adidas Invitational: Day Two + Three

Dallas Mustangs grabbed the championship at the adidas Invitational.

By Bryan Kriss - bryankriss@hardwoodelite.com

After a great turnout, the adidas Invitational is officially over. With loads of talent at the event, it was LeBryan Nash and the Dallas Mustangs who prevailed and took home the 17U championship. Here are some of the day two and day three standouts:

Jherrod Stiggers: In the Dallas Mustangs big quarterfinal win over Double Pump Elite, It was Stiggers, not LeBryan Nash, who played the biggest role. An absolute knockdown shooter, Stiggers hit seven threes before the game was all said and done. He possesses great form, good elevation and a very quick release that allows him to get his shot off with very little space. He didn't do a whole lot going to the rim but he made Double Pump pay anytime they gave him an inch of space.

Phillip Nolan: Nolan just has the look of a big-time prospect. He is extremely thin right now and will need to add significant weight before college, but he has plenty of time to do that and plenty of tools to work with. He's extremly long and has good enough size even for the center postion but he's also got great touch on his shot. He showed the ability to knock down face up jumpers and even put in a couple 3s. He's also able to put the ball on the floor and get around guys when they crowd him. Nolan is very disruptive on defense, blocking numerous shots and influencing many others. He needs to become more physical on both sides of the ball in order to reach his full potential but his ceiling is very high.

LeBryan Nash: We weren't able to hang around for the championship where Nash lead his Dallas Mustangs to victory, but we did catch several of his earlier games. He can be flat out dominant at times with his combination of size, strength, and athleticism. He hit several threes over the weekend and several more midrange jumpers while also getting to the rim for monster dunks on many occasions. More impressive was his work in the post. If he senses even the slightest mismatch he will seal his guy in the post, demand the ball and then make a pro move before finishing strong. He gets to the free throw line at an amzing rate and converts a very high percentage. Nash sometimes has a tendency to get on the refs and show poor body-language, but that's an area that can be improved and doesn't change the fact that he is an elite talent.

Kenny Kaminski: In the three games we watched him, Kaminski was pretty quiet for the most part, except for one outburst Wednesday afternoon. There was one instance where he hit a turnaround 15 footer, two 3s and another deep two on four consecutive posessions. His outside shot wasn't always dropping but there's no doubt that he's a shooter. He's got an effortlesss stroke and nice enough touch to consistently drop in shots from any spot on the floor. He also has great size and seems more than comofortable enough to bang in the post for hard-earned layups or turnaround jumpers.

Shabazz Muhammad: There's not much else to say about Muhammad. He's the best at his postion in the 2012 class and makes it look too easy. He must have averaged about 30 points per game for the tournament and he did so in a variety of ways. He's becoming more and more comfortable working outside for pull-up three pointers that he regularly knocks down with his smooth lefty stroke. He is also capable of taking the ball off the bounce and finishing through contact either with a tough layup or a dunk. Muhammad has amazing touch from about 15 feet and does not seem to even notice when a defender has a hand right in his face. Perhaps his greatest attribute, Muhammad simply has a knack for coming up with the ball in traffic. Whether it be a loose ball or an offensive rebound, it always seems to end up in his hands resulting in two points. He's a special talent with a great attitude and work ethic.

Norman Powell: Powell is a guy that we were very impressed with at the Pango's All-American camp. It took him a couple games here to reach the level of play we know he's capable of, but he got it going on Day two. He's a great athlete who uses that athleticism to finish at the rim at an impressive rate. He's also got good quickness and is creative with ball which enables him to get to his spots pretty much whenever he wants. His game really opens up when his three-ball is dropping and that's exactly what happened on day 2. His form is good enough, but he needs to start putting a lot more arc on the ball. Due to his flat shot, he can be somewhat streaky at times, but he is certainly a capable shooter. Powell also has the lateral quickness to potentially be a great on-ball defender at the next level.

DeAngelo Harrison: There are questions about his athleticism, but no one questions his ability to score. Against KC Pump N Run Wednesday, Harrison scored 47 of his teams 65 points. With Wanaah Bail having a frustrating outing, Harrison needed to put the team on his back and he did just that before falling a little short. Harrison is good shooter from deep and isn't afraid to put it up from just about anywhere. He lacks elite quickness but is very crafty in getting his man off balance just enough to get off his shot. He scored at all levels against KC. Along with his 3s, he hit numerous mid-range pull-ups, finished many tough shots at the rim and got to the line for what must have been 20 free throws.

Corey Hilliard: We've seen Hillard several times already this spring/summer, but his game against the Franchize All-Stars was probably his best performance yet. Hilliard needs some work on his jumper as it isn't consistent enough at this point, but he gets great elevation and was knocking it down Wednesday morning. Hilliard also can over-penetrate at times leading to turnovers, but today he did a pretty good job of keeping that in check and creating for his teammates. He also showed a level of athleticism we had not yet seen, finishing two nice dunks. One constant with Hilliard is his defending. You can always count on him to get in his stance and work hard. He definitely did that in this game and came up with a few steals as well. More performances like this could potentially land him some high-major offers.

Christian Kirk: Along with Hilliard, Kirk was the major reason for KC's victory. We love Kirk's approach to the game and his skill-level continues to rise. He's a little undersized for the PF postion but he's got good athleticism, even at the high major level. He also plays very strong and certainly looks like he'll be able to add even more muscle. On one play, Kirk rose up for a power slam over an unsuspecting Wanaah Bail. Kirk moves very well and is able to get his shot against most defenders after posting up hard. He has also shown the ability to knock down the 15 footer. Like his teamamte Hilliard, he'll likely pick up some more interest from high-majors throughout July.

Torian Graham: Graham is flat out one of the top athletes in the entire 2012 class. He had arguably the top two dunks of the tournament, including a posterization of Chane Behanan. He attacks the rim very hard at times but we'd like to see him do it more often as his athleticism will allow him to finish just about anything. Graham also has an effective jumpshot out to three point range even if his form is slightly unorthodox. We'll hopefully see more of him this week in Minneapolis, but he looks to be deserving of a jump in the next update of the 2012 top 100.

Chane Behanan: To put it simply, Behanan is a beast. He's a little undersized, but it honestly doesn't seem to affect him at all. He's a great athlete, espically for how big and strong he is and he uses it to his advantage to grab rebound after rebound. He posts up well and often gets great position on the block. If he could just get his teammates to throw him the ball moe often, he could easily be scoring 30+ each game. Behanan also has an underated shot and he knocked down a few threes this weekend. He also likes to catch the ball on the perimeter and beat his man off the dribble, often utilizing his patented spin move to get to the rim. Behanan doesn't seem to be letting up after his huge performance a the NBPA camp and the big boys are starting to take notice.

Markus Kennedy: This was our first look at Markus Kennedy this spring/summer and we came away very impressed. First of all, he's got great hands. He used his big body to get deep postition all weekend and when his teammates were able to get him the ball, he finised almost everytime. He's surprisingly athletic for his size. On one play he outran the entire defense before taking off of one foot and dunking on two defenders. He also has surpising lateral quikness. When he was forced to guard mobile big guys or switch onto guards, he was rarely beat off of the dribble. After reclassifying, he certainly looks to be one of the top 100 players in the country.

Alex Murphy: Alex Murphy continued his stellar play into the elimination games. Just like the first day, he was showing his athleticism on multiple dunks and knocking down several deep threes. Murphy looks to be at least the 6'8" he is listed at and should prove to be an absolute matchup nightmare at the next level. The one thing we'd like to see him add is a little more post-up game so he is an even bigger matchup problem for opponents.