SUWANEE, Ga. – Keeping from growing exasperated while trying to figure out which of seven courts in the Suwanee Sports Academy to stand near over two days was quite the chore.
And sprinting (figuratively, of course; I actually had a rental car) to the Berkmar High gymnasium in Lilburn for a Saturday 8 a.m. tip-off for the Colorado Hawks and New England Playaz in the 16s division, and then almost immediately navigating myself to Suwanee’s Peachtree Ridge High for another 16s game between the Compton Magic and Team Loaded (the Virginia variety) wasn’t quite peachy keen, either.
OK, enough for the whining that isn’t going to draw any sympathy from those of you who wish you could have spent three days here watching the latest stop on the adidas Gauntlet series.
Having the time and inclination to watch all of the teams that played in the 17s, 16s and 15s divisions unquestionably would have led to a different “Top 12 players I watched” list that follows below.
As a reminder for those of you not familiar with the drill, this isn’t a list of the “12 best prospects on the adidas circuit this spring but an (alphabetical) pecking order of 12 guys that most impressed me by the way they played when I happened to be at courtside over the weekend.
Here we go:
Makai Ashton Langford (2017/6-2/Ashburnham, MA, Cushing Academy/Mass Rivals): He rarely took a shot or otherwise forced the action in his team’s first two games. But on the second half of the weekend schedule his team needed his scoring skills and they paid off when he averaged 25.1 points to go with 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and just three turnovers in that stretch.
Braxton Bertolette (2017/6-3/Fort Collins, CO, Fossil Ridge/Colorado Hawks): When he was a freshman I thought he was as good as any jump shooter in the west region in this class. Now, after watching him over the weekend, those territorial parameters have expanded. He hit 19 of 32 attempts from behind the arc over the weekend and is 31 of 63 on the adidas “season”.
Jerome DeRosiers (2017/6-7/Mount Hermon, MA, Northfield/New England Playaz): His team lost a gut cutter to Compton Magic Elite on their respective final games of Sunday. But he was as skilled and aggressive as any “big wing prospect” I watched over the weekend as he went for 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He averaged 14.0, 7.0 and 2.3 on the weekend as his team improved to 6-2.
Jaylen Hands (2017/6-3/San Diego Balboa/Compton Magic Elite): I’ve thought he was the No. 1 point guard prospect in the west’s Class of 2017 and he did nothing to shake me from that perspective over the weekend. He did shoot poorly over the final two games (five of 19 from the field) but did average 12.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists as his team left Georgia with a 7-1 record.
Matthew Hurt (2019/6-9/Rochester, MN, Marshal/D1 Minnesota): He’s not the rebounder or shot blocker that the other freshman on this list is but Hurt’s set of offensive skills – from the low post or perimeter – is more advanced than Oneyka Okongwu’s is right now. His averages for the weekend were 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds.
Romeo Langford (2018/6-5/New Albany, IN/Eric Gordon All-Stars): Langford, along with Nick Weatherspoon and Zion Williamson, is one of the three best “scorers” I watched over the weekend when he averaged 23.8 points. 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists to help his team win each of its four games.
Onyeka Okongwu (2019/6-8/Chino Hills, CA/Compton Magic Elite): Sure, California state champion Chino Hills was led by the consensus National Player of the Year in 6-5, UCLA-bound point guard Lonzo Ball during its 35-0 just-concluded season. But the Huskies also had this terrific freshman and he has spent the weekend showing his adidas foes why his contributions were so immense during his high school squad’s record-setting run: He took only 20 shots but hit half of them and averaged 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots. Only Charles Bassey of San Antonio impressed me more than all 2019 posts I’ve watched in person.
Augustine Ominu (2018/6-8/Durham, NC, Mt. Zion Christian Academy/Stackhouse Elite): How is this for a weekend for snatching missed shots – 13.0 rebounds per game, including a weekend’s best 20 against the Michigan Mustangs Sunday? He also blocked eight shots Sunday and averaged 3.0 for the weekend with his 14.0 scoring average.
Brian Thomas (2017/6-8/Marietta, GA, Kell/Game Elite): He was the best shot blocker I watched in Suwanee and as impressive in that regard as anyone I’ve witnessed in action this spring. He literally “caught” – with two hands – two attempts that came his way on Sunday morning. He didn’t score much (6.3 points) but averaged 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots on the weekend.
Nick Weatherspoon (2017/6-2/Camden, MS, Velma Jackson/MBA Hoops): Based upon what I saw two weekends ago in New York (Under Armour and Nike EYBL events) and this weekend, I suggest Weatherspoon is one of the five best point guard prospects in this class. His team split its four games over the weekend while Weatherspoon averaged 25.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals.
Lyndell Wigginton (2017/6-3/Mouth of Wilson, VA, Oak Hill Academy/Stackhouse Elite): He dominated things (21 points, six assists and five rebounds) as his team handed the Compton Magic its only loss in two weekends on Friday night. Will anyone have the pair of “point guard-types” (along with Matt Coleman) in the Class of 2017 than will Oak Hill Coach Steve Smith next season?
Zion Williamson (2018/6-6/Spartanburg, SC, Day/Game Elite): No one impressed me more on Sunday. I didn’t see a player with a better combination of strength, skill, assertive and hoops know-how that the 6-foot-6, 225-pound left hander displayed in his team’s 68-49 win over Team Loaded (the North Carolina version). Dig this weekend numbers: 35 of 46 from the field, 23 of 35 from the free-throw line to go with 23.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He belong somewhere among anyone’s Top 10 Class of 2018 ratings.
Leave a Reply