Adidas Summer Championship Sunday: Standouts and notes

RANKINGS: 2018 Rivals150 | 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2018 Team | 2018 Position

LADERA RANCH, Calif. – The final day of the second evaluation period wrapped up on Sunday as some of the top adidas programs played their way on through the championship bracket. Mass Rivals pulled their best Golden State Warriors’ impersonation, the tandem of Ben Carlson and Dawson Garcia is a match made in heaven and other news and notes from the sideline.

RELATED: News and notes from Saturday at the Adidas Summer Championship

For the third time within the past four years, the Mass Rivals program made its way to the finals of the adidas Summer Championship. This weekend, it was Akok Akok who dominated the competition, following in the footsteps of predecessors such as Wenyen Gabriel, Makai Ashton-Langford. David Duke and AJ Reeves.

Despite falling short in the finals, Akok’s play has not only cemented his standing as a top-50 prospect, but better yet, as one that is deserving of a five-star rating. It would be safe to assume that he will make that jump in next month’s Rivals150 update.

Akok is more than a defensive savant. He had one contest where he had eight blocked shots alone and followed it up with seven made 3-point jumpers. He averaged over two blocks and two made 3s in California.

The four-star prospect was aided by the play of Wildens Leveque, Tyler Burton and DeMarr Langford.

The D1 Minnesota 17-under squad went down in defeat on Saturday evening, shocking many and disappointing others that were hoping that a rematch of last week’s finals between the unit and Compton Magic would play itself out again. However, the program was able to see its 16-under uniform play on through championship Sunday thanks to its super talented front-line.

On Saturday, we highlighted the play of Ben Carlson, one of the best frontcourt prospects in his class nationally. Carlson’s feel for the game in the low and high post area, ability to shoot the perimeter jumper and also defend his basket is evident. He will visit Nebraska, Iowa State and Creighton next month. Stanford, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio State are just a few that have already offered.

The perfect pairing in the frontcourt alongside Carlson is Dawson Garcia, a southpaw with sneaky edges of toughness that he uses in producing through physicality. The lefty can also shoot the perimeter jumper as he is most comfortable playing facing the basket out of the high post region as he can dribble, shoot, pass and defend. He is a strong top-50 prospect that will take a visit to Texas in September as he carries 10 offers, ones coming from a group that includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Butler and Xavier.

Kerwin Walton, a potential Rivals150 prospect, along with Dalton Banks, Troy Dobbs and Connor Christensen also impressed.

We finished things up in Pomona on Sunday afternoon with Ryan Silver’s WCE Top 100 Camp. The talent was not lacking especially in the top-20 all-star contest.

Scottie Lewis and Nico Mannion were among the standouts thanks to their high-wire acts and the competitive mindset that they brought to the playing surface. They are two of the better perimeter finishers nationally and more than supplied the film crews with worthwhile dunks and lay-ins.

Other top performers of note include C.J. Wilcher and Aidan Igiehon.

The college coaching crowd was not in short supply as head coaches from Pitt, UCLA, USC, Villanova, Arizona, UC-Irvine, and Santa Clara were on hand, as were assistants from Xavier, Duquesne, Pepperdine, Kansas, Louisville, Brown, Fordham, Columbia, Utah and Washington State.

... Hunter Sallis will be a hotly-recruited prospect by Big 12 and Big Ten programs in the coming years. The 6-foot-2 guard out of Omaha was solid on Sunday and while Drake is the only program to have offered, I would expect plenty more to follow suit. A rising sophomore that has some wiggle to his game, the Omaha Sports Academy product will soon become a darling of the in-state Nebraska and Creighton programs as he screams high-major prospect thanks to his versatile skillset in the backcourt.

... It still hard to believe that Anthony Leal didn't have a scholarship offer just two months ago. We first discovered the Indiana Elite product in May at the Spiece Run-n-Slam and ever since, his recruitment has taken off. A native of Bloomington, Ind., many believe that if the local Indiana Hoosiers were to offer, a commitment might not be too far behind. However, many others within his region have begun to invest time and attention with the strong nosed scorer who recently made his way into the Rivals150.

... He has appeared in the Rivals150 before and he played like one in spurts on Sunday as Maceo Austin showed the capacity to create for others and himself, score in the half-court and also defend multiple positions. There have been questions in the past about Austin’s shooting abilities and toughness but from the look of him in California, both concerns should be downplayed. He has a knack for putting the ball through the basket from the mid-range and a fine mastery of speeds that he adds with his vision as a set-up artist in the lane. Northwestern, Duquesne, Dayton and Penn State kept close tabs on him Sunday.