LAS VEGAS -- It was a memorable Wednesday night as the Adidas Summer Championships. Zion Williamson of South Carolina Supreme and LaMelo Ball of the Big Ballers brought out the crowds, but it was five-star point guard Ashton Hagans who stood out the most on opening night.
ASHTON HAGANS WAS MY WEDNESDAY STANDOUT
It's hard to accurately explain just how good Ashton Hagans was while leading Game Elite 2019 to a win.
Time and time again, Hagans was making plays on both ends of the floor while looking like an elite point guard prospect. At one point a coach I was sitting with looked at me and said "This kid could play in the NBA. Tonight."
What impressed me the most is Hagans development as a scorer and how physical he is. Hagans won't back down from anybody and on the recruiting front he told me that Kentucky and North Carolina have gotten more involved.
ENVIRONMENT CREATED AT ADIDAS WAS SOMETHING ELSE
This is my 18th summer covering grassroots basketball and I'm not sure I can recall anything like the crowd and atmosphere on Wednesday night. I can thank Zion Williamson and LaMelo Ball for that.
Williamson and SC Supreme outlasted Ball and the Big Ballers but the real story was in the crowd. I've been to grassroots events with huge crowds before, I've been to events with a buzz in the crowd but I don't remember one that had both like Wednesday night did. Of course, that mostly has to do with Williamson and Ball being easily the two most popular high school prospects.
It was an up and down game with both putting up big numbers. Williamson drove -- usually left -- again and again for punishing finishes and seemed to spend the entire night at the free throw line. Ball had hot and cold streaks with his jump shot but looked much bigger and more athletic than he did during the high school season and like his oldest brother Lonzo Ball, he can really pass the ball.
Was it the type of game that a basketball purist would love? No. But there was plenty of entertainment to be had and it seemed as if most in the overflowing crowd were having a good time.
MARJON BEAUCHAMP LOOKS LIKE HE IS NEXT IN SEATTLE
Life is pretty good for Nathan Hale High coach Brandon Roy these days. Sure he's lost five-stars Michael Porter and Jontay Porter, but he's got 2019 four-star wing P.J. Fuller coming back and he's got potential 2020 stud Marjon Beauchamp in the mix too.
Beauchamp has a chance to be the next big hoops name out of Seattle. He's already got good size, creates scoring opportunities with ease thanks to a smooth handle and he has tons of athletic upside. It will be interesting to see what he can do this year in a more featured role because he looks like a budding star.
Beauchamp told me that Washington, Eastern Washington and Marquette are among his early offers and also mentioned that Arizona is watching close.
QUICK NOTES ON SOME WEDNESDAY STANDOUTS
Top 35 big man David McCormack of Team Loaded VA continues to impress. He didn't have a great night shooting the ball, but was active on the glass and controlled things with his physicality.
My cohorts Dan McDonald and Corey Evans raved about top 30 wing Nassir Little during the first and second live periods and it's easy to see why. Little has always been a big-time athlete, but he's become a dangerous threat as a jump shooter and is handling the ball much better. I don't see any way he doesn't get promoted to five-star status after the summer.
I wasn't surprised by how comfortable Devon Dotson looked playing with Williamson and SC Supreme for the first time. The top 35 guard is one competitive dude and he doesn't make many mistakes with the ball in his hand. He looks ready to show up in college and make an immediate impact.
Class of 2019 point guard Jeremiah Francis is really coming along nicely. He's a strong and tough kid who can create off the dribble, plays through contact and makes his teammates better.
COACHES LOCKING IN ON TARGETS
My first game of the night was 1Family and Game Elite 2019 and the coaching turnout was pretty impressive. With guys like Nassir Little, Ashton Hagans, Christian Brown and Amanze Ngumezi and more on the floor, head coaches from Illinois, South Carolina, Arkansas, St. Louis, Georgia Tech, DePaul, Florida, Miami, UCLA, Florida and Oklahoma State were watching closely.
Francis drew North Carolina's Roy Williams (plus two assistants), Indiana's Archie Miller and assistant coaches from Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Purdue and more were also on hand.
Team Loaded VA is loaded with high level prospects like big men David McCormack and Armando Bacot plus wing Jairus Hamilton and many more. When they took the floor against the Mass Rivals (top 50 guards A.J. Reeves and David Duke) they did so with head coaches from Kansas, Marquette, Virginia, Miami, Villanova, Gonzaga, TCU and South Carolina -- to name a few -- were all on hand.