LAS VEGAS – And, on Day V, the champions were crowned . . .
Well, the “crownings” were figurative things for the top division winners at the Fab 48, Uprising Summer Championships and Big Foot/Las Vegas Invitational events on Sunday.
But that didn’t dull the celebrations for the players, coaches and fans of the 1Nation (Fab 48), Team Loaded/Virginia and Georgia Stars (Big Foot) teams that bagged championships on Sunday’s final day of the third – and final – NCAA evaluation period for high school basketball players.
And none of the celebrating was as spontaneous and unbridled as it was at Del Sol (in the eastern side of the city) late Sunday afternoon, where with Team Loaded/Virginia rallied down the stretch to stun the Massachusetts Rivals squad, 76-74, in the finale that was televised by ESPNU.
The squad from Virginia – so impressive over its first six games of the event – trailed by double-figure margins much of the contest.
But Nick Sherod drilled a 3-point from out top and, after a turnover by Massachusetts Rivals, Javin Delaurier followed in a miss to tie the score with just less than a minute to go in regulation.
Team Loaded got the back after a missed attempt at the other end and, with 21 seconds remaining, Justice Kithcart was fouled when Wenyan Gabriel got his wrist while gambling for a steal.
The Team Loaded guard hit both free throws to put his team up, 76-74.
Gabriel was fouled at the other end with three seconds to go after a pass from Wabissa Bede but missed both free throws badly.
The ball was tapped toward the right sidelines after the second miss and Bede was able to run it down and heave it toward the rim but it was well off the mark as the buzzer sounded and the Team Loaded celebration began in earnest as teammates, coaches and fans alike danced on the floor.
And the “showcase” game showed beforehand – and also televised by ESPNU – was just as compelling.
In the final four possessions for Team Loaded/North Carolina, guard Dennis Smith Jr. hit three go-ahead drives and passed for a 3-pointer.
The last of Smith’s spectacular drives came with four seconds to go and provided the difference in a 78-77 victory.
Smith – whose play over five days provided nice support to those who suggest he’s the best “point guard-type” in the Class of 2016 – scored a game-high 29 points while hitting 12 of 22 shots from the floor to go with 10 rebounds, eight assists and just three turnovers.
Another top division titles claimed on Sunday came at Bishop Gorman High via the Michigan-based 1Nation’s 56-49 win over Los Angeles-based BTI Select as Josh Jackson – a strong contender for National Player of the Year next spring – led the way with 22 points.
There were no high-profile recruits on the BTI roster and little size but the squad was the biggest surprise of the entire week in Las Vegas after its playoff stunners over Philly Pride, the Canaries Academy, Canada Elite (led by touted 7-footer Thon Maker) and MWE (led by Billy Preston and Terrance Ferguson) before it led much of the way on Sunday afternoon before falling to Josh Jackson & Co.
Twenty miles to the north of Bishop Gorman, at Rancho High, were the Georgia Stars built on their summer success with a 75-59 win over the Mac Irvin Fire, as Florida State-committed Trent Forrest scored 24 points and 2017 standout center Wendell Carter had 13 points and 13 rebounds
That win comes on the July heels of the program’s championship in Nike’s Peach Jam.
And, Saturday night at Rancho High, the Arkansas Wings capped “The 8” – an eight-team tournament involved some of Nike’s most successful EYBL programs – by knocking off Mac Irvin in the finale.
Guard Malik Monk scored 34 for the Arkansas Wings and may have played as well as any high school player in July.
That Saturday night performance was enough to give Monk the nod over Josh Jackson, Dennis Smith Jr., Wendell Carter and Miles Bridges as my choice for the “Most Outstanding Player” of the five-day evaluation period in Las Vegas.
My “All-Las Vegas” selections follow, based upon performances when I watched.
Since I didn’t see some very good players during the week – most notably De’Aaron Fox of the Houston Hoops, which was shocked in the Las Vegas Classic just before I was going to see Houston Hoops – they aren’t on the list:
Most Outstanding Player: Malik Monk (2016/6-3/Bentonville, AR/Arkansas Wings)
All-Las Vegas
Edrice Adebayo (2016/6-9/Pinetown, NC, Northside/Team Loaded-North Carolina)
Marvin Bagley (2018/6-9/Tempe, AZ, Corona Del Sol/We All Can Go All-Stars)
Lonzo Ball (2016/6-5/Chino Hills, CA/The Big Ballers)
Tony Bradley (2016/6-9/Bartow, FL/Each 1, Teach 1)
Miles Bridges (2016/6-7/Huntington, WV, Prep/Mac Irvin Fire and 1Nation).
Bruce Brown (2016/6-4/Saxtons River, VT, Vermont Academy/BABC)
Wendell Carter (2017/6-9/Atlanta Pace Academy/Georgia Stars)
Trevon Duval (2017/6-2/Newark, NJ, St. Benedicts/We R1)
Trent Forest (2016/6-4/Chipley, FL/Georgia Stars)
Wenyan Gabriel (2016/6-9/Wilbraham, MA, Monson/Massachusetts Rivals)
Harry Giles (2016/6-9/High Point, NC, Wesleyan Christian/CP3)
Kyle Guy (2016/6-2/Indianapolis Lawrence Central/Indiana Elite)
Josh Hauser (2016/5-11/Thousand Oaks, CA/BTI Select)
Dewan Huell (2016/6-10/Miami Norland/Team Breakdown)
Frank Jackson (2016/6-3/Highland, UT, Lone Peak/Utah Prospects)
Josh Jackson (2016/6-7/Napa, CA, Prolific Prep/1Nation)
Jayce Johnson (2016/6-11/Santa Monica, CA/Earl Watson Elite)
Andrew Jones (2016/6-4/Irving, TX, McArthur/ProSkills)
Sacha Killeya-Jones (2016/6-10/Lynchburg, VA, Virginia Episcopal/Team Loaded-Virginia)
Justice Kithcart (2016/6-2/ Lynchburg, VA, Virginia Episcopal/Team Loaded-Virginia)
Makai Ashton Langford (2017/6-1/Ashburnham, MA, Cushing Academy/Mass. Rivals)
Thon Maker (2016/7-0/Ontario, CN, Orangeville Prep/Canada Elite)
Jerry Myles (2016/6-5/East Moline, IL, United Township/Kansas City Pray & Play)
Zach Norvell (2016/6-5/Chicago Simeon/Mac Irvin Fire)
Shamorie Ponds (2016/6-1/New York Thomas Jefferson/New York Panthers)
Billy Preston (2017/6-9/Dallas Prime Academy/MWE)
Kobi Simmons (2016/6-4/Alpharetta, GA, St. Francis/Atlanta Celtics-Neysmith)
Dennis Smith Jr. (2016/6-2/Fayetteville, NC, Trinity Christian/Team Loaded-North Carolina
Jayson Tatum (2016/6-8/St. Louis Chaminade/Arkansas Wings)
