Alkins, Gabriel & Trent adidas Nations standouts

• Tweet

• Tweet

GARDEN GROVE, Ca. – At the halfway point of the adidas Global Nations there have been – appropriately enough – standouts from multiple countries.

*Gary Trent, a 6-foot-5 junior-to-be at Apple Valley High in Minnesota, scored 28 points Saturday night to help USA 2017 “Team Lillard” come from 15 points behind at intermission to topple Team Asia Pacific (in reality, Australia), 94-88, to improve to 3-0 in the Next Level Sports facility.

Trent, who helped the USA win a FIBA 16-Under tournament in June, is averaging 23.7 points per game while hitting 11 of 25 shots from behind the arc.

Also playing well for Team Lillard have been point guards Trevon Duval (Newark, NJ, St. Benedict’s) and Jaylen Hands (Chula Vista, CA, Mater Dei), as well as power – and then some – forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, MI, Forest Hills Central).

*Six-nine Wenyen Gabriel (from the Sudan by way of New Hampshire and Wilbraham (MA) Monson Prep School) has racked head-turning numbers in Team Africa’s three games.

Gabriel – one of the stars of the adidas Uprising Championships (for Massachusetts Rivals) in Las Vegas last week – went for 23 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots Saturday night during his team’s eased-up 97-77 decision against USA 2017 Team Noah.

In three games (Team Africa is 2-1) his averages in those categories are 24.7, 18.3 and 3.3.

*Three players – Harry Giles, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum – seem to be getting the bulk of attention in the discussion for “No. 1 player in the Class of 2016”.

But, as was the cased during adidas-fronted events in the spring and last month (as well as the Pangos All-American Camp in June), 6-5 Rawle Alkins has made a nice on-court case during the adidas Nations as to his candidacy for said “tops in 2016”, as well.

Alkins is scheduled to attend a prep school this coming school year after the New York High School Athletic Association ruled that he had exhausted his eligibility at Christ The King High in New York City (it’s based on a technicality of sorts when he was an eighth grader while living in Florida).

He’s helped USA 2016 Team Rose to a 2-0 start (it had a bye Saturday night) while averaging 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists.

Team Rose, which also includes a trio of other impressive guards in Lonzo Ball, Frank Jackson and Kobi Simmons, is scheduled to face Team Lillard Sunday morning at 10:15.

*Team Canada (2-0) is the only other unbeaten after two days.

It remained perfect after 6-4 guard Marquel Fraser’s follow shot at the buzzer gave his team an 85-84 stunner over USA 2016 Team Wall and its standout guard, Dennis Smith Jr.

Leading the way for Team Canada (which plays Team Africa Sunday morning) has been 6-3 Koby McEwen, who attends high school in the U.S. (Wasatch Academy in Utah) and is averaging 21.0 points and 3.0 assists.

The top teams in Pools A and B will face the second-place finishers in the in their opposite pools in playoff semifinals Sunday night at 7:30.

The losers of the semis will play for third place Monday afternoon at 4 o’clock (PT) at Cerritos College in Norwalk with the winners meeting for the title a couple of hours later.