Adidas Gauntlet Recap – Brookwood, UPlay, Stackouse UPlay Top Prospects
Grueling grind it out games at the first session of the Adidas Gauntlet Series had the Canadian contingent in Texas burnt out by their final games. Brookwood Elite 17U, UPlay Canada 17U Stackhouse Uplay 16U teams were the teams to represent Canadians.
Brookwood Elite Rebuilding Identity
Brookwood Elite finished their Texas trip 1-3 and was an entirely different team from what coaches saw last year. Pieces like Joseph Chartouny and Tevonn Walker were strong scoring and play making options last year, however those guys have moved onto the next level and its time for others to step up.
Walker finished his freshman season at Valapraiso averaging 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while helping carry his Crusaders to the second round of the NCAA tournament before a tough loss to Maryland 65-62.
He has left the rock in the hands of Richardson Maitre, the current lead guard for Brookwood. Maitre gained a lot of new interest from Division I programs over the weekend. Coaches liked his ability to take his defender off the dribble and get to the cup at will.
Interest turns into offers once he proves that the three ball is part of his arsenal.
The same goes for a unique prospect that is Nikita Kasongo, an athletic wing that has a good motor and versatile scoring capabilities.
Brookwood is still figuring out who is going to pick up the responsibility on offense to get points on the board. As of now, Richardson Maitre seems to be that guy. The reality is that it cant end up on one or two player’s shoulders. This team has enough talent to get out in transition and use their speed to get multiple pieces scoring on the break.
Brookwood’s big man Anthony Longpre (2017), showed a versatile skill set at 6’9. No wonder Maryland and George Washington University jumped in early and offered him.
Expect Brookwood to bounce back from this road trip when they get to Indiana for the next session of the Adidas Gauntlet Series. At this point, they’re in a position where they are trying to figure out what their identity encompasses on offense.
UPlay 17U – Nolan Narain Beast Mode
UPlay 17Us had the same outcome as Brookwood at 1-3. All of their losses were close, within 10 to be more specific.
Nolan Narain was their defensive anchor as well as a key contributor scoring from every angle, averaging 19 points in the first session. He solidified to everyone that was second guessing, that he is a high major prospect with great potential at becoming a pro.
When talking about the best talent in Canada, you can’t leave out his name. Narain is a guy that should have been selected in tonight’s Bio Steel All Canadian game, to give a true representation of the country’s top prospects.
UPlay’s versatile big man has an extended list of NCAA offers, the newest being Providence, Georgia Tech and Memphis.
Besides Narain, Justin Andrews was instrumental in keeping them in some games due to his accuracy from the three point line.
2017 prospect Christian David also pitched in with 10 points per game while shooting 50% from the field. This was his first time playing up in age groups and was a little shell shocked in the first game. He is quickly getting comfortable and by next session is expected to have great impact on this team.
David and fellow shooting guard Jeremiah Usiosefe will be weapons on the perimeter for UPlay and provide rebounding and shot blocking to go with their 10 points a piece.
All games were winnable for this group, if they can cut down on turn overs, it will give them a good chance at coming out of next session with a reversed record of 3-1 if not better.
Stackhouse UPlay 17U Go 2-2
Stackhouse Uplay 16U finished 2-2 with both losses coming within three points. This 2017 group has got a lot of promise with the strong backcourt of Lindell Wigginton, Abu Kigab and Shai Alexander; all of who are NPH Top 20 ranked prospects from the 2017 class. This team also has other key pieces that will service NCAA programs in the future.
It was Wigginton’s first tournament with the team and at first he was feeling out the situation and learning everyone’s strengths. By game two he quickly adapted to his new team and took over games while showing unselfish play making for teammates.
This 16U squad has not maximized their ability to choke out teams when they have leads, a very important trait on the AAU circuit. Some fine tuning from a defensive standpoint as well as cleaning up careless turnovers will put them in better positions to own games.
We’ll have a better indication of what this team is capable of near the end of April in the second session of the Adidas Gauntlet Series in Indiana.
