adidas May Classic Report

Year in and year out the adidas May Classic is one of the top events of the year. Not only do top adidas teams travel to come down, but also top Nike teams and non-sponsored teams participate. This year was no different. The adidas May Classic was filled with top players and teams. Below is a recap on the action.

17u Division- The 17u division was won by SYF Players. SYF is a loaded group led by 6'9 Domonique Ferguson from Lawrence North High in Indianapolis. Ferguson is being recruited by Kentucky, Duke, Indiana, Arizona, Tennessee, and others aggressively. Ferguson is very long and was a terror as an inside-outside threat the entire weekend. SYF also featured 6'2 PG Jesse Berry from Lafayette (IN) Jefferson. Berry is a high major prospect. To further showcase the depth of Indiana talent, SYF beat Eric Gordon All-Stars in the title game. EG All-Stars were led by 6'3 G Terone Johnson from Eric Gordon's alma mater North Central in Indianapolis, the stocky scoring guard is headed to Purdue. Team Detroit and the Michigan Mustangs also flexed their muscle this weekend. Both loaded groups, Team Detroit were offed in the semis by SYF, the eventual tourney champions, and the Mustangs were beat in the Elite 8 by the Derrick Rose All-Stars for the second time this year.

Top Players:

Ray McCallum- The 6'1 PG from Detroit Country Day, further cemented his status as a elite PG nationally. He is a brilliant passer and the consummate floor general, his hoops IQ is through the roof, and he is also improving athletically at a rapid pace. If he gets stronger, watch out!

Trey Zeigler- The 6'4 G from Mt. Pleasant High showed out this weekend for Team Detroit. Always the scorer, he scored in bunches this weekend. McCallum and Keith Appling are hot names right now, but I still don't know if either are better than Trey. This kid can flat out go, Michigan may have 3 Top 25 prospects nationally in the 2010 class.

Dominique Ferguson- Long, longer, and the longest! He is a hybrid forward that will take you outside and drive or mix it up inside. Added strength will only help him down the line, but I think he will develop to a 3. He's a top 10 talent nationally, he de-committed from Kentucky when Cal took the job, but don't be surprised to see him where the Blue in college, although Tom Crean and the Hoosiers aren't going down without a fight!

Keith Appling- He's easily MSU's best recruit since Kalin Lucas (stating the obvious). Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the McDonald's All American game. He's so effective at scoring but remaining unselfish. I would love to see him grow some more, but I doubt that happens, but even if he doesn't he has insane potential. This kid has it!

Kyrie Irving- The New Jersey Roadrunners weren't the most talented ball club at the AMC, but one thing was for sure, they had the best overall player in the event! The St. Patricks (NJ) product, may be the best PG in America. At 6'3 there is nothing the kid can't do, he's amazing! Indiana is in good with him.

16u Division- The Indiana Elite franchise must be the top summer program in America. They have an abundance of talent throughout their entire program, and they feature 2 maybe 3 elite, national type teams per age group. The Indiana Elite One Green team took home the chip in this age group, even though they didn't actually play the championship game because of 43 Hoops having to get back to Minnesota because of flight situations. The Michigan Mustangs 16s advanced to the Elite 8, in this division losing to the eventual champions. The Team Pride program finished 2-1 despite being shorthanded due to proms and other obligations. Pride had most of its 16s playing 17s, and they just didn't have enough gas in their tank at the end! Powerstroke also won their pool.

15u Division- Once again the Indiana Elite program took home the title! This time it was the Indy Elite-Team Indiana branch. This team featured two 7 footers, Peter Jurkin and Obij Aget as well as the #1 freshman in Indiana DVaunte Smith Rivera. The Team Pride squad advanced all the way to the finals after defeating Spiece Hoosier Hoops, Spiece Indy Heat (the team some feel is the best 15u group in America), and the Derrick Rose All-Stars en route to the title game. Pride showed that they are arguably a Top 5 15u team in America.

Top 2011 and 2012 prospects:

Brandan Kearney: He played up on the Team Detroit 17's and he just oozes potential. Can flat out stroke the deep one, and he does it with ease. He played great at the AMC and he will only continue to get better! Hopefully he qualifies for the USA Under 16 National Team in June.

Percy Gibson: Give Percy a few more inches, and your talking about a absolute monster. The lefty is tough down low, and when he goes hard few can stop. He most likely will still go high major whether he grows or not because, few bigs can score and work the boards like him. He's a good one.

Tommie McCune: If I'm buying stock, now is the time to buy Tommie's. He will be a Top 50 national recruit and the #1 player in the state by the time this class graduates. He has everything scouts and coaches love, length, size, athleticism, heart, etc. He's 6'8 and he's probably a wing player. He had a dunk against the So Cal All-Stars in 17u pool play that was so nasty, people ran out the gym! Did I mention he had games when he hit 3+ trey balls?

Shaquille Smith- The kid just doesn't get enough love statewide, but he's most likely the #2 PG in the state for 2011. The kid killed for Team Pride. He has a deadly crossover, and he uses that to get by defenders, while in the lane he has the athleticism to rise over you and try to dunk or finish. He is also very fast and quick. If he improves his J and works on passing more, big time D1 recruit.

DVaunte Smith Rivera- (Indiana Elite-Team Indiana 2012)This bulldog has to be one of the top freshman in the nation! Equipped with a body of a NFL linebacker, there won't be any 15u PG's that can guard him anywhere. He wills his team to victories. Once he gets in the lane its a bucket or assist, he's really, really good.

Raphael Davis- I see why Matt Painter and staff took a commitment from this kid at Purdue, in 4 years this kid will be a star. He's a legit 6'5 and has a great body. He has to continue improving skill wise but he has the swagger, athletic ability, and heart to be a good one! He dominated all tourney for Spiece Indy Heat's 15u, I can see why people like him so much.

Entire Team Pride 15u- This could be one of the best groups the state of Michigan has put on the circuit in some time. They lost their first game all year at the AMC and it legitimately could be their last loss of the year, needless to say this group is loaded. 6'9 Matt Costello is the #1 freshman in Michigan, 6'7 Kenny Kaminski is the #1 freshman in Ohio, Dorian Dawkins is the #1 8th grader in Michigan, and fellow scouts thought players like 6'3 Saginaw High Wing Travontis Richardson, 6'4 Anton Wilson from Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 6'4 Wing Quinn Langston from Flint Hamady, 6'2 8th grade Wing Dominique Jackson from Saginaw, MI and 5'9 Antwan Burkes from Flint Beecher all have immense talent and potential. They still have a lot of development, but scouts, shoe company reps, and fans were extremely impressed with this group.