannot look back at what the score was, but I know the Michigan Mustangs won comfortably. Michigan recruit Derrick Walton played a very good game showing off a great pull-up jumper and solid defense.
Games #2 and #3 were simaltaneous clashes between Eric Gordon All-Stars and Florida Elite, and Bloomington H.S. South and IEBP All-Stars. EG10 was clicking on all cylinders and defeated highly ranked Florida Elite by 21 points. V.J. Beachem, a Notre Dame commit continued his hot shooting by nailing 3 3-pointers on his way to a game high 15 points. I was also impressed with Indiana University signee Devin Davis. Davis played at a very high level while battling with twin towers Chris Walker and Joel Embid. He handled the ball very well in transition, crashed the boards, and finished well around the rim. Zak Irvin, a Michigan recruit was also very good for EG10, especially on the defensive end. For Florida Elite, their lone bright spot was Florida bound Kasey Hill. The 6’0” Point Guard played a solid game that was highlighted by a posterization of Devin Davis. Switching gears to the Bloomington South game, to make a long story short, IEBP All-Stars had their way with them, cruising to a 30+ point win.
Next up for me was Garner Road vs. Dream Vision and Mass Rivals vs. New Heights NYC. In the Garner Road/Dream Vision game I was most impressed with Isaac Copeland, a 6’9” Power Forward (2013). Isaac shot the ball from the perimeter and appeared to be very skilled for his size. Also featured for Garner Road was North Carolina bound Isaiah Hicks. Hicks is very active around the rim and a good shot blocker defensively. For Dream Vision, I really like 6’8” Small Forward Anthony January. Dream Vision ended up winning 76-71 in overtime. The Mass Rivals game was all about 6’8” Small Forward Noah Vonleh. Vonleh is one of the most hotly sought after recruits in the 2014 class, and this afternoon he made it clear why that is the class. There simply is nothing the kid cannot do; he handled the ball in transition, shot it well, and looked good with his back to the basket. Mass Rivals picked up a solid win over New Heights despite good games from New Heights 2013 prospects Jalen Jenkins and Jordan Washington.
At noon I watched Indiana Elite South take on Ohio Basketball Club. IE-South jumped out to an early lead before giving it all back and letting OBC charge to a 9 point second half lead. However, back-to-back 3-pointers by Kansas State recruit Alex Etherington sparked and Indiana comeback. Andrew Dakich led all scorers with 18 points while Zavier Turner led OBC with 16 points. Turner, a 5’9” Point Guard from Pike H.S. (2013) in Indiana joined OBC after playing with both The Ville and EG10 this summer. The Dan Dakich led Indiana Elite South team finished with a 5 win.
In the next round of games I was very impressed with 6’9” Power Forward LaDamean Keys from Marcrowe MSM4L. The 2014 prospect is a great athlete with crazy long arms. Keys is a good defender, but still developing on the offensive end. The upside on this guy is threw the roof. Also impressing me at 1:20 was Nicholas Carlos of Gateway Basketball Club. He is a 6’7” Small Forward (2013) who shoots the ball very well for his size. For Indiana natives, think of Cole Murray. Gateway Basketball Club picked up a pretty easy victory. In the other game at that time, the Compton Magic beat Team Bradley NW Panthers. The player who stood out the most was Ahmaad Rorie, a 6’1” Point Guard (2014) for NW Panthers. The future California Golden Bear looked super quick with the ball and penetrated the defense with ease. He also shot well from the perimeter. Roschon Prince put on a dunk show for the Compton Magic, finishing with two different posters and probably close to 20 points.
Next, I watched the second half of the Franchize All-Stars vs. Minnesota Pump-n-Run game. It was quickly evident that Mavin Saunders, a 6’7” Small Forward (2014) from Franchize All-Stars is a high-major prospect. His motor runs non-stop and is a tenacious rebounder. Saunders handles the ball pretty well for his size and can finish around the basket. For Pump-n-Run, Reid Travis was his normal, dominate self. He has become one of my favorite players to watch in the country over the course of the summer. The 6’7” Power Forward (2014) is dominate on the block and on the glass, finishing with 30 points and nearly 15 rebounds. He, along with Mavin Saunders are two of the premier 2014 prospects in the country.
At 4:00 Bloomington H.S. South faired better than they did in their morning game, but still fell by double-digits to the Dallas Mustangs. 6’4” Small Forward (2014) Keaton Hendricks had a good 2nd half for B.H.S.S. He is a solid all-around offensive player. I was also impressed with the way 2015 5’10” Point Guard Johnny Jager handled the ball. Johnny is a tough kid who stayed very poised while handling the ball pressure provided by the Mustangs.
My day finally came to an end with the Indiana Elite 15′s vs. Eric Gordon All-Stars 15′s game at 6:20. Indiana Elite avenged what was at the time their first loss of the summer to EG10, beating them by 21 this evening. Evansville Harrison Shooting Guard Everett Duncan scored a game high 22 points, including 3 3-pointers. 2016 prospect Eron Gordon led EG10 with 17 points in defeat. The addition of big men Dreon Lewis (Indianapolis Northwest) and Josh Spiedel (Columbus North) was key for Indiana Elite. While they only combined for 10 points they did a good job neutralizing what would usually be a size advantage for Eric Gordon post players Ryan Welage and Brennan Gillis.
So, that was Day 2 of the Adidas Super 64 in a nutshell. To follow is a rundown of how Indiana’s AAU teams did today.
Eric Gordon 17 was 1-1 on the day, finishing up their super pool at 2-1.
Indiana Elite South also went 1-1 today, finishing up their super pool at 1-2, but winning a tiebreaker to get the #2 seed.
Bloomington South lost both of their match ups today. They play their 3rd pool play game in the morning.
Pacesetters Select went 2-0 on the day, finished up 3-0 and first in their pool.
Club Elite Wildcats went 2-0 on the day, finished up 3-o and first in their pool.
Eric Gordon 16u lost a hard fought game to the Compton Magic. Finish up pool play in the morning. 1-1 right now.
Indiana Elite 16′s won their game easily this evening. They are now 2-0 and play game 3 in the morning.
Fieldhouse Elite cruised to another pool play victory. They are 2-0, finish pool play tomorrow.
Indiana Elite 15′s defeated EG10 15u. Indiana Elite is 2-0, EG10 is 1-1.
Back at it again tomorrow!