My favorites from Thursday adidas Super 64 session

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LAS VEGAS – Day II of the NCAA’s third basketball evaluation period of the July is in the books.

And I spent it – Thursday – in the massiveness that is the Cashman Center and its seven-court set up that, in essence, made the place quite a kaleidoscope of sorts for the adidas Super 64.

I’m starting to get a bit groggy so I don’t have the usual energy needed to hack out some witticisms to entertain prior to my rundown on what I watched during a given day.

So, without further adieu, here are the players who impressed me during the approximately 11-hour stretch of hoops I was courtside for Friday.

Get to know these names – I have no doubt that you’ll be seeing some of them again Sunday night when I offer a Top 20 (or so) list of the players that impressed me the most over this five-day evaluation period.

Here you go . . . in an alpha listing:

 

GUYS I HAD SEEN BEFORE

*Jalen Adams (6-2/2015/Massachusetts Rivals/Ashburnham, MA, Cushing Academy):

Adams, who is committed to the University of Connecticut, was the most compete “traditionally sized” guard I saw Thursday, dropping 25 points with eight rebounds and seven assists in a four-point loss to Virginia’s Team Loaded. In the team’s second game of the day, he scored 30 points in a six-point win over Stackhouse Elite. He’s in the mold of all of the high-caliber guards Connecticut has put on the floor.

*Carlton Bragg (6-9/2015/Ohio Basketball Club/Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph):

He’s a “power forward-type” who also likes to spend a lot of time drifting on the perimeter. At times Thursday it looked like he was “going through the motions”. Although his scoring numbers were decent (including 31 points against the New York Rens squad), his team lost twice. More forceful and consistent play at both ends on his part might have reversed those decisions.

*Jaylen Brown (6-6/2015/Power Springs, GA, Game Elite/East Point, GA, Tri Cities):

There is much about him that reminds me of 2014 McDonald’s All-American and soon-to-be-Arizona freshman forward Stanley Johnson. The physical dimensions are about the same and so is the drive-it-hard and no-nonsense approach both take.

*Miles Bridges (6-7/2016/Michigan Mustangs/Huntington, WV, Prep):

Truth be told – and I always do my best to tell it, at least from my perspective – no junior-to-be has played any better in the spring and summer that this left hander. Be it rebound, handle, pass, drive and finish, or jump shoot – there isn’t much he isn’t terrific at.

*Chase Jeter (6-9/2015/Dream Vision/Las Vegas Bishop Gorman):

His high school teammate (Stephen Zimmerman) played well in this building a couple of weeks ago during the LeBron James Skills Academy and Jeter did the same thing on Saturday. He will make announce his college selection before he starts his senior high school classes next month. One would be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to wager that his selection will be any school but Duke.

*Thon Maker (7-0/2016/Virginia Team Loaded/Martinsville, VA, Carlisle):

He’s still much too thin and doesn’t have much in the way of strength to hold off defenders in the low post. But his skills are unique at his size, including the deep jump shots he launches (and he hit a nice number of those, too).

GUYS I WAS SEEING FOR THE FIRST TEAM

*Dang Adel (6-7/2015/Florida Elite/Bradenton, FL, Victory Rock Prep)

It was easy to see why Louisville Coach Rick Pitino took a commitment from him last week. He does a lot of things very well, including. His jump shot’s form looks good, too. He just didn’t him many of them when I watched Thursday.

*Anthony Mathis (6-1/2015/Team Fast/West Linn, OR):

His high school and travel team backcourt (Payton Pritchard) is in Colorado Springs with U.S. Basketball. But that didn’t deter Mathis (who is committed to the University of New Mexico) from continuing the superb jump-shooting exhibition he has been putting on during the spring and summer.

*E.J. Montgomery (6-9/2018/Atlanta Celtics/Atlanta Lincoln Park Academy):

Yeah – the kid is just going to be a ninth-grader! He looked anything but tentative Thursday when I watched him catch a couple of lobs for transition dunks and snatch a bunch of defensive rebounds against Team Loaded of North Carolina.

*Mitch Robinson (6-10/2017/New Orleans Elite/New Orleans Landry-Walker):

His name and uniform number weren’t in the event program so you can imagine the pleasant surprise when, after looking quite impressive in the win over the Michigan Mustangs, he told me he’s just going to be a sophomore next month. He apparently recently moved to New Orleans from Pensacola, FL.

*Cullen Vanleer (6-4/2015/Gateway Basketball Club/Pacific, MO, High):

His ability to break down defenses with his driving, his passing and his jump shot played a big role in his team’s wins over Compton Magic and Team Rose Thursday.

*Justin Wright-Foreman (6-1/2015/New York Rens/Queens, NY, CTEA High):

This left hander has been perhaps my most pleasantly surprising evaluating experience over the first two day. He scored 48 points against the Carlton Bragg– and Maverick Rowan-led Ohio Basketball Club on Thursday afternoon, hitting 14 of 16 from the field (including all five attempts behind the arc) and 15 of 17 free throws. He also had five rebounds and four assists in the 96-94 victory for his team.