Adidas Invitational: Day 2 Recap

The who’s who of college coaches were out in Indianapolis for day 2 of the Adidas Invitational which included Bill Self, Rick Pitino, Billy Donovan, Thad Matta, and Roy Williams. They were all there to see their committed recruits or hopefully future committed recruits, many of whom played in the top games of the day.

Florida Elite vs. Garner Roads:

Florida Elite defeated Garner Roads to win the Adidas VIP Exclusive tournament in April, and the rematch was no different. The Elite squad led for most of the game, however the final eight minutes featured many lead changes until Kasey Hill made a lay-up over UNC commit Isaiah Hicks to cement the victory.

The anticipated match-up was supposed to be the big man battle of Isaiah Hicks and Chris Walker, however this never really came to fruition as Florida Elite started out in a zone and the game turned very guard dominated. Hicks caught an alley-oop from half court in the first half and became more aggressive in the second half to finish with 14 points, while Walker hit a three pointer and had several athletic forays to the basket. Despite this action, Kasey Hill was the star of the game hitting 3 pointers over defenders and driving into the lane at will. It’s easy to see why he has shot up the rankings this spring. Anton Gill of Gardner Roads also had a strong game hitting several three pointers but was limping noticeably on his already injured ankle by the time the buzzer sounded.

Dream Vision vs. Michigan Mustangs:

Dream Vision was without one of its top players, Stephen Domingo, as the recent Olympic gold medal winner decided to enroll in Georgetown a year early. Dream Vision got off to a slow start Thursday morning and trailed the Mustangs by almost 20 points at one point. This didn’t matter to shooting guard Isaac Hamilton as he knocked down jumper after jumper leading his team to a comeback victory. For the Mustangs, Michigan commit Derrick Walton played extremely well showing off an improved jump shot and ability to blow by his defender.

Florida Elite vs. Louisville Magic (16U’s):

The Louisville Magic used their suffocating pressing defense and deep bench to jump on Florida early in the game. Led by Deangelo Russell and Quentin Snider, the Elite squad suffered numerous turnovers to begin the game. The Magic used a hockey style substitution pattern for the first half and their reserves led them to a 19 point halftime lead and never looked back. Despite being played in an auxiliary middle school gym all of the top coaches from the Southeast were in attendance.

Other Notes:

CC stole the show

The 16U Louisville Magic and Florida Elite game featured many highly ranked recruits; however it was a sub off Louisville’s bench that had everyone’s attention. Point guard, Christen Cunningham took over for Snider a few minutes into the game and soon had everyone in the crowd asking who that number 1 guy was. Cunningham was quick off the dribble and drove to the basket at will finishing with both his left and right hand in traffic. He also had several sharp passes and was the main reason his team was up 19 points at the half. “CC” is definitely a name to keep in mind for the remainder of the summer. 

The Houston Hoopstars Elite suffered two losses during the day, however their point guard Derrick Gaston showed off the most impressive ball handling skills of the tournament. Looking like a miniaturized version of Rajon Rondo, Gaston had his defenders on ice skates as he used his dribbling skills to breakdown defenders left and right. At one point during his first game, he made his defender fall with and back and forth cross-over that resulted in an assist.

The dunk of the day came during Dream Vision’s come from behind victory over Michigan. Guard Namon Wright stole the ball at half court and despite having a defender on his back was able to bounce the ball up in the air with his left hand and catch it one handed off the bounce for a fantastic finish. Extremely ballsy, but extremely well-executed.

After struggling on Day 1, Noah Vonleh stepped his game up. After jacking a lot of outside shots on Wednesday evening, Vonleh did most of his damage on the inside against the Eric Gordon All-Stars. Vonleh finished with 22 points and showed to the coaches in attendance why he is such a highly regarded recruit in the class of 2014.