The first of three recruiting periods in July for college basketball coaches began Wednesday night with the top adidas-sponsored teams in the country gathering in metro Atlanta. Playing in front of big-name coaches, some of the top overall prospects in the country lived up to expectations while some under-the-radar prospects emerged as players in need of recognition.
Dennis Smith Jr. moved up to fourth overall in the recent Rivals150 for the class of 2016, and for good reason. He's simply the best point guard in the country in his class.
The five-star prospect has built a reputation as a highlight reel waiting to happen, and it is a well-deserved rep. To close out the first half, Smith beat his defender into the paint and rose up in traffic to throw down what was easily the best dunk of the day in Atlanta. In the second half, he tried to one-up himself by dunking over what seemed like the entire Stackhouse Elite team in traffic but missed off the back rim.
There is more than just flash to Smith's game. He can make the highlight reel play, but he's also perfectly happy making the simple, smart basketball play if it means putting points on the board for his team. He takes care of the ball and makes sure his teammates stay involved in the game.
Smith's presence in Atlanta attracted a number of top college coaches to the Peach State.
Duke's
Mike Krzyzewski and
North Carolina's
Roy Williams were in the building, flanked by two assistants, while
Mark Gottfried of
N.C. State was also in attendance with an assistant.
The Atlanta Celtics brought arguably the best roster on the adidas circuit to the gym on Wednesday, but they quickly found themselves locked in a tight game with a tough, scrappy New England Playaz team. In the end, the more talented Celtics closed out due to timely buckets by five-star duo
Kobi Simmons and
Joshua Langford.
If there was ever a player that was meant to play for
Tom Izzo, it is Langford. The 6-foot-6 wing is tough with a non-stop motor. He's become a well-rounded player over the past year and now shoots it at a much higher clip. When the Celtics needed a big basket, Langford was there to make the big play. It's not a perfect comparison, but look for him to bring a similar presence to
Michigan State that
Denzel Valentine did with this year's Final Four squad.
Simmons arrived at the game late and never could quite get on track until late in the game. With his team down 53-50 and just under two minutes remaining, Simmons stepped up with a big three-pointer that sparked a late Celtics' run to close the game.
Following the game, Simmons had some news for the media gathered to speak to him. To nobody's surprise, he announced an upcoming official visit to
Kentucky on Aug. 28. Big Blue has long been in great position with the Georgia native. What did come as a surprise is that he's planning to take an official visit to
Xavier the following weekend. The Musketeers see an opening in his recruitment as they signed long-time friend and teammate
Kaiser Gates in the 2015 class.
Ohio State is also likely to receive an official visit and
Georgia recently hosted him on an unofficial visit.
Indiana Elite will be sending a pair of prospects to the ACC next season with
Kyle Guy headed to
Virginia and
Matthew Moyer locked in for
Syracuse. Both prospects started off Wednesday night's game against the Utah Prospects a little slow, but came through in a big way down the stretch to pull away for an easy victory.
Guy, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, really struggled with his stroke early, but quickly adjusted and started attacking the rim. He had success scoring in the paint with crafty finishes early but found his rhythm from deep in the second half as he connected on four three-pointers and none of them touched the rim.
Tony Bennett and staff must have left the gym with smiles on their faces after this one.
Moyer, a 6-foot-8 combo forward, looks like an ideal fit to play for
Jim Boeheim and eventually
Mike Hopkins, assuming the system doesn't change much. Offensively, he possesses the ability to play both on the block as a bigger forward while also capable of putting the ball on the floor perimeter and stretch defenses with his stroke. Defensively, he'll fit in nicely playing on the wing of a 2-3 zone with his length.